Review 1 of 4
Price Paid:
$799.00
from bhphoto Summary:
This is a top quality lens that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fast portrait length lens. The Pentax *FA lenses represent Pentax's high-end line, and this lens has certainly lived up to its billing.
Optical quality - Other than being slightly soft wide open (which is fine for me anyways, as I use it for portraiture), this lens when stopped down to 2.8 or smaller produces tack sharp and contrasty photos. Colour rendition is good and quite neutral. Flare is well controlled (lens coating is one of Pentax's strengths), and the big lens hood also helps in this regard. There is barely noticeable light fall off wide open, which disappears quickly as you stop down. Bokeh with this lens is very nice and smooth, and makes for great out of focus areas for portraits. The quality of glass in this lens is top notch.
Focusing - Manual focusing is easy and smooth. Autofocus is reasonably fast, but a tad noisy and can hunt in low light or with low contrast objects (AF isn't one of Pentax's strengths). I really like the manual focus / autofocus clutch mechanism, which is quick and intuitive - you pull the focus ring back to switch to manual mode, and push it forward to engage autofocus. Minimum focus distance of 3.3 feet is okay, but I sometimes wish that I could get closer.
Handling - The lens is fairly heavy, but it fits well in my hand and has a very nice feel to it. The focus ring is a good size, and rubberized for a good grip. Internal focusing is also nice, as focus ring and lens barrel do not rotate during autofocus. Attaching or rotating filters when using the big lens hood, however, can be difficult. The super fast 1.4 aperture sure makes the lens a joy to handle in low light situations.
Build quality - The construction of this lens is solid and of high quality. Other than the aperture ring being made of plastic, this all metal lens instills confidence.
All in all, this lens has been my best addition to the equipment bag so far. Reasonably priced for a pro lens in this length. Highly recommended. Strengths:
- sharp and contrasty images with this lens at all apertures Weaknesses:
Nothing I would truly call a weakness, but AF could be faster/quieter, and a metal aperture ring would have topped off the build quality. Similar Products Used:
Pentax and Sigma lenses. Customer Service:
Haven't had to use yet.
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