| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-FA 31mm F1.8 AL Limited
Mine is a used Pentax FA 31 1.8: black edition, assembled in Vietnam. This copy may have been manufactured around 2012 or so, since Ricoh does not yet appear on the box although the paperwork already mentions the acquisition by Ricoh (which I understand happened in late 2011).
Autofocus is accurate with the K-S2, even when shooting at max aperture.
I’m pleased with the images taken with the Pentax K-S2. Properly focused (with the exception discussed below), images are acceptably sharp from corner to corner even at f/1.8. Compared to my A 28 2.0, K50 1.2, and DA 50 1.8, the FA 31 has noticeably better sharpness/contrast at large apertures. I would rate the FA 31 in the same league as the Zeiss 2/35 in sharpness.
Now the exception. With the focus at infinity, closer in-focus subjects are significantly sharper than subjects farther away below f/8. Focused at infinity, closer subjects, such as objects across the street, are acceptably sharp from corner to corner even at f/1.8, while subjects farther away — even those near the center of the frame — are blurry. More distant subjects sharpen up at f/8.
Example below shows what I mean.
The test scene shows objects across the street (electric posts), and farther away a construction site.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/59968/large/1_fa_31_scene.jpg
These are 100% crops, unsharpened, no adjustments.
So it’s f/8 for landscapes, any other aperture for closer subjects. My Zeiss 2/35 behaves like t... |
