The ''highly recommended'' FA50 F/1.4 thread

Hi folks...A few days ago I read this review on DPR (YUK)

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/pentax_50_1p4_p15/page2.asp

and to my surprise this lens got the ''highly recommended'' stamp of approval...Seems like ever since Amazon

purchased them, they are actually honest, hence the good Pentax reports....I find irony that they are comparing

the OLD school FA 50 against the new modern glass...I am sure the canikon and Sigma boys can't be happy about that...

 

Anyway, lets see some of those 50mm images.... Cheating is allowed, so it can be a 50mm pentax manual lens 8~D

Here is my contribution..a grab shot taken wide open....It is an old image and I have posted it before, but I ran

accross it while still cleaning my hard drives.

 

<img src="http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp128/jgredline/Wildlife%20parks/IMGP0028.jpg">

Lets see if the link works now...

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/pentax_50_1p4_p15/page2.asp

I cannot imagine anyone not proclaiming unconditional love for a Pentax 50mm lens.

 

Here are a couple from the Seattle train depot:

<br/>

 

<img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/420877802_R57eR-L.jpg"/><br/>

Depot1, K20D, Pentax FA 50mm, 1/180 @ f8, ISO 400</a>

 

<br/>

<img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/420877716_ua6dA-L.jpg"/><br/>

Depot2, K20D, Pentax FA 50mm, 1/45 @ f8, ISO 400</a>

 

<br/>

ME

Correction above: both were taken with a K10D.

 

ME

Here's mine; taken a couple of nights ago with my PZ-1p and Kodak BW400cn film...<div></div>

Here's a nice one with my FA 50:

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<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/8005566-md.jpg">

<P>

Yu Jun

Ok, I'll throw my hat into the ring...

 

This is courtesy of the venerable A 50mm 1.4 and my K20D.

 

Mel<div></div>

Recent photo with the K10d and the FA 50/1.4<div></div>

An older shot .. still with the k10d<div></div>

one of my first shots with the K10D and 50mm:

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<a title="Hear me RRRROOOOAAAAR!!!!" href="

<img src="http://static.flickr.com/130/370300186_09e1feff58_d.jpg" border="0"/>

</a>

<P>

to be fair (to Caney), one of my first 5 shots with the ist D:

<P>

<a title="Contemplation...Portrait of a Border Collie" href="

<img src="http://static.flickr.com/186/376242257_5100de9800_d.jpg" border="0"/>

</a>

Didn't understand your statement - did Amazon purchaser DPR and DPR was somehow dishonest before that?

@''Sanford Gerald , Nov 20, 2008; 10:24 a.m.

 

Didn't understand your statement - did Amazon purchaser DPR and DPR was somehow dishonest before that?'

 

From what I recall ''Amazon'' did purchase DPR.

As for their being dishonest, That is a matter of opinion. It it my opinion that they very much favored those companies that spent their advertising moneys with them there by making there reviews of Pentax gear look bad...

The flip side was that it was a very rare thing to see the canikon brands get a bad rap. Not the case any longer.

 

Mind you this is my opinion, but shared by many others as well..

+1

@Javier- I agree with you, The DPR reviews seem more even-keeled brand-wise these days. That said, It’s rare for me to find a camera or lens review anywhere online that is more oriented towards photography rather than components. Mike Johnstone’s writing is a rare exception.

 

ME

here is one of my first images with my new FA 50 f1.4

i love this lens.

Hi folks.

Looking at the picture that shows the 4 50mm lenses on DPR, I have to ask myself the question. What is up what that 50mm lens that Sigma put out that is the size of a bigma? I mean really, the size alone would be reason enough for me not to buy it. Heck for a lens that big, may as well stick a DA*16-50 or a DA*50-135 on it....

 

What are your feelings on that 50mm bigma?

 

 

@Ty, I am it is a cool image. Might the rest of us be able to see it :-)

@Ty, I am ''sure'' it is a cool image. Might the rest of us be able to see it :-) ?

 

Need an edit button.

Yep that Sigma is huge for a 50mm. Guess that is the cost of an in lens ring style HSM focus motors. I thought the same thing about the EOS mount Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that I owned for week before exchanging it. It was just too big and heavy for a normal-ish prime. However I am looking forward to seeing how the new Pentax DA*55 turns out. That one may make it into my portrait bag.

 

Pop Photo did a review on the Sigma 50 last month; nice lens but can't see it being better enough to justify the weight / cost / size; especially compared to the FA50 which I think it the best deal of any of the major brands 50mm lenses. http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/5621/sigma-50mm-f14-ex-dg-hsm-af-lens-test.html

Here's one from the DFA 50mm Macro. I think this is the sharpest lens I own and has made something of an unused step child out of my FA 43mm limited.<div></div>

The FA 50mm 1.4 was the first prime lens which I bought after my Pentax ist*DS (2005). Here's a shot from my very first model shoot.<div></div>

The new Sigma is quite big, and quite expensive. And performance seems veriy similar to the Pentax and other fast 50's at f/2. The old-school 50's actually may be slightly better than the Sigma at smaller apertures like f/8. However, the Sigma tests with noticeably higher resolution at f/1.4 which is of course the reason people buy a lens like that. Most likely it won't be worth it for most people--but it's nice to have the choice, I guess.

 

I hardly use my FA50, I tend to use the FA43 instead--the new DA* 55 will need to be more special than that Sigma (and smaller) to make me want it.

The "fast-fifty", still my favorite lens from my beginnings with Pentax in the late 1960's. This picture is from a few weeks ago. The FA50 / 1.4 on a *istD.<div></div>

Impressive set of photographs from you Pentaxians...

Let's not forget the 50/1.7... I have the "A" version and love it. Very, very sharp, and so compact that it almost looks like a pancake lens compared to the other manufacturers' 50s. I'm always on the lookout for the autofocus version but have yet to find one (for a reasonable price).

 

Not to stray off topic but the old Nikkor Micro 55/2.8 is one hell of a sharp lens. My mom has one and I've occasionally contemplated getting a Nikon DSLR just so I could use that lens.

50mm Pentax primes like the F-50mm macro F2.8, A-50mm macro F2.8, A-50mm F1.7 and some Takumars are

among my most used lenses. With a little luck, even some wildlife photography is possible with a 50mm and a *istD

:-)<div></div>