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Pentax Lens Review Database » Pentax 645 Medium Format Lenses » 645 Telephoto Primes
SMC Pentax-FA 645 400mm F5.6 ED [IF] Review RSS Feed

SMC Pentax-FA 645 400mm F5.6 ED [IF]

Sharpness 
 9.7
Aberrations 
 8.3
Bokeh 
 8.3
Handling 
 9.7
Value 
 9.6
Reviews Views Date of last review
10 50,578 Wed January 17, 2024
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $1,081.50 9.30
SMC Pentax-FA 645 400mm F5.6 ED [IF]
supersize


Description:

Autofocus telephoto lens with internal focusing and a tripod mount. It is relatively light for a 400mm medium format lens.


SMC Pentax-FA 645 400mm F5.6 ED [IF]
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
645 film
Lens Mount
Pentax 645
Aperture Ring
Yes (A setting)
Diaphragm
Automatic, 8 blades
Optics
7 elements, 6 groups
Mount Variant
645 AF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F5.6
Min. Aperture
F45
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
300 cm
Max. Magnification
0.14x
Filter Size
77 mm
Internal Focus
Yes
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

645 Digital: 7.9 ° / 6.3 °
645 Film: 10 ° / 8 °
Hood
PH-RBE 77 bayonet
Case
S120-280
Lens Cap
Plastic clip-on
Coating
SMC
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Push-pull AF/MF Focusing Ring,Tripod Mount
Diam x Length
83 x 252 mm (3.3 x 9.9 in.)
Weight
1260 g (w/o attachments) (44.5 oz.)
Production Years
(in production)
Pricing
$2896 USD current price
Engraved Name
smc PENTAX-FA 645 1:5.6 400mm ED[IF]
Product Code
26555
Reviews
User reviews
Notes
ED elements.

Features:
Screwdrive AutofocusInternal FocusingAperture RingAutomatic ApertureMedium-Format SupportAdapter needed for DSLRs
Purchase: Buy the SMC Pentax-FA 645 400mm F5.6 ED [IF]
Price History:



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Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-10 of 10
Senior Member

Registered: June, 2016
Location: Paris
Posts: 124

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 30, 2022 Recommended | Price: $1,200.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: IQ, AF, Weight
Cons:
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: 645Z, FUJI GFX   

Had a deal on this lens from a Ricoh Imaging store and didn't hesitate buying for i was eager to use it for a trip in North Africa.
Moslty shot landscapes with people and some on-the-fly portraits hand held.

I rate it 10 for all specs as i also had the chance to test it on a GFX 100mpx with an adapter, in manual focus, for a day and night for city shots from tall buildings using a tripod where you can fix your lens directly thanks to the collar.

It's a very well balanced lens on the 645Z, the IQ is what one expects from this kind of lens.
The results are very good in combination with the 1.4X pentax converter with no pp, and very acceptable with the 2X one with no pp ( for once, i had to pixel peep as my city project needed pixel peeping before printing).
For now i definetly recommend this lens, i will try to complete the review with pics and soon, with some astrophotography ( where i haven't tried it yet ) .
   
Loyal Site Supporter

Registered: October, 2018
Location: Quebec City, Quebec
Posts: 6,493

5 users found this helpful
Review Date: March 16, 2019 Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Sharp and contrasty
Cons: None
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: Pentax 645Z, K1, K3   


St Lawrence shoals at low tide near sunset, tripod-mounted 645Z + FA 400 mm f/5.6 @ f/16. Pierre Laporte Bridge, Quebec City, tripod-mounted 645Z + FA 400 mm f/5.6 @ f/16.


The Pentax K1 body can be mounted on the 645 FA 400 mm with the proper Pentax adapter. You lose all automation but you can use Aperture-priority stopped-down auto-exposure.
.


This lens necessitates the use of a tripod to truly exploit the high-resolution possible with a camera such as a 645Z. You must take your time and operate with great care to obtain the best results.
It particularly shines as a landscape lens. I always use it between f/8 and f/16 but it is impressive at every f/stop. Notice the total absence of flare in the 2 pictures above. The tripod foot permits the
rotation of the body and lens to shoot verticals easily.


645 FA 400 mm f/5.6 on a K3 APS-C sensor : equivalent to a 600 mm FF lens. Baie Saint Paul city center from REALLY FAR AWAY.


Magnification of the Pierre Laporte Bridge picture above reveals a myriad of details.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: February, 2008
Posts: 434

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: March 1, 2013 Recommended | Price: $1,100.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: sharp, light, not expensive
Cons: not f/4, but then it wouldn't be light
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: 645D   

The lens is quite light and very sharp when used at high shutter speeds or very secure tripod mount at lower speeds. It doesn't have the build quality of * lens, but the optical quality is in the same league. I find the AF reasonably fast (but I was using manual focus lenses before the 645D so my perspective may be different) more importantly,I find the AF very accurate. Here's an example handheld with the AF tracking the merganser:


takeoff by tsjanik47, on Flickr
   
Junior Member

Registered: November, 2009
Posts: 29

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: August 9, 2011 Recommended | Price: $1,500.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: light weight, sharp
Cons: long (but necessary)
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 9   

This lens is very sharp and relatively light weight for its length. It is about as long of a lens for the 645D as I'd typically travel with (the length starts chewing up limited storage space in a backpack). With that in mind, I think a nice telephoto travel set with the 400/5.6 is the 75/2.8, the 120 FA macro and the 200 FA. (If weight/size needs to be kept to a minimum, then I'd go with the 75/2.8, the 150 FA and 300/5.6.)

The 400/5.6 seems to focus slightly slower than the 300/5.6 (but maybe my imagination) and not as close. WIth the hood in place, it is very large (long). Stopping down to f8 does seem to improve the sharpness. I tend to use it on a tripod (Really Right Stuff TVC-24 carbon fiber tripod) with the mirror up and my hand on top of the lens to add weight and dampen vibration.
   
Site Supporter

Registered: January, 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 27

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: January 17, 2024 Recommended | Price: $415.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Light, sharp and with good all round qualities
Cons: Noisy AF, not fast not slow
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Camera Used: 645z   

What a cracking lens, so light and capable of producing very sharp shots. I love the fact that this combo doesn't weigh much different to the K1 with a grip and 300mm f4, also it is roughly a 300mm f4 in ff terms so is fast enough to use for nature in terms of light (with a 645 sensor) - bokeh is fine when you distance the subject from the background, but not as pleasing as the DA* 300mm. Neither is it quite as sharp as the DA* nor the Sigma 300mm f2.8 but it is close, and for the 645 probably the sweet spot for reach and usability. I will happily carry it around for a while in backpack due to the relatively light weight (used to K1, K3iii and 300mm f2.8 and 500mm f4.5!)

Considering how little I paid for this lens, I am very very happy. Yes the 645z is not the best for bird photos, but I have enjoyed using it so much that the far better reach of 500mm on FF has not been in the bag for a while!


   
Site Supporter

Registered: February, 2018
Location: NoVA
Posts: 635

5 users found this helpful
Review Date: May 21, 2018 Recommended | Price: $700.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Nicely sharp, light for its length
Cons: Bokeh is only so-so
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 4    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: 645z   

Reasonably sharp even wide open. I will not hesitate to use this lens wide open, unless I need more depth of field.

Bokeh shows some bright-line effect with busy backgrounds; not the best. Also not what this lens is for--I use it when trying to make distant things sharp, not when trying to make them smooth.

Work just as well with the 1.4 converter.

Mirror vibration is a factor with this lens. Even on a sturdy Gitzo tripod, I needed mirror lockup to avoid a vertical shake of the image.

I saw the slightest bit of purple fringing around high-contrast highlights, but really it's too small to really notice.


Full scene at f/5.6


1:1 at f/5.6, not much loss compared to f/11


1:1 at f/11

Rick "solid performer" Denney
   
New Member

Registered: December, 2014
Posts: 2

6 users found this helpful
Review Date: September 19, 2015 Recommended | Price: $1,100.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Manual focus, tripod mount, weight, image quality, sharpness
Cons: Aberrations, image stabilizer No;-)
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: 645z   

The telephoto lens is unique in combination with the 645z.
The image quality is very good, also the sharpness. It's not as simple as to produce the 28-45 permanently sharp images.
Mirror shock, tripod head wind at shutter speeds below the "focal length" gladly produce blur / shake.
Value for money is perfect.
The tripod mount is very good, because it locks the twist by 90 °. "Perfect"
Manually focusing is fantastic, as you can "screw"

I am wondering about a teleconverter to buy, because I still want something more focal length at MF.

   
Forum Member

Registered: November, 2007
Location: Germany
Posts: 98

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: April 29, 2011 Recommended | Price: $1,100.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: light, build quality, optical quality
Cons: none
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 9   

I recently bought this lens second hand to use with an adapter on my Pentax K-5 and I must say it does not disappoint. It is lightweight and can be handheld though it can be hit and miss even with the anti-shake as it equals 600mm on a fullframe equivalent.

AF does not work with the adapter and neither does the aperture automatic, so you have to step down but as the lens is already brillant wide open this is no big deal. It does just work with the 1.7 AF adapter - but only in brighter conditions. Here these results are also high quality.

At the price I paid I consider it a bargain taking into account that other than its A brother it features ED elements.
   
Junior Member

Registered: January, 2011
Location: Perthshire
Posts: 29

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: March 6, 2011 Recommended | Price: $1,300.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Very sharp, not heavy, efficient hood.
Cons: Does not focus very close. AF hunts a bit.

This lens looks enormous when complete with its large lenshood but is surprisingly light for its size. It is very sharp at f5.6 and remains so until at least f16. However extreme care is required to get sharp images due to shake/vibration etc even when mounted on a good strong tripod. You really have to hone your long-lens technique to get this one to work for you. But when you get things right the results are extremely pleasing.

It does not focus particularly close and so is not very suitable for small subjects, eg. garden birds, and I find the AF tends to hunt a bit, probably due to the f5.6 max. aperture.
   
Inactive Account

Registered: July, 2011
Location: www.flickr.com/photos/aseel
Posts: 7
Review Date: November 5, 2011 Recommended | Price: $1,800.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: light sharp and not very expensive.
Cons: CA in high contrast, S L O W .. coming from nikon.
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 3    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 9    Value: 8   

very light and sharp lens, i hiked with 645d, very good sharp birds photos (only test) . however it is extremely slow compared to new nikon and canon counterparts.
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