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impressed with FA-primes on K5iis vs Zooms

Paratom

Well-known member
I just wanted to share my latest experience...after believing the 31 and 43 to be overpriced I finally got those 2 lenses and I am very impressed. They are so much better than the 18-135 and also to a 16-50mm (I expect however that the 16-50 was not the best sample...but then I had another 16-50 wich also was not the best sample).
I have read reports you have to stop down the 31 and 43 to get best performance (which is probably true) but the performance at wider f-stops is all ready very good IMO. All, sharpness, bokeh and also color seem very good for my taste.
The lenses are expensive but I am really surprised what the combo of the K5iis and those lenses can deliver.
I follow with some images if I have some subjects where I think its worth to post.
Tom
 

Knorp

Well-known member
I just wanted to share my latest experience...after believing the 31 and 43 to be overpriced I finally got those 2 lenses and I am very impressed. They are so much better than the 18-135 and also to a 16-50mm (I expect however that the 16-50 was not the best sample...but then I had another 16-50 wich also was not the best sample).
I have read reports you have to stop down the 31 and 43 to get best performance (which is probably true) but the performance at wider f-stops is all ready very good IMO. All, sharpness, bokeh and also color seem very good for my taste.
The lenses are expensive but I am really surprised what the combo of the K5iis and those lenses can deliver.
I follow with some images if I have some subjects where I think its worth to post.
Tom
Tom, then you'll like the FA77/1.8 too !
Together: the holy trinity ... :angel:

Kind regards.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Tom, then you'll like the FA77/1.8 too !
Together: the holy trinity ... :angel:

Kind regards.
I am sure I would like it - however I don't use the focal length muc, prefer 43 for portrait and therefore plan to get a 50-135/2.8 for the longer focal length.
Then I would have 21,31,43,50-135.
Just using one wider lens and don't know what to choose. I once had a 15da prime but found the corners soft. But I also don't need/want a zoom in this range, so what to do?
Or I just live with 21mm as widest.

It is impressive how much difference good lenses make. People on some forums say there K3 is not sharp and use the 18-135 as reference. Doesn't make sense IMO. That lens might be fine for its flexibility and waterproof and its ok, but the sensor has much more to offer than the lens can show.
 

benroy

Subscriber Member
I agree with Bart's evaluations of the 43 and 77 FA lenses...before going to the 31, however, I would strongly recommend that you try the 35/2.8 macro lens...very sharp and much cheaper than the 31...not that much difference in focal length.
The 77 is in a class of its own...nothing comparable around except the Olympus 75/1.8...and the megabuck 75mm Leica lenses.

Roy Benson
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I agree with Bart's evaluations of the 43 and 77 FA lenses...before going to the 31, however, I would strongly recommend that you try the 35/2.8 macro lens...very sharp and much cheaper than the 31...not that much difference in focal length.
The 77 is in a class of its own...nothing comparable around except the Olympus 75/1.8...and the megabuck 75mm Leica lenses.

Roy Benson
Thanks Roy,
when I had the K5 I owned the 35/2.8 and liked it.
However the 31 fits my needs better in regards of lens speed and focal lengths.
In the end I agree that the 31 is expensive for a "normal" lens, what it is on dx-sensor. But then its my most used focal lengths, and from my first impression it has more character and better IQ than the 50/1.4 lenses for Nikon and Canon.
Please guys stop talking so positive about the 77mm, my plan was to keep this setup good but simple and slim.

by the way I find the K5IIs quite an improvement over the K5 I once had in regards of focus accuracy.
 

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
Tom, How is the autofocus speed and accuracy of your K5iis relative to the Canon 5D Mk III? Thanks,
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Folks,

you should stop talking so positively about Pentax FA lenses and K5IIs/K3. After I bought the EM1 with 12-40 I decided to sell my K5IIs in order to simplify my gear - but it is hard to sell as Pentax is currently not such a popular system.

But with all that positive comments and reports here, I might get weak again and keep the Pentax, which BTW I really enjoyed. And thinking about pairing it with some of the excellent FA primes makes me even more nervous. This might become expensive for me :)

If I would keep the Pentax, the FA77 would be a no brainer for me .....
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Tom, How is the autofocus speed and accuracy of your K5iis relative to the Canon 5D Mk III? Thanks,
Thats a tough question.

If we talk focus accuracy I find the k5iis quite good with most lenses I tried (21,31,43,18-135) but with the 16-50 I had to dial in focus correction.

I use the 5dII mostly with 24-70 (focus is perfect) and 70-200 (focus is pretty accurate) and 50/1.2 (focus seems sometimes to not be 100% accurate).

Focus speed…I would say the K5IIs is fast, the 5dIII feels "instant".

The 5dIII has a larger finder and much more focus points which are also closer together. This leaves much better control/options for continues AF and AF-tracking.

To me the k5iis feels very fast as an all-round camera.
The 5dIII AF is even more sophisticated. I see the main advantage of the Canon AF if you need C-AF often.

The K5IIs for me has the near ideal size, not too big but also big enough to feel lie a real camera with very good user interface.

The OOC images from the K5IIs seem to have a little more "pop" IMO.
I wish Pentax offered anything close to the Canon 24-70/2.8II.
But then those limited primes are a joy to use.
Tom
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Folks,

you should stop talking so positively about Pentax FA lenses and K5IIs/K3. After I bought the EM1 with 12-40 I decided to sell my K5IIs in order to simplify my gear - but it is hard to sell as Pentax is currently not such a popular system.

But with all that positive comments and reports here, I might get weak again and keep the Pentax, which BTW I really enjoyed. And thinking about pairing it with some of the excellent FA primes makes me even more nervous. This might become expensive for me :)

If I would keep the Pentax, the FA77 would be a no brainer for me .....
Maybe wait until we know more about the 20-40.
 

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
Thats a tough question.

If we talk focus accuracy I find the k5iis quite good with most lenses I tried (21,31,43,18-135) but with the 16-50 I had to dial in focus correction.

I use the 5dII mostly with 24-70 (focus is perfect) and 70-200 (focus is pretty accurate) and 50/1.2 (focus seems sometimes to not be 100% accurate).

Focus speed…I would say the K5IIs is fast, the 5dIII feels "instant".

The 5dIII has a larger finder and much more focus points which are also closer together. This leaves much better control/options for continues AF and AF-tracking.

To me the k5iis feels very fast as an all-round camera.
The 5dIII AF is even more sophisticated. I see the main advantage of the Canon AF if you need C-AF often.

The K5IIs for me has the near ideal size, not too big but also big enough to feel lie a real camera with very good user interface.

The OOC images from the K5IIs seem to have a little more "pop" IMO.
I wish Pentax offered anything close to the Canon 24-70/2.8II.
But then those limited primes are a joy to use.
Tom
Tom, Thank you very much. I am thinking about get an K5II with 43/1,8. The price in US is very attractive at the moment.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Tom, Thank you very much. I am thinking about get an K5II with 43/1,8. The price in US is very attractive at the moment.
What do you use now?

To me the K5II/s feels like a very intuitive camera. For example the TAV-setting where you choose f-stop and exp time and the camera sets the ISO is a very usefull feauture. The buttons etc. are very good size, and the camera is not overloaded with funtions.
The weakest point IMO is that the lens offerings are more limited than Canon or Nikon and there seems to be a lot of sample variation at least in regards of some zooms.
But than again Canikon do not offer anything like the nice small limited primes.
 

benroy

Subscriber Member
Tom: you expressed some doubt about the 16-50. Remember, please, that most of the images shared by Jim Radcliffe were shot with the 16-50...I have found the 16-50 to be excellent in the up close mode.
Roy Benson
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Tom: you expressed some doubt about the 16-50. Remember, please, that most of the images shared by Jim Radcliffe were shot with the 16-50...I have found the 16-50 to be excellent in the up close mode.
Roy Benson
Hi Roy,
I had 2 samples of the 16-50 and both where soft at f2.8, but fine at f4.0
However the last sample I had was soft up to f5.6 on the left side (the right side was very good) in the 30-50mm range and needed massive focus fine adjustment.
My assumption is that there is a lot of sample variation going on with the 16-50.
But I am a little tired of lens testing, returning etc.
Thats why my next hope is the 20-40 Ltd. as a zoom, which I also would prefer size-wise.
However I think I will use the primes often, because they seem (only first impressions) to be good over the frame already at f2.8 (at least the 31 and 43).
I am sure that there are some good 16-50 out there, and Jims images certainly look very good (not only technically ;) )
 

Ocean

Senior Subscriber Member
What do you use now?

To me the K5II/s feels like a very intuitive camera. For example the TAV-setting where you choose f-stop and exp time and the camera sets the ISO is a very usefull feauture. The buttons etc. are very good size, and the camera is not overloaded with funtions.
The weakest point IMO is that the lens offerings are more limited than Canon or Nikon and there seems to be a lot of sample variation at least in regards of some zooms.
But than again Canikon do not offer anything like the nice small limited primes.
Thank you Tom! I have been using Nikon system (D800) but looking for a smaller DSLR for family outing and general purpose system. I can definitely live with smaller prime lenses (31/43/77 f1.8). As for zoom lens, I have been thinking about the new Sigma 18-35/1.8 as a general purpose zoom. With the IBIS in K5ii, these f1.8 lenses should cover most of lighting conditions. I do care about is the quality of optical finder and focus accuracy.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I just wanted to share my latest experience...after believing the 31 and 43 to be overpriced I finally got those 2 lenses and I am very impressed. They are so much better than the ...
When I was shooting Pentax gear, I went through all of the Limiteds available at the time. In the end, I nearly kept my K10D body simply to use the FA43/1.9 Limited with it. It's my favorite of all of them, followed by the DA21/3.4 and FA77/1.8 Limiteds. Those three lenses and a body comprise a nearly complete system already.

The FA31 was, to me, a disappointment. Bulky and heavy, the dumb rigid lens hood built in gets in the way, and it exhibited too much flare/lateral CA for a lens of its price. I had it first and sold it in preference to the much less expensive FA35/2AL at the time. Now I'd go for the DA35 Macro instead—the one I tried with a friend's K5 was a much nicer lens IMO.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Thank you Tom! I have been using Nikon system (D800) but looking for a smaller DSLR for family outing and general purpose system. I can definitely live with smaller prime lenses (31/43/77 f1.8). As for zoom lens, I have been thinking about the new Sigma 18-35/1.8 as a general purpose zoom. With the IBIS in K5ii, these f1.8 lenses should cover most of lighting conditions. I do care about is the quality of optical finder and focus accuracy.
The finder of the K5 finder is smaller and not as bright as a good FF-finder.
But I find it good enough and prefer it over EVF at least in daylight.
Focus accuracy with my K5iis is good in S-AF, C-AF is not so great.
When I had a original K5 I found the AF-accurancy not reliable, but with the K5IIs sample I own now it seems reliable.

However all my statements here are not more than first impressions because I have not yet shot much with the system.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I don't understand people. If you have 31 and 77 in most situations no need to have 43 at all.
I just prefer 43mm focal length over 77 on dx sensor, thats all. With 77 I have to step too far away for my taste.
Now the 21 has to fulfill what 31 was on FF,
the 31 is like a short normal lens, and for me the 43 like a very short portrait lens.
In the end I would prefer if the 31 was a little wider and the 43 a little longer.
77 on FF would be ideal for my taste, but on DX I find it too long.
 
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