| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2008 Location: Luxembourg Posts: 8,648
9 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 19, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fantastic travel lens | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-1
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A fantastic travel and night lens.
800 ISO
800 ISO
All my FA35 shots.
| | | | | | | Moderator Registered: July, 2011 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,774
8 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 31, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Size, quality, value | | Cons: | none | |
Well I picked this lens up cheaply on eBay, mostly due to the fact that Pentax had released an updated version, why not try the original. Well the lens on the K1 was an easy to live with choice for the month, I almost felt like I was back in the film days with a high quality point and shoot. The angle of view was common in many cameras from that era. I found it performed nicely for landscapes and with a minimum focal distance around 30cm detail close ups were able to be taken easily. When reversed for super macro, the use of the manual aperture meant extra versatility compared to a lens with no way to close the aperture when reversed. Shooting into the light there seemed to be no obtrusive flare and the lens hood works well and reverses onto the lens for storage. The bokeh was pleasant and not intrusive and despite using the in body motor for focusing, it was not very noisy and focused accurately and quickly without hunting under normal conditions. If Pentax was happy to update the lens with a new lens coating and leave the optics alone, I guess they must have thought the quality was worth persevering with, I am happy to recommend this as a keeper.
Some examples of my month with this lens
 twin city by Gary Wakeling, on Flickr
 drop ismo by Gary Wakeling, on Flickr
 rainbow pier by Gary Wakeling, on Flickr
 star chasing 2 by Gary Wakeling, on Flickr
 moving on by Gary Wakeling, on Flickr
 morning church by Gary Wakeling, on Flickr
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: January, 2011 Posts: 258
8 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 17, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $380.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | lightweight, small, sharp closed down | | Cons: | too soft wide open, usable from F2.5, don't deserve the price | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 5
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K200D
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It is not a bad lens, but I was expecting more usefulness wide open! It behaves just like the plastic DA 35 2.4, but the bokeh of the DA is rounded at 2.4. The FA is with 6 almost straight blades which produce hexagons even on 2.2, on 2.5 it is bad most of the time. This could be good when shooting landscapes though especially night ones! The lens have almost none aberations and is sharp edge to edge on crop sensor - perfect for landscape. For low light and bokeh the only choice should be the sigma 30 1.4, because the FA Ltd 31 1.8 is not for everyone! If I had the money for 31 Ltd I wasn't going to use crop sensor or pentax!
I have found my copy for 380$ in my country with everything: case, hood, ... that's all  in perfect condition. So now I know why the DA 35 is 2.4, it is the same lens as this one and they have skipped the bad from it by closing it down from the factory. Which means that Pentax doesn't have fast "normal" lens except for the 31Ltd and Sigma 30 1.4. If they sell the DA as 2.0 it was going to perform awful against the competition from the other brands(nikon and sony).
Test against Flektogon 35 2.4 MC
Another test of the flek, seems that I was not perfectly on focus when tested against the FA.
But K200 doesn't have live view...so it is a little difficult to manual focus precisely.
So FA 35 2.0 - good lens, bad price! Overall money/performance the DA 35 2.4 is the better choise.
PS there is a little possibility that my copy is not right but...I doubt it.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 1,972
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 22, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $405.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | VERY SHARP from F/2.8 on, little abberation, small, fast AF, nice bokeh, metal mount, fairly solidly built | | Cons: | Not as sharp wide open, expensive, hard to come by on used market | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-01, K10D, Z1p
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OK, just having used this lens for something over a year now, I am in the position that can actually say something about this small beauty.
Lens is built decently - although not as well as some of my SMC-F lenses ( which are partially metal ) - this one has pretty respectable amount of glass inside and you can feel that the weight of it comes mainly from this. Lens is plasticky, but actually feels fairly solid. Much better built than 40mm f2.8 XS for example, still it is not as good as SMC-F 50mm F/1.7 or 28mm F/2.8 - which both are much better built with tighter tolerances and solid feel to them.
Image quality - which is basically most what I care for - is simply amazing. Lens is pretty sharp from wide open but with touch of softness. When I stop it down to F/2.5 or 2.8 it JUMPS in sharpness a huge leap - taking over my 28mm F/2.8 at wide open ( still a sharp lens!) - the FA 35mm F2.0 is simple a superb piece of glass. Uniformly sharp on APS-C from somewhere around F3.5-F4.0 - it is just superb for a substitute of normal 50-55mm normal lens on crop cameras. Its field of view feels very natural and just right!
The rendering is very pleasant - as mentioned earlier wide open lens has touch of softness , but that is actually nice for portraits and similar applications on a crop camera. Colours are very natural, skin tones beautiful , and bokeh is very smooth. On rare occasion you do notice the hexagonal shapes in highlights but that all depends on the kind of background so with some clever positioning you can achieve pretty pleasant blurred background for you subject.
Overall a very high quality piece of glass. I was battling myself before I got it - having already a great copy of Flektogon 35mm F2.4 - but I am very glad I finally got it and kept both lenses. FA 35 F2.0 is an AF lens and that helps immensely with some situations, the rendering is different - with flektogon being more contrasty with punchier colours, but FA 35 is more pleasant for portraits and offers an uniform sharpness for landscapes from F4.0 onwards, where Flektogon sharpens up across the frame from around F5.6 . On the other hand for manual focusing the Flektogon is simple superior + a great macro mode, where the FA 35 focuses only down to around 30cm - the Flektogon goes down to stunning 18cm !
To sum up - a very good quality prime, slightly on expensive side but well worth it. Hard to come by on used market for a good price, and the new ones are ridiculously expensive - still the performance it offers is really placing it UP on the shelf with the best of best.
A highly recommended lens !
Bottom line - One point down on handling due to way the aperture ring feels - slightly rough. Focusing also could do with some extra dampening. Finally I took down on value one point as well, because I think the lens as currently priced new on UK market ( around £450 ) is slightly overpriced, probably £300 would be more appropriate ) - considering the amount of plastic it has. BUT optically I would say this lens is actually pretty a bargain - if it was housed in a limited body I can easily see its price up there with the 77 or 31 limiteds !
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,093
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 24, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $198.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Optics & speed. | | Cons: | Build and manual focusing. | | New or Used: Used
Camera Used: MZ-S, Z1-p
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The FA35/2 AL was released in 1999 and is currently still in production. It was a replacement for the old A35/2 which had been out of production for ten years. A HD version of the FA35/2 was released in 2019.
Optics:
The best I’ve seen for a Pentax 35mm lens. Features aspherical elements and ghostless coating.
Focal Length:
Excellent one lens option on full frame and very useful for landscape/street shooting. If I’m going to pick just one lens to walk around with all day, 35mm would be my first choice. On APS-C you get the FOV of a “normal” lens. Over the years Pentax always had two 35mm lenses in their lineup, the faster F/2.0 and a slower F/2.8 or F/3.5. I guess we should be thankful that there are currently two FA 35mm lenses available. One designed for film cameras and the other for digital.
Build:
FA Series lenses are all over the place in build. First you have the metal “Limited” lenses which are the best, then the mostly metal FA* lenses with their cheap silver paint, then the regular FA primes/zooms that have a lot of plastic parts and lastly the cheap kit zooms that even have a plastic lens mount. The FA35/2 falls into the third group, so it’s a far cry from the build of an old Takumar lens!
Usage/Handling:
The overall size/weight of the FA35/2 is good, so it’s a nice portable lens. The manual focus ring is a bit small for my liking and is made of rubber. Turing the focus ring, as well as the aperture, are both on the clunky side and nowhere near being considered smooth. I don’t do auto focusing, so I can’t comment on how the FA35/2 fairs in that field. The distance scale is behind a plastic window and is acceptable.
The FA35/2 has a 49mm filter ring and comes with a dedicated tulip style bayonet lens hood labeled PH-RBA 49mm. The hood mounts on the outside of the lenses filter ring. The hood also has a removable polarizer window which is a nice feature, so using a CPL/LPL is no issue. The hood is quite big and when reversed mounted on the lens for storage, is a bit hard to remove as there is not much left of the lens to grip/hold onto. It’s also a bit hard to remove the pinch type lens cap when the hood is mounted in the shooting position.
The FA35/2 came with the S80-80 soft lens case and the reversed hood & lens fit nicely into the case for storage.
Speed:
Excluding the prototype M35/1.4, F/2.0 is the fastest 35mm lens that Pentax has ever made. It would have been nice to see a Pentax 35/1.4 lens in production, but that's unlikely to ever happen.
The FA35/2 vs my other similar FL wide angle primes:
I also own the K35/2.0, the K35/3.5 and the A35/2.8, this is how I rate the four against each other:
Optics: FA35/2, K35/3.5, K35/2, A35/2.8
Speed: FA35/2 & K35/2 tie, A35/2.8, K35/3.5
Minimum Focusing Distance: FA35/2 & A35/2.8 tie, K35/2 & K35/3.5 tie
Build: K35/2 & K35/3.5 tie, A35/2.8, FA35/2
Handling: K35/2 & K35/3.5 & A35/2.8 tie, FA35/2
I would rank/rate them in this order: 1) FA35/2 – 9.5, 2) K35/3.5 – 9.5, 3) K35/2 – 9, 4) A35/2.8 – 8.5. However if I could only keep one 35mm lens it would be the K35/3.5, as it's a Pentax classic and a favorite of mine, but just a little on the slow side. The K35/3.5 optics are very close to the FA35/2 and its build & handling are way better.
Summary:
Optic wise you are unlikely to find a better Pentax 35mm lens, but for the way I shoot there is more to a lens than just great optics. Interacting with the FA35/2 leaves me cold, due to its plastic build and less than stellar manual focusing. If the FA35/2 was built like a FA Limited lens, I would give it a perfect 10 with no hesitation. Unfortunately it isn't so overall I rate the FA35/2 at 9.5 out of 10, rounded down to a 9.
Price:
I bought my FA35/2 from a forum member and paid $275CDN. It was in excellent + condition and is boxed with all accessories.
Sample shots taken with the FA35/2. Photos are medium resolution scans from original slides and negatives. All shots were taken in Vancouver.
Camera: MZ-S Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100 ISO: 100
Camera: Z1-p Film: Ilford Delta 100 ISO: 100
Camera: MZ-S Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100 ISO: 100
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2012 Location: Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Posts: 114
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 3, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharpness, high speed, compactness | | Cons: | hexagonal bokeh stopped down | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 7
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-5, ME Super, K-1
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Great sharp, little lens, light & compact. Producing perfectly usable results (sharpness, microcontrast) even wide open. On APSC it's a normal lens, on film it's the classic reportage lens. Looking forward to using it on the K-1. The only downside I see is it's hexagonal bokeh stopped down. Can't judge its value relative to DA 35 which supposedly has almost the same optical formula, but the FA 35 is a very good lens.
 Todtnauer Wasser by Georg, on Flickr
The following one was taken with the K-1.
 Dumbo by Georg, on Flickr
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: December, 2009 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 2,437
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 7, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fairly small and light, fast autofocus, good f2, tack sharp from f4 | | Cons: | Build could be better (normal for FAs though), autofocus could be quieter | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-5, K-1
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UPDATE - FF:
Now I have spent time with this lens on the K-1, my opinion of the FA35 and has only improved further! Its a great match with the K-1, light, small, sharp, fully usable wide open, and bokeh sees a surprising improvement (possibly due to closer focusing distance for same field of view). Also stopped down to f16 I'm seeing nice star flares (like DA15) - see f16 example below!
Its my most used lens on the K-1 and I have increased my ratings to reflect the performance on the K-1. Tempted to give it a 10 overall but build is not quite there.
Samples FF:
At f2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/32025960244
At f2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/32751914666
At f5.6: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/32611225171/
At f16: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/32867622422
APS-C:
Its a great lens and is particularly useful on a crop DSLR (field of view on crop is close to 50mm full frame).
Definitely had to spend some time fine tuning the auto focus (on the K-5) because it was out quite a bit. Once I dialed it in though it is returningg very sharp photos.
Its pretty sharp in the centre of the frame at f2 (a bit soft in the corners) and I find it very usable. Even better the contrast wide open is surprisingly good. Sweet spot seems to be f5.6 where it is very sharp across the frame. f4 is nearly as good as f5.6.
I have noticed a little CA at times but its pretty minimal.
The supplied hood is good and can be fitted in reverse over the lens body when not in used - protecting the lens.
So far I am happy with bokeh and have not seen anything I would call ugly but then when I am looking for bokeh I shoot mostly wide open. The lens can focus relatively closely too - which helps.
I have scored this lens 9. On one hand this seems a bit high given that there are better lenses around (costing more) on the other its a great all round lens and good value. The DA 35 f2.4 may well be the value king but I find f2 useful.
The more I use this lens, the more I'm liking it. I'm seeing a lot of good results even at f2. For example take a look at the second f2 image taken in bright contrasty light - there is a little CA (have not attempted to remove) on right side of the dragon head but otherwise its impressive with good contrast. Very comfortable with the 9 rating now and f2 really is handy.
Samples APS-C:
At f2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/10399776183/
At f2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/11316786296/
At f2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/12146154904/
At f4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/11233812534/
At f5.6: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/11320538734/ | | | | | Senior Member Registered: March, 2011 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 112
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 19, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $475.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | light, relatively small, fast auto focus, accurate auto focus, good built, fair price | | Cons: | noisy auto focus, no manual override, looks cheap | |
I use it with my K-5. Excellent lens! Very good IQ, good sharpness, even wide open at F2. It also renders a fairly smooth bokeh. It's light, fairly well built, and it auto focuses quickly and accurately. It looks cheap, but it's well built.
The FA35 is definitely a good alternative to the FA31 Ltd. According to Photozone tests, the sharpness from both are comparable. The FA35 is smaller and lighter than the FA31. But perhaps even more important, it's less than half the price!
I was under the impression that the FA35 was discontinued. But I bought it "new" recently at B&H.
Here's a photo taken with the FA35 on the K-5, wide open at F2. Focus point was on the strawberry.
Strawberry 1 by Armanius, on Flickr
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: February, 2016 Location: Moab, Utah Posts: 90
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 10, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $271.99
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | SHARP, close focusing, bokeh, flare resistance | | Cons: | manual focusing ring small, not smooth back and forth | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 5
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Sony a7ii, a7s
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This renders more resolution than any other 35mm lens I've used. It's sharper than Tak sharp. The floating element really shows in performance. This lens also resists flare better than any other SMC lens I've tried in 35mm focal length. The small size and light weight (but not too light) is nice. I do not like how small the focusing ring is and the fact that it's right on the front of the lens where my hands typically bump the hood as I focus. It also has a slight bounce when I shift focusing direction and I have seen this on the two copies I've tried. This is a bargain for current prices of 271.99 and a very nice lens. If you only own one 35mm lens, this is a good choice.
I also have and have compared in detail, this lens to the Takumar 1:4 f=35mm, Auto-Takumar 35mm f2.3, S-M-C Takumar 35mm f3.5, SMC K 35mm f2, and Pentax-M 35mm f2.8.. For anyone curious and wanting to compare, see my video for a comprehensive review with examples.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: January, 2012 Location: Tokyo Posts: 2,821
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 16, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $360.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, bright, focal length useful on both APS-C and film | | Cons: | Not great for manual focusing, no quick shift, no 24mm version available! | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 7
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K20D, K-01, MZ-3
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This was the first prime lens I bought and I think 35mm was the right focal length to choose. In regular use it has proven to be a very solid performer and a versatile lens. I can only echo all of the positive comments in the other reviews.
I use it a lot for low light because it's quite fast and sharp wide open. For night shots, hexagonal highlights are quite noticeable, but I personally don’t mind that. I also use it for head and shoulder portraits because it allows for good subject isolation. I should mention that there is some of purple fringing, which I notice with bright light sources at night, but rarely in well-lit scenes.
It has focused quickly on all the cameras I’ve tried it on. I’m now using it on a K-01 and it works well with the contrast detect autofocus. Perhaps because of the accuracy of CDAF or the better sensor, the sharpness with this camera-lens combination is really good.
My only hesitation in recommending the FA35 is the competition from other similar Pentax lenses, especially the newer plastic DA35, which seems to give you 95% of the performance for much less money. It was released shortly after I got it.
So I feel I have to rate this down a bit for value, but in truth I'm glad I paid the extra and got the hood, the case, the full frame coverage, the metal mount, the distance scale and the slightly brighter aperture, which is meaningful because it is still sharp at f2. I only wish it had silent focusing, weather resistance and the latest coatings to really justify it’s price.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2011 Location: ile de france Posts: 29
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 19, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good lens | | Cons: | No | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
| |
Bon objectif, solide, peu encombrant, bonne qualité optique
Prix abordable
Rapport qualité prix = Excellent
Il fait de très bonnes photos et toujours avec un super piqué...
La preuve en image
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eral95/6010913761/in/photostream/lightbox/
 | | | | | Otis Memorial Pentaxian Registered: March, 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Posts: 42,007
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 13, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $299.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Optical performance, wide maximum aperture, price | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
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I have owned the FA 35/2 for a number of months and figured I would add my review to the chorus. In short, it is a great lens and a standout performer. Here is my breakdown based on my personal experience:
Optical Performance- Sharp wide open
- Outstanding sharpness stopped down
- Good contrast
- Low CA (not noticeable in any of my photos)
- Some tendency to purple fringing, but no more so than my M 50/1.7
- Pleasing bokeh for the most part (see note below)
- Neutral color rendition
- Excellent resistance to flare
- Impressive optical performance extends to FF film use as well
Build- Mostly plastic body typical of the FA series primes
- Rubberized focus ring
- High level of fit/finish
- Good quality materials
Handling- Lightweight
- Very compact, about the same size as the FA 50/1.4
- Manual focus is very smooth with adequate travel lock-to-lock for accurate focus
- Large maximum aperture makes manual focus a pleasure
- Aperture ring is smooth in operation as well
- Auto focus is the fastest of my AF lenses
- No quick-shift focus when in AF mode
- A pleasure to have on the camera
Notes on Bokeh and Character
Some of the earlier posts made much of substandard bokeh and noted that the lens lacked "character" and produced "snapshot" quality images. Here are my thoughts on the matter.
My experience has been that the 35/2 has generally pleasing and smooth bokeh and is at least as good and usually better in that regard than most other lenses of the same general focal length. That being said...with a detailed, high contrast background, the bokeh can indeed look "busy". This is typical of sharp, high contrast, wide-angle optics. One can make comparison to the FA 50/1.4, but frankly the comparison is apples and oranges. One should no more make that comparison than to compare the FA 50 with my Jupiter-9 85mm. The more appropriate comparison would be to other 28-35mm lenses.
As for lack of "character"...The 35/2 is a pretty straight-forward lens. Sorry, but no "pixie dust" here. It will reproduce pretty much what you see in the viewfinder without inserting much in the way of magic/quirks. I guess that is what you get with neutral color rendition, consistent sharpness, low flare, and good contrast. I appreciate "magic" as much as the next guy (three "magical" lenses: FA 77/1.8 limited, Jupiter-9 85/2, and Zenitar 16/2.8 share space in my bag), but I also appreciate consistent excellent behavior and am proud to proclaim that the 35/2 is almost always on my camera.
Steve
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2011 Location: Brno Posts: 295
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 12, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Size,weight, F2 | | Cons: | 6 bladed aperture = hexagonal bokeh, purple fringing, problems on contrast edges | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 8
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K20D, K5, K3, EPL-6
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Years ago I liked this lens much as it was able to provide my K20D with enough light even in low-light scenarios and it also had very pleasant F2 bokeh when shooting wide open. I've captured many portraits with this lens. It is capable of providing quite good resolution. But it has also the dark part. Aperture has 6 straight aperture blades and once you close the lens to lets say F2.8 to improve sharpness, you can also find unpleasing hexahonal bokeh in background if you have any light sources or contrast shapes in background. For example light reaching through tree leaves. Lens was perfectly sharp at F2-2.8 on older low-resolution bodies like K100D, K10D. With K20D the optimum is rather from F2.4 and for hi-res bodies like K3 aperture value around F2.8-F3.2 is needed to feed the sensor with enough fine detail. If you have some light sources or again those contrast areas in background it can show nasty pink artifacts around (purple fringing). Sometimes it can be removed in PP, sometimes not.
When I bought Sigma 17-50/2.8 I used this lens and FA*24/2 and FA50/1.4 less and less. That zoom is more resistant to any fringing, has less aberations, has no issues with light sources during concerts and provides very good image even with F3.2 aperture. So then the FA35/2 has less advantages.
And later I bought mighty Sigma 35/1.4 and also brutal zoom Sigma 18-35/1.8. Both those lenses are generation above FA35/2 with better fine resolution, much less CA, no PF etc.. and so now my FA35/2 mostly resides in cabinet. But it has one advantage - it is small light lens. So sometimes Im using it as low-light complement to DA18-135/3.5-5.6 WR for small bag light walks. Or even on my Olympus M4/3 adapted.
AF is fast, quite usable, mostly hits close, but it is not extremely accurate. Live view sometimes helps with accuracy.
Lens can also be reversed using 49mm K mount reverse ring and it then is turned into high magnification macro lens, which I used couple times for taking pictures of SMD component microsections.
And of course it has aperture ring, so it works even on my fully manual Revue film camera, while Sigma 35/1.4 cannot be used there as it requires aperture control from camera.
In general if the price is good and you have no plans with Sig35/1.4, buy this lens and be happy. It does the job well. Just keep thinking about limitations while shooting. Check background when taking pictures. And do proper AF fine tuning for your camera.
K20D, F2:
Hexagonal bokeh in background.. F2.8
 | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2022 Posts: 11
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 21, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $169.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Rich contrasty colors | | Cons: | Some distortion I think | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K70
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[IMG] [/IMG]First of all I am not a technical lens reviewer. I just shoot and I know if I like the pictures or not. In 2021 I purchased a K70 and a 40 MM XS. I wanted this to be my primary set up. However I found the 40 mm field of view to be a bit tight. The reviews here helped convinced me to give it a try. I purchased on a Ebay for a whopping $169 and it was in near mint from Japan. Anyway I absolutely love this lens. The rich contrasty colors are fantastic. Part of my photographic process is to only shoot with one prime lens and this lens has been perfect for that. I shoot a lot of buildings in rural Iowa and I do notice some lens distortion. I couldn't be happier with this lens combined with the K70. Perfect weight, I often walk with the camera held by the camera grip and the weight and balance is perfect.[IMG][IMG] [/IMG][/IMG][IMG] [/IMG]
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: California Posts: 67
2 users found this helpful
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