| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2013 Location: Houston TX Posts: 265
18 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 16, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $199.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast sharp great short portrait lens on cropped sensor | | Cons: | Takes skill to use | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K3
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As another reviewer noted this is a lens that needs a lens hood to cut down on flare wide open. The contrast really goes up with a lens hood.
Purple fringing is not "chromatic aberration". We forget that light is electro - magnetic radiation. When light is bright enough the electric field can become so intense as to take optical elements out of the linear range and into the non-linear. Non linear elements cause frequency doubling and infra-red gets doubled into blue-purple visible light. Laser experimenters sometimes use this effect to double infra-red lasers into visible light. I suspect the optical element causing purple fringing is the optical cement used to glue lens elements together - although some glasses could go non-linear in bright light. In any case the Nikon 50 F1.4 is a much worse offender as far as purple fringing goes. Stopping down greatly reduces the purple fringing because it lowers the intensity of the light.
Others have noted focusing problems at f1.4; this is really operator error. While shake reduction handles left-right and up-down body motion, it can't do anything about the fact that the human body sways toward and away from the object we are photographing. Because of the shallow depth of field at f1.4 it doesn't take much sway for the actual taken shot to be focused off the subject even though the lens was focused when the indicator light lit.
Using any fast lens wide open - hand held - is a bit like firing a sniper rifle; breathing and heart beat matter, as does foot placement. If you are right eyed put your right foot forward, pigeon toe your feet in to lock in place. This will help turn your body sway to left right - which the shake reduction can handle - instead of to and fro - which it can't handle. Squeeze the 'trigger' instead of stabbing it. Bottom line: we can't blame a lens for our lack of shooting skill.
Because I use the single spot in the center to focus and then shift to compose, I have had to learn to see my body sway happening in the viewfinder and take the picture in rhythm with it. Remember the subject sways also.
Forget about live view wide open and hand held; the camera needs to be welded to the head for you to have a decent chance of hitting focus. I braced my elbows on the bar for this shot of bartender Kai taken with a K3 - iso 100 1/13 sec @ f1.4.
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9 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 8, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $265.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Small, light, affordable, sharp, nice rendering | | Cons: | loud focussing, no quick-shift, flare/haze | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K5
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I can't rate this lens more than 8 (But I'm guessing many others would rate it a 9+ based on the same feedback I'm providing) but I do so because of its rather old design, its build and mechanics and its rendering in harsh lighting situations. However... in this rendering lies its charms too. It is an excellent lens and I believe in the world of fast 50's from any manufacturer it stands up really well. I'm enjoying mine more, the more I use it. See bottom comments relative to FA43 and DA70 both of which I have owned. The 50 stacks up but in slightly different ways.
Side note: I have had both made in Japan and assembled in Vietnam versions of this lens. The only difference I can tell between them is the spelling of the country where the manufacturing took place.
Back to the lens performance.
It has a lot of character. People talk about the 31's and 77's and 43's but this lens has a lot of character too. If we're talking about 3D effect, I've taken some portraits at f/3.2 that I felt I could positively jump inside.
It is a smooth lens. The look and feel is not clinical but real and organic. Could we say 'analog' vs digital?
Bokeh can be busy from 1.4-1.8 if the background is close to the focus plane. But further away it blends in nicely. At f/2 it absolutely smooths out. No halos, no rings, no aberations. Just smooth and buttery. f/2 is really a nice aperture to work in because it provides enough depth of focus but beautifully throws off-focus elements into pleasing blur.
In terms of sharpness, I believe it performs as well as anything in the 50mm breed, including some stellar macros I've used, at equivalent apertures.
At 1.4-1.6 it is soft on the edges, somewhat sharp in the middle but the key factor is a certain haze or veiling to the images. That is limiting and it is what it is. It also sounds like standard fare for a f/1.4 50mm. At 1.8 there is a visible improvement in all aspects and the images turn much clearer but contrast is still a bit low. But at f/2 everything changes for the better very noticeably. It is downright great at f/2 and I could shoot all day here. As you go up from there it is simply excellent. I have shots at f/2.8 and f/3.2 that are stunning in their clarity, dimension and contrast. In the middle aperture range, it's 10/10. Very reliable and satisfying performance.
I haven't gotten a hood for it but I should. With the front lens element so far forward there's nothing to protect it from cross lighting. Shooting directly into the sun can be a wash out. But that's not necessarily a negative in my perspective. There are some stunning and creative effects to be achieved. It's not a "literal" lens in protecting you against any imperfections or sanitizing all the life out of your shots. It breaths and reacts and provides very interesting character. If you're interested in it, then you have to understand that. It wants you to be interesting, not clinical.
Mechanics are fairly basic but still it's mid-range, not kit. Focus is noisy on K5 but nothing like the DA55-300 which is a whiner. It is very quick to focus. Zoom ring has a nice rubber feel. And you've still got aperture ring and distance scale. Old school benefits. I'm not worried about it lasting, neither will I throw it at anything hard.
If those of us Pentax land aren't glad there's such an affordable, high quality, competitive (within it's class) fast 50, we should spend some more time with the FA50/1.4. I had an FA43 and a DA70. I like the 50 the best so far. Miss the metal build, but like the optics. Long-term, one has to consider relative quality and value. But what are you spending here? Not much. If I get over the brand caché of "limited", and understand there's nothing to lose in this investment, this one provides what counts. I've much more to learn about its responses and what it can provide in beautiful images.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2010 Posts: 2,395
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 8, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $275.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | great bokeh, desireable softness wide open, incredible sharpness stopped down, very tight feel, good AF | | Cons: | flare - use a hood, not going to give you sharp pictures wide open so don't expect wonders for low light photography | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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I can only think of one "con", and this con is why I bought the lens in the first place. It's rather soft and dreamy wide open. Why is this a con? Well, if you plan on shooting in ultra-dark environments and want f1.4 to give you more light, you might be disappointed. I believe the Sigma (much more expensive) is what you want for that kind of work.
However below f2 is rather wonderful for getting an ethereal look to your images. I bought this lens specifically for that look. While the 50mm 1.7 lenses are sharper at similar (wide) apertures, I find they lack character. The 1.4 has loads of character, and can be really wonderful for portraits. The greatest balance between soft and sharp is found at f1.7, which I prefer to the 50mm 1.7 wide open (it's really a very different look).
This lens also has a wonderful bokeh. At f1.4, it is full of character and is great for abstracts. At f2, it is very smooth. Beyond f2, it really beings to stand out in my mind, because this is where the 50mm 1.7 begins to look busy. OOF areas tend to resemble a monet painting, and highlights look like hexagons. With the f1.4, everything just washes away into the background.
Stop this lens down to 2.8 and beyond, and it's a whole different beast. Incredibly sharp, and at f 5.6 - f8 it's just as sharp as I could care to see. I didn't buy this lens for stopped down sharpness, but it really renders wonderfully and will be very useful for those sorts of applications as well. However, you still have a great deal of functional subject/background separation because the bokeh remains smooth no matter what you stop this lens down to. I wish I could say that about my 50mm 1.7.
You must use a hood with this lens to get a high contrast image out of it. The lens element is pretty much fully exposed, and is prone to flaring. A hood is a necessity with any lens, but it really stands out here compared to my experience with the 50mm 1.7, which has a recessed element. If you try this lens without a hood, you aren't really trying this lens.
AF is a real treat. I use the center af point and recompose. It really helps keep eyes in focus when you are working with low DOF. Manually focusing at f2 can be a real challenge, especially without a split prism. This lens, in my experience, has been incredibly accurate as long as I actually use it properly.
This lens is a 10. There is no mark I can strike against it. As long as you are buying this for the right reasons (it's wonderful and unique rendering) you will find it to be a 10 as well. It's perfect for abstracts, portraits, and low light situations. It's just so useful.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 233
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 20, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | f1.4! Small and Beautiful | | Cons: | At f1.7-f2.0 soft | |
I have a whole collection of 50mm's:
M1.4, M1.7, M2.0 and the FA1.4
The are fun to play with in the evenings when the light isn't so great. Recently I've taken to testing them on a tripod against different targets.
The M1.4 and FA1.4 perform almost identically. I checked the lens element diagram and the element/groupings are almost the same so no surprise there.
The real surprise was when the M1.7 was significantly sharper wide open from f1.7 to f2.0. It took till f2.8 for the f1.4's to catch up.
2/18/08 followup:
Recently, I finally obtained a FA1.7 and confirmed once again the 1.7's are sharper wide open and it takes till about f2.8 before the 50mm1.4 catches up.
The FA1.7 performs even better than the M1.7.
After much experimentation, I finally realized why this is the case (with the FA1.7 being sharper than the FA1.4 and even the M1.7).
The reason lies with the large exposed front element on the 50mm1.4 (all models). It causes the lens to be very sensitive to flare when the lens is wide open. Flare isn't always a big multicolored hotspot, a lot of times, it manifests itself in contrast and even softness.
Countless reviews on the FA1.4 complaining about it being "a little soft wide open". This is the reason why. Once I installed a nice lens hood, the lens became much sharper wide open. Almost as good as a FA1.7 (a lot bigger though with the hood). Pentax is partly to blame for this because they don't include lens hoods with the 50mm's, as a result, most people run around without one and they complain "the lens is a little soft wide open".
This also explains why the FA1.7 (and I suspect the F1.7) is even sharper than a M1.7 even though they share the same optical formula. The front element on the FA1.7 and the F1.7 are both fairly recessed (almost like a macro lens), this results in a built in hood effect at all times (whereas the 1.4's and the M1.7 have an exposed front element).
With the hood, the FA1.7 is still sharper than the FA1.4, but only marginally so. Oh yes, since the front element of the FA1.7 is already recessed, adding a hood doesn't really do much more for it.
To everyone with a Pentax 50mm f1.4 lens of any kind: GET A HOOD! (this applies to all scenarios, even/especially indoors. Try it for yourself).
 | | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: April, 2012 Posts: 84
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 8, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $280.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Large aperture, FF coverage, color rendition | | Cons: | Plastic body, noisy AF, cheapo AF ring, no hood, no WR, narrow FOV on APS-C | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-5, K-3
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Many people said that this lens is soft at 1.4. But I think it is mostly because of the very thin DOF and Pentax does not have very good AF bodies prior to K-5 II. If the focus is accurate, the sharpness is very good.
Wide-open, there may be glow in strong light environment, but that is not a big problem because we often need f/1.4 only in poor light situations.
The body of this lens is made from plastic, but it does not feel cheapy. In fact, it is solid and looks good when mounting on Pentax bodies. Anyway we should not expect to much from a consumer FA lens. For better build, we could go for FA limiteds which are more expensive.
Some people dislike the screw-drive AF. Yes it is noisy, but to me it is not a problem especially when using on K-3 which has a strong motor and then can improve the AF speed of this lens.
I like the "FA color rendition" of this lens which looks beautiful, at least to my eyes, with good saturation. In short, I am very happy shooting with this lens. I wish I could use it on Pentax FF bodies because on APS-C its FOV may not be wide enough for some normal shootings.
Below are some test shots at max. aperture (K-3).
1/
100% crop @ AF point
2/
100% crop @ AF point
Now are some field shots (K-5)
3/ @ f/1.4
4/ @ f/1.4
5/ @ f/1.8
6/ @ f/2.8
7/ @ f/2
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 12, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $197.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | fast, sharp, agile, bright | | Cons: | none worth mentioning | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I've mentioned this in many posts: This one is indispensable, my gotta-get-the-shot lens. Maybe I must use a hood (which I do with all lenses anyway); maybe my K50/1.2 renders better; maybe I like to play with all my other Fiftys, to see what they can do, to taste their individual flavours. But the FA50/1.4 is what I use when I gotta-get-the-shot. That's not softness wide-open, but a razor-thin DOF. No, I haven't conducted careful tests. I just know that it delivers.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,092
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: 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.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2018 Posts: 5
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 4, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Old film magic | | Cons: | 1.4 not usable | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: KP
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The interesting lens with some old school magic. I love using it for the portrait at f 2.8 At f 5.6 they good for the most situation. At f 1.4 this lens is unusable, no sharpness at all. But I never sold it, all pictures taken on this lens have magic pictures
 
 | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2017 Posts: 1
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 19, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $170.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Colour, Price | | Cons: | Build Quality, Inconsistent focus (at least my copy) | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-1
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Overall, it's a great lens for the price. Picked mine up for around 170USD (which is admittedly quite a steal). I'd recommend this as the first lens you get, if you get the full frame K-1. It makes for a great walkaround lens.
At f/1.6 (I haven't actually shot this lens wide open yet), it's already pixel sharp in the centre, and the corners are pretty decent, but it suffers from halation (soft glowy edges) that most 50 1.4s are prone to. At f//2.2 you could consider it sharp, throughout the frame already. Stop it down to f/4 and it's great. Somehow, it gets even sharper as you stop down further to about f/8. Haven't tested it past f/10 though.
Aberrations and fringing are pretty well controlled too.
I think I am unlucky, but my copy of the lens suffers from inconsistent focus. Worst of all is that it can't be corrected, because sometimes it's back focused, sometimes front, and sometimes on point. The misfocus is microscopic though, and hard to tell past f/2.2. There's a slight bit of play in the barrel which I'm sure isn't supposed to exist, so probably just a bad copy.
Compared to the Canon and Nikon 50 f/1.4, the Pentax is definitely inferior in terms of build quality and focus. The while the Pentax has a good weight to it, it still looks cheap, especially with the tiny rubber focus ring squeezed at the front of the lens. (It doesn't make manual focus hard, it just makes the lens feel low budget.)
Autofocus is fast enough for most uses, but is still slower, and definitely noisier than the Canon 50 1.4 I've used.
I guess those two are trade offs to make the Pentax 50 so much cheaper than the competition. For the price, it's definitely worth it.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: December, 2009 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 2,437
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 17, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $163.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, fast aperture, sharp stopped down, great bokeh if stopped down a little | | Cons: | A little soft W/O | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-5, K-1
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This is one of the smallest fast 50s around and even fullframe.
Personally I don't mind the FA build (more than adequate but certainly far from being a Limited) and I really appreciate the compact size.
Its very sharp at f5.6. Although I sometimes use it wide open (still good images with a good hood), I most often use it at f2 - f5.6. I find that sharpness and contrast are significantly better at f2 (over f1.4) and good enough for most low light / shallow depth. Also I find that bokeh can be a little "edgy" at f1.4 and better at f2.
Definitely great value for money.
Samples (K-5):
UPDATE: I have now being using my FA50 on my K-1, and I have to say that the FA50 is an even happier combination on the K-1 due to:- Such a useful focal length now (very general purpose)
- Details are better than i see on the K-5 (probably due to there being no low pass filter)
- Autofocus is better (faster and quieter)
Samples (K-1): | | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2017 Location: Kiev Posts: 12
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 25, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $210.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent luminous lens, with a beautiful aquarium bokeh! One of the best lenses in the ratio of price and quality. | | Cons: | Use very desirable with a protective lens hood. Without it, the lens collects a lot of parasitic lighting and glare. No waterproof and dustproof. The front lens is too close. And it's easy to get stained with your fingers. An inconvenient, narrow manual f | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K5
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This is a very good lens! High aperture, beautiful aquarium bokeh, good sharpness and color transfer.
To use a lens I highly recommend with a blend. Without it, there will necessarily be problems with backlight, highlights, and photo contrast.
Portraits this lens perfectly! I advise everyone to have this lens in their collection.
Postscript: When writing a review about the lens, I noted that I recommend its "yes" for the acquisition. But after saving the message, it is automatically written "no", instead of "yes", which I wrote initially. I do not know what this is connected with. I can not fix it.
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: May, 2016 Posts: 3,726
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 18, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | bright and compact | | Cons: | build quality, flare resistance | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K3II
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I got this lens for concert photos in smaller venues that are generally poorly lit. The relatively short focal length works well for this on apsc, and with a little care at f1.4 it still has enough depth of field to get usable results of artist+instrument not blurred into oblivion. Sure, you can get very blurry portraits when focusing very close, but for my needs I'd rather use f2.8 for greater dof if lighting would allow. AF is a little slower than my other screwdrive lenses, nonetheless precise and consistent, no complaints. Handling is nice because it's compact and light, but I'm taking some points off since it lacks quick shift.
It's softer and has less contrast compared to modern lenses, especially at f2.8 and larger; stopped down it's sharp though. Highlights, for example reflecting off of polished metal, have a nice glow, I like the look. Despite the relative softness, it is worth using in low light at f1.4. Compared to the DA limited 40mm under the same light and shot in RAW at ISO 3200, the final image quality is clearly better with this one because noise washes away any extra detail that the DA lens might have captured (f1.4 and ISO 3200 for the 50mm vs f2.8 and ISO compensated in pp from 3200 to 12800).
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: August, 2012 Location: Greece Posts: 51
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 2, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Fairly quick focus,light weight, good glasses(low noise), crystal clear for video, great colors, | | Cons: | soft focus at 1.4 to 1.8, hunts in low light, not very good build quality | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5, K200D
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A must have lens! its a very good lens although i don't recommend it for professional
due to its problem to focus in low light conditions! its really sharp above 2.0f values and its at its peak at 2.8 and 5.0f values! in video the 1.4 its crystal clear although again for sharper results you need 2.0f or bigger f values! i really enjoyed and still enjoying this lens! the 50mm makes this lens perfect for everything (expect wild life)
here are some photos made with this lense:
       | | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2008 Location: UK Posts: 237
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 24, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $295.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, comapct, f/1.4 speed, film-friendly. | | Cons: | Occasional quirky focus, too much plastic, odd focal length with 1.5x crop. | |
Intruducing the smc P-FA 50mm f/1.4
If, like me, you had a regular f/3.5-f/5.6 kit lens and you then get this, you really appreciate the difference those extra stops make for indoor and low light shots, as well as the flattering depth-of-field for portrait shots and other stylised scenes. Also, being able to use this equally well on a APS-C or film body is a distinct advantage for those, like me, who still shoot film as well. While the cropped DSLR focal length is a bit unusual, you soon learn to appreciate its qualities for portraits and closer general shots. Some people may not consider it worth the extra stop of speed over the FA 35 f/2 , but each to their own.
The colour rendition is very faithful - seemingly a bit more dependable than the 18-55 kit zoom.
I'ts quite a compact lens, but at 250g weight it inspires confidence when held in the hand - you know there's plenty of glass in there.
F-stops
The 8-bladed diaphragm isn't a rounded type, but it's better than a 6-bladed one at any rate. OoF highlights are pretty smooth as you stop it down. Wide open it's very creamy, but definitely lacks critical sharpness. Still very usable though.
I would rate sharpness at these apertures as:
f/1.4: C
f/2.0: B
f/2.8: A
f.4.0: A+
f/5.6: A+
f/8.0: A+
Chromatic Aberration
Be wary of using this lens on subjects with bright glaring highlights outdoors, the dreaded C.A. Force is strong with this one... Nothing that 20 seconds in Photoshop won't cure, though. Aberrations seem to drop off noticeably between f/2 to f/2.8, becoming insignificant by f/5.6.
The aperture ring is a tiny bit wobbly and cheap feeling, but it's useful if I want to use Av on an older film body, such as the MZ-5N.
Focus
The focus ring is a bit puny, but it's deceptively usable - thanks to its rubbery grip and well-damped motion. The focus throw is quite respectable at approx. 120°. The focus scale, while being nearly obscured by a protruding po-up flash housing, is useful for simply being there and includes not only hyperfocal scales, but also an infra-red focus correction indicator.
I have found that the FA 50 occastionally back focusses slightly on my K10D. It seems to be a random issue, possibly dependent on the scene at hand. Currently I am putting it down to the general difficulty of simply attaining perfect focus at f/1.4.
Conclusion
To summarise: Not a perfect lens, but well worth the money. An essential budget purchase for any Pentax SLR user. The extra speed was (to me) the big sell for this lens - it opens up a whole range of new possibilities.
Not fair that we Brits can't get this lens for ~$200, though...
The Americans don't know how lucky they are!
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