Optical quality at medium aperture

Optical quality at full aperture ; No sun shade

The build quality is ok. The optical quality is not very convincing at full aperture, but progress strongly and quickly when closed down.
Good at f2, very good at f2.8, exceptional at f4.Sun shade optional, and screw-in type : I don't like (conflict with filters).

Similar Products Used:

Leitz-R 50/1.4, Pentax M-50/1.7

Excellent optical performance, even wide open.
Small size.
Excellent flare controll.
Good damping of the focusing for an AF lens.
Pleasureto use.

Quality of the barrel not up to MF lenses (but this would not be resonable to ask for).

None would be more correct.

Fast allround lens in a small package. Fits extremely well to the
present Pentax MZ/ZX range of AF cameras. I find performance to be very satiesfying. Vignetting and distortions are resonable controlled, flare controll seems excellent.
Cheapest and smallest 50/1.4 AF in the US market results in outstanding value for money.

This would be my lens for the island when I where only allowed to bring one.

Customer Service

Not tested

Similar Products Used:

Minolta MD 50/1.7 and MD 50/2.0
Zooms in that focal length range:
Minolta MD35-105/3.5-4.5
Tamron 28-80/3.5-5.

Solid Body, Sharpness, Speed, Color Rendition, Contrast.

None

As far as I can tell, both from the work I have done, and from talking to others with much more experience this is one of the best lenses available. Especially for the price. I personally have always admired 50mm work and I know this is the last 50mm lens I will ever buy. I'm glad I started with the Pentax line, I think the quality you can achieve with Penatx on a moderate budget is very underestimated.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Tamron, Promaster, Pentax FA

Wonderfully made. Its almost entirely metal!! Extremely fast and superb optics.

None that I am aware of.

This is a compact and fast focusing lens that is incredibly sharp. Color saturation and detail is first rate. I recommend this lens and some Fuji Superia 100-200 for general work.

Customer Service

Pentax allways respons to be e-mails in a timely manner.

Similar Products Used:

My first fixed focal length lens.

Just like other standard lens, good optical quality and flare control, etc.
Reasonable pricing compared with other similar pdts of different brands.

I find most Pentax standard lenses are good, but don't expect extraordinary sharpness. Actually, not a weaknesses at all.

I find this lens is cost effective, much cheaper than 43/1.9 and give one stop larger in aperature and even cheaper than Nikon & Canon 50mm F1.4 lenses. Relatively compact in size. In my experience, most Pentax standard lens is a bit "soft", the image is usually not too sharp, may be "natural" is a suitable description about its image quality.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

50mm lens of Nikon, Leica and rangefinders. Pentax A 50mm F1.7 & F2, FA43mm F1.9.