It has been almost 10 years since I first used this lens, which was limited to a simple test on the newly released Pentax K1 camera body at a launch event. That initial contact ignited a fondness for the 77 that has continued through to the present day. A couple of months ago I realised that a decade had passed and I was no closer to seriously using one, due to owning Pentax’s HD DA 70mm Limited and DFA* 85mm lenses. Before this, I used a very unreliable Leica Summicron 75mm APO lens with my SL2-s.

Over the decades it has been available, the HD Pentax-FA 77mm f1.8 has achieved an almost cult-like status. At the beginning of this year I decided to build a collection of the FA Limited lenses. As the 77 is often referred to as the best in the series, I found myself on a collision course with it. 

Possession of the lens amounts to no more than a few weeks, and I am still very firmly in the honeymoon and discovery phase. Therefore, with so little experience, it is difficult to be truly objective regarding its performance. Up until now I have used it for just one serious 10-day shoot. The results have been very encouraging, exhibiting the precise signature I have been looking for in a short telephoto lens. Consequently I need to gain much more experience with it before being able to write something truly impartial. Over the next several months I will be exploring its properties, strengths and weaknesses. For me, a short telephoto has much more value than simply portraiture, as I find them versatile enough for general purpose photography.

Shown below are a few images taken from the first days of ownership. More will be available in a forthcoming collection.

Images