Pentax SMCPFA 50mm f/1.4 Lens

BEST!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got the Pentax K100D with 18-55mm lens,

I needed something that could work in low-light and this

is just amazing for low-light and outside…

The colors are just crazy great

and the sharpness is perfect.

GREAT ONE!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For less than 200 bucks, this one can not be better. It can give you very clear and sharp images, especially for portrait. If you are PENTAX fan, and just a little more than freshman, this one will bring you lots of fun.

Pentax 50mm FA
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this lens. I forget how inexpensive it is. The low light capability and sharpness are great. I forgot how good it was in the old film days to have a kit full of f1.4 and f2.8 prime lenses. My exisitng light bride photos are going to be enhanced greatly.

Great Lens–if the price is right
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens a little under 2 months ago for 2-fifty slightly less than 2 months ago. At that price it is one of the great camera deals period.

It seems someone has bought up the remaining supply of FA 50′s and is playing the extortion game. For 3-fifty I would still get it but I am partial to FA’s because they work perfectly with my PZ-70 film body.

If I was digital only I would look at the DA* 55, which in comparisons I’ve seen is a cut above the FA 50–and that is saying a lot. Plus the DA* is weather sealed.

The current price of being greater than a 77mm Limited is just nuts.

Great lens.. Super price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens for my Pentax K10D for it’s low light capability. It’s a great performer and such a low price. I’ve found focusing at f/1.4 to be very critical, as expected. Lens is very sharp. I had been using an older f/1.4 Mamiya lens with an adapter and in manual mode. This lens is much sharper with less chromatic aberation. Made me a believer in modern lenses.

Best lens I’ve ever used
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
To put it simply, this is the best lens I’ve ever used. Image after image turn out better than any other lens I’ve used — including “L” glass from Canon! Beautiful bokeh.

Great lens, great value!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Grab one while they’re around. Buttery-smooth bokeh, decent performance even wide open, good image rendering.

Fabulous lens. Particularly given the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I own this and shoot it with a K10D (which I love) and it’s a must for your gadget bag.

Bottom line: It takes beautiful, sharp photos, has a fast stop and is priced right.

Shoot this for really pretty low light portraits.

bang for your buck………..
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Let me just say that theres a whole other pricepoint for pentax glass and gear than the big houses, just for reference, I’m coming from being a Nikon guy, my film kit got stolen, and so I’m getting into the digital scene fresh….I purchased a K10D, and have been sold ever since….now to the lens in question, the 50mm f/1.4 has been such an eye opening experience (pun?) I paid waaay under $200USD and got a ridiculously awesome prime lens, I had no idea that such quality could be had for such a low price.

Bokeh, I’ve seen the term used throughout various websites and reviews, and let say that I now know from experience what a creamy, smooth, out of focus backdrop, while your subject “pops” right off of the picture will do for your self esteem in photography. Absolutely lovely…..

Focus, is quick enough, yet I’ve found it hunts in low, or tricky light situtations….no biggie, if you need fast focusing, you’re using another lens anyways.

I’m not going to get all technical on you, all I can say is that if you have been into Pentax for sometime, you already own this lens, if you’re just geting into or are considering Pentax, please do, and make this prime a part of your kit.

Nuff’ said.

Great lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The focus of this lens is spot on. For a fast lens with a shallow depth of field it focuses very well. It has great bokeh and good brightness. This is one of Pentax’s great lenses an deserves to be a part of every Pentax owners kit.

Nice lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Lens is everything I expected from reading previous reviews,,timely service with no problems,, happy with purchase

Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens is not as good wide open as I had hoped, but it is still a very good lens for indoor, lowlight pictures without a flash. It performed well at a wedding I went to, and I was able to take informal pictures at a fairly low ISO setting without flash – appreciated by the guests, no doubt.

MY FIRST LENS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you’re still running around with your K10D kit lens, you don’t know what you are missing, especially if you like to shoot people. This purchase made a world of difference. Looking back, I have rarely even used my kit lens since I purchased this one – unless I want to take a wide angle shot. Otherwise, the clarity and speed (f/1.4) of this lens are incredible. For the price, I highly recommend it.

Great Lens!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens. I was hesitant about getting an older lens that was under $200 (iffy quality?!) but was pleasantly surprised when I got the lens and it really was worth every penny. As some others have mentioned, the lens may be a bit soft, but overall the lens does just what you’d think it should. Great low light shots can be achieved with this lens while still hand holding the camera, a feature I really like. Also, it really is amazing how small of a depth of field you can get with this lens if you want. Overall I recommend this to anyone with a Pentax DSLR as a great lens to add to your set.

A MUST HAVE FOR ANY PENTAX SHOOTERS!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I cannot rave enough about this lens, but trust me, it is a must have for any Pentax shooters. Pictures are sharp and crisp, even at low lighting. For the price, you cannot beat it!

Your neighbor,

HN

Great solid lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
With the Pentax K10D sensor the equivalent 35mm focal length is about 75mm. Coupled with the fast f1.4 aperture of this lens, this is a great low light short telephoto lens…very good for indoor personal shots. The low f also allows autofocus and metering to work well in low light conditions.

Wide open (f1.4) this lens is soft, but sharpens quickly (noticeable difference from f1.4 to 1.8).

Nice small lens. The downsides are: (1) elements are spherical, so the lens is a little heavier than it could be with aspherical elements, (2) focus ring is locked to autofocus on body…you can’t turn the focus ring when the body is set to autofocus, (3) a little soft wide open.

The upsides are: (1) even with spherical elements, the lens is small, (2) feels like a good precision instrument, (3) it’s nice to have a very well defined “soft” focus region.

All in all I really like this lens. It just feels good in the hand, its small, its fast, its sharp, it works well in low light, and the price is great.

Should have bought it long ago
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great for portraits and low light. I’m no good at flash photography, this lens eliminates the need for flash in many cases. It’s now my favorite lens; even prefer it over the kit zoom. I should have bought this one a long time ago.

Great lens at a bargain price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens brings out the bright colors and the rich tones. The contrast is amazing as is the focal point. The lens zooms quickly and locks in on it’s subject. Low light is the sweet spot here for me, as I don’t have to rely on the popup flash that often. This is a great lens on a bargain price. For portraits, this lens will work some magic. Lens tested on a Pentax K10d

Don’t Think About It, Buy This Lens!!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens should be in every Pentax/Samsung camera owners bag. This is the lens I would recommend that beginners use to learn their camera’s with, As you can really “See” the changes with this lens when trying different settings on your camera. And the photos this lens produce is really amazing. So much better than the kit lens. And its low light performance is really outstanding. So don’t think about it any longer just do it and get this lens, You will not regret it. GET IT!

The lens I needed – and you might too!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I must say, stepping up to a DSLR from a point-and-shoot camera was one of the best decisions I’ve made regarding electronics; the picture quality is out of this world, and I can take shots in challenging lighting that allows me to get pictures of my ever-moving daughter that I never could dream of before. Typical P&S cameras take far too long from focusing to capturing to get the photo before my daughter’s out-of-frame, but the Pentax DSLR does the trick. Trouble was, I still couldn’t get perfect pictures in very dim, low-light environments, like a living room at night.

That all changed with this lens – for about $225 lightly used, I got an amazing value that’s totally transformed my camera! Low light holds no fear, and I’ve taken pictures in dim lighting at speeds that don’t allow subjects to blur! Furthermore, the lens quality is fantastic, and the bokeh it produces is gorgeous. This lens suits me for both portrait photography and low-light family photos, and it saved me from buying another DSLR with better high-ISO performance. I never go beyond ISO 400 now, and my photos are much better for it.

Pentax’s new lens might be fine, but this one provided an amazing value and quality that will surely keep me enjoying my Pentax DSLR for years to come.

Too sharp
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I went to Egypt the first in May 2001 with my 35-80mm lens and I thought it would do well in the museums. How wrong I was. 98% of all the pictures I took in the museum were literally fuzzy – camera shake!! To add to my woes, I used low speed film. I went back this time armed with a Pentax standard 50mm F1.4 lens and iso800 films (flash not allowed). The result: everything, from the dimmest areas, was sharp with a good colour balance, except the effect of tungsten and flourescent light on pictures I developed back home – which can be completely eradicted when you develop your indoor pictures in Egypt since they know exactly how to develop such pictures). I was delighted with the lens. It even gave me good pictures in the tombs!

The only ‘disadvantage’, is that the lens is too sharp and therefore if you do not focus very carefully, u will get a lot of blur (not camera shake). Yet, a bit of practice will sort this out.

It is a rare lens and therefore a must have for people who need to take pictures indoors without FLAH! Unfortunately, I did not have the relevant indoor colour balance filters. They are necessary for indoor pictures to reduce that greenish and orange effect.

I recommend this lens!

Versatile lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens is soft at F1.4, but sharp at F2. And it can handle low light. These I think, everyone knows already. But F1.4 is not totally useless. If you like experimenting with wafer-thin depth of fields, you can get plenty of interesting special effect shots. That is versatility for me.

Little gem
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Despite the plastic outer skin, this is one excellent lens. Its f/1.4 maximum aperture combined with the clean high-ISO performance of Pentax digital SLR’s allows you to get some amazing shots without the assistance of a flash, while stopped down a little you can get all the sharpness and detail you want. This lens also produces an amazingly smooth rendition of out-of-focus details (bokeh) which makes it a fabulous portrait lens. An alternative to this lens is the Pentax SMCP-FA 35mm f/2.0 which is closer to the normal perspective on a DSLR.

Even after price increases, worth the purchase
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
**Updating of original entry, which praised the lenses performance, but dinged the wacky price fluctuations up to $600+!**

PRICING:

Pentax bumped up the prices of their lenses around February 2009, changing the purchase of this lens from being a ‘no-brainer’ to at least something to be mildly mitigated. This specific lens enjoyed a 37% price increase. It remains one of Pentax’s fastest existing production lenses.

AMAZON PRICING:

So hence the wacky part. By virtue of temporary scarcity and some weird vendor shenanigans, the primary (anchor) price of the lens was being listed for three times higher the bargain price, and roughly twice as much as the new elevated price. Pricing has stabilized albeit at the newly designated elevated schedule.

PERFORMANCE:

This lens still shines compared to its contemporaries. While not a macro, it provides reasonable close focal range, Autofocus is on par with what we’ve come to expect with Pentax lenses, and the colors are reasonably good. This lens does a good job at adding that extra dimension of “oomph” of contrast that your eyes don’t capture at the time, although the mind blowing vibrancy of the 77mm Limited or 85mm 1.4 isn’t there.

The lens is fast and does what you expect to accomplish with ambient light. It’s also great for hand held shots. It’s not razor sharp wide open with low light, but lends itself really well to portraiture as it softens the skin tone. In bright daylight however, the lens is respectably sharp.

BUILD

The lens is plastic and may fool you if you haven’t used some of Pentax’s other quality FA based lenses. It takes a 49mm filter and does not come with a hood. It feels fairly well built, but I wouldn’t go dropping it any time soon. The lens cap stays on pretty well, but only without a filter. The focal ring is pretty narrow, but placed in a way that you don’t have to search for it too much when manual focusing. It does not have a declutching mechanism built-in like the DA* lenses have, so you’ll need to hit the MF switch on your camera body to easily focus.

FA vs DA (& DA* LENSES)

If you don’t need weather-proofing of the DA* 55mm, and you’re really price conscious; I’d recommend going with this lens.

This is an FA-type lens so it also has the manually selectable aperture ring on the lens, something the DA* 55mm 1.4 is missing. If Pentax ever releases that full frame camera we’ve all been dreaming about, you should consider whether or not the DA line will support sensors bigger than APS-C. The FA will work like a charm and is fairly flawlessly downwardly compatible with other Pentax bodies. The DA’s have limited downward (and possibly upward) compatibility, depending on the sensor/negative size.

BOTTOM LINE: I still think this lens is worth it, as its alternatives still cost too much, or lack the feature set that this lens possesses. As of today (1/7/2010) this price is still reasonable for this caliber of lens performance.

nice lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
sharp lens.

just one bemol : the focus is a bit slow, especially in low light conditions.

great price

Best Prime Lens for the Money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is an incredibly fast versatile lens. There are few lenses at this price point that deliver such value. I’ve used this in low light situations (museums where flashes are forbidden) and with a flash for portrait shots. If you can hold out for another rebate from Pentax, it makes it more the bargain!

Pentax has lost its mind.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
When I bought this lens it was $180 and I eventually sold it and got the older smc 50mm 1.7 which I think is a better lens. This is not a bad lens for $200 it was one of the best 50mm for the price, but there is absolutely no way that this lens is worth its current price hike. For a matter of fact none of the Pentax lenses are worth their current price hike. Pentax used to be known for their price to performance ratio, now they are going beyond what most people can and would pay for a lens considering the limited variety of lenses. I’m highly considering switching brands because I cant find lenses that I would be willing to buy for Pentax. I prefer primes and not the DA primes. I’m sorry but the current quality control for the price coming out of the Vietnam factory is not appealing. Of course the other brands have primes that cost a lot more than Pentax primes, but I wouldn’t buy those either. Not being a pro and being in grad school paying thousands of dollars for a tool is a bit ridiculous for me.

Great pictures, slow focusing
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this lens for over a year now, and it has pretty much been the only lens I keep on the camera. The extremely thin depth of field is great for portraits, but there are many times I have lost photos because I have tried to use too large an aperture in a low light situation and the depth of field was too thin. Probably any lens at 1.4 will be soft focusing at normal distances. The only real complaint I have about the lens is that it focuses much too slowly, especially if you are trying to photograph something moving, like a child that won’t sit still.

I would still recommend this lens highly though.

Awesome
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have the K20 and this has worked great! So sharp and fun to use. Great for low light situations. I recommend this to anyone looking for a sharp inexpensive lens.

Must have lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Its really a shame the price of this lens has gone up so much recently because this is one lens we should all own. Not for the fixed length and how it forces you to move around but for the speed! If someone made an affordable f/1.4 18-55 zoom I would buy that instead. Until then, I am sold on fast primes. This “Fast Fifty” has unlocked times and locations I didn’t think I cold shoot. You NEED this lens!

The lens itself is small and light. Light because it has a plastic body. Significantly, it has a metal mount so that area is not a concern. After getting used to zooms it is amazing how small your camera gets putting this on.

For sharp pictures, try to stay at f/2 or better. At f/5.6 or more the sharpness is amazing. That is not to say that 1.4 and 1.7 are unusable but it is like pushing ISO – there is a price.

I have not had the front focus issues some people have mentioned. In low light there is focus hunting and sometimes it locks on the wrong place but that has as much to do with the camera as the lens.

One feature I wish it had was the “quick shift” focus. It is either auto or manual – no manual override like the newer Pentax lenses. That is my only gripe.

I cant say enough about this lens. It spends a LOT of time on my K200 and once the sun gets low, its the only way to go.

Put it on your camera and don’t take it off!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Like many other reviewers I didn’t expect to much from a sub $200 lens. But the reality is that this lens stays on my K20D 90% of the time even though I have six other Pentax lenses.

I use it for portraits, landscapes, street photography, and more. Bang for the buck – you can’t beat it!

My Favorite Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens. Beautiful pictures, great build quality, everything you want in a lens. If you don’t have one, buy one. You won’t be disappointed. I’m serious! Listen to the person on the internet and spend sub-$200 on this lens. I’ll understand if you’ll forget to thank me later, really; you’ll be so busy shooting with this you’ll forget I even told you to buy it. But if you do remember to thank me, you’re welcome. Enjoy this beautiful piece of glass.

Great, great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is such a fun lens to take pictures with. It is fast wide open. The automatic focus is really nice, but switching to manual gives you so many other creative options. Definitely worth the price.

Just get it
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Got it for baby portraits with a k200d. Amazing results.

Only draw back is that it gives you such shallow depth of field at 1.4 (which is a very very good thing), you need to be really precise in focusing.

the best
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i sitll need practice taking shots at f1.4 but this lens was well worth the purchase!! i love it~!

great lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Optically is great, but it could be better if was built in metal instead plastic even when the platic quality is good

Fast lens, great for flash-less indoor shots
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Have been taking a few test shots, and I can tell that once I get the “hang” of it I will be favoring this lens.

It makes great shots with very little light and wonderful depth-of-field.

One drawback is that because the aperture is so large, and the depth-of-field so broad, getting a sharp focus can be a challenge.

Good for portraits, indoors without flash
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is ideal if you are in an indoor setting and don’t want to disturb others with a flash. Allows more candid shots to be taken as well since there is no flash. I noticed shooting wide open really narrows your field of focus, it’s best to go to f2.0

“Go ahead click that buy button”
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you are thinking of purchasing this lens then you know your photography skills have reached a new level. You will not be dissappointed. I have read many reviews on this lens and have found it all to be true. For the price paid, it compares to Nikon or Canon lenses in the same focal range costing much more. I’m not a professional photographer but my pictures have reached a new level. I use it on my K100d camera. I can’t wait to experiment with this lens. The main reason for purchasing this lens was the auto focus. Shooting my 6th graders indoor basketball games was a challenge with my manual focus prime lens. With the shallow depth of field these lenses give you, auto focus was a neccessity for me. It performes well. Go ahead get it!!!

Must have for all Pentaxians.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens when I first got the K10D one year ago and I’ve never regretted it! First of all, the build quality feels superb for the price. The focusing ring is super smooth and has a rubbery texture. When mounted on the K10D it feels very solid and fits perfectly in your hand; not too small, not too large.

As far as image quality goes, f1.4 – f2.4 are a bit soft, but can easily be used in a pinch to get a couple extra stops of light. Once you hit 2.8 though, things really change. Images are sharp all across the frame and the bokeh at 2.8 is truly toast worthy (buttery). The sweet spot seems to kick in around f5.6, where the images are going to be packed with detail. The image distortion is virtually non-existent. If you’re not careful in harsh sunlight you could easily be caught out with some fringing and aberrations, but this can be corrected in PS.

50mm is a great prime to have, especially if you may be doing some portraits. I just did a sitting of my daughter with her grandparents and the images produced are nothing less than professional looking. All in all a great lens to have and well worth the price.

Wonderful
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens makes all the difference in low light situations as well as depth of field. I’m also impressed at the clarity of the photos. I would recommend this to ANY photographer.

Great lens, really love it!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Really love this lens!

I just have it for several weeks. Very sharp! In term pf price, it offers too much comparing similar lenses from other vendors (if you have Nikon, Canon, …). I do observe some soft when wide open. But this is a problem for everybody. Pentax does an excellent job already. Shooting from 1 meter away, at f/1.4, dof will be only 0.023m. For cameras, it is very difficult to focus correctly. In practice, I found it really helpful to use spot focus mode.

In summary,

pros: 1) solid build quality

2) extremely sharp lens

3) good for indoor or other low-light environments

4) very good price

5) extremely useful if you have a shake-reduction body

cons: 1) soft wide open

Awesome lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
You might think that having no zoom would be limiting – after having this lens, I think that having a maximum aperture of 3.5 is very possibly more limiting.

With that 1.4 aperture, you get about 4 times more light than you do with the kit lens – that means 4 times faster shutter speeds, and 4 proportionally sharper shots. Combine that with the image stabilization in the K100D and K10, and you have a really awesome low light shooter. You might want to get comfortable with manual focusing – any camera has difficulty focusing when there’s not a lot of light, even if it has the ability to get a sharp picture.

The 1.4 aperture means a razor thin depth-of-field, which gives you the ability to very precisely choose what part of the picture is in focus. This is wonderful for portraits, which gives you a smooth, blurred, and distraction-free background, but you have to make sure you are aware of it if you are trying to get objects at varying distances to be in focus.

If it is an issue, though, just turn the dial on your camera over to Av(aperture priority) and you can turn the aperture up to 3.5 for a more normal shot, or down to 1.4 to get that artistically blurred background and super-fast shutter speeds.

This is the best lens to buy in addition to the kit lens, if you are looking to enhance your arsenal and photography skills. You will fall in love with photography, and insist on taking your camera everywhere with you. The fixed focal length will do a lot to hone your creative skills. Sometimes the perspective brings out awesome shots that would’ve been totally unremarkable at a wider view.

Excellent first prime lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
My first Amazon review.

After many productive years of using a Panasonic FZ50 with a 2.8 aperture, I finally went for the mighty Pentax K20D. At $630 the camera had a compelling IQ to price ratio. I got 3 lenses to go with it; the Pentax smc DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL (first edition), the smc DA 50-200mm F4.5-6 ED WR, and this smc FA 50mm 1.4 prime.

What a powerful tool this lens is. Wide open it produces some really stunning bokeh. It has six blades which can give a hexagonal shape sometimes. It has really lovely rich colors and doesn’t seem to have a lot of flare. Wide open the speed is amazing; you can go out at night and handhold using only street lights. Yes 1.4 is a bit soft as all fast primes tend to be, but I’ve still got some good results. Stop down to 2.0 or 2.8 and it will get plenty sharp. Focus is another story. Using manual focus wide open is difficult. I will reserve judgment as it is new to me and I suspect it takes finesse and practice to master. I’ve had some trouble with the K20D’s autofocus on this lens too. I think there is a front-focus issue with my copy, and I need to do a proper optical test, and try the in camera focus adjustment feature on the K20D to make corrections. I think the K20D’s matte focus screen has a wider depth of field view as well. Seriously thinking I need a split-screen upgrade like the Katzeye because of this. The shots I have managed to get in focus so far have been pleasingly sharp, with brilliant bokeh and exceptional colors. With practice, you will get great results with this lens. I’d give it 5 stars but for the crazy price jump here on Amazon. I paid less then $300 for this lens elsewhere (sorry Amazon) and feel this was money well spent.

PROS: Great colors, bokeh, speed, IQ, value (if under $300-350)

CONS: Overpriced, challenging focusing wide open

Good, but has limitations opened beyond f2.8
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I don’t to duplicate everything that dpreview did for this lens. They have an excellent review with detailed analysis of this lens.

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/pentax_50_1p4_p15/

Some quoted highlights:

Pros:

* Excellent image quality when stopped down to F2 and smaller

* Very low lateral chromatic aberration

* Almost no rectilinear distortion

Cons:

* Very soft wide open

* Extremely ‘busy’ rendition of out-of-focus backgrounds at wider apertures (larger than F2.8)

* Bokeh chromatic aberration, most visible at wide apertures (F1.4-F2.8)

Short is that this is a very good lens, but if you want the best pictures you will want to not use it higher then f2.8. The sigma 50mm F1.4 HSM for pentax would give you better wide aperature performance, but you will pay for that as well.

Earned Reputation – Oh so Nice! Silky Background Crisp Foreground & FAST
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After recently switching to the Pentax line I have been attempting to purchase a variety of lens that allow the biggest ‘bang for the buck’. This lense came up repeatedly as a great choice and after having tried it out I can see why.

Although small and fairly lightweight, this no-frills little lens takes beautiful shots. It’s very fast, has absolutely fantastic deep color rendition, performs wonderfully even in low lighting and is worth every penny. As an example, my other two purchases included the Pentax 18-250 (super versatile zoom that is a great walk around lens) plus a Tamron 90mm macro (great macro work plus is a terrific portrait lens). However, the Tamron was problematic when working indoors for two reasons – first, the 90mm is great for head/shoulder shots indoor but simply required far too much light to get good results on a full body shot. That is where this little lens picks up…less light, more dimension without sacrificing clarity and still provides beautiful background. Very pleased. This lens has earned its reputation and is a delight.

This should be your kit lens.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is one of the three I bought with my k10d.

I use it 85% of the time.

I know that I had reservations about getting a prime lens. However, with a little movement, this lens gets out of your way. If a picture doesn’t turn out, it’s because I screwed up the settings on camera.

The reviews that say this lens should be in every Pentax owner’s satchel are absolutely correct.

This lens absolutely deserves its five stars.

Update:

Several months later, I still agree with this assessment. I’ve started looking into wider angle prime lenses, but this is my go-to lens. 85% is a low estimate.

Beautiful lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Have owned this lens for a few weeks. Very pleased…pictures are sharp and f/1.4 is fantastic in low light.

Pentax will likely replace this lens soon with a DA series, so get it while you can.

Highly recommend!

If you have kids, you need this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you plan on taking pictures indoors, especially at your kids’ events, you need this lens because of its 1.4 aperture ability. I am using it on my k10d, and it is my favorite lens, even thought it is not my most expensive lens. I can get excellent stop-action shots of our kids indoor basketball games without the use of a flash. There are so many events where flash is not allowed, would not work, or be distracting. This lens will allow you to capture those moments. It also makes a very nice portrait lens since you can throw it wide open (f1.4) and get that blur in the background that will make your subject “pop.”

A Must-Have
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you own a Pentax SLR (digital or not), you absolutely must have this lens. There is no better bang for your buck out there.

Every Pentax shooter should have this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For the price, this lens gives you amazing sharpness, super smooth bokeh, excellent colors, excellent contrast, and a really wide maximum aperture. It’s definitely a lens that every Pentaxian should own.

Pros:

+ The obvious pro is the f/1.4 max aperture. This really comes in handy in low light situations.

+ One less obvious side effect of the f/1.4 aperture is a brighter viewfinder. A lot of newer photographers don’t realize that the camera only closes down the iris when you take the photo. The rest of the time, the lens is wide open so faster lenses mean brighter viewfinders.

+ Amazingly sharp at smaller apertures.

+ Works on film and digital bodies.

+ Really smooth bokeh (out of focus area) once you stop down a little (about f/2.8 and up). This helps create photos where your subject really pops out because the background is blurred out so nicely. Some lenses can create harsh and distracting bokeh.

+ Very thin depth of field at f/1.4.

+ Excellent colors and contrast. I was surprised when I compared my kit lens photos to photos taken with the FA 50mm.

Cons:

- Pretty soft at f/1.4. This might be a desirable effect for portraits though.

- Autofocus is a bit slower than more modern Pentax lenses.

- The very thin depth of field and the general softness of the lens at f/1.4 can make it difficult to create pictures that look like they’re in focus.

Compared to the DA 40mm f/2.8 pancake:

* The FA 50mm is bigger, but is still a pretty compact lens. The FA 50mm feels better because it gives you something to cradle when you’re holding the camera.

* Both the DA 40mm and the FA 50mm produce excellent color contrast and sharpness, but I think I prefer the rendering of the FA 50mm.

* Both the DA 40mm and the FA 50mm work on film bodies. The DA 40mm doesn’t have an aperture ring so it has to be used on a film body that can electronically set the aperture like on the digital bodies.

* The FA 50mm gives you a bit of extra room with f/1.4 vs. f/2.8.

* The DA 40mm auto-focuses a bit faster.

If you’re deciding between the DA 40mm and the FA 50mm, I would suggest that you buy the FA 50mm. The DA 40mm is a fun lens to use, but the FA 50mm is a reliable workhorse.

Just great glass. Taking great pictures, your responsibility.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
First, I must say this is a very high quality, prime lens. With all the virtues and the relative lack of flexibility you would expect from a fixed focal length. That is to say, extremely sharp, contrasty, very little chromatic aberration , negligible distortion and the most beautiful soft, buttery bokeh. It also exhibits a quite respectable build quality, so it should last at least for a while.

At 50mm, with a 1.5 crop factor, this lens becomes a 75mm equivalent in a full frame system which I consider just a little bit longer than a “normal” lens. In MY OWN personal taste, this would be a bit short for a portrait lens, as you would need to approach to close to your subject. At the same time, I consider it a bit long to be an effective “walk around” lens. For this same reason, it could be considered “versatile.” As in most things in life, I feel “one size fits all” simply doesn’t exist. I believe that’s the reason why most professionals recommend to skip the “normal” lenses in favor of a wide and a tele.

With a prime lens, you need to actually move to compose. This, in my opinion, is a good thing as it further develops your photographic skills. Also people will think you are a pro, as you assume the most bizarre positions to capture that moment.

At the end of the day, this is a great first additions, specially if you are looking for a more “photographic” approach which made you look for something better than the safety of a kit lens. (And not murder your wallet at the same time). You also probably know by now that your gear is rarely the limitation to taking beautiful pictures. For all these reasons this is a highly recommended lens, proud deserver of five stars.

A “must have” for any good SLR kit — I LOVE this lens.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is on my camera most of the time. I love that the f/1.4 can let me keep a faster shutter speed and low ISO even when shooting with ambient light indoors, and it keeps my shutter speed nice and fast when shooting my kids, who are never sitting still. All that is nice, but what I REALLY love is the magic that happens when shooting with a nice small depth of field. The in-focus subject pops out from the background and everything else melts away into the silky smooth bokeh, giving me a lot of creative possibilities.

If you have a standard 18-55mm kit lens and are considering expanding your equipment to include one more lens, I would definitely recommend this one. It is not a zoom, and having it fixed at 50mm does mean that I have to move around a little more, but it is absolutely worth it. This one is a definite bargain and a must have for any good SLR kit!

Wow.. What a difference..this lens makes …!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens recently along with K200d. Have taken about 300 odd pictures, most of which are indoor shots. Coupled with the anti-shake of the camera body, and K200d’s low noise in hgh ISO, the large aperture of this lense brings fantastic low light capability. If you still don’t get enough shutter speed, resort to the built-in flash, your needs will be more often than not met.

I also bought the kit lens. Though a fairly decent lens by itself for a kit lens, I rarely use it. The 50mm Prime stays on the camera permanantly. I am glad, I bought this lens. At $200, this is cheapest quality prime money can get. I get biting sharp pictures with small apertures.

Great lens and a must for every Pentaxian…! I enjoy using this lense..!

Great Portrait Lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Becomes a 75mm lens when used with an APS-C sensor camera. It’s not bad wide open, but use this lens stopped down to f/2 or greater for the best quality! This is the best value 50mm lens made and possibly the best 50mm currently made today.

One of the best 50mm 1.4′s out there
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As most Pentax users know, this lens has been upgraded to the 55mm 1.4 DA version. According to digital photography review and a few other sites, the new one is MUCH slower than this original design AND the new one has SERIOUS back focusing problems. So unless Pentax fixes this problem, I would stay away from the new one. I was ready to upgrade to that my standard lens (which I use as a portrait lens for my models) would be weather sealed like my camera. But why would I upgrade when this lens is just GREAT! Plus all the problems with the back focusing AND the slower autofocus made the new lens less attractive. Open this lens at F2.4 or higher and the background blurs out to a nice buttery smooth bokeh. My girls just love it! And I love it too. When it comes to contrast and color, Pentax lenses are tough to beat. Plus it’s light, small and quick so what’s not to love? I will say that there is a small matter of Chromatic Aberation at wide open with severe backlighting. This can be problematic. Granted it’s rare that I shoot this lens wide open, but on one of my shoots, there was a slight purple fringing around my model. She didn’t notice, but I did. So just be aware of this CA problem when shooting wide open in bright back lighting. Other than that, this lens is a winner!

Superb quality for a superb pricing.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought one of these after hearing all the hype around them. I also needed a portrait lens anyways, I didn’t expect the image quality to be so sharp. Ever since I bought this, I use it more than any of my other lenses. I own a Pentax K-m/K2000 DSLR and this lens goes perfect with it. I always carry this lens around when I am going somewhere, I can’t get enough of taking portraits of my friends, the image quality is superb. For all Pentax owners, this is has got the be the first prime lens you buy when you decide you need a prime. The quality of this lens surplus the pricing.

If you need an ultra fast portrait lens, Buy This! Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is just way under priced.

It has very good coatings and optics. The color looks natural when the camera settings are Natural and it is a little more vivid with more contrast when the camera is set to Brite. It is ultra fast, and sharp as a tack through the middle of it’s range and it is plenty sharp enough opened up to sharply render the hairs on my dog portraits beautifully while creating that soft and appealing background that comes from the shallow depth of focus that a F1.4 lens can deliver. This is a great mild telephoto for DSLRs at a price that is a gift from Pentax to all of us.

Super sharp lens with high build quality. Real gem!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have two of them. One (made in Japan) was bought in 2000 and the other (assembled in Vietnam) just recently. They both are great! I have used the first one for about 9 years and it still works as new and looks as new. What a build quality!

I don’t think it is soft wide open. Sometimes I did get soft pictures but I then found that it is because the focus was not spot on due to the very thin DOF. I got many very impressive F1.4 shots in dim light settings.

The lens is very sharp. I had a photo taken with PZ-1p blown up to 12″X18″ and it is still very sharp center to corner. Focus is super fast on both PZ-1p and K10D. I also tried on ZX-L and it is super fast too.

The build quality is high. It feels very sturdy and compact. Yeah, it is compact and cute. IMHO, it is the most beautiful 50mm AF lens at sub $400 range. It is also the most compact 50mm AF lens.

The price is very attractive. At $190, it is an ideal choice for Pentax users to capture high quality photos in various lighting conditions.

Get one if you can!

Just buy it.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you’ve never had a fixed lens you don’t even know what you’re missing. If you’ve never had a lens that fast you don’t know what you’re missing. If you’ve never had an original Pentax lens on your Pentax or Samsung camera, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Just go and buy it. What are you waiting for?

A Must Have in your Camera Bag. Favorite Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I own 5-6 lenses for my Pentax *ist DS and this is bar none, my favorite. Why? Mainly because I love taking portraits whether the subject is my children or my furry friends. I don’t know all the “technical” jargon but I do know “bokeh” which is that nice, blurry background this lens will give you. Everyone is always impressed by the pictures I take using this lens and always ask me how I got that “blurry” background. I always tell them “it’s the lens”. If you can only buy a couple of lenses, I would recommend buying this one and the 50-200mm lens. That should cover 90% of your needs. Only “negative” is that it doesn’t always focus super-fast between shots but it is worth the wait. Trust me, some of your most stunning pictures will be with this lens. I am glad I bought mine several years ago as price seems to have skyrocketed. Try to find a nice “used” one if you can.

Great Lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
For a very inexperienced photographer, this lens was a good purchase. I recommend getting a prime lens to force you to move when composing your shots. And this lens has such a great depth of field when wide open, you can get really creamy shots. I’m really happy with the performance as well. When shooting faces, everything was very sharp and looked really great. The construction knocks off 1 star. The aperture ring can shift a tiny bit so that the camera thinks it isn’t on automatic. You have to twist the ring back over to get it to register. I only have to do this a couple of times, but it’s worth noting. The autofocus can be finicky if you’re trying to shoot in really low light.

Thankful for this lens on a daily basis.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This might be the best lens (for the money) I’ve ever purchased. Smooth bokeh, lightning fast, and an amazing price. Pentax has done it again. With a sensor (crop) factor of about 1.5 for Pentax DSLRs, the 50mm focal length act like an invaluable 75mm prime. My K20D has never been happier.

Affordable professional lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens has been a fundamental piece in my new photo portrait business. Great quality, bokeh, sharpness. I am very happy with it.

Supercalifragilistic
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Honestly, this is the best lens you can get for the money. Sharp and clear with very smooth bokeh. Hands down it outperforms anything in this price range. Further, it is considered by many, including Photodo, to be superior to the equivalent lenses by Canon and Nikon.

In summary, if you have a Pentax, you need to own this lens.

Fabulous lens for the price!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve gotten several really good chances to put this lens to good use since I received it on March 6th, 2009. I have used it at nearly wide-open (f/1.8) which left the background nicely out of focus on some tulips I was photographing, and I used it on assignment for a magazine to photograph details of an elegant restaurant–table settings, chairs, chandelier etc. I haven’t tried it with people yet, but I cannot wait to. It really seems to give marvelous results–wonderful color, clarity and sharp focus. As I have heard, it is a little soft at f/1.4, but even that apparently, can be corrected for by doing selective sharpening in Photoshop afterwards, but I found that at f/1.8, it gave me exactly the effect I was looking for and is super fast, even when taking pictures with one candle as the only light in the scene at night. I am very, very pleased with this lens and truly feel that it is going to be a major asset in my photography.

Amazing Quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought the Pentax 50/1.4 based on the suggestion of a friend and I absolutely love it.

I do a lot of product photography as part of my job, and I used to use a complicated flash setup with my older zoom lens that can take quite some time to fine-tune. Thankfully the 1.4 aperture of this lens lets in so much light that most of the time I don’t need to use my flashes at all, just set the product on some white paper and shoot it using the natural light coming in through the window.

My only complaint is that on the crop sensor of the K10D camera I use it with the 50mm length can be a little longer than I would like (most DSLRs crop the image, so a lens will appear seem 1.5 times as long as it really is).

As much as I love this lens, if I had it to do over I would have spent the extra $80 and gotten the Pentax 40mm/f2.8 pancake lens. The small form factor and shorter length of the 40/2.8 make it seem like a more attractive option.

http://www.amazon.com/Pentax-Compact-Samsung-Digital-Cameras/dp/B00077KMXG

For the price – essential
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this lens through a different retailer (B&H) for the same price as advertised here. At first, I used it because my standard lens was not capturing my flash at a distance that I needed to photograph a large item that I was selling. Instead of a more powerful flash, this seemed like a better alternative. It worked perfectly. Zoom lenses are nice, but there are too many situations, especially with a DSLR, where they just don’t cut it. For medium-low light, I prefer this to flash anytime, especially for $200.00.

The proof is in the photos
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I couldn’t be happier with my Pentax 50mm lens and the proof is in the photos. It’s worth every cent.

Wonderful Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is amazing! I just recently bought the Pentax K10D, my first dSLR, because I wanted to take better pictures indoors. I purchased the camera without the kit lens and bought the FA 50mm f/1.4 instead. The difference between my new camera/lens and my “Advanced Compact Super-zoom” (Canon S2 IS) is night and day. I used to take hundreds of shots in continuous mode to get a few sharp ones — which were still rather noisy. With this lens I get sharp pictures indoors without using a flash.

This is a great lens for head shots indoors. It is a moderate telephoto on a dSLR (due to the smaller sensor), so it is sometimes difficult/impossible to move back enough to get a full body shot in a smaller room. Depending on your needs you may prefer the “normal” view that the 35mm f/2 would provide — but that lens costs about 50% more.

I am loving this lens. I find myself using it at about f/2.8 most of the time, thus far (to keep the subject’s entire head in focus).

Forget your flash, use this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is probably my favorite lens for any indoor shooting. Sure, it’s not a zoom, so I have to get up and actually move around, but with the speed of this lens and not having to use a flash or the awful built-in flash to wash everything out, this lens is well worth the exercise.

A Great Budget Prime Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For the money (less than $200 USD) this lens is a must have. I’ve read that the lens is very soft when fully open (F1.4) my copy is a “little” soft but nothing I can’t live with. The lens is fast and does slow down in near darkness.

This lens is well worth the money.