SMC Pentax-FA 43mm F1.9 Limited Review

Construction and Handling

The SMC PENTAX FA 43mm F1.9 Limited is a pancake prime lens. Few lenses on the market are as thin. Considering its fast aperture and full frame coverage, the 43mm's size is an impressive feat. It is significantly more compact than comparable lenses from third-party manufacturers.

This section will give you a complete tour of the lens, from every angle. You will also see the lens alongside other comparable lenses and mounted on various camera bodies. We present the silver version of the lens.

Front Element

The front of the lens is made of a relatively small glass element. A metal ring around it bears the lens' name and credentials. On the black version, the "Limited" label is red.

Optical elements use Pentax’s well-regarded SMC “Ghostless” coatings which was introduced with this lens. Being a film-era design, it does not take advantage of the newer HD or Super Protect coatings.

The lens uses the ubiquitous 49mm filter thread.

The lens cap is a very elegant metal push-on cap. The inside is covered with smooth felt. Many Limited lenses use a variation of this design. It is thin, and requires the presence of the lens hood to attach to the lens. If one chooses not to use the hood, a generic 49mm lens cap will fit.

The cap is the exact same size as the one used on the FA 77mm.

Lens Body

The body of the lens is made entirely of metal. The FA 43mm is superb, on par with other Pentax Limited lenses. Especially with the silver finish, the lens looks like a small jewel. The build quality is flawless, the metal deeply engraved and the assembly tight. There is no wobble, no loose parts and the lettering is easy to read. The black version has a few colored accents which the silver version lacks, probably to improve contrast and readability. The lens lengthens slightly when focusing at shorter distances.

Starting from the base (at the lens mount) and going up, we first see the aperture ring. This ring features ribs that are a constant of high-end Pentax primes such as the DA Limited and D FA 100mm F2.8 macro. The presence of an aperture ring means the FA 43mm can be used with older film bodies, even fully manual ones.

Right above is the depth of field scale. Thinner than the common "fan-out" look, this scale still offers ranges for four aperture values. It can thus be truly useful for manual shooters, in addition to adding a touch of class to the lens. The small dot used to align the lens with the mount is missing on the 43mm.

Above this is the focus distance window, with markings in meters and feet. The text would be yellow for meters and light blue for feet on the black version, and is black and dark blue (meters and feet) on the silver version. It gives good contrast and is easy to read. The “window” is actually a cutout on the lens barrel, reminiscent of the design of older K and M lenses.

Right above is the focus ring, again using the ribbed texture mentioned earlier. It bears a few discrete screws around its edge. These are the only visible assembly elements apart from the lens mount. The focus ring is narrow, given the size of the lens.

Aperture

The Pentax 43mm uses 8 straight aperture blades.

Lens Mount

The lens mount is metal. Anything else (namely, plastic) would be surprising at this price point. There are no protections against water ingress.

Lens Hood

The hood is a ring, or cylinder, which screws in the lens' filter thread. It is more or less intended to be permanently attached to the lens. Since it does not collapse, the effective length of the lens is significantly longer than the specified 27mm when the hood is in place.

The inside of the hood is lined with soft material to diminish reflections.

Compared to Other Lenses

Here is the FA 31mm Limited next to its two siblings, the FA 43mm Limited and FA 77mm Limited. The 43mm is the smallest of the group.

The following images compare the 43mm to its smaller cousin the DA 40mm F2.8 Limited.

Mounted on Camera

Below are images of the 43mm mounted on a Pentax K-1 (full frame) and a Pentax K-3 (APS-C). The lens looks perfectly at home on the either bodies.

Verdict

The Pentax FA 43mm F1.9 Limited leaves nothing to be desired regarding its build quality and craftsmanship. The metal construction, elegant design and hand assembly are among the best even for Pentax lenses.

It is extremely small, dwarfed by most other lenses. Handling is excellent, adding almost no weight or length to the camera on which it is mounted. Users accustomed to using their left hand underneath the lens will have to place it below the camera body instead but it is a small adjustment.

Launched in 1997, the FA 43mm helped define the design style used by the other Limited and many more lenses since then. The FA Limited are often considered as the best-looking lenses Pentax ever made, and by looking at the FA 43mm we can understand why.