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Lens review

Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited

8 May 2011
Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:
  • solid, metal casing and high build quality,
  • sensational image quality in the frame centre,
  • moderate distortion,
  • slight astigmatism,
  • low vignetting,
  • good work against bright light,
  • high transmission,
  • fast and accurate autofocus.

Cons:

  • weak image quality on the edge of the frame,
  • huge chromatic aberration,
  • monstrous coma,
  • noisy autofocus,
  • price/quality ratio could have been better.

Perhaps the most immediate rival of the tested Pentax 1.9/43 is the Voigtlander Ultron 40 mm f/2 SL II Aspherical. The build quality, dimensions and parameters of both instruments are very similar. Both our tests showed clearly that the significantly cheaper Voigtlander fares better. One serious asset of the Pentax (although not equally important for everyone) is the fact that it features an autofocus. The overall impression after the test of the Pentax ? Compared to optical properties it can offer the price of the lens is definitely too high.


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Sample shots

Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/1.9, exp. 1/1000 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.11 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/1.9, exp. 1/640 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 7.86 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/1.9, exp. 1/500 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.53 MB
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/1.9, exp. 1/3200 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.21 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/1.9, exp. 1/8000 s, ISO 100
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.22 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/1.9, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 100
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 7.61 MB
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/2.2, exp. 1/1000 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 9.25 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/2.5, exp. 1/800 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 9.19 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 125
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 7.15 MB
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 125
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 6.87 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/3200 s, ISO 100
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.28 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/640 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.11 MB
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 6.98 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 7.95 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/400 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 11.42 MB
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 200
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 10.84 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/800 s, ISO 100
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.96 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 500
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.22 MB
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Pentax smc FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited - Summary
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 500
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 6.32 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/400 s, ISO 400
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 6 MB
Camera: Pentax K-5
Parameters: 43 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 1000
File: JPEG, 4928 x 3264 pix, 8.86 MB



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