Pentax SMCP-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited Lens with Case and Hood

I use this lens with my Pentax KP. The lens is capable of producing incredibly detailed images when used right. For macro work, I take hand-held shots in the field. I found out that 100mm is a little on the long side for me (I mostly do plants / flowers) due to hand-shake. I get a lot more tack sharp images with my 50mm macro. The upside of 100mm is you get a lot more working distance to the subject so flash coverage is more even. I don't do insects that much but I can see how the additional working distance compared to 50mm can be very useful in this regard. With a tripod, the lens is very sharp.The only down side I found is that the lens has too much purple fringing at f2.8 as illustrated by pictures above. For my macro work, this is not a deal breaker as I usually close the aperture to f8 or smaller to increase DOF. In fact, I never used the lens below f5.6 for macro work. You can see the purple fringing comparison between f2.8 and f5.6. I process images with Capture One Pro 20 and for some reason Capture One cannot correct the purple fringing illustrated in my pictures. If you are using the lens for portraits or normal long medium to long distance work, this might affect you.AF is screw driven and slow due to long focus throw. I use the lens in manual mode for macro with catch-in-focus which works great. There is also the quick-shift feature which allows you to shift focus in AF mode. Bottom line, AF is not a strong suit of this lens but the long focus throw is good for manual macro work.Build quality is exceptional. The lens is very solid. No loose parts or rattles. I like that the barrel is made of metal. It is not that big and considerably lighter than my Tamron 90mm f2.8.

I bought this lens because I felt I needed an all-around portrait lens. And also because this lens was the thing that made me switch from Canon to Pentax. Like some people posted here, this lens is like a wild woman. Sometimes it will produce breathtaking results, and sometimes it will leave you out in the cold. It depends on some circumstances. I wouldn't recommend this lens to an inexperienced photographer. I use it for fashion and for filming (vlog and commercials destined for the web), and I'm more interested in its image quality. This lens is also the "default" lens on my K3.One thing I dislike about this lens is the minimum focusing distance. At almost half a meter, I can't get too close to my subject without having the lens buzz desperately in search of a focal point within range. That can be both annoying and embarrassing. My advice is, if you want toColors: I really like its natural color gradation. Though I must say that is not always the case (again, it depends on certain circumstances which I can't really tell). Sometimes, this lens is hard to tame regardingBokeh: the bokeh is very nice and pleasing to the eye. Of course, don't expect this to happen magically. You put your subject in a good position. I have a few lenses with creamier bokeh, but they are all manual lenses. Sometimes it's nice to have autofocus, for example when I have a fashion shoot at sunset or sunrise (very limited timeframe, no time to waste).Sharpness: Its images are often crisp with smooth color transitions. I found its sweet spot to be between 2.8 and 5.6, though I must say images are still quite good at 1.9 (not in corners though).Autofocus: the autofocus is accurate, though not quite as fast as some Canon top lenses, and definitely not silent. Frankly, it fulfills all my needs, but it may not fulfill yours. If ultrafast silent autofocus is a priority for you, then you should perhaps think of something else.It gets 5 stars because I like the lens. It's definitely not for everybody. Definitely not for beginners, and not built for optimal speed. It can produce some magic, but it needs to be in the right mood for that, and you have to know how to get it in the right mood.

I own probably more Pentax gear than any 99% of any Pentax shooter in the United States... no joke. 2 K5iis, 2 K-01's, 2 K1's, K3ii, half of all their primes made, Pentax 15-30 f2.8 (tamron),middle aged gilopies like the DA 16-45, I have a model of the first ever auto focus telephoto zoom, of course, made by Pentax, the first model of standard zoom manual focus made by Pentax, and the first model of telephoto zoom again made by Pentax, etc, etc.SHOCKINGLY, after 4 purchases of and reselling of the 40mm XS, I landed a perfect copy of the 40mm XS which I intentionally wanted over the 40mm limited I used to own for a good copy of the 40mm XS has superior bokeh and less bokeh fringing. Thus, as I was getting to, the 40mm on a K-01 takes the mose incredible photos of all my gear.Of course that is subjective, but 40mm tantilizes me. You know what is just as good....Yep, the 100mm macro. TRY IT ON THE K-1. OMG...... it is to die for.The 100mm D FA is THEEEEE sharpest lens pentax makes, it has incredible bokeh.WARNING. The 100mm D FA will NOT focus properly without updating your K5, K3, and K1 to the latest updates. I almost gave up on this lens for inconsistent focusing, then I thought, HEY, LETS TRY A FIRMWARE UPDATE, and whammo. The firmware updates really can include focus improvements that Pentax "sneaks" into that update.WHAT SUCKS FOR ME, I paid 650 freaking bucks for my lens here on Amazon back in 2014. Now it is half that at 380 bucks. OUCH. Let me tell you something Pentax shooters,BUY IT.KNOW THESE FACTS:Its a macro - long throw lens. Takes a while to get to your target if focused out to infinity and adjusting towards near field and vise versa. However, if you are near your focus point it does focus fast (lock fast). You will not be using this for action anyway, but it is a GREAT PORTRAIT LENS on APSC or FF. It is a great landscape lens - smoking sharp at f2.8 corner to corner.Honestly, this lens is just amazing. It is better than all the limited series lenses. I KNOW - I OWN THEM with exception to the FA 31mm limited... it is on my list!!!Enjoy it.