| Author: | | New Member Registered: January, 2024 Posts: 24 | | Review Date: February 4, 2024 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, good image quality | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5
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The lens is sharp, and good quality. The bokeh is nice.
Not very much aberrations. Overall a good lens.
  | | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2016 Location: Tirana Posts: 780
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 22, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Versatile, sharp, full of character | | Cons: | Prone to CA, fringing and flare, | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K1
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I owned two copies of this lens(currently on my second one), and the difference in quality was tangible.
The first copy was built in Taiwan or the Philippines, don't remember correctly and it suffered from some audible loose assembly and most importantly some haze in the balsam in the form of tiny bubbles. I suspect the previous owner had forgot it under the sunlight. The pictures suffered from low contrast and low resolution overall, but still they had a lot of character.
The second copy though, was made in Japan, and it shows. The lens is tightly built and it is very clean and clear on the inside.
I really love the pictures it produces. there's purple fringe here and there but nothing one cannot correct in PP.
I also believe this quality variance is also one of the reasons why there seems to be a division between its users here.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2021 Location: North Country Posts: 18
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 3, 2021 | Not Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 2 |
| Pros: | Small size, Well-controlled vignetting | | Cons: | Very poor sharpness, terrible mechanical design | | Sharpness: 2
Aberrations: 3
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 5
Handling: 2
Value: 3
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-1 II
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Probably the worst auto-focus era 50mm prime from a major camera manufacturer. This lens isn't even in the same ballpark as the offerings from Minolta, Canon, or Nikon.
The sharpness is terrible, the lens is almost unusable wider than f4.0, though you may try to get away with some portraits at f2.8, the terrible green fringing around everything will ruin whatever the lack of sharpness did not. This lens is wholly inappropriate as a landscape lens on the K-1 II, being unable to capture crisp detail across the frame at f8.0, as if it has a vintage UV filter from 1965 permanently attached. To its credit(?), it is pretty even across the frame with minimal vignetting, but this is trivial to correct with most modern software. This lens also lacks a lot of innate contrast and really needs a bump in post to keep images from looking washed out.
There is green fringing apparent even when stopped down, it's relatively minimal and only around high contrast areas at f8.0 but is pretty much uncontrolled at wider apertures.
The build is terrible, being made of cheap plastic with an extending inner barrel, the focus ring is an overly grippy rubber bumper on the front of the lens.
It focuses fine.
Bokeh looks about like most 50mm 1.4 lenses from its time with no notable qualities.
Would not recommend using this lens unless you're either shooting film or literally cannot afford something better
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,089
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 15, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $335.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent optics, fast maximum apeture. Good size for a 50mm prime. | | Cons: | A bit too much plastic for my taste. (No hood or case included in box) | | New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax manual and auto focus film bodies.
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The FA50/1.4 was released in 1991 and replaced the similar F50/1.4. Not sure if the FA50/1.4 is actually still being made, but you can still buy it new from some camera stores. I bought mine new in February 2021 and it’s available by special order from Pentax Canada.
Optics:
Excellent optics and bokeh, not bad wide open as well.
Focal Range:
The 50mm (+55mm) normal/standard lens is one of the “big three” film lenses and the biggest selling lens of all time. You can use it for pretty well everything. On APS-C you don’t get the same versatility.
Build:
Decent build, but there is more plastic than other Pentax 50/1.4 lenses.
Usage/Handling:
The FA50/1.4 is a nice sized 50mm prime and the handling is pretty good for an auto focus lens. The focusing ring could be a bit bigger, but is acceptable. Both it and the aperture ring are also not as smooth as an older manual focus lens. I only manual focus this lens, so no auto focusing comments. The distance scale is behind a plastic window and is OK, but not great.
I bought the Pentax collapsible round rubber "RH-RC 49mm" hood for my FA50/1.4, as well as the soft S70-70 lens case.
Speed:
F/1.4 is the Pentax “fast 50” that most people will end up buying and it’s great for all lighting conditions. The FA50/1.7 & A50/1.2 were slower and faster options available alongside the FA50/1.4’s production run.
The FA50/1.4 vs my other 50mm f1.4 normal/standard primes:
I also own the K50/1.4 & A50/1.4 and like the 50/1.7 lenses, are all very similar. The optics are the same, as well as the minimum focusing distance and all are also around the same physical size. The only difference is the build/handling and the K50/1.4 is way above the others in build and is also slightly bigger for much better handling.
I rated the K50/1.4 a 9.5, the A50/1.4 a 9 and will rate the FA50/1.4 a 9 as well.
Summary:
The FA50/1.4 and the other 50/1.4 lenses that I own are excellent fast 50’s, however when I’m reaching for a 50mm lens I usually go for either my K or A50/1.2. They have better optics, bokeh and are a ½ stop faster than the 50/1.4’s. For an extra few hundred dollars they’re worth it.
Price:
I purchased my FA50/1.4 lens new at a local camera shop and it cost $420.00CDN. Note a new FA50/1.4 lens does not come with a hood or case.
Sample shots taken with the FA50/1.4. Photos are medium resolution scans from original slides and negatives. All shots were taken in Vancouver, Canada.
Camera: *ist Film: Kodak Pro Image 100 ISO: 100
Camera: MZ-S Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100 ISO: 100
Camera: SF1n Film: Ilford FP4 Plus 125 ISO: 125
 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2019 Posts: 12 | | Review Date: April 26, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good value, compact, wide aperture | | Cons: | Occasional optical issues, show a bit its age | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K7, Pentax K1 MkII
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A very good everyday glass and a nice entry-level trainer among wide aperture primes. This lens will save you multiple time in low-light scenario, allowing you to get the last bits of light available. I use it to stay below 1/30 when shooting handled to avoid breaking the 3000 ISO barrier. On the other hand it usually bites me back when I carelessly shoot below F2.8 without thinking about DoF and the subject has a focused nose and blurry eyes. Setting your line program to MTF can help.
When you'll have mastered its few quirks, it'll likely become your "default" lens, unless you own some of the more recent expensive alternatives zooms like the HD Pentax-D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR. Covering the full-frame, it even manages to make the K1 a somewhat compact kit, especially compared to bigger wide-aperture zooms like the 24-70 or bigger primes (D-FA* 50mmm F1.4). It shows however its age on the autofocus side (screwdrive) and the lack of weather sealing.
It can almost allow some macro shoots, especially on APS-C. Some occasional optical issues in complex shoots (visible on the picture below, shot on the K7)
Insanely sharp at F10 in good light conditions on the K1
The lens do OK flare-wise (from my limited experience) - K1 as well
 | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2020 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 31, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $199.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Petite, huge light gathering ability, low distortion, smooth bokeh | | Cons: | Build quality and durability, limited DOF scale, focussing ring. | | Sharpness: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: MZ5n/MX/KX
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Overall, this a nice 50mm 1.4 for the Pentax mount. At one stage on my MZ5n, I thought it was a bit un-sharp at distance but when I used the same lens on an MX or KX found this not to be the case. It was I think the MZ5n's focussing system.
Distortion is well controlled and I love the 8 bladed aperture. Colours are great. Bokeh is smoother and less nervous than any 50mm 1.4 Nikkor.
I only ever use my Pentax lenses on film cameras. The FA 50mm 1.4 gets swallowed up by my KX and I therefore prefer the 50mm A 1.4 and its more comprehensive DOF scale and handling.
The 50mm FA proves that Pentax can make great glass and I think that this is still a very desirable and under-rated lens.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2020 Posts: 131
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 11, 2020 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very fast and very sharp; small and light, making it very versatile; good AF | | Cons: | focusing ring and aperture ring not the best designs; no dedicated hood | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: LX, PZ-1, K10D, K-3 II, K-1 II
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This is definitely near the top of my lens collection in terms of sharpness, and it's the fastest lens that I own.
I bought this lens many years ago (so whatever the standard new price would have been in the late 1990s, I guess).
For me, this lens is highly versatile. It performs about the best among all my lenses in autofocus (perhaps because of the lens' speed and large glass), with relatively little hunting even in low light and complex situations; now, this is with non-moving targets, so please understand my autofocus grading in that light -- but when I move quickly from stationary target to stationary target, the AF locks on quickly with no hunting most of the time. I can use this 50-mm f/1.4 lens well with my Pentax 2X converters (A 2X-S; K T6-2X), giving me an instant 100-mm f/2.8 lens with excellent optical results. Thus, if I'm packing lightly for a trip or a hike, I can bring just my small 50-mm lens and an even-smaller 2X converter to give me both 50- and 100-mm lenses that are fast and sharp.
This lens is also versatile to me for macro photography by using my three Pentax K macro extension tubes -- great for close-ups of flowers -- even though this is not a macro lens. The speed of the lens allows for sharp, hand-held macro photos because you can use such fast shutter speeds. I've also used this lens at the other extreme -- for astrophotography, with good results. Chromatic aberration may be slight in extreme conditions but for most purposes it is close to zero. As for sharpness, I'm limited only by the pixel size in my K-3 II camera (when magnifying images on my computer greatly), and I'm eager to try it out on my forthcoming K-1 II.
My main gripes are that the aperture ring has always been stiff (not smooth), though it works fine; it's just that with this lens, it's a long, rocky turn on the aperture ring from f/1.4 to f/8. The aperture ring is thick and (even though next to the camera/mount) is flush with the width of the rest of the lens, so it's easy to turn the 360-degree aperture ring from any side even with fat fingers (aside from the high degree-of-friction just noted). And the thin manual-focus ring is not my idea of a great focusing ring, but it works; it rotates about 150 degrees from infinity (counterclockwise as seen from the back of the camera) to shortest focus, so it does allow a fair amount of room to get fine focus.
My only other wish would have been for a good dedicated lens hood; mine did not come with it new, so I assume that there is none. It really needs a hood with its big glass. For years I suffered along with a cheap round rubber screw-on hood, but rubber hoods always seem to get distorted easily on the outside rubber (i.e., bent in here and there), so I opted to buy a new 49-mm screw-in round metal hood (Sensei Pro) from B&H, only $9, but it should have come with the lens. But overall, this lens is fabulous, and it's hard to give it anything less than a "10" as an overall rating; the aperture ring and focusing ring just aren't big-enough negatives to bring that down (I'd rate it "9.5" if there was an option for something other than whole digits).
Here's a photo with the lens on my camera:
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Posts: 1,851 | | Review Date: August 6, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Classic lens, cant go wrong with it | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K5, K100, KX, film cameras
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The same classic optical formula (7elements 6 groups) that has been carried over from the Super-Takumar era (1965) on a small package
The lens is plasticky when compared to the older versions, but still feels solid, both autofocus and manual focus are smooth
Some purple fringing in the corners when wide open but then the center becomes important, and having large areas out of focus is a big plus to provide the dreamy feeling of the 1.4.
At 2.0 the specular lights become octogonal, per the 8 diaphragm blades
PS. Purple fringing is gone in cameras after K5, with lens correction
Camera has a hard time at 1.4 with focusing and light
With the K3-III the images are great, color rendition still beautiful; fringing is well corrected
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2018 Location: Tokyo Posts: 10 | | Review Date: June 13, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | f1.4 | | Cons: | purple fringin, AF | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: KP
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Fast lens, good bokeh, color rendering not as good as the Limiteds, even the zoom one.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2020 Posts: 6 | | Review Date: April 29, 2020 | Not Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | perfect | | Cons: | I do not find | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Ks-2
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I had da50мм 1.8 , but this one is faster and sharp
my first photo
unique bokeh
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2017 Location: Medellín Posts: 1,322
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 10, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $345.99
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Small and compact, AF. | | Cons: | | |
This is a nice standard lens. Sharpest at f/4. A bit soft and dreamy wide open. Only difference I could find with the M version are the newer coatings and of course the exterior and AF. Originally got it for my K-5 around 2011 but stays mostly on my MZ-S now.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2019 Posts: 18
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 27, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharpness, handling, fast aperture, good bokeh | | Cons: | low contrast backlight, some CA (easly removable), plastic but it helps for lightness | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K1
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This is one of my best Pentax lens, maybe the best one. Consider it is compared to my other lens like FA * 80-200, 24, 28-70 and F* 300. Thanks to this lens I carry my heavy K1 every where  I use it especially for my son's portrait and it gives me awesome sharpness, colors, contrast and definitely wonderful memories. IMHO this lens is underestimated, maybe because pro user wants more subjects pop and creamy bokeh. For this you can buy 85mm A or FA star. I can say this lens is fine at full aperture, but in some situation you can have CA and loss of contrast especially in backlight condition. When you stop down from F1.8 this lens is a pleasure, like a dream.
Full aperture 1.4 is very useful for my nighty video clips, it helps me to not push iso (I don't like high ISO
on video) and at same time great bokeh. Very good focus ring, quite smoothly. Constructions is fine, even there is too many plastic, but it helps lightness of this lens.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2011 Posts: 485
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 7, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | price, image quality, aperture | | Cons: | Some CA in worst conditions, not the fastest AF | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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This lens represents a good value for money especially for full-frame users. The images are sharp, have beautiful rendition, and have little flaws. In the worst conditions (severely back lit subjects) CA can get pretty bad, but I have only noticed it on APS-C, probably because of that extra crop making it more visible. I'm sure it's there on full-frame, just have never stress tested it to compare, but I just don't see it.
For the price, if you're looking for a standard lens length fast prime with AF for full-frame, I think this is the best one.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2012 Location: Wild-Nord-East Hungary Posts: 149 | | Review Date: September 3, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | all | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-3 II
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... like a beautiful dream ...
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: June, 2009 Location: VA Posts: 48 | | Review Date: August 25, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast Lens | | Cons: | None so far | | Sharpness: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-50
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Hi,
I recently bought think lens and this exceeded all my expectations.
I was not sure what condition this lens will be as i bought it used and luckly this is in very good condition.
I am surprised how fast this lens is and how quickly i can focus.
Thanks
Sateesh
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;)
;)
