| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 744
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 9, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Personality, build, colour, sharpness, OOF renderings | | Cons: | Personality, sharpness, lens cap. | |
I have a love-hate relationship with this lens. Back when I got it, I traded in a rather fancy light meter to get this lens and loved it on my MZ-S. It was probably my most used, most loved lens. Absolutely worth the cost and the loss of a light meter. Then digital came.
For digital, it's a nice short telephoto but I never purchased it with that intent. The result is it gets left out sometimes as it's now within a range that I traditionally don't use that much.
OOF renderings are wonderful and once past f/4.0, sharpness picks up significantly. By F/8, it rivals anything you could compare it to and there have been times when it's out-done my 77mm. Below f/4.0 sharpness suffers. This is good on digital for portaits but not so good when doing detail work at wide apertures in nature photography. I've never seen such a distinctive lens when it's used at wider apertures as this one - but it's a double-edged sword - the creamy-ness can be a blessing or a curse depending on subject matter and the artists intent.
I love the colours this produces - especially on E100VS film. It seems to have a hint of warmth to it - but not so much that it jeopardizes an image.
I dislike the lens-hood and I don't think much good can be said of the lens-caps for either the 77mm or 43mm. Minor gripes, but gripes all the same. A standard 49mm lens-cap is ideal if you don't mind leaving the hood/original lens-cap back at the house.
If absolute sharpness at all apertures is what you're after, pass this one by. If you're looking for a lens with personality though, this one will deliver the goods. It's got just enough quirk to it to keep it with me.
I should also mention that while I generally prefer a more substantial lens, the size of this lens means you can put it in a pocket as a second lens and never notice the load. I will often bring it along with me when I'm using my 400mm as the second in a two lens kit for a day of hiking and bird photography as the weight/size is not noticeable.
There's two reasons why I would never part with this lens. Firstly, it has personality. Secondly, film isn't dead yet and on that medium, this lens offers the (IMHO) perfect general-use angle of view.
2009-08-16
Just some additional thoughts regarding this lens.
After my initial review, I finally figured out how to use this lens with the APS-C format. In fact, it has become my go-to lens and it's the only lens I'll ever take along as a 1 lens day of shooting. Laughably, when I got my 16-50 lens, a lot of times I'd find I'd zoomed in to 43mm when I checked the exif data. This is how much I've come to use the 43mm ltd.
Overall, I'm sticking with my 7/10 rating, because absolute sharpness and contrast wide-open are lacking. Having said that, those "flaws" have been key ingredients to some of the best photos I've taken of my family.
Like I said before, this lens has personality. That character and how it changes with aperture selection makes this 7/10 lens more prized that any other lens I currently own.
Final thought about this lens. With some of my frustrations with the k10 (prior to the announcement of the k-7), I was on the verge of ditching my Pentax gear. About the only thing that prevented that is I couldn't afford 2 systems and I wasn't going to do without being able to use this lens.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: London, England Posts: 1,187
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 4, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Lovely redering quality and bokeh | | Cons: | A rather specialised focal length on APSC | |
My main use for this lens is as a group-portrait lens. Its wide aperture softness is actually a blessing in this respect, and the bokeh does it proud. Colour is a little warm but this works well for flesh tones.
Stopped doen this lens is sharp, as one would expect for a limited. However wide-open it is softer than most expect and this only gradually improves at F4, which is a good portrait aperture on this lens.
However on general shooting at F8 this lens produces some of the best, richest and most contrasty picture I have - I just wish it was a bit wider because I'd use it a lot more.
Breakdown:
Usefulness: 6 - not as useful on APSC as it would be on 35mm but a great group portrait lens.
Build quality: 10 - built to last.
Sharpness: 8 - softness at wide-open becomes very sharp at F8.
Colour: 10 - nothing else I own comes close, even the 77.
Contrast: 10 - as above
Distortion: 8 - slight pincushion ends up being flattering in portraits.
CA/flare: 9 - there is some CA but flare is not too bad considering the rather daft lens hood.
Bokeh: 9.5 - one of the best.
Overall - if you need a low-tele portrait lens this is as good as it gets. Not as much use as a low light lens as one may think, and less versatile on an APSC crop.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 593 | | Review Date: March 29, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Diminutive, excellent build wuality, superb image quality | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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My most recent lens acquisition is fast becoming a favourite. For my purposes, it is an excellent focal length for portraits, small group shots and other photos requiring a short telephoto effect where a subject needs isolation and to be the main focal point highlight. The lens has excellent bokeh which makes highlighting the main subject a real treat.
Being small, it is great for candid type photography.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2007 Location: Toronto/Victoria Posts: 460 | | Review Date: April 21, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Wonderful imaging, small, decent manual focusing | | Cons: | None | |
This is a stunning lens. It's a little more personal than a 50mm on film so for slight compession effects it's just about perfect since you don't have to be too far from subjects, yet it fits more in the field of view than a 50mm on digital.
In strong lighting with large apertures (1.9-2.2) there is just a little bit of softness around bright objects. Much less than 50mm lenses. Beyond, it's nice and sharp, especially if not focusing at infinity.
Two substantial differences from 50mm lenses is that 1) it is nice and contrasty wide open and 2) there is a sense of dimensionality that I had trouble getting with 50mm lenses (I may be kidding myself but I think there is a difference)
This lens also works very well on my MX as a true normal.
| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 115 | | Review Date: May 26, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $430.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Bokeh, Sharpness, 3D look, color, rendering, Aperture Ring | | Cons: | none | |
I bought the 43mm Limited a few months ago. i must say this is "THE" lens for me.
I love every aspect of this lens, and could not have possibly asked for anything better 
This lens has practically replaced my FA50/1.4 (although I will be keeping the fast 50 as well). The color and image rendering is very similar to my F*300, which I love.
My kit is becoming complete. DA21mm, FA43, D-FA100 (to be purchased), and F*300! I think I will also buy the DA*60-250 once it becomes available.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 924 | | Review Date: June 3, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $479.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Rendering, Bokeh, IQ, Sharpness, Build, MF feel, | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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An outstanding lens.
And one of my three standard kit primes.
The rendering and bokeh of this lens is among the best there is, if not the best.
It is sharp from wide open and by f4 I think it is sharper than any lens I have used.
It is a bit of an odd FOV on the cropped sensor, but I have grown to like it a lot as a short tele and prefers it over any other offering in the short tele range.
It has put my FA50 completely out of work.
a very special lens, get it while you can.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2007 Location: Phoenix Posts: 1,056
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 16, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Image quality, build quality, near-pancake size | | Cons: | Lens hood and cap | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K100D, K2, MX
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This is the lens the FA50 should be. It looks very similar to the M 50/1.7, and it is almost the exact same dimensions. It is basically an AF version of the old M fast 50's -- what could be better?
As has been stated before, images are a bit soft wide open, but I think that perception is due in large part to how stunningly sharp this lens is at f/4 and f/5.6. This is also a TINY lens, smaller even than the DA21, one of the "pancake" lenses.
My only beef is with the lens hood, which makes the lens much longer, and with the odd-dimension cap that fits on the end of it. I think I'll try to pick up a slide-on cap for the DA21, which fits right over the 49mm filter threads. Unless it's really needed, I'd rather leave the hood off this beautiful, tiny lens anyway.
Overall, my second-favorite lens after the FA31. And at about half the price, a much higher IQ:$ ratio.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783 | | Review Date: January 28, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $280.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Well made, compact, beautiful, dreamy look | | Cons: | Soft wide open, difficult to take off the lens hood | | New or Used: New
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A beautiful lens. To be used between f2.4 to f5.6 to create the typical dreamy look, working the best in overcast weather or blue hue scenes.
A great protrait lens on APC sensor.
My sample shots are shown here
My FA 43mm f1.9 shots | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: NJ USA Posts: 13,072 | | Review Date: February 29, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $340.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | iq on film, beautiful color and rendering | | Cons: | too cute? | |
A little jewel. I like the changing character as you stop down. A stop or so down, the lens is sharp indeed across the frame.
I find flare resistance top notch, with very little CA and a lot of detail retained in my torture test.
This lens for me works extremely well with film, effortless and with just the right perspective (I tend to struggle with both 35 and 50mm, composition wise, on film). Manual focus is a bit fiddly as the ring is small.
Tonal gradations are well rendered, with both color and b&w film (and digital too).
I've learned more about how to use the 43 on digital. It produces excellent, natural detail, good color and contrast, and did I mention how natural the detail is?
When new, the lens hood was screwed on tight enough that I doubted it actually came off. It did, eventually.
On balance this is the best lens I own.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 3,953 | | Review Date: May 16, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Nice rendering, build quality, small size | | Cons: | Needs to be stopped down to get optimum performance | |
Nice to hold, nice to behold. Excellent colour rendering.
Sharpness is good but lens shows its best stopped down.
Weakness is purple fringing of specular highlights at wide apertures.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: April, 2008 Location: Facebook - See ya there. Posts: 248
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 6, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build quality, size, 'rendering', bokeh due to speed, speed | | Cons: | Corners @ f1.9-2.8, focus speed | |
Obviously, this is quality glass in a quality package - the build quality is compact yet 'tank-like'. Hard to describe, but as you place it on your camera body (I use a K100D Super) you'll feel like you've equipped yourself with a classic that can serve to fill the middle of your lens lineup. The focal length is useable indoors and out - and the lens is useable wide open with minor reservations. The lens produces shots with great depth and contrast... subjectively it is again... a 'classic' feeling lens, like I'm shooting with something that has some of the film spirit still in it. Should last for years and hold value if resale is a factor.
The lens lacks critical sharpness at f1.9-2.8... what I mean by that is for critical work I wouldn't shoot wider than 2.8 - then again I am not a pro and often enjoy shooting people indoors in low-light/no-flash. The general feel and rendering of this lens far overshadow this perceived weakeness, but it may matter for some. The autofocus with this lens is slower than both the DA21 and DA70 on my K100D Super... for whatever that may mean to some. It is by no means slow. Sometimes I do find myself wishing the lens focused slightly closer as well, hence my overall rating... 9/10.
[EDIT: After using the FA43 Ltd. for nearly a year with the K20D, I've discovered it is actually a much better lens than I originally thought. I'd call it a 9.49 at this point, with my main gripe being the relatively slow autofocus, especially if it starts hunting in low-light situations. I've got no qualms about using this lens at f2 - it is all character and performance even wide-open. It may even be an improved lens as the K-7 comes out and introduces presumably faster AF. Compared to the FA31 it is absolutely tiny in size; a true pancake with a great lenshood.
EDIT: After using the FA43 Ltd. for nearly two years - with the K100D Super, the K20D, and most recently the K-7, it is certainly a classy optic and is 'optimized' by the K-7's snappy AF system. Even better than with the K20, the FA43's AF shortcomings are nearly overcome with the updated K-7.]
A slowly updating gallery of shots taken by me with this lens can be found at the following link: http://photobucket.com/PentaxFA43
43mm @ f2.5
43mm @f2.5
43mm @f2.5
43mm @ f2.8
43mm @ f4
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Kaunas Posts: 1,458
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 24, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $380.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, contrast, colour, buid quality | | Cons: | Bokeh sometimes not too good | |
This lens is a phenomenal short portait lens for DSLR with APS-C sensor.
Very sharp even wide open, bokeh is very good when odject is in close focussing distance.
My only gripe about this lens is not so pleasant bokeh when focussing distance is 2-3 meters.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2007 Location: Pressburg, Eur Posts: 19 | | Review Date: September 28, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build, light, compact, "soul"; fast (by today's standards and for any practical purposes on digital) | | Cons: | Slightly pleasing the subject wide open - not exactly a con, more of an in-built option | | New or Used: Used
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All what has been said: a diva. Image characteristics change by stopping down which is why it won't please chart peepers; for the rest of us, at apertures from wide open up to ~f4.0-f.5.0 capable of producing the otherwordly dreamy look that has become instantly recognisable to me from just looking at the pics taken with it; no other lens I have used can do this (and this kind of magic). Stopped down a little (already at f2.2) frighteningly sharp, dof rendering and its zones of transition to out-of-focus areas give the images that very particular "pop-out" feel reminiscent of old German lenses. Warm colours; great contrast. On digital crop a rather odd length at first but once you find out ideal for interior parties and small group portraiture in ambient lighting and generally for night snapshots; my "fast 50". A lightly snobby delight and a differentiator gem (in more than one sense) of its own.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2008 Location: France Posts: 128 | | Review Date: October 27, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $380.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Color rendering, shapness, bokeh | | Cons: | None, up to now ... | |
I have bought this lens a few weeks ago, and, since then, it has replaced my 50/1.4 and my 85/1.8 on my K10D.
Will not comment the build quality, which is simply fantastic today, where 99% are made of plastic. When manually focused, it doesn't feel like a tank, as my old Takumars, nevertheless you understand you are focusing a precision mechanism.
In a few weeks it has become my most favorite lens, wonderful for group portraits or for big subjects (horses, cars, bands) pictures.
Personally, i found it a bit soft wide open (which could be good for portraits), but at f/2.8 the sharpness increases and, starting at f/4, it is simply fantastic. Despite other owners comments, i have found its bokeh quite pleasant (at least, after a few weeks of usage).
This is my first Limited lens, after two years spent with some Takumars and Pentax-K lenses, but now i can't wait to get my next Limited, the FA-77 ...
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: socal Posts: 1,575 | | Review Date: December 31, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | fast, nice bokeh, wonderful look | | Cons: | none significant | |
I'd likely give this a 9.5 if I could. Excellent lens, though I've had an up and down relationship with it in my brief ownership. I actually was interested in it because I wanted something just a tad longer than my 35ltd. For whatever reason I wanted a fast lens where the viewfinder would reflect the same size as naked eye (which the 43 does for m).
Right out of the box it took one of the best portrait shots I've seen. Then I started to pixel peep a bit (bad kitty!) and noticed that it could be a bit soft open. I often shoot in low light, so f1.9 is a common occurance. Then I picked up a 31ltd and started swapping back and forth between the 43, 31 and 35ltd. Once I quit worrying about details and instead focus on the images I was getting, I seriously warmed up to the 43. And in fact I ended up sending the 31 back, preferring the 35/43 combo (43 when I need the extra speed). It might not be the best testing lens but I don't care about machine tests or brick wall photos. This lens has a tendency to just get great shots, especially of people. It isn't quite as magic as my 77, but it is a close second.
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