fa50 or da40?

[scorpioh]

While Pentax has probably the widest range of pancake lenses in current production, there are pancake lenses from other makes that are just as good if not better than the original Pentax DA & M 40mm pancakes.

Three that come to mind are the Contax Tessar T* 45mm f2.8, Nikon 45mm f/2.8 P, Konica 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon. I have used the Nikon and the Konica in the past and they easily outperform the current DA 40mm hands down. The Voigtlander 40mm f/2 SL II is also a strong contender optically. Even Minolta had a pancake lens in the form of the Rokkor 45mm f/2 MD.

Just to put things in perspective that pancakes aren't a new thing or unique only to Pentax. All pancakes follow the Tessar lens design where there is even center and edge performance at the expense of a large max aperture.

Oops. I thk I am a frog in the well. Ha.

 

[souloner]

Only the Pentax DA and the new Olympus Zuiko Digital 25mm have AF.
The DA 40 could possibly be the thinnest because it doesn't have an aperture ring, but we're talking a few millimeters here. But seriously, one shouldn't buy an optic on the basis of size alone but for it's optical performance. At any rate, once it gets to be too thin, the option to focus manually starts to be more challenging.

Anyway here's a comparison test between the old and new Pentax 40mm.

Yeah, that's so true... At the end of the day, its still the performance of the lens and not forgetting the hands of the photographer that counts... Guess shall stick to the FA50 for the time being...:think:

 

[tyzts]

While Pentax has probably the widest range of pancake lenses in current production, there are pancake lenses from other makes that are just as good if not better than the original Pentax DA & M 40mm pancakes.

Three that come to mind are the Contax Tessar T* 45mm f2.8, Nikon 45mm f/2.8 P, Konica 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon. I have used the Nikon and the Konica in the past and they easily outperform the current DA 40mm hands down. The Voigtlander 40mm f/2 SL II is also a strong contender optically. Even Minolta had a pancake lens in the form of the Rokkor 45mm f/2 MD.

Just to put things in perspective that pancakes aren't a new thing or unique only to Pentax. All pancakes follow the Tessar lens design where there is even center and edge performance at the expense of a large max aperture.

Yep, Pentax can't claim the credit for inventing pancakes. But aren't they the only brand with a range (i.e, more than one ) of small prime lenses for digital SLRs?

Nonethelss, I wish Pentax has a small, light digital SLR (like Nikon D40 or Olympus 420) to take full advantage of the small lenses for "walkabout", "take-everywhere" use. I'm hoping that the rumored low-end K2000D or something will come close. If it does, I'll gladly "upgrade" from my K10D which I find to be somewhat klutzy because of its size and weight, bells and whistles notwithstanding...

[Sorry for the slight rant.]

 

[airconvent]

Yep, Pentax can't claim the credit for inventing pancakes. But aren't they the only brand with a range (i.e, more than one ) of small prime lenses for digital SLRs?

Nonethelss, I wish Pentax has a small, light digital SLR (like Nikon D40 or Olympus 420) to take full advantage of the small lenses for "walkabout", "take-everywhere" use. I'm hoping that the rumored low-end K2000D or something will come close. If it does, I'll gladly "upgrade" from my K10D which I find to be somewhat klutzy because of its size and weight, bells and whistles notwithstanding...

[Sorry for the slight rant.]

They do have one....its called the istDL.. I used to own it and its very light and compact.:thumbsup:

Hi Dennis , thanks for your link, its translated here :
http://translate.google.com.sg/tran...005/01/17/753.html&sl=ja&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I am not an expert but it seems the DA lens is sharper and a little brighter too? Can you comment on their IQ?
I personally feel that even though the DA40 may not be the best or near the best, from a user standpoint, its an adequate performer and I am pretty pleased with it. The fact that its light makes it all the more attractive too.

 

[hjbyeo]

They do have one....its called the istDL.. I used to own it and its very light and compact.:thumbsup:

Hi Dennis , thanks for your link, its translated here :
http://translate.google.com.sg/tran...005/01/17/753.html&sl=ja&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I am not an expert but it seems the DA lens is sharper and a little brighter too? Can you comment on their IQ?
I personally feel that even though the DA40 may not be the best or near the best, from a user standpoint, its an adequate performer and I am pretty pleased with it. The fact that its light makes it all the more attractive too.

Both are quite light .. just that the FA 50mm is larger in size. FA 50mm is definitely brighter when viewed from the ViewFinder.

But I always thought that FA 50mm was really built for a film camera, and that it's actual capabilities are not really fully ultilized in a cropped sensor DSLR. But I still sold my DA40 and got the FA 50. Just a matter of preference...