3D effect, smooth wonderful Bokeh, build quality, natural color rendering

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This is the first and best of the Limited´s Series from PENTAX. It´s fantastic well build with massive metal quality. The real secret of this ultimate lens is not only sharpness - it´s the natural 3D effect and the wonderful bokeh of this masterpiece. Open your mind, feel and work with this diva - it is a class of its own. I use it on my K10D and this is the best partner for this lens.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

A50/1.4
A50/1.7
A50/2.0
DA40/2.8

* Light * Well damped focussing * Compact * Good flare resistance

* Very poor optics!!!! * Awful out of focus highlights!!! * Easy to lose the lens cap * Expensive

A fine looking lens, and lightweight, but the goods really stop there. I did extensive testing on this lens, and I found it to be very soft from 1.8-5.6, and from 16-22, EVEN when focussing at infinity. (Worse close up, of course.) This "pancake" design (both Nikon and Pentax) is very simple and poor optically. Much better off to forget the slick looks and buy one of Pentax's 50's. I just sold my 43, and good riddance!

Customer Service

No experience, remarkably - I hear they're quite good.

Similar Products Used:

135 2.8, 400 5.6, 50 2.8 macro, 80-200 2.8, 20-35 4, etc, etc.

Compact, beautiful metal construction. Unusual focal length.

Lack of comparably finished camera to mount it on.

Did Pentax really intend this to be used, or merely as a collector's item? What camera is it supposed to match up with? The sturdy metal construction seems out of place on their plasticky SLR's, whether they are black or those with fake plastic chrome like the ZX5n. I'm waiting for an SLR with similar finish quality.

Similar Products Used:

None

Build quality, small size.

Price

Very well build, cute, light, nice to use lense. Very expensive too. And the optical quality is good, but far from perfect: average contrast, vignetting at full aperture.
43 mm is the GENUINE normal focal length for 35 mm cameras.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax M-35/2, Pentax M-35/2.8. Pentax M-50/1.7, Pentax FA 50/1.4, Leitz-R 35/2, Leitz R-50/2

Great sharpness, great contrast
Excellent ergonomics (manual focusing is great)

None.

Very compact lens that gives stellar performance if you can afford it. The size of the lens is one of the best advantages becuase the ZX-5n with it is just a little bigger than a poin-and-shoot, so you can take it to places where you won't usually take your "big camera". All-metal construction and excellent damp focussing feeling makes it a pleasure to use.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax 50/1.7

Three hundred vacation pictures in Paris with the only dud caused by
wrong film choice. Magnificent detail and color from bright sun to available light to flash. Perfect bokeh.

When the picture is wrong you cannot blaim the lense.

You can keeping enlarging on screen from a photo CD and keep finding more detail not static. An 8 by 10 print is a piece of cake.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 50mm F1.8. Bokeh not as good.

Super sharp,high contrast,metal finish,
versatility,small size
and weight.

Care required when fitting the metal lens hood to thin filters such as Hoya Pro 1 as it
is very easy to strip the thread on the filter

This lens is quite simply stunning,worth changing
camera systems alone for.I use this lens attached
to a Pentax mz5n and the results are incredible.
I have used this with provia f100 slide film and
the detail is amazing.I recently photographed a friends wedding using this lens alone and found the focal length ideal for both group shots and
head and shoulder shots.When the prints were returned I was amazed at the quality,the sharpest
and best contrast of any prints I had previously
taken by both canon and olympus system lenses.Buy
it and thanks Pentax for producing a brilliant
metal lens.

Customer Service

Not required

Similar Products Used:

Canon 50mm F1.8
Olympus zuiko 50mm F1.8

Absolutely a fantastic lens.
It is sharp all the way through, especially sharp from F4- F11.
The lens hood does a great job.
Close focusing range.
Images just seem to jump off the page at you, especially when using a shallow depth of field.

Like another reviewer, I managaed to strip the outer thread of a filter when putting the lens hood back in position with very little effort -(heliopan brand filter).
Also, although it is a little pricey compared to standard 50mm lenses, in my case it will pay for itself in no time.
The lens has an audible whir when focusing in auto, which could be a disadvantage in some settings.

I feel confident that this lens will in time become a classic. It screams quality!
If you live in an area where top line Pentax lenses are hard to come by, speak to your local agent and get one in to shoot a role through your camera, and you will be hooked when you see the results. Think of it as an investment in your personal develpoment.

Customer Service

Not required to date

Similar Products Used:

Pentax FA 50mm F1.4
Pentax FA 50mm F1.7

Fantastic performance especially the outstanding sharpness and contrast.
Mechanically almost Hasselblad-quality.
And,ofcourse very nicelooking!

None

Whithout any doubt,the best lens I´ve ever used.The unmatched clarity and punch in the pictures is something every photographer should
experience.Buy it fast!!

Similar Products Used:

Pentax SMC 50/1,8
Pentax SMC 50/2,8 Macro
Pentax FA 50/2,8 Macro
Rikenon 50/1,8
Rikenon 50/2,8
Pentax SMC 40/2,8

Light weight, but well built construction. Good looking appearance. Good optics.

Price is almost a double of FA50/1.4.

In my opinion, the main selling point is beautiful outlook. Flare control and sharpness is very good. The focusing ring is a bit too narrow to hold when I use it with MF body.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax A50/1.7, FA50/2.8Marco. Nikon MF50/1.8, AF50/1.4. Contax G45/2