| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2014 Posts: 5 | | Review Date: February 25, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, high contrast, good bokeh, very good focus, great colors | | Cons: | No for this price :) | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-500
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I bought this lens with DA 35 / F 2.4 and my first impressions are very good for both. This is a very good lens for this low price. Lightweight, high contrast, good bokeh, very good focus, great colors. I recommend it.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2011 Location: Florence Posts: 7 | | Review Date: January 17, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Price, Full Frame. | | Cons: | low build quality | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 7
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3
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 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: September, 2013 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,070
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 1, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $181.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sufficiently sharp, nice bokeh, minimal CA | | Cons: | No weather sealing or quick shift focus, no distance scale | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K30
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The only other 50mm prime lens I have owned that I can compare this to is the well-rated Sony 50mm 1.8 which I used for 2 years on a Sony a55. I just got this Pentax DA 50mm 1.8 for $181 with free shipping off bhphotovideo's site, to use with my new K30 camera body. The Sony sells for $168, so they are both currently reasonably close in price. From the few hundred photos I have taken, I will give you my impressions. First off, I noticed the Pentax does not have something rattling inside like the Sony is known to have, and it is even smaller and lighter since it doesn't have a SAM motor inside it like the Sony did. The Pentax is screw driven and is rather noisy but I knew that before I bought it. It focuses almost as quick as the Pentax 18-55 kit lenses do. Pentax put an SP coating on this lens which keeps dust from sticking to the the front lens element and makes it very easy to clean with a blower or microfiber cloth. I once got a fingerprint on my Sony and getting it off was quite a pain, not so with the Pentax!
The Sony's plastic mount never gave me a problem, so I don't expect the Pentax to either. Though they are both nearly all plastic in construction, the Pentax has a much higher quality feel to it. They are both small lenses, the Pentax being smaller of the two and one of the smallest lenses I've owned that isn't classified as a "pancake lens." When shot at a wide open aperture, both lenses give slight chromatic aberrations in very high contrast shots, but are easily correctable in photoshop. At f2.0, the Pentax may still have very minimal aberrations, but only in super high contrast situations. By f2.5 they appear to be entirely gone. I don't notice a hood to help too much since the front lens element is already recessed quite a bit. The Pentax gives me plenty of sharpness at f1.8 as long as the K30's autofocus system nails the shallow depth of field correctly (My K30 can slightly miss once in a while). As you approach f4 aperture it gets very sharp! With this lens on my K30 I am still able to get off perfectly usable shots in very dim conditions, and this combo is great for available light shooting. The bokeh (or out of focus background blur) this lens produces is superb, which is a large reason why I chose it.
There is some confusion about if this lens has "quick shift" manual focus, and I am pretty sure it doesn't since it is resistant to turn and doesn't say anything about it in the operating manual. This means in order to be able to turn the manual focus ring you must turn the camera body's switch to manual focus to unlock it, and it will not automatically override like some lenses can. After you flip the switch, though, this lens can be sufficiently manually focused. It is firm, smooth, and you get a little over a half turn (190 degrees) from minimum focus distance to infinity. I also like how the manual focus ring does not have rubber on it, which would collect dust and eventually wear out like the Sony 50mm f1.8 did. For the price of the Pentax, though, it should at least have a distance scale printed on it (which is doesn't have) and really should have included "quick shift" focus to improve handling. It would have also been nice if this lens had weather sealing, but sadly it doesn't. Neither the Pentax or Sony 50mm lenses have a bayonet mount for a lens hood, but since the front element is recessed a bit on both I never saw a need for a hood with either lens, or you can use a screw on lens hood.
I would say this lens is overall on par if not slightly better than the Sony 50mm f1.8 in some regards, so I recommend this lens if you have a Pentax DSLR and you want a brand new low light lens with autofocus. I was very tempted to buy an older manual focus lens for much less money but there are times when autofocus is a necessity. Since there aren't many other brand new Pentax autofocus lenses at this price, I think the price I paid is fair enough to have a decent autofocus prime lens for my K30. If you can find one for less it's a no brainer to buy one.
Here are some samples taken with this lens:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/15858925571/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/10190970006/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/14266037587/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/11429102403/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/15236953889/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/10190972906/
And the ultimate ambient low light test:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/sets/72157637072298904/ | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 726
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 22, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast, inexpensive | | Cons: | Not as good as other primes | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K5
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Since my most used prime lens was my 20 some year old 50mm f/1.7 A series I figured I was due for a new AF one.
This is a good lens, don't get me wrong, it is everything you come to expect from a prime, it is fast, it is sharp, colors are beautiful, bokeh is smooth and the lens is small and light.
BUT
My A series is faster (a bit), sharper, smoother and bokeh is milkier and you can get it for far less money... It only lacks AF.
The lens still find it's way onto my camera whenever I can't be bothered to focus manually, it always perform nicely, it's my go to prime for portraiture where my subjects tends to move a lot (read: kids) although I prefer my A series most of the time.
Great lens at a fair price. I would recommend it to my friends, unless they don't care about AF.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2013 Posts: 20
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 14, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $190.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, vivid colors, very lightweight, fast. | | Cons: | AF hunts in dim light | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-30
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I've been looking at this little lens since it came out and knew I wanted it. In the meantime I tried numerous fast fifties - manual and autofocus, Pentax and third party and none was kept for one reason or another. And then the price fell down to £119 and I snapped it.
This lens is absolutely perfect for me - and I am an enthusiast with only two years experience with DSLR - image quality is superb, it is autofocus, weighs next to nothing and is a bargain at £119. And it is brand new, so there's no nasty surprises like fungus or haze it the glass. Of course there are limiteds and stars - but to be honest, how many of us are ready to splash out our hard earned cash on a - much loved but still - hobby?
Never mind hair-splitting analysis of this lens on some websites, it does the job beautifully and that's what matters. Buy it and you won't regret.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2013 Location: Sydney Posts: 844
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 7, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $119.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Price, Bokeh, Full-Frame! | | Cons: | Loud Focus, Hunts occasionally. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-x
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At f1.8 it is a little bit soft, but then that's not always a bad thing for a portrait lens. From f2.2 upwards, it improves considerably, and by f2.8 any concerns about softness have gone completely. There are a few aberrations noticeable when wide open, but it's less of a problem than on my 50mm f1.4 A. The build quality is quite solid for a plastic lens, and the focusing mechanism is pleasingly tight. The auto focus is a little loud, and it can hunt when attempting close up shots, but the problem isn't as bad as on the 35mm DA ltd. The minimum focus distance isn't great - so sometimes you do feel a little frustrated you can't get in closer.
The bokeh is really rather nice. It's not in the same league as the DA limiteds, but it isn't too far behind. Certainly to my eyes, it seems more pleasing than on the 50mm f1.4 A.
Overall, it's a really nice little lens. Is it a DA limited? Well, no. Not really. However for the princely sum of £119, I simply don't think it's possible to find any lens of better value anywhere. As such, I have to give it 10/10.
\edit
I had a few shots left on an expired film sat in my P30T (not the best film camera to test with), mounted the DA 50mm, and these are the results. All shots are at f1.8, and this is by no means a scientific test. Read into it what you will....
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: June, 2013 Posts: 37
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 7, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $249.99
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Fast, Inexpensive, Light, Sharp (when it focuses correctly) | | Cons: | AF hunts and sometimes fails all together, Noisy AF, Manual Focus Feel | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 5
Handling: 7
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K10D, K-30
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This is my first prime lens, and overall I'm quite happy with it. My shots are consistently better with this lens vs. the 18-55 kit lens that came with my K10D, or the 50-200 I also have. Bokeh can sometimes be a bit busy, but is generally pleasing.
The issues this lens has with AF are very frustrating. It's noisy and it hunts (both of which I can live with), but it often fails to lock focus. If you subscribe to Henri Cartier-Bresson school of thought that there is a decisive moment for every photo, this behavior can feel devastating. The manual focus ring isn't smooth enough to rely on regularly.
When everything works as designed, photos come out wonderfully. This has become my daily shooter, and I'm happy to find that I usually don't miss the zoom capabilities of my other two lenses. I have learned that my personal tastes and photographic instincts skew toward a slightly wider frame, which is why I'm planning on purchasing the Pentax DA 35mm f2.8 Macro in the future. Until then, I'll happily walk around shooting with this lens.
I'm not a very good photographer, but below are some examples of photos I've taken with this lens:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluescale/8695405688/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluescale/8954972399/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluescale/8990508946/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluescale/9373436073/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluescale/9376220924/ | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: September, 2010 Location: MD Posts: 1,033
9 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 11, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $117.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light but tight; cost; quality results | | Cons: | no quick shift | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-30
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I'd actually give this DA50 a 9.5 overall. I don't have any other autofocus 50mm, but I do have an A50 f1.7 and M50 f1.7. I've done a bunch of testing, and if the DA50 can match with those, then it can do its job. First, my methods:
- I've tried a number of different settings: adequately lighted scene, low-light interior, full light exteriors.
- I used tripod with timed release.
- For comparisons, I set ISO and shutter speed. I let the DA and A figure out their own exposure and used green button for the M.
- When trying to get the best shots w/ the A/M50s on my K-30, I used both the viewfinder indicator and the liveview with focus peaking and took the best result. The focus peaking consistently provided the better focused shots for me. In general, the A50 and M50 differences were more related to my accuracy of focus than anything. So, what goes for the A50 goes for the M50. (Very generally, the A tended to underexpose on its own and the M tended to overexpose using green button. I've made notes to myself to adjust when shooting.)
My conclusions:
- Build: The M50 f1.7 is my favorite lens in terms of engineering aesthetics. It is just a solid, beautiful, smooth piece of equipment. The A50 f1.7 is not far behind, but mine is just a bit 'looser' compared to the M50. The DA is light but tight. Yes, it doesn't have the heft of the M/A 50s, but its lightweight can be a good thing. It is more plastic, but it definitely is quality. I don't worry about the plastic mount. (Quick shift on the DA would be nice though.)
- The DA 50 f1.8 is really an excellent lens. At f1.8, I was getting sharper pics than the A/M at f1.7 and much less chromatic aberration.
- Chromatic aberration: The DA had the least wide open and mostly gone by 2.8. The A/M decreased from 1.7 > 2.8 and mostly gone by f4.
- Sharpness and f-stop: For all the lenses, there was a good jump in sharpness from open > 2.8 some improvement > 4 > slight improvement > 5.6 - 8 > slight decrease > f 11. Going to f16, the DA had a minor decrease but there was a noticeable decrease with the A/M.
- That is: they were all best at f5.6-8. Depending on focus accuracy, I could get mixed results, but the DA was best in most circumstances and very close in all others. At wide open where it can be hard to focus due to DOF, the DA's autofocus did a better job than I could manually with A/M.
- Sharpness across frame: In general, the DA consistently did better across the frame.
- Color / Contrast: This is related to exposure, and there was more inconsistency w/ the A/M in terms of exposure getting set correctly. Even when A/M exposure was right, the DA consistently did as well as better. Very nice Pentax color and great contrast.
- BUT: The one situation where the DA suffered a bit was in low light. I didn't notice that it was particularly slow, but it just had trouble getting the focus as well as I could do manually with the A/M. In low light settings, I'll try using manual focus with the DA.
OVERALL: I am really pleased with the excellence of the DA 50 f1.8. For getting photos at 50mm, there really is no reason to use anything other than the DA 50.
Ok, that last sentence makes me a little sad, since I so like the M50 f1.7. (So, no, for now I will not be selling the A/M 50 f1.7!)
Additionally, I compared the DA 50 with some zooms I have in the 50mm range, namely the F35-70, DA 18-135, and Tamron 24-135.
None of them were as good as the DA50, but the F35-70 came close. The Tamron 24-135 was also remarkably good. The 18-135 lagged behind a bit. If I'm not worried about top-rate sharpness, the 18-135 is still my primary lens due to its versatility and WR.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: April, 2011 Posts: 88
2 users found this helpful
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: January, 2012 Location: Ajax, Ontario Posts: 74
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 21, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $229.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent optical quality on a budget and lightweight | | Cons: | No aperture ring or DOF scale | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5
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I was looking for something to replace or supplement the manual focus FA 50 f1.7, which is a pretty decent lens. I did not want to spend a fortune so my cash could be used to purchase other glass in focal lengths that I would use more often. Moreover, my goal was also get something lightweight with decent and accurate autofocus. I decided to give the DA 50mm a test drive when my local camera dealer received stock.
Obviously, I would not expect this lens to be of the same build quality as a Limited prime or a DA* lens. However, I was curious to see what the optical quality was like as well as the handling. This is a very light weight lens that balances very nicely on the K-5 and the build quality seemed decent enough for the price. When it comes to optical quality, this lens punches well above its weight. In fact, it is truly excellent optic and one that holds its own against my collection of SMC Limited lenses. Unlike the Limiteds, I appreciate the wider F1.8 aperture for better bokeh and low light capabilities.
Granted, it is weak on features, there is no quick way to engage manual focus and is not meant to take any regular abuse. However, for the times I want to use a 50mm focal length in a super light configuration this lens delivers excellent images. I have no hesitation in recommending it to any Pentax owner looking to get a 50mm optic.
Here is a photo I took on my first day out with the lens on the K-5. It is an HDR shot of 5 images at +1/-1 EV.
| | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2012 Posts: 12
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 14, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light, Sharp, Great Build | | Cons: | Noisy Focusing, Price | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5
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I had played with the lens for a day and i would say its a great plastic lens... build quality is great even its made of plastic body. Sharpness is nice wide open but greatly improves as you step down...
Price is a bit high compared to other system of the same FL and F stop... none the less...pentax is pentax...
Overall ts a good buy for me... will try it out later on the streets and see its real performance...
(courtesy of my 50-200WR)
sample image from the DA 50...
@f1.8
@f2.0
 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: March, 2009 Location: Cotati, California USA Posts: 4,461
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 1, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $249.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | lightweight, bokeh, resistance to flaring | | Cons: | 50mm tends to be a difficult length to use, noisy focus, lens cap doesn't want to stay on | |
I just finished a month of shooting with this lens I got from another member in essentially new form. You can see the results here (keep in mind that I was also :
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/15937-blackcloudbrew/albums/5607-...eptember-2012/
I was skeptical about this lens as I'd had a FA 50mm f1.4 and while I found it to be a nice lens, I also found that 50mm just was difficult to use on an APS-C sensor. After a month of day in day out use of this lens, I'm now finding that the DA 50 is more of an all rounder than I realized. It's a bit noisy on focusing but for the price, it get's the job done and this is a keeper for me.
If one takes the position that because it's all plastic the build quality has to be less than say and all metal lens, I guess you'd have to conclude that. But I feel that this is a well built lens plastic or no. I even got good results with this on my IR converted K100ds.
So, is this a DA* lens? No, but it's still a very good value and I'm glad it's in the stable.
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2011 Posts: 3 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: February, 2011 Posts: 84
8 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 8, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $224.95
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image quality stopped down, aberration control, good size, focus feels good | | Cons: | AF works sometimes silly in that it sometimes "steps off." PF problems wide open. Bit pricey for this type of lens. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 7
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K20D
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Ok, so I've only got this for a day or so, but here's a quick rundown of findings so far.
First off, the lens isn't just 'a plastic' lens. It feels really solid, no slack and the finish is very nice. It does sound a bit like it's hollow thin plastic, however the weight and appearance all convey it's a solid piece of glass. After holding this in hand for a couple seconds - I'm not worried about it's build quality or it being plastic. It just looks and feels all right in every way. I like the weight. It's really light.
Focusing: The ring feels nice. The throw is really long so it can actually be used in MF. On the downside it lacks any indicators of current focus distance. Autofocus has some weird issues. On AF-C sometimes it gets a focus, thinks about it for a while, then misfocuses, thinks a while, then refocuses, misfocuses, etc. Could be a K20D issue, or the conditions I was in, but that's definitely some strange behaviour. On the other hand I've just had a long streak with the Sigma 105 2.8 EX which behaves like a completely different animal, so I'm not really sure how this should work. With that said, the speed is all right, and it seems to focus pretty well. Don't notice any significant bf or ff.
Shooting wide open is a bad idea when there's light involved. There is notable purple fringing to be found. Luckily it takes LR only a setting of 5-6 (of 20) to get rid of it completely - in a situation where I was deliberately trying to induce the PF. So I'm not really worried about that. And in the end the amount of PF is definitely under control, and not raging rampant with plans to kill you, like in the M50. So while it definitely is there, it's not all that bad. Aberrations aside, the results are good even wide open. Nothing like super sharp, but still very usable sharpness even at f/1.8.
The images are very nice stopped down a bit. Things are great at f/2.8, and on f/4 it seems to leave only little to even improve on. But then again that's to be expected from any 50mm lens.
In the end, a bit of defringe here and there, and it's just great. Don't know what's up with the price though. I mean come on. Everyone should have one, so you (yes, Pentax, I mean you) should knock the price of this thing down to $99.
Samples aren't anything spectacular, but to give you some idea of the f/1.8. Note that these images have been at least partly post processed and are not straight out of the K20D. Mainly the PF thing is partly fixed in these photos (not too accurately).
........yes, they were all at f/1.8.
Update:
The AF definitely is wobbly sometimes.
More samples at smaller apertures:
f/2.5:
f/2.8:
f/2.8:
f/5.6:
One more update: The AF issues persist, although it's not entirely clear wether that's a lens or body issue. The AF isn't fast enough to accurately track moving object. However, the lens is very nice stopped down a bit, so while I score the AF and value very low, I'm increasing the sharpness, aberrations & overall score to cautious 10 each. That's right. Despite the price it's a great lens in my opinion. Even my dog likes this lens:
f/2.8:
Oh, and the bottom line.
If you're thinking if you should get rid of your M 50 1.7 and get this instead, like I was thinking, the answer is yes. You should get rid of the M 50 1.7 and get this instead. Unless you need the aperture ring, of course. Or the weight.
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;)
;)
