70mm Limited review

Here is a pretty favorable review of the new 70mm Limited: http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3047

Kyle

Does anyone know if there have been any focusing problems with this lens at all? I'm a couple of days from pulling the trigger on it..

I did several searches yesterday regarding this, and exchanged e-mails with someone I know that purchased one, as far as I can tell no one has mentioned any focusing problems. Most I have read said it is very close in image quality to the 77mm FA Limited, with the 77mm beating it out only in terms of having a little better bokeh than the 70mm, the 77mm is also slightly faster(f1.8 as opposed to f2.4), however the 70mm is considerably smaller and lighter than the 77mm, so in comparison to one of their legendary lenses (FA 77mm), those appear to be the trade offs. But there was no focusing issues I could find.

Kyle

Here is a user review that might help:

http://digital-slr-review.blogspot.com/search/label/Pentax Lens

Nice review, similar to what I had seen posted on some of the forums. From what I have seen myself, and heard from others, the Pentax Limiteds, FA or DA, are on par with anything Canon or Nikon produces. They are great lenses, and the Pancakes have the added benefit of being very small. The "*" series lenses by Pentax are also stellar lenses and most are as good or better than the limiteds, and if you are looking for some lenses that aren't Limited or "*" series lenses, that are above average performers, the FA 50mm 1.4, the FA 35mm 2.0, and the FA 20mm 2.8, are 3 of the best standard production lenses Pentax makes. The FA 20mm 2.8 is considerably larger than the 21mm limited (but slightly faster), but it is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever owned, if you don't mind the extra size it is one of the best.

Kyle

Good link, Ed.

Very positive report!

Asher

Ben Rubinstein said:

Does anyone know if there have been any focusing problems with this lens at all? I'm a couple of days from pulling the trigger on it..

Click to expand...

I tested a friend's DA70 the other day and noticed no problems with the focusing. I had my and his 77's to compare it to as well. I didn't do a scientific test but compared the 2 enough on my K10D that I got a good feel for the differences.

The noticeable differences were the 1/3 to 1/2 faster focusing time of the DA70 & the noticeably less CA from the 70. I shot into the sun through a tree wide open and the results were not pretty from the 77. The 70 wasn't great but much better wide open. Stopped down to F8 I think, and repeated the test. The CA was much better controlled in both but the 70 still looked better.

I'm thinking about swapping to the 70 instead, but difference in speed is stopping me. It's nearly a full stop slower and I already have excellent glass in the Tam 28-75 & Sigma 70-200 at 2.8. Do I really need another lens at the same focal length around the same speed?

As a side note, my friend's DA21 did have focusing issues with my K10D. He noticed it was OOF when it confirmed focus on his camera. I didn't notice that and every shot I took was in focus when I check on computer at home. However I noticed that it sometimes refused to AF at all. If I pointed it at certain areas (in a sunny park) it would refuse to AF with the multipoint AF. It wouldn't even hunt for focus. It would just sit there and blink OOF. If I changed to selective point AF it would focus immediately with different points. If I changed to center point, it would blink OOF. It happened enough where it turned me off from the lens. Otherwise I like it very much. The close focus of the lens was great as was the perspective. I could definitely enjoy that FOV but the AF issue was really off putting.

I haven't heard many complaints on the CA with the 77mm until recently (the last 6 months), Since then I have seen where about 5 or 6 people have mentioned the CA problem being worse than other lenses. I wonder if there has been a change in this lens that has made this worse on recent production runs. Alvaro, How old are the 77mm lenses you tested? I'm wondering if they were recent purchases or if they are a couple of years old. I was getting close to picking up a 77mm and have decided to wait a few months in favor of getting the new 16-50mm "*" series that will be available soon. If the CA problem with the 77mm is bad enough I may just skip picking one up all together.

I'm not surprised the 70mm focuses faster, the Pancake lenses aren't built has heavy as the FA limiteds, so I'm sure the focusing motor doesn't have to work nearly as hard, or move the elements as far as it would on the larger FA limiteds. That is another advantage for the 70mm to be sure.

It looks as if the only advantages to the older FA 77mm Limited would be faster aperture, possibly better Bokeh, and ability to use it on a Full Frame imaging sensor (if there ever is one). Otherwise the 70mm is sounding better and better all the time.

Kyle