| Specifications |
| Optical Formula |
7 elements in 6 groups |
| Aperture Range |
f/1.8 ~ f/22 |
| Number of Aperture Blades |
9 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance |
0,7m |
| Maximum Magnification |
1:7,1 |
| Maximum Diameter |
64mm |
| Length |
48mm (61mm with extracted hood) |
| Filter Size |
49mm |
| Weight |
270g |
| FREE (Fixed Rear Element Extension) focusing system |
| build in hood |
| comes with front cap, rear cap, hood, leather case |
|
| Build |
| The build quality is really outstanding. Till now I haven't seen anything like this in the AF world. The complete case is out of a
very fine finished aluminum. All figures and marks are engraved and not only painted and the inner part of the, metal, front cap is
coated with fine green velvet. The focus ring is wide enough (more then double of the 43mm limited lens) and is damped very well.
The MF feel is the best of all AF lenses (include the FA100 2.8macro) I have but still not as good as old M-lenses.
And for my taste the aperture ring of the M-lenses feels better also. The lens hood which can be extracted is coated
matte black so that there should not be a problem with reflections. |
| Optical |
| Like the build quality, the optical performance is great. It has good sharpness wide open. Not as good as the FA100 2.8macro,
but very even over the whole area. Stopped down to f/4 it is superb. At f/1.8 it has slight vignetting which disappears one stop down.
The best thing is the astonishing color rendition and the beautiful 'bokeh'. Things really look 3D, I haven't seen such a plastic
representation with any of my other lenses. It has no visible distortions and the flare is controlled absolute fantastic. |
| Handling |
| With its size, only 10mm longer than the standard 50mm lens, it is really compact for a 77 1.8. It isn't really light weighted but
I won't call it heavy. It fits great on a MZ(ZX) camera and due to the well damped focus ring it is a great combination with
the older MF cameras like ME or MX. Because of the nice MF feel I often focus manually and with the shallow DOF of such a lens it is very
easy to get the right focus point. The build in hood is really great. Just put off the lens cap and you will extract the hood. No snapping
clicking or screwing. |
| Compatibility |
| As you would expect I have not had any compatibility problems with the two cameras I've used it on so far. A Pentax MZ-5 and a Pentax MX. |
| Conclusion |
| The FA77 1.8 Limited is really an outstanding lens, optical and mechanical. It is not cheap but IMO it is a real good value for
the money. In the times where everybody introduce cheaper and loner zooms it is really a pleasure that Pentax introduced this limited lens.
I really hope that more 'limited' lenses will fellow. |
| © 2000-2002 Andreas Busse |
