| Author: | | Pentaxian Registered: March, 2010 Location: Vermont Posts: 783 | | Lens Review Date: August 9, 2019 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $300.00
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | Small, extremely portable, rich colors, fast AF, sharp wide open | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3
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The 40 HD limited is just amazing. This lens is absolutely a wonder that they were able to design a sharp, fast-focusing, all around perfect lens in such a small package, and with the newer HD coatings and round aperture blades is a bonus worth the upgrade (although the SMC version is also a great lens). Paired with the 15 and 70 limiteds, you have a very compact combo to take some amazing photos.
| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2016 Posts: 123 | | Lens Review Date: December 8, 2018 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | Problem with design of hood and cap | | New or Used: New
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I love the lens but I think the hood and the cap need a redesign. The hood unscrews in the same direction as the cap which means that when you are unscrewing the cap, you can inadvertently either partially unscrew or completely unscrew the hood. This happened to me on a recent walk. Fortunately I was able to retrace my steps and found the hood. Perhaps the hood and cap could be redesigned so that the hood could accept a pinch type cap. The hood costs $59.99 so this is a costly loss if it happens.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: May, 2016 Posts: 1,894 | | Lens Review Date: August 4, 2016 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | good quality and compact | | Cons: | no dof scale | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3II
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Iq and build quality are nice, and for most situations I think it is fast enough, especially because it is pretty great right from f2.8. I like that it is compact and easy to carry around, although some might consider it a little too small (lens cap, hood, focus ring are all quite narrow).
I got this in addition to the 35/2.4 because, while the plastic lens has great iq, the lack of quickshift was an issue for me. Surprisingly, the 40 also has much quieter af compared to the plastic 35, even though it is still screw drive; about the same speed. I don't see a difference in terms of angle of view, it gives about the same perspective as the 35; the 40 is slightly narrower than the 35, but it looks "normal" enough to me.
edit: After a few months of using it, it's a great lens to have and I've never really felt it too long for a normal. Compared to the plastic 35/2.4, colors are better even though they're both sharp.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2014 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 935
2 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: February 8, 2016 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Tiny, incredibly sharp, relatively inexpensive | | Cons: | Weird bokeh for point sources of light, could be faster | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3
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If you are reading this review, you're probably wondering about whether or not you should buy this lens. The answer is yes, yes you should. It is absolutely superb and only costs, what, $280 now? Why are you still reading this review? Go! Make your purchase!
If you're still here, I'll provide some more detail. This lens is incredibly sharp across the entire frame, easily on par with my 31mm Limited. It has excellent microcontrast and the colors are clear and vibrant, better than the 31mm, in my opinion. There's no distortion, CA, or PF to speak of. It has almost no problems with flare. The main disadvantage, in my mind, is the bokeh. In most situations, it's smooth and creamy, but point sources of light against a dark background are weirdly distracting, sort of like fish eggs. I wish I had an example to post here, but I don't.
I cannot underscore enough how fantastic it is that this lens is super tiny. It often makes the difference between bringing the camera along with me or not, and there is always room for this lens in my bag. Otherwise, as far as the user experience goes, some people might dislike the tiny screw-on lens cap. I like it, since the lens cap is never going to fall off on its own, a problem I've definitely had with the 21mm Limited.
In short, even though this lens has a few minor shortcomings, it is AWESOME. And it's important to keep those downsides in perspective. It's a little slow for a prime at f/2.8, but...it's friggin' tiny, and less than $300. The bokeh can be kind of weird, but if it bothers you so much...you can go spend twice or three times as much on a bigger lens that you're not going to want to lug around with you constantly.
I bought this lens on a whim-- I'd always been interested in it and the price had dropped to something reasonable. But, I'd never been sold on the focal length. I tend to prefer wide-angle shots, especially landscapes, and didn't think I'd be happy with anything narrower than about 30mm.
How wrong was I. I have gotten an enormous amount of use out of it. I used it extensively as a landscape lens on my recent trip to Death Valley and the Las Vegas area. There were wide open spaces and in many cases the tighter framing of the 40mm made it the best tool for the job. Some examples:
Other than that, I've found it an excellent street lens, small enough that I can carry my camera around with me everywhere and take pictures of whatever suits my fancy. Here are a few:
Surprisingly, I even used it for wildlife photography once. Why? It was the lens I had with me when this turkey wandered by:
Its also a great focal length for shots out the window of the airplane. Wide enough to grab a lot of scenery, not so wide you can't avoid the airplane wing:
It's pretty great for portraits and full-body shots, too, but I don't have any examples of those to post.
Anyway, the 40mm isn't going to be replacing my 31mm due to the bokeh issue, but as far as price for optical quality goes, this lens can't be beat.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2015 Posts: 7,244
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: March 30, 2015 | I can recommend this lens: No |
Price: $350.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Tiny, fairly sharp | | Cons: | Focal length on APS-C, focus mechanism, price | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 5
Handling: 3
Value: 6
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K200,K-5,K-3
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It's tiny, decently sharp at f4 and sharp at f5.6 and above. I was very happy when I bought this lens and I used it a lot because of its tiny size and weight when traveling by bike for more than a week (that's the only lens I carried and I did everything with this single small lens), using it a normal lens, and stitching for wider field of views. But now the quick shift mechanism has some mechanical play and AF is not accurate near infinity.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2014 Location: Newfoundland Posts: 496 | | Lens Review Date: December 6, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image quality, flare resistance, true-to-life colour rendering, build quality, compact size, lens hood, standard 49mm filter size | | Cons: | None - I even like the screw off lens cap! | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5II
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This is my second Pentax Limited Edition lens. The first (HD DA 21) was purchased in May of this year and never ceases to amaze me with magic hour landscape and urban street shots. The 40mm is very special too. Discrete and compact, it works well for walk-around and travel photography. With an f/2.8 maximum aperture and rounded diaphragm blades; the bokeh this lens produces is smooth and buttery - nice for up close portraits.
The small size (this lens is exceptionally tiny and could be mistaken for a lens cap) converts a Pentax DSLR into a camera that in not much larger than most mirror-less cameras. I love the 40 mm focal length - this lens is versatile for both portraits and landscape as well as being reasonably fast for indoor available light captures. Image quality this lens delivers is stellar for reproducing 24" X 36" prints on high quality canvas (from images captured on a k-5II). While the HD DA 21 is amazing - the HD DA 40 is slightly better.  | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2007 Location: UK Posts: 11
2 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: August 13, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $580.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great resolution, dynamic colours, compact | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K7
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I have used this lens regularly for several months and I am well satisfied with it. For me, it has become a 'standard' or everyday/where lens. I have used it to cover weddings, for travel and family events. Its size means that it packs easily when I travel by aeroplane, nobody feels threatened by its presence and thus I can capture intimate moments without any fuss or concern. At a recent wedding, the groom [who works for a national news TV channel] commented to me in writing post wedding that my pics [all taken with this lens] were some of the best he had ever seen. Of course I don't know what he has seen but given his professional status I reckon he has some idea. At another wedding it was forbidden to take pics during the ceremony but I was able to capture moments quietly and without notice, something that was later much appreciated by the happy couple. Anyhow, you cannot please everyone but this lens pleases me a lot.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: 11432 Posts: 382
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: December 31, 2013 | I can recommend this lens: No |
Price: $546.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Small, HD coating, Circular aperture | | Cons: | No difference from the old one, Almost $200 over | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 4
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5
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HD renewal wasn't good enough. It just add HD coating, circular aperture, and several detail change and that's it!!! PENTAX try to get more money from us which is $546 from $374. Sharpness? Same. I really disappointed about what Pentax did. If they renew DA* lenses, they will just add HD coating, little bit of design change, circular aperture, and done.  | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2012 Location: Hunter Valley,NSW, Australia Posts: 2,467
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: October 8, 2013 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $500.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp as, Small and Light | | Cons: | Little Cap. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 4
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K5 & K01
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Just received this lens and it is howling wind with a storm behind outside, so take this review with a pinch of optimism and not much actual experience. Shall add some experience and more impressions later.
Cropped the Vine. oops sorry. | | |
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