Pentax SMCP-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $699.00 from www.tekade.de

Summary:
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.

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

Weaknesses:
-

Similar Products Used:
A50/1.4
A50/1.7
A50/2.0
DA40/2.8

Customer Service:
Never needed

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.55 of 5,
22 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Kerrisdale Cameras,

Summary:
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!

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

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

Similar Products Used:
135 2.8, 400 5.6, 50 2.8 macro, 80-200 2.8, 20-35 4, etc, etc.

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

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.75 of 5,
4 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Scandinavian Photo

Summary:
A wonderful lens, but it's not really worth the money. Almost the same price as a Leitz lens and with similar qualities, both mechanically and optically. If you (like me) enjoy well built stuff it could give you the extra luxurious joy that makes you bring your camera that extra time, if you only care about the optical performance you should get a 50/1.7, 50/1.4 or 35/2.0 instead.

Strengths:
Extremely well built and beautiful, compact, fantastic optically (don't know about performance wide open since I almost always stop down to f/4 at least). Better for manual focusing than most other AF lenses due to the damping, wonderful lens hood.

Weaknesses:
Expensive, slower AF due to the damping (ok for me though), focus ring is a little bit too narrow for manual focusing, only silver available in Sweden (doesn't bother me).

Similar Products Used:
Minolta MD 50/1.7, 32/2.8, Olympus 50/1.8, 32/2.8, 35/2.0, Leica Summilux-M 35/1.4, Summicron-M 35/2.0, various other lenses (mostly Olympus and Pentax)

Customer Service:
Haven't needed so far.

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Visitors rate this review
2.17 of 5,
6 votes

Summary:
It looks better than it performs. Still a fair buy if optical performance is not the priority.

Strengths:
Nice look, solid built, excellent flare control, small size and lght weight.

Weaknesses:
Optically not particular well.

Similar Products Used:
SMCP-M 40/2.8
SMCP-A 50/1.4
SMCP-A 50/1.7

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5,
4 votes

Summary:
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.

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

Weaknesses:
Price is almost a double of FA50/1.4.

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

Customer Service:
No experience.