As part of building my second camera system to tinker with, I drew up a list of lenses that I intended to add in the future. For me, a good 50mm lens is an essential core component as I find I gravitate towards this and the 35mm focal length often.
Pentax have produced a slew of 50mm lenses over the years, so there were rich pickings from which to make a selection. At the time of purchase I had only the APSC Pentax K3 mkiii, but it had always been my intention to add a larger 36x24mm sensor Pentax camera at a future point. It is how I built my Leica system; to have both APSC and 36x24mm formats allows two different focal lengths for the price of one to be exploited (assuming those lenses are designed for the larger format). It was with this in mind that I started researching the market to see what what out there.
For me, the most important criteria was that this lens should be fast, ideally a f1.4 aperture. I confess to having a soft spot for fast 50’s that can be traced back to my film days when I used an Olympus Zuiko 50mm f1.2, and before that Zuiko 50mm f1.4 and f1.8 lenses (the f1.8 I still have tucked away in a drawer). The second most important point was that it performed well wide open. I also use the sublime Summilux 50mm f1.4 on my Leica SL2-s so any new addition had a tough act to follow. Third, it had to be an OEM product, not third party. This point stems simply from my own irrational fear of picking up a dud. Way back in the 1980’s I owned several third party zooms and primes which without exception, turned in disappointing results or were mechanically unreliable. Price was the deciding factor then, and I vowed never to select a lens solely on its lower cost again. My final point was from a purely cosmetic view; I get very tired of same old black coloured camera gear. It reminds me a lot of computer beige from the 90’s. Boring, bland and functional aesthetically. One of the factors that attracted me to the Pentax brand were the silver editions of some bodies and lenses. I have always had a preference for a two-tone finish…a choice that goes back to the days of my chrome Olympus OM1n. I had decided that when building my Pentax system, it was without exception to consist of only silver finish items.
Taking the above points into consideration, the list of 50mm options was significantly reduced. One lens that stood out was the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4. A limited run of 600 units had been produced in silver and, as it was a relatively new design and highly regarded, I found myself purchasing one.
Handling
The HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4 lens is the first of a new generation of lenses that Pentax are producing. Designed from the ground up to take advantage of cutting edge technologies, they deliver optimal results at open aperture. Consequently it is larger and heavier than any 50mm lens that Pentax had produced previously. The only 50mm lens I have handled that is larger than this is my aforementioned Leica Summilux SL 50mm f1.4 ASPH.
Attached to my K3 mkiii, the DFA* does look a little oversized and the weight of the combination resulted in replacing the standard strap for a much wider one. This helps distributing its almost 1kg weight more evenly. On a slightly larger K1 mkii body the lens feels much better balanced.
The HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4 appears to be very well made and although I have read that the main external barrel is metal, it feels to me like a polycarbonate composite material. Comparing it to some of my other metal barrelled lenses (including a selection of Pentax’s ‘Limited’ series) it does not feel the same and makes a very different ‘un-metallic’ sound if tapped. The rubberised manual focus ring is large and well damped, reacting positively when manually focussing or using the autofocus quick shift option. Aside from the distance window and AF/MF switch, there are no other controls. The lens is weather sealed so can be used confidently in deteriorating conditions, although I have yet to test this. All in all, this 50mm lens is (from a cosmetic perspective) a good looking creature.
Being a large aperture lens, the filter size is 72mm therefore it can get expensive if your photography includes the use of many filters. With the exception of a C-POL I do not tend to use them, not even for protection anymore. I prefer using a lens hood for this purpose, and the Aero Bright coating on the front element repels moisture and dirt effectively.
Image stabilisation is carried out via the camera body which, on many generations of K series cameras has proven to be excellent. The close focus ability of the lens is pretty good (40cm), and while a long way from macro it allows the user to get in pretty close and exploit the shallow depth of field to isolate subjects.
A new generation of ultrasonic motor was created for the DFA* lens series which is almost silent in operation. A combination of HD and Aero Bright II coatings are used to ensure that reflections from its 15 elements are minimised. Of these elements three super-low dispersion and one aspherical elements are included which help reduce various aberrations.
In Use
After taking delivery I tested the lens in my local park. An initial review of the results was very disappointing…to the point where I considered returning it. Nearly all wide aperture pictures were mis-focussed causing me to question my methodology. I produced a second batch of images taken around the garden which also gave poor results. Closer analysis revealed that the point of focus was beyond the intended target and it was only then I remembered the focus calibration tool in the camera settings. I spent an hour or so fine tuning the focus point, followed by a retest. Thankfully this gave accurate results. As I have expanded my Pentax lens collection, I have learned that lens calibration is a prerequisite part of the setup and testing process as, all lenses to date have required adjustment. Once corrected they focus precisely, very quickly and almost silently. Only when light is low do I find it hunts a little.
It goes without saying that the purpose of a fast lens is to use it at its maximum aperture. F1.4 is pretty fast for a 50mm lens, but there are brands (both old and new) that possess f1.2 or even 0.95 maximum apertures. Long ago I really appreciated my Zuiko f1.2’s low light capabilities as I preferred using slow film speeds. The f1.4 aperture is something of a compromise between super fast (and expensive) lenses and more conventional f1.8 and f2 counterparts. At one time 50mm f1.4 lenses were fairly small…I once owned one with a filter thread of just 49mm that weighed a couple of hundred grams. One of the compromises with these fast diminutive optics is that image quality was not at its best wide open. I used to lean into this softer quality for atmospheric purposes. If edge to edge sharpness was required I ran a 50mm at f5.6…making the point of using a fast lens moot.
More recently there has been an industry trend to produce fast lenses emphasising wide open sharpness across the entire frame. Physics dictate that much larger glass elements are required, and usually more of them. Additionally, some of these elements are manufactured using exotic glass (aspherical, low/anomalous dispersion) to help correct aberrations. Adding autofocus, weather sealing and use of durable materials contribute to a hefty end product. If the intention is to produce a professional grade fast 50 that is close to perfection, there is no getting around this, irrespective of brand.
The HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4 lens reflects this trend as the designers at Ricoh/Pentax were tasked with producing a lens that competed with the best in class. The new design took several years to bring to market, and articles regarding the challenges faced can be found on their Star Lens website. What Pentax delivered was one of the finest 50mm f1.4 lenses created. Many reviews testify to this and for those who enjoy laboratory tests, the MTF data also bears this out.
My own experience comes from actually using the lens and not through controlled tests. Tests are useful as basic guidance, but in my opinion it is how the lens performs in the real world that matters. Enjoyment should also be factored in. After all, a desirable optic is more likely to be favoured over a less desirable one. Wherever possible I use this lens wide open and only stop down if I need a result with deeper depth of field. Attached to my K3 mkiii I have to factor in that the sensor is only using the centre part of the image circle, which of course precludes me from reviewing the edge performance. Needless to day it performs very well. Attaching it to my K1 mkii uses the full image circle and I was pleased to notice that corners and edges were almost as sharp as the centre at f1.4. The majority of my images are taken outdoors in natural daylight. Under these conditions I have found performance superb, living up to its reputation of being sharp across the frame. There have been some instances of chromatic aberrations and purple fringing appearing in very high contrast areas, usually when there is strong backlighting. CA is something of an anathema to me, so thankfully it is a very quick fix during post processing. Once removed, results are fine. I must stress that this does not happen often and is dependant on the lighting and subject matter. When I first used the lens, I found I was looking for material that forced the problem, simply to see how it reacted. And while I found I could reproduce the problem consistently, the subject material was suitable for test purposes only and deleted afterwards. Consequently I can say that after taking hundreds of ‘real world’ images wide open, it can be used at its maximum aperture with absolute confidence.
Pentax lenses are renowned for their bokeh. This is as true today as it was decades ago in the film era. Bokeh is highly subjective and therefore something of a personal attribute, but bokeh produced by many Pentax lenses is recognised as being amongst the best. Some of the Limited series of lenses occupy an almost cult niche in this regard, as do many of the longer telephoto optics. The newer DFA* series lenses are also designed with this in mind.
From head and shoulder portraits to close-focus subjects, bokeh from the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4 lens is sublime and exactly what I look for. Sharpness falls away quickly but not in a harsh manner, allowing the subject to stand out with an almost 3D quality. The colour pallet is very natural. There is little in the way of cats-eye bokeh in out of focus highlights, but I do see some green haloes around these highlights on occasions. I am not particularly bothered by this, but others may find it distracting. The whole result is one of clarity, excellent colour balance and glorious rendering.
When greater depth of field is needed, sharpness is exceptional across the frame, edge to edge, and very reminiscent of some of my Leica lenses. I have not carried out any direct comparisons but this 50mm is giving me results similar to my Leica SL 50mm Summilux, albeit a little more saturated. I intend to take a closer look at both lenses and write a comparison review in due course.
Ghosting and flare are very well controlled even when strong lighting is included in the frame. As the lens has 15 glass elements in 9 groups I expected flare to be more noticeable, along with an obvious reduction in contrast. This not the case and there is no doubt that Pentax’s coating technology helps significantly, as does the use of the included lens hood. I often include strong light sources in my pictures and it is reassuring to know I can do this confidently.
There is a small amount of vignetting present at maximum aperture. Typically it is noticeable in areas of a single colour, i.e. blue sky, water or sand. It is largely unnoticeable when photographing scenes such as woodland or street. Stopping down to f2.8 and beyond alleviates this. Vignetting can be used creatively so it is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on where you sit on the tolerance spectrum. It is also simple to remove during post processing.
Eight gaskets help repel moisture and dust from the internals and while it is not IP rated, DFA* lenses are renowned for their resistance to hostile conditions. In combination with internal focusing and tight tolerance of moving parts, I have every confidence using it in most weather conditions.
It is interesting that Tokina licensed this optical formula to produce their Opera 50mm f1.4. Comparing the two, specifications and performance are very similar, suggesting maybe just a difference in optical coatings. Contrary to the misinformation spawned across the web, the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4 is a true Pentax design and not vice versa. Both companies have collaborated with development on a few occasions and some of the recent Pentax DA lenses are rebadged Tokina products.
And Finally
I am thoroughly enjoying using the HD Pentax-D FA* 50mm f1.4 lens. It is everything I need from a lens of this aperture and focal length. It is not the cheapest or smallest 50mm on the market but results speak for themselves. Those elements are large, exotic and come at a price. The lens has a premium feel which makes me want to pick it up and use it. It works equally well on APSC (as a fast 76.5mm short telephoto) or as intended on the 35mm sensor size K1 and K1 mkii. Aesthetically, I love the two-tone black and silver finish and the results garnered from a good days shooting can be magnificent. This one is a keeper, easily earning its Star status as being amongst the best lenses Pentax make.
Images
