Pentax 43mm Limited Lens and Pentax K-1 - The Perfect Documentary Combo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- Check out a series of pictures I've taken on this Pentax 43mm Limited lens since purchasing it a few months ago. I was a little skeptical at first - it seemed awfully close to my FA 50mm 1.4 lens, and something like three times the cost used - but I snagged a good deal and went for it and it has won me over. It is an excellent lens, one of the few I will never sell while I also own a Pentax K-1.
Fascinating recap from a presentation given by Kazuo Ikenaga, a former employee of Pentax who was there during development of these FA Limited lenses: www.pentaxforu...
(Thank you PentaxForums member JPT)
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#pentax #limited #lens
I've long coveted this lens. The 43mm isn't "slightly wider than a normal lens," it *is* the normal lens. A "normal" focal length is one which corresponds to the diagonal of the imaging plane. The diagonal of the 36mmx24mm frame is 43.27mm.
true
This lens also comes to life with neon and low light photography. Getting close to get back into Pentax just for this lens
I think the 43mm Limited will always be one of my favorite lenses of all time. It truly is "magical" for portraits.
I just used it this week for the first time on film and wow! This was already my number one lens but I think that just secured the spot for a long while yet!
Short and concise. Excellent video.
You make me want to go back to Pentax.
I never had and of the three limited lenses but the 43 (in silver) has always been the one at the top of my list because of how small and beautiful it looks.
It's certainly a well crafted lens. Fits my needs perfectly!
The 31mm , 43mm and 77 mm are the Pentax Trifecta !! Old film lenses but are the best made lenses ever ! I own the silver edition 31mm and the black 43mm ! I will never part with these gems !
One day I'll try the other two. Really looking forward to it :)
I shoot with the 40mm XS 2.8 on the k70... it’s super sharp and renders beautiful photos. I agree, it’s a great focal length for people. The background is so very pleasing. One day I may consider the 43mm. Thanks for the video, what a lovely family.
Thanks for the comment! That sounds like a great setup and fun to shoot with.
I just ordered this lens for my K1 Mark Ii . Thanks for the video .
Glad you are enjoying the 43. I love mine too. That said the FA31 f1.8 is currently my favourite lens - lots of pixie dust in it and versatile for landscape and indoor shooting. The 31, while quite a bit bigger the the 43 (and even the 77) is still small enough to carry around everywhere. I have the FA77 too and its wonderful for portraits and for those more detailed landscape shots.
I think I'd like the 31mm even more - I actually prefer wider for documenting stuff with the kid because I'm always up so close. It's just harder to find a good deal on. But one day for sure I'll try it out ;) Thanks for sharing your experience with them.
@1:30 Maybe a unique lens, but 43mm has been used in the past because it is the diagonal measurement of a 35mm film frame, and that is supposed to give a natural perspective. My first 35mm camera, an old rangefinder handed down by my father, had a fixed 43mm lens.
Thank you for the effort and sharing. Long ago I was a Pentax film guy: ME, MX, PZ1. I have looked in vain for an affordable K1. I was also hoping for an affordable K70. Haven’t found one either. I still looking. Thumbs up.
Keep on looking and good luck! I have seen the K-1 go for as low as $800 recently (that's rare, but possible) but at least under $1,000. I have seen good K-70's in the 300-400 range as well. I owned a K-70 for a few weeks, didn't make a video on it, but it was a really fantastic camera. Amazing the amount of features and quality they can pack into such an affordable body.
snapppypic thanks for the followup. Since you know Pentax better than I, do you have an opinion better the KP and the K-70? Again, thanks for the sharing. Be well.
I have not used or even held a KP, but my gut reaction is this: If you're a penny pinching person like me, the K-70 wins. It's just so much camera for so little. The same can be said about the KP, but it's in a much higher price category at this point. Since I think most tech differences are only a negligible part of the final product equation, I think save some money and spend more on glass. That being said, they do have significantly different ergonomics from what I can tell. So, that's a difference that I think is worth considering. You want a camera to feel natural in your hands to you. But the K-70 felt just fine to me when I owned it. My two cents to save you more than that. :)
great lens, you are right. I use it on the K1 as well and love it
For some reason this one seems less possible, so cool to see another person that loves it as much as I. Do you happen to have any of the other limiteds?
Great video! I just found your channel on TH-cam, and it's GOLD.
Good video. the FA 43mm is my absolute favorite lens.
I had this and the Voigtlander Ultron 40. Despite the lack of AF it was the Ultron that wowed me most.
Cool! I first heard of this lens from someone else here. It looks great 👍
Nice vid, …. assume the series you mentioned is 31/1.8 , 43/1.9 , and 77/1.8 , …. cheers :)
Yeah, and I can almost smell the 77/1.8... it's coming next. They say once you get one you'll want the others, and man, that's so true for me haha.
instablaster.
I always wanted the limited FA lenses, but with a K3 and not a lot of cash I have had to settle for less expensive lenses (FA and DA). Great video, really liked the narration.
They are really cost prohibitive. I was able to get this guy for under $300, but even that was multiples of my FA 50mm 1.4 which for all intents and purposes is a similar lens which I loved as well. In order to try out the 77 I would have to sell 2-3 lenses from my core collection, and that just doesn't seem worth it... And yet, they call out to me... Haha. Thanks for stopping by!
As a lapsed Pentaxian, I've heard plenty about those FA Limiteds and their alleged "pixie dust" rendering. I never owned any, unless you count the 20-40mm DA that I had for a little while. Paired with a K-S2 body, it was a sweet combo, but I was soon lured away in different directions.
I do have a few vintage Konica Hexanon AR lenses with adapter for my Sony bodies, including the nifty little 40mm F1.8. However… Recently I got the new Samyang "Tiny Series" AF 45mm F1.8 FE for Sony. It's good and very lightweight. If I put it on the original Sony A7, that's about the same size as vintage film SLRs, and lighter weight than many of them. Actually, let me grab my kitchen scale… It reads just 627 grams, including battery and SD card.
I had that Konica 40mm 1.8 for a bit, but would’ve liked to have used it on full frame. Only mirrorless camera I had was a Fuji. Still a cool lens though.
That Sony setup sounds pretty sweet!
honorable mention: konica 40mm f1.8
often available for next to nothing, definitely worth adapting to your mirrorless camera.
Woah, cool! How come I've never heard of it? Definitely on my list now, thanks. I love that focal length.
Hey, just wanted to follow up and say thanks to you I got one for $20 :) Excited to try it out on my K-1!
Can can relate, my first child got me into people photography, I have about 40k images of my angel dust too.
At the rate I'm going, I'll probably get there too haha
got the trinity long time ago
used my 31mm for exactly what you did in this video, documenting my kid and family
the 43 live on my lx, perfect combination
the 77 though, rarely being used
I am looking forward to one day being able to buy the other two and try them out!
Nice lens. I dont heve FF, so my pancake choice with similar more context angle of view is DA 21/3.2, but it isnt that fast. My fast FA35/2 is ok, but more narrow un FF equivalent.
I wanna try the 21/3.2 - I actually prefer wider angles, and that pancake size with that focal length is just too cool. I don't enjoy the 43mm as much on APS-C. It's still great, but the combination isn't as sweet as it feels with my K-1. That's just personal taste, not basing that on any data ;) I've seen lots of people still make that combo work for them.
This is a brillant lens! It is often overshadowed by the 77 and the 31. But there's no reason for it. It gets less use for my after I got the new 50 mm sdm aw. But I am never selling it! Great video!
I almost didn't get it because I was so confused why there weren't as many singing praise about it than it's younger siblings, but I'm glad I went for it anyway! Thanks for stopping by.
@@snappiness watched the video again since this is also one of my favorite lenses and keeping me from selling all my Pentax stuff. It's funny you went from photographing landscapes and not humans to exclusively photographing the latter and then needing good af. It's excactly how it was for me when my daughter was born🤣 I still have Pentax but got Sony too. The Sony for the action and af the Pentax for the special images
I have the old SMC 40mm pancake, is there any reason to get the 43mm, or it’s not much different from the 40?
Are you happy with the SMC 40mm? If so, then no, the 43mm is a lot more money :P
I had the M version of the 40mm pancake, not sure how that compares optically to yours but it's a very different lens than the 43mm. The 43mm is sharper, faster, has autofocus, newer coatings, not as slim. They both had a nice look about their shots, both have manual aperture to use on older film bodies, both have tiny focusing rings for manual focusing. Trying to think what else between the two that's worth mentioning. That's about it I think :)
Don't worry too much about getting the other Limiteds. The FA77 has too much CA, and the FA31 is too large to comfortably fit in the series. They are both amazing lenses but the 43mm is the best of the bunch.
Great lens, yes, my favorite as well; I also own the 21mm Ltd, which has as sharp and micro-contrastie, and very useful when in close quarters. The one I'm missing for the full "three amigos" set is the 77mm FA, but don't much need telephoto anyway.
Good to know about the 21mm. I've been eyeing that one for a long time. For sure going to try it sometime.
High quality content. If you keep this up I'm positive you could grow this channel a lot!
Well thanks! I just like meeting people with similar interests and learning from them, and sharing my hobby is a fun way to do that. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you , Great content great story .
With Mattias Burling it’s his dog, with you it’s your daughter. Lol
Yep, haha! Sometimes I think his dog may be more obedient than my daughter...
Sadly, I sold my 43 Limited some years ago when I changed brands. Now I'm regretting it, as I'm considering getting another Pentax digital body. I still have my 21 Limited (APSC) and just picked up the HD 40 Limited, but I feel I should have held on to that 43!! Oh, and I had the 77 Limited as well (in silver) - and sold it. Ugh!! What is with me??
Hi! Sweet vid. Btw how this one flares in strong backlight? Anything nice/interesting going on? I wonder 🤔☺️
Hi James! Great video!
Sorry for the stupid question as a “newbie” in this world: is it possible to use HD 43mm limited on Pentax MX film camera?
Thanks!
Very nice! I'm one of those who can appreciate it when someone takes a camera the size of a K-1 and characterizes it as small and convenient to carry around. We only have two hands, and even a tiny camera means you're not holding anything else in it.
Do you plan to do a video comparing it to your 50 ƒ/1.4 ?
It is pretty chunky though 😂 If I try to one hand shoot and extend my arm all the way out it's a pretty good chest fly workout.
I ended up selling my FA 50 1.4 before doing a comparison video, but that was a big debate for myself and I shot them both back and forth to make up my mind. They are similar size, focus feels about the same to me, the FA 50 1.4 makes a noticeable difference in low light, it's way cheaper, but I struggled with occasional CA problems that bugged me. The FA 43mm 7mm difference made a big practical difference for me, it struggles less with CA, and the aesthetic is more documentary like than the 50mm. That last part is purely subjective. In the end, it was still a really hard decision, because I could do a lot (even get another cool lens!) with the $200+ cost difference, but in my circumstance I felt I would rather have the lens that just "felt right" for what I needed and I got consistent results from than more money to buy more lenses that I didn't totally love. I would still recommend the FA 50, I got some great shots with it before parting ways. Hope that helps for now, if I still had one I would throw them head to head and elaborate those thoughts more in a video!
YES!
Can/have you used this lens on your Pentax film cameras? If so, what are your thoughts?
Would you recommend this 43mm on the k5iis?
What about AF speed?
I keep looking at a certain used K1 that is sitting awkwardly in a shopping cart of mine. As a mom of two constantly photographing my kids, my only concern is size and speed. Does the weight of this make you not want to bring it around? I love my K70 for its portability and fear loosing that may result in me just not bothering to photograph. Second is speed. How is the AF speed and accuracy like?
Great questions and concerns. It is heavy, and the problem only gets worse with some full-frame lenses. That is part of the reason for my love of the 43mm - I use my K-1 for landscape and astro, but I also wanted to use it for documenting family, and the 43mm was finally a small and lightweight full-frame lens that made me okay with bringing the camera places. If you wanted to use the 24-70 for instance, it would become quite bulky and heavy. I was using the Tamron 28-75, and I was hesitant to bring that whole load to the park or on a walk. So good to think about what kinds of lenses you are interested in using. The 50's and 35's primes are also small and lightweight, so that's another option.
Another thing to point out with weight is that if you like shooting one handed, as in not using your left hand to support the bottom of the camera or lens, this camera is too heavy for that. I only do it when shooting the kids and wanting to be interactive and in the moment and shooting at the same time. I can do it with the 43mm, but only for a few seconds before my wrist starts feeling it.
As for the AF speed, it feels the same as other modern Pentax cameras in my experience. I used the K-70 for a week, so not longer enough to really compare, but I wouldn't say it's any slower or significantly faster.
Hope that was helpful.
@@snappiness Very helpful, thank you!!
@@alexisstember I have a K1 and I refer to it as carrying a toddler about BUT that being said, I purchased smaller cameras (Leica) and returned them as the photos from my K1 are amazing.
Does it accommodate a filter ? I heard somewhere no. Bout ready to purchase - I may be one in a million but I wasn't thrilled with the 77m.
Yes, 49mm filter thread.
Did you ever use the 43mm on other Pentax cameras like the k3? Similar results?
I have used it on my k10d (also APSC like the k3) and liked it. It doesn't feel like an everyday lens on that camera because of the tighter fov, and more like a portrait type lens. But rendering is still nice.
@@snappiness getting my 1st Pentax, KP, and looking for a lens…
Thanks for this express review.
Do you see any differences with or without the hood attached?
Not enough to warrant putting it on all the time. I'm sure like other lenses of this era it flares, loses contrast, etc, but in my practical experience it's never messed up a shot. Yet.
The K1 is, although good, not exactly a walk around documentary camera. The ltd.43mm lens is. I use ltd. Pentax primes on an APSC Leica CL with a novoflex adapter and go light and unnoticed.
That sounds like a sweet setup. Too bad those leica mount 43mm's are so rare and expensive, but cool you have that adapter. I actually don't mind the weight, it balances well. But the size is annoying. The small lens keeps me from bumping into people in a crowd, but when it's time to slip into a bag or be discreet, not really happening...
I have Pentax K-3 and one guy from Japan gave me for free Takumar 28mm f3.5, which is equivalent to 43mm on fullframe. I sold all my lenses and use only that Takumar :)
But I always wanted a fullframe Pentax and 50mm lens
I'm a student of engineering and photography is just a hobby :)
I loved my K3! I have so many amazing photos from that camera. Miss it all the time, even with my K-1 now. I have the takumar 24mm 3.5, and it is very nice as well, full of character :)
How does it perform for other than portraits?
I think it's really lovely stopped down as well for whatever. 43mm is quite versatile focal length on FF
Could you make a video about recording videos on K-1? This is a cool video! Keep up the good work.
Yeah maybe one day. I used to record on it quite a bit until I bought a used GH3 so I could record videos actually showing the K-1. Anything in particular you're interested in seeing with it? Just some examples or some tips for good footage?
@@snappiness Mattias Burling shot some videos on his K-1 and it look wonderful. I can't tell which of yours are K-1. This is my video with the K-1 and dfa 50/1.4 feel free to critique. I have some videos on PF with 14/2.8 Samyang as well. So any and all suggestions and advice are welcomed.
Hmm it seemed to have removed any link you shared? I don't have a link to that or your other videos? I would love to check them out.
@@snappiness th-cam.com/video/OTAcZPqJT68/w-d-xo.html
I'm really torn between the original k1 or Fuji xh1 I'm curious how my Pentax glass will do with that the fuji sensor
I've used adapted vintage Pentax glass on my Xpro1 and X-E2 - worked great! I really like the feel of fuji cameras. Reminds me of film SLRs/rangefinders because of the aesthetic and size.
@@snappiness yeah I mean I've used it on the x-pro one but you really do have to stop down a tiny bit. X pro2 they've mostly been good but I had a Vivitar that shined better with a Sony. I still have not brought myself to pull the trigger on the xh1. I just got an old 80d CCD sensor Nikon I'm curious to see what I get with it
I love the 43mm. I shoot analog and if I had to just do with one lens for the rest of my life that’d be it.
I *really* want to try it on film soon but don't have an AF body. I've toyed with going big and getting an MZ-S (which seems like a good pairing), going cheap and doing a ZX-50 or something just for fun, or just use manual focus on one of my existing bodies. I don't like the manual focus ring on this lens that much though :/ Anyway, thanks for reminding me to get on that!
snapppypic I have an MZ-S, which is by far the most enjoyable autofocus body I’ve ever used. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative you might want to consider the Z-1/PZ-1 depending where you’re based. It’s very capable and more like most modern SLR’s. Bit ugly though 😉. And even though I agree the manual focus doesn’t feel great, I mostly use the 43mm on the Pentax LX. Have fun!
Cool, thanks for the tips!
@@snappiness Thanks for making a vid about my fav lens :-)
I was considering to buy the 43mm ltd. But the images in your video are very soft or out of focus. Maybe I need to reconsider.
Starting at f2 the corners are still soft but the center is sharp as I'd ever need, so softness has not been my experience personally. But if it looks soft to you then you would probably not be happy with it, good call.
How do you focus manual lens on digital dslr?
This lens is autofocus. Are you referring to something else?
nice
Subscribed.
43 is my workhorse, I love it. www.behance.net/gallery/83122871/FA-43-The-Workhorse
FWIW, you might find the FA77 harder to capture those kiddy moments, u need more distance often, and kids like to come to you. FA43 is probably gonna be best in this regard. FA31 would also be good. I dunno... FA77 just feels very 'proper portraiture' lens and thus is better used with older subjects that can take commands better. FA77 is sharper tho, it's the sharpest of the 3.
Didn't know you used the 43 so much! I've seen a lot of your 77 portraits, and they're beautiful. That's a very good point about the practicality in my use case. She certainly doesn't sit still yet. Maybe in a few years she'll pose for me. The sharpness actually hasn't bothered me on the 43, even wide open. I guess just because I'm taking these candid portraits. If I was shooting landscape I'm sure it would.
@@snappiness The most magic that happens with all the FA ltds is when you use them wide open or close to wide and then isolate the subject with focus but MOST importantly... get something happening in the background, something interesting, something textured something bright, something with highlights etc. That there is the pixie dust.
43mm Limited was designed in late 90's, more than 20 years ago. It WAS great lens, but not now.
Yep, it's old! I like to think that things don't become less great over time just because things around it get better. But that's just me, use whatever works best for you 👍
It's still a great lens. Out and out sharpness isn't the only important measure of a lens. I've seen a lot of very sharp, soulless lenses in my time. The 43 mm has a special look and it's plenty sharp enough for most needs. It holds its own against the 36 Mpx sensor in the K-1 for sure..
You must be some youngster who thinks anything older than 6 months is out of date. News flash. The lens is still tiny (hasn't got larger with age), is sharp as a knife, and renders in an amazing manner when used properly.
娘さんですか！可愛い〜健やかな絵を沢山残して上げて下さいね。
Great job, new sub, here
Sweet! Thanks for stopping by!
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