Pentax-FA 43mm F1.9 Limited (APS-C)
Construction and Handling
The smc Pentax-FA 43mm F1.9 Limited not only looks good, but it is of solid construction. The lens barrel as well as the focusing and aperture rings are made of metal, as is the dedicated lens hood.
The lens can be a bit difficult to mount and dismount unless one resorts to holding and twisting it by the ribbed aperture ring. The lens is very compact and that means the fixed part of the lens barrel is quite narrow and it has no ribbing. While the aperture ring doesn't move when set to "A" we do wonder if long-term use of the ring during mounting will strain the locking mechanism to the breaking point.
The included metal lens hood screws into the 49mm filter thread on the front of the lens. The front lens cap fits on the hood, which is 54mm in diameter at the rim. If you were to use the lens without the hood you'd need a 49mm lens cap. The hood is so compact that there is no reason to not use it at all times.
The lens hood is too short for the APS-C format to be really useful when there are bright sources of light right outside of the frame (refer our test of ghosting and flare further ahead).
The lens takes standard 49mm filters. The filters can be are screwed in between the lens and the hood.
The focusing ring turns when the lens autofocuses, and the front of the lens barrel extends outward by up to about 1cm (it does not rotate). The focusing ring is narrow and recessed to discourage the user from accidentally holding on to it during autofocus. The ribbing makes it convenient enough for manual focus even being this narrow. The focus throw is around 150 degrees from infinite to 45 cm and allows for precise manual focusing although it isn't as generous as the 210 degrees of a manual focusing lens like the smc Pentax-M 50mm or smc Pentax-A 50mm lenses. There is only a small amount of friction in manual focus mode, which makes precise adjustments somewhat challenging. The lens does not have full-time manual focus override, so be sure to set your camera to "MF" prior to turning the focusing ring yourself.
The lens is very light and balances well on the camera. You don't really feel that the lens is mounted at all. Without hood the lens is almost as compact as a 40mm pancake lens. With that said, we recommend keeping the hood on at all times as it protects the front element.
The lens has seven optical elements and features Pentax's ghostless coating, a flare-reducing improvement to the SMC coating that was introduced with this lens.
The rear of the lens is matte black which helps prevent reflections back onto the sensor. The mount has the usual features of an FA lens:
- Lens information contacts
- Aperture control and stop down lever
- Screwdrive autofocus coupling
- Aperture information lever, moves with the aperture ring (serves no purpose on a DSLR)
- Aperture ring lock switch (the ring should always be in the locked "A" position on a DSLR)
The front lens cap is made of metal as already mentioned and the inside is covered with green felt which adds a touch of exclusivity to this lens.
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What's Missing?
This otherwise-excellent lens shows its age by missing some features that we have become accustomed to in most modern lenses. The 43mm Limited has:
- No weather sealing
- No Quick-Shift (manual fine tuning of autofocus)
- No built-in silent autofocus motor
What's Out of the Ordinary?
Only a select few of the current lenses in the Pentax line-up have these features:
- Full-frame (24 x 36mm) image circle
- Aperture ring
- All-metal construction
This lens covers the full-frame format, 24x36mm, which makes this lens useable on Pentax film SLR bodies as well as on future full-frame DSLRs, should Pentax release such.
The aperture ring permits this lens to be used on bellows units and lets users reverse-mount it for macro photography. This is not particularly relevant for this lens in our opinion, since it would not be our first choice for macro photography: we'd rather use a lens with a focal length of about 100mm or more to provide additional working distance.
Thus, the aperture ring is really only relevant when the lens is used on film bodies that require one. On Pentax DSLRs, the aperture setting is dialed in via the control wheels on the camera.
Verdict
This lens is manufactured to high standards with no play anywhere and has an all-solid metal construction. A sturdy metal lens hood is included. The focus throw is more than adequate for manual focusing, but there could be more friction. The lens is very light and thus an excellent choice when traveling.
An all-metal constructions is almost unheard of these days, so this is something that truly makes this lens special. In your hand, it feels like a quality vintage film-era lens.
The lens is not weather-sealed and it does not feature Quick-Shift focusing.
