Hin's Photo Corner

I have consolidated my DA 40mm f/2.8 limited and FA 50mm f/1.4 into one single prime with Pentax FA 43mm f/1.9 limited. After trimming my DA limited trio with 21, 40 and 70, I am down to 4 limited lens with two DA limited and two FA limited.

• 15, 35, 43 and 77

and I find the 43mm limited to be a great replacement for my DA 40mm f/2.8 limited. The 40mm limited is an under-rated limited lens but the 43mm stands out in speed and color. I found the 40 limited sharp even wide open but the gain of speed in the 43mm is especially useful in indoor and low light shooting. Though it is not pancake small like the 40mm limited, it is a delight to use with aperture ring and a removable lens hood that is not adding too much bulkiness to the lens. It has a charming factor on its own rights.


When I used it in a weekend in an Art & Wine festival and an indoor night club shooting with Pentax K20D, I was very impressed with its sharpness, color and small form factor like the other limited lens.









Impressions & Notes

• I find it a good replacement for consolidating my two lens with DA 40mm f/2.8 limited and FA 50mm f/1.4 into one.
  
  
• Not pancake small like the DA 40mm f/2.8 limited but it actually is small like the 21mm and its lens hood is reasonably good in size and removable. I actually don't mind and find the size quite ideal for both digital and film. It is smaller and more compact than the FA 50mm f/1.4.
  
  
• It beats the DA limited with an aperture ring and well suited for film bodies as in Pentax MX or my Ricoh xr-p. You can call me old school but I always prefers lens that work with both digital and film bodies.
  
  
• AF is not as fast as the DA 40mm f/2.8 limited.
  
  
• In the night club shooting, I had a very difficult time with AF assisted light from flash and it took a second or two to lock on focus. The difficulty had more to do with my K20D
  
  
• The gain of speed in f/1.9 offers tremendous help to my K20D shooting as I tried to avoid iso 1600 and I shot in iso 800 with f/1.9 for the test shots above. Though wide open maybe soft but I much rather have that option instead of bumping up ISO alone
  
  
• Lens is very sharp like the 77mm and it is cutter than the 77mm in terms of size. Color rendering is vivid and rich and it lives up to the expectation and positive experience with 77mm limited.
  
  
• Highly recommended limited lens
  

Related

• Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited with Pentax K-x
  
• Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 limited
  
• Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 limited
• High ISO habit forming with Pentax K-x
• Hin's Camera Gear

I shot these DJ shots in a shopping mall where the DJ kindly let me take his pictures while he was serving music in a shoe store. I was using my Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 and Pentax K100D. I was passionate in the shooting as I found the lighting extremely attractive. I wish I had more chances to shoot pictures for people. It was a memorable shoot.

Two years have passed. I still have the same passion in photography that I had before. I continuously find enthusiasm and excitement in the process of shooting people and nature. I am still very much the amateur like two years ago. But unlike the beginning, I am more confused than ever what I can afford to pursue in the passion. I worry too much and I can't follow my heart to do what I would like to pursue in life. I am obligated for financial support for my beloved family. And I am in a state of loss what I can try out next. I always look and quest for shooting better pictures but on the other hand, I lose touch with the purpose in the passion. Is it my destiny to be a photographer? Am I ready to take steps to become a freelance photographer? Would I be able to support my family? Would I get worse in spending less time with my family. I just have too many questions that I don't seem to have an answer with certainty, confidence and comfort.


Related:

• Thoughts on Pentax FA 50 f/1.4
• Pentax K100D
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

I hope that I can explain to someone that I can justify to buy this lens together with Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited as a pair in silver color. I originally plan for getting Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro as I like to get a good AF prime and double up for close up in street shooting. When I saw this lens with FA 77mm f/1.8 as a pair, I asked about this lens from the previous owner. Before I knew it, my paypal was sent along with that for Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited. I have no regrets yet but I have to find the strength and ways to justify the cost of my most expensive single lens ever purchased. I chose this over Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 1:1 macro limited for several reasons

• It is fast speed in f/1.8 and it makes a difference for indoor shooting. Pentax are not well known for noise and anything gained from faster speed in lens are very welcome.
  
  
• Full frame compatibility. Though I don't have any film body yet, I expect to have some potential gear that go with a full frame film body such as my previous favorite film body with Pentax Pz-1 or Pentax Super Program
  
  
• Size is bigger than other limited but still within reasonable size for a prime. And like other FA limited lenses, the Lady Queen has aperture control on the lens. I love lens that offer me choices
  
  
• The Pentax 31mm limited is considered by many the best prime lens ever produced by Pentax and hence there is the prestige pressure in owning such a piece of glass. A novice user like me will feel guilty in possession of such a fine glass
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• It is expensive, beautiful, a bit bigger than others, a classic, a style, a statement, a symbol, a tool, a limited lens and everything that people rave about.
  

Related:

• Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 limited Test Shots
• Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 1:1 macro limited -- Documentary Lens
• Sigma 28mm f/1.8 II in Mid-Autumn Festival
• Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2 limited
• Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4
  
• Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited
• Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.4 1:2 macro (m42)
  
• Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 Di LD Macro
• Hin's Pentax Gear
  

I hope that I can explain to someone that I can justify to buy this lens after owning a fine copy of portrait zoom with Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. The Tamron zoom serves me more than I can ask for. I even tried to pretend to be a wedding photog in my friends' wedding. But when I spotted this fine limited prime, I send in paypal for it and the reasoning that I chose it instead of Pentax DA 70mm f/2.4 are actually a few

• It is faster speed in f/1.8 and it makes a difference for indoor shooting. Pentax are not well known for noise and anything gained from faster speed in lens are very welcome.
  
  
• Full frame compatibiliy. Though I don't have any film body, I expect to have some potential gear that go with a full frame film body such as my previous favorite film body with Pentax Pz-1 or Pentax Super Program
  
  
• Size and aperture control on lens. I love lens that offer me choice
  
  
• It is a totally different lens than DA* 50-135. The DA* zoom can't touch the small and petite size of the limited prime in 77mm and it stands in its very own strength in my bag. It will serve the unique role in a limited trio as in 21/40/77 and since I don't have the 40mm, my 31mm and 50mm will fill in the role in between as in 21/31/50/77 as a quad limited lens with an extra Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 which is no limited but my best value prime in my bag
  

Related:

• Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 limited Test Shots
  
• Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2 limited
• Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 limited
• Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4
  
• Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 Di LD Macro
  
• Hin's Pentax Gear
  

My Pizza lens happens also be my Sushi Lens. It is my beloved Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 and I default to the lens when my family goes out for new places and new dishes. The Strawhat Pizza in my neighborhood replaces our favorite New York Pizza place called SFO Pizza right in Fremont near my home. Darn it! I will miss SFO Pizza as I love the pan pizza fresh in that restaurant. Now, I have to be content with what I can find with Strawhat. The pictures look better than the taste as the previous place with SFO Pizza has the deep pan New York style pizza with Pesto sauce that my boys, and I all crave about. And I forgot to bring camera before and my good memories with SFO pizza are gone without a good picture.







I always count on my fast Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 to take food shots and it works well with taking indoor pictures of a restaurant. It may be wide enough for a good angle but it has excellent speed and clode up for indoor.



Related:

• Pentax FA 50 f/1.4
• Best lens for Sushi
• Hin's Camera Gear

My fridge from KitchenAid was broken after 6 years of service. Defrossing water gushed out every day needing a bucket and a mop for the daily cleanup and the hourly monitor. And the regular compartment of a side by side stainless steel KitchenAid forced us to dine out since last weekend. My buddies craved for the food pictures that I used to like shooting for indoor. I always go to my Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 for the fast lens in my gear that can take food photos up a level of performance when compared to others. And in getting back to my root with dSLR, I brought my Pentax K100D instead of my K10D for the sushi restaurant named Nijo Castle in Fremont of California,

a place that has become my boys' favorite after the first visit. We have dragon sushi in the first visit along with Udon in a nice broth. The special comes with the appetizer in a Spinach Beef wrap.







Notes & Impressions:

• I defaulted to ISO 400 and use mostly f/2.0 and some in f/2.8 as I go for the bokeh while maintaining sharpness and avoid narrow DOF errors from myself
• Quick snapshot in jpg is alright in K100D and I don't worry about post processing in raw files
• I asked for fully cooked sushi and hence no raw stuff from the nicely dressed Kimonos waitress
• Automatic White Balanace in K100D suffer from orange and yellow cast and hence the warm touch in the pictures. Sometime good and sometime totally not the color of the scene. The preset Tungsten helps a bit but it has its own problem with a cold blue tone. Best solution is to use custom white balance but I fall short in time to save my boys from finishing all sushi
• 50mm may be a bit long in restaurant with tight space. I see the DA 35 f/2.8 limited or FA 35 f/2.0 would do just as well
• Sharpness in FA 50 f/1.4 in f/2.0 get the job done for me. That does not mean that I won't use f/1.4 to f/1.8. It is just that I use them not as often and I reserve it for the darker scenes making the fast lens working extremely well in all cases.
  
• A worthy lens to consider if you are into food shots for indoor. And I see no reason to shoot BBQ for the outdoor, the bokeh and color from the 50mm is outstanding. The minimal focusing distance is great with the FA 50, making it an ideal candidate for close up with a close up filter or a 2x macro converter

Related:

• Pentax FA 50 f/1.4
• Cosina 1:1 macro adapter
  
• Kenko 2x macro converter
• Hin's Camera Gear

Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 is not a macro, but I used a Cosina/Pentax/Phoenix 1:1 Matched Macro Adapter and use fast apertures in f/1.4 to f/2.8 for all of my shots in a dark aquarium. At first, I tried my default setting of f/2.8 in iso 400 but the resulting shutter speed too slow for motion in the jelly fish, perhaps my hand shake too, and I resolved to count on faster speed in f/1.4, f/1.6 and f/1.8 and work with a cleaner background on iso 200.

Pictures were taken with Pentax K10D & Pentax FA 50 f/1.4. All are hand-held shots in iso 400 and 200.