Pentax DA 40mm and 70mm lens review

[toodietoodieomg]

I think if you want the 70mm 2.4 its pointless, when for the same money you can get the sigma 85mm 1.4, its a no brainer

[bennybong360]

@toodietoodieomg the pentax 70mm is so much smaller and sexier though

[Murzamadiyev]

why wouldnt it work on the pentax film cameras?

[tarantulaman1720]

what would be better, pentax 50mm f1.4 or sigma 50mm f1.4? anyone know?

[toodietoodieomg]

@tarantulaman1720 You'll find the results quite similar in terms of image sharpness, and bokeh, but personally I prefer the sigma

[pucks512]

Dang that thing is small my lenses are 11 times that size wow!!!!!!!!!!!!

[1986Chaitanya]

manually focusing using that 40mm lens is a serious headache.

[pentaxy]

The Pentax FA50/1,4 ist not bad, but it CAN´T be compared to the FA31/1,8 LTD, FA 43/1,9 LTD, DA40/2,8 LTD. These three are first-class-lenses, constructed for highest optical perfomance!

And, with 50 mm on APS-C, you have only a picture-angle of 75mm!

[SpeedFreakNO]

No, you still have 50mm. Field of view however, is equivalent of 75mm on fullframe/135mm (24x36mm).

[dvamateur]

Thin lens? Does it have enough elements to correct the chromatic abberations and curvlinear distortion? Anyway, I think that the best Pentax lenses available today are the 31mm f/1.8 and the 77mm f/1.8. These two f/1.8 lenses are acrually made in Japan, and it shows in the cost as well. But nobody complains about those lense. When it comes to the DA star lenses, you pay a lot of money for Vietnamese lenses. Not sure if that's a great deal value-wise. Anyway, love Pentax brand, and the K7.

[mrrrxxxxx]

Haha a bear runnin past! So funny, you are one funny man, Gordon. I'm thining of getting the 50mm 1.4 instead though, I think you get a bit more for the price.

[Kenttas]

hi, i am planning to get one of these lenses: 50 f1.4 or 40mm limited. which one performs better ?

[cameralabs]

I've not tested the 50mm, so can't say, but feel free to ask in the Pentax section of the cameralabs forums...

[esman7]

The 50mm f1.4 is a fantastic lens. Highly recommended.

[adrianlinski]

do pentax lenses only work on pentax cameras because i was thinkin of getting the 18-250mm af lense for my d60 would it work?

[pentaxlan]

Nope. Sell it, and get a K-m/K2000 or k200d. ;>

[kjltube]

No real mention of the excellent resolution across all the apertures with both lenes. I physical tour is perfect for video, but please some detail on quality of pictures is important, no? Also, whilst mentioning the fact that the focus ring moves, there is no mention of the fact that you can adjust the focus with the same ring, using a focus shift (unlike most older lenses).

Still good to see these reviews, thanks Gordon.

[cameralabs]

Hi, I completely agree, that's why these videos are just a small part of a much bigger written review with lots of results and sample images at the Cameralabs website - there's a link directly to it to the right of the video window...

[kjltube]

I still don't see any mention (on the website or here), of the positive feature of Quick-shift focusing for when you decide to override the autofocus point chosen automatically by the camera.

[kjltube]

If you try focusing on a drummer behind a stack of drums, for example, I'd imagine nearly all cameras would focus on the drums, and not the drummer's face seen through the drums. Quick shift will allow you to tweak past this difficulty, without going into selective focus points (time consuming), or full manual focusing.

Anyway, I hate to moan, as I think you're doing a good job removing some of the confusion in choice on lenses out there.

[cameralabs]

Ah, do you mean full-time manual focusing? I'd expect to have that on most decent lenses these days, although it's not a forgone conclusion. You're right though, it's a useful feature and I'll make sure it's covered in future lens reviews.

[kjltube]

Not quite, I'm talking about the ability to manualy alter the focus when in auto focus mode (after the auto focus has chosen it's target).

[cameralabs]

Yep, I know what you mean - that's what some manufacturers call full-time manual focusing. It is a handy facility to tweak it after AF...

[stage1game]

nice review man :)

[onjai88]

thanks. great info. great video.

cheers!

[dryan2]

whoa...imagine that 40mm on an olympus e-410

[adbeglad]

thanks man, i'm a fan

[diggingforgold]

These video reviews are awesome time-savers. When I'm interested in the camera/lens you tour or find I need more info, the reviews on your site are equally priceless. Excellent work Camera Labs!

[SmartPorter]

Thanx Gordon :) you are great.

[ktvyeow]

Another awesome review..!!! Thanks..!!!

[adamfoerster]

nice review. keep it up gordon!!!

five stars *****