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Pentax Lens Review Database » Film Era Pentax K-Mount Lenses » FA Prime Lenses
HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8 Review RSS Feed

HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8

Sharpness 
 8.8
Aberrations 
 8.2
Bokeh 
 9.2
Autofocus 
 8.0
Handling 
 9.8
Value 
 8.8
Reviews Views Date of last review
5 15,561 Wed August 16, 2023
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
60% of reviewers $559.25 8.60
HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8

HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
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HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
supersize
HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
supersize
HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
supersize
HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
supersize
HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8

Description:
This modernized version of the iconic SMC Pentax-FA 77mm F1.8 Limited features updated HD coatings and rounded aperture blades.

HD Pentax-FA 77mm F1.8 Limited
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
Full-frame / 35mm film
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
Yes (A setting)
Diaphragm
Automatic, 9 blades (rounded)
Optics
7 elements, 6 groups
Mount Variant
KAF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F1.8
Min. Aperture
F22
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
70 cm
Max. Magnification
0.14x
Filter Size
49 mm
Internal Focus
No
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 21 ° / 18 °
Full frame: 31.5 ° / 26 °
Hood
Built-in, slide out
Case
Pouch (P60-120)
Lens Cap
Dedicated metal push-on (O-LW54A)
Coating
Ghostless,HD,SP
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Diam x Length
64 x 48 mm (2.5 x 1.9 in.)
Weight
270 g (9.5 oz.)
Production Years
2021 to present (in production)
Pricing
$626 USD current price
$799 USD at launch
Engraved Name
HD PENTAX-FA 1:1.8 77mm Limited
Product Code
27890 (silver), 27880 (black)
Reviews
User reviews
In-depth review
Notes
FREE (Fixed Rear Element Extension) focusing system. Rounded aperture from F1.8 to F4.

Features:
Screwdrive AutofocusBuilt-in HoodAperture RingAutomatic ApertureFull-Frame Support
Purchase: Buy the HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
In-Depth Review: Read our HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8 in-depth review!
Price History:



Add Review of HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8 Buy the HD Pentax-FA 77mm Limited F1.8
Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-5 of 5
New Member

Registered: July, 2023
Posts: 3

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: August 16, 2023 Recommended | Price: $487.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Hood, build quality, bokeh, sharpness
Cons: Purple fringing/CA
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K1   

My review comes not from a place of expert understanding of all the things that make a lens perfect, or worth the cost, but from my wholly personal and perhaps unconventional taste and experience. When I first heard/read of this lens, I was using an A series 50mm on a crop (K5) body almost exclusively - meaning my typical day-to-day focal length was around 75mm. I used that lens for everything, as at that time it was my only lens. Landscape, portrait, walk-around, macro with extension tubes, you name it. I enjoyed it very much.

When upgrading to the gorgeous full frame K1 Mk1, I found my 50mm to be beautiful, sharp, colourful, but wider than my eye had become accustomed to. I wanted something that would give me that short telephoto range in a prime that met a few criteria;
1. Not as or more expensive than the camera I was using it on (looking at you, 85mm),
2. A fast enough aperture and interesting enough bokeh to give me plenty of shooting options, and not make me miss the separating ability of the A50/1.7,
3. Autofocus.

The HD FA77/1.8 met all of my requirements and I believe is a fantastic lens, if you come at it from my perhaps atypical position - that of never having used an autofocus lens, that of enjoying/wanting the unusual focal length for just about any shot, that of never having used the previous iteration of the 77mm, and that of not wanting to use cheaper zooms or being able to afford enormously expensive short telephotos of higher quality.

The long and short of this lens is, if you ask me, that as with all things photo, if you use it for what it is best at it will excel and you won't be disappointed. I find the autofocus fast and accurate - I find back button focus, AF.S and Sel.9 the most accurate modes for this lens so far, and do not have experience of poor autofocus unless the light is poor, my aperture is wide, and my expectations are high. Bokeh is beautiful, depending on your background, background distance, light, taste, etc. Sharpness is exceptional, given appropriate conditions. Hopefully you get a sense for what I am trying to say.

Enough rambling. Here are a few photos shown not for quality but hopefully to illustrate the lens in what I consider real world conditions. A few crops, most with minor edits for detail, exposure and contrast.

Zoom in to the bottom left of the maple leaf for sharpness.


An example of fringing in poor light


Zoom in to left eyelash for fringing, and sharpness


Cropped


Autofocus found this butterfly with ease at a wide aperture



Taken through a car windshield
   
New Member

Registered: January, 2015
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: June 27, 2023 Recommended | Price: $550.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Lightweight, IQ, Build
Cons:
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 9    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K-70   

77mm Full Frame certainly makes for an odd 115-ish on a crop sensor. That aside, this is a fine lens in my opinion. Autofocus is screw, so noisy. But you knew that when you bought it, so not an issue. I haven't noticed any hunting or failure to lock quickly and accurately. The metal body feels great in the hand and looks great on the camera. Bokeh can seem busy at times, but overall is nice. Colors render very well, IMHO. Hard to complain about any aspect of this lens. Shooting the K-70, the 115mm is kind of an in between sort of length. But, I like the lens so much, I'll find a use for it as often as possible. I throw this 77mm as well as the 15mm and 35mm macro in a small bag and they make a fantastic walk around group for people who enjoy using primes.

The following photos are not masterpieces. They were shot strictly as tests for this lens. JPEG's straight from camera with no edits other than the text.






   
Senior Member

Registered: September, 2009
Location: Illinois, USA
Posts: 141

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: April 20, 2023 Not Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 6 

 
Pros: Light weight, fast
Cons: Poor and noisy auto focus. Not better than the SMC 50mm 1.4
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 3    Handling: 10    Value: 7    New or Used: New    Camera Used: Pentax K-1   

This will be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think this lens deserves it's reputation. Before trying it, I was shooting with the SMC FA 50mm 1.4, a lens that I think is actually underrated. I was expecting to be impressed by the 77mm, but I found it to be overall a mediocre lens. It's sharpness and bokeh were about the same as the 50mm, and the auto-focus is terrible, like most of the film era lenses. I think that much of the praise of the older auto focus lenses comes from people who have likely never shot a modern camera with a modern lens. I was doing a demo of the Sony FE 85 mm 1.8 on a Sony A 7 IV at the same time, and the Sony lens outperformed this lens easily. When Pentax updated this lens, it should have gotten a modern auto focus motor. If you are on full frame, the SMC FA 50mm is about as good for 99$ used. The HD 50mm 1.4 totally destroys the 77mm limited. If you are on APS-C you are better off with the DA* 55mm. The only place for this lens is really film, and even then, I prefer the ?SMC FA 50mm.

This is lens just does not deserve it's reputation. It is sold on the nostalgia of older users.
   
Pentaxian

Registered: May, 2016
Posts: 3,722

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: February 28, 2023 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: small size, image quality, build quality, coatings
Cons:
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 8    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K1II   

This is my second FA limited after having the SMC 43 for a number of years. I like the improvements in this iteration, in particular the SP coating on the front element. Otherwise, it's all the same as before and that's a good thing. I even like having screw autofocus because it keeps the lens extremely compact and feeling similar to my 43. Perhaps my favorite aspect in terms of image quality is color rendering; in good light, everything pops without being too high contrast. It's very sharp, but has flaws in fringing, this lens really wants good light and then it is fantastic.
   
Pentaxian

Registered: October, 2019
Posts: 731

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: April 28, 2022 Not Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: construction, very nice focus, size and weight.
Cons: purple fringing
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: k1, k70   

I'm a little embarrassed to be the first to review the lens here. I bought used this lens a few months ago to complete my trio with the 31 and 43 that I owned not in HD version. I had never used the FA version so nothing I can say about this comparison. The first thing I noticed is that the wonderful lens retains some defects that were already their own (at least from I read). The appearance of purple fringes in high-contrast situations has been highlighted since the first tests. It made me a little curious because I had not encountered these problems, or very small size for brothers 31 and 43. In real tests, however, the lens turned out to be for what it is. A great portrait lens (less for landscape but I don't practice it). its bokeh is truly breathtaking.

I haven't done the updates yet because I wanted to see if there were actually improvements by trying better on the two bodies.

It has a beautiful focus and I love the softness at the right point of the shots with very open apertures. Just close two to three stops and the lens becomes very sharp. I found a good reactivity of the af, especially on the k70, even on moving subjects like my dog. On k1 it is precise and effective on static subjects, a little less reactive on dynamic ones. It is a pleasure to handle and carry around. I am a lover of the 31 which remains my favorite lens for the greater use of my way of photographing, but I must say that for portraiture the lens has that very special fairy dust for me. I am very happy and satisfied. If someone hates the imperfections that may arise in certain circumstances, look elsewhere or may think they have spent their money badly. For all the others, I see no particular reasons not to swear eternal fidelity. I gave nine overall only because for me 10 only has 31, but I'm a fan.
I recommend the goal only that the option above leaves me alone no, I don't know why.
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