KoNickon
Nick Merritt
Mine still works too; I think it cost around $225 in the early 90s. But the LCD screen (including in the viewfinder) is kaput, so I haven't tried taking pictures with it in some time. Hopefully any remake of this camera will have better LCDs. I wish those could be fixed on mine.
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
I bought that version almost 20 years ago attached to a P30t for the hefty sum of $50, and last I saw it was selling for $350.
It is a wonderful piece of glass great for all inside pictures but hard to use outside wide open.
The ND filter will allow that costs between 50 and 150 depending on the brand so I think it is worth it!
PS. I have several versions of this lens and the early 7 element Super Tak is stil my favorite. Images are soft, but have a special feel to them.
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Freakscene
Obscure member
The classic coatings are definitely less good than the HD coatings. But agree. Free ND filter is nice. In fact, with Pentax prices, why not get both? You’ll still save $5K over a Summilux.
nickthetasmaniac
Mentor
I'm a little baffled about this.The rumour of the demise of the FA 50/1.4 was greatly exxagerated. !
View attachment 4821807
HD PENTAX-FA 50mmF1.4 - Ricoh
A standard lens, featuring the latest, high-grade, multi-layer HD Coating to deliver clear, high-contrast images This single-focus standard lens features the latest, high-grade, multi-layer HD Coating, which effectively reduces the generation of flare and ghost image to deliver clear...us.ricoh-imaging.com
The HD version I get. Sure, new coatings and new cosmetics makes a 'new' lens.
But the Classic? The FA 50/f1.4 was only discontinued in 2023. It's still in stock in-stock in most Australian stores. How is this not just the same lens? The only difference I can tell is a change in font for the DoF scale...
Freakscene
Obscure member
It has a different name. It must be different. Ha ha
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
It was in production since 1991 and I think they are now retooling the line with new font and different look.
My guess is that it is another niche product with little investement
The HD is hopefully better
agentlossing
Well-known
It's not clear whether the specific version of SMC on the Classic lens is different from the outgoing model. It kind of reads that way, but it could just be marketing speak. However I don't see the type of rainbow flair being advertised as common to the older FA 50mm.
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Agreed, the older version performs well against the light. I wonder if this classic version has been tweaked to produce this effect.
luuca
Well-known
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Me too
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
I was looking at the in-depth review at PentaxF and there is some wide open but it is hard to replicate
I guess new coatings and tweaking to produce those rainbows is intentional
agentlossing
Well-known
IMGP3338 by Andrew Lossing, on FlickrJust picked up the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f1.7, which gives me the bonus perk on the K-1 of aperture A setting, allowing the camera to control the aperture and also allowing me to use TAv, my favorite mode for shooting on the street with the K-1. And the optics seem every bit as good as my excellent M 50mm f1.7, if not even a little better.
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Lovely light
Just picked up the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f1.7, which gives me the bonus perk on the K-1 of aperture A setting, allowing the camera to control the aperture and also allowing me to use TAv, my favorite mode for shooting on the street with the K-1. And the optics seem every bit as good as my excellent M 50mm f1.7, if not even a little better.
agentlossing
Well-known
Thank you, I saw the light and went after it right away.
agentlossing
Well-known
agentlossing
Well-known
A cross-post, please forgive me.
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
Cool photo and camera 😎
agentlossing
Well-known
Shot with the above camera. It's a keeper!
jbielikowski
Jan Bielikowski
I've decided to make a small upgrade on my SP after finding some lighleaks from the baffles around the shutter (velvet seals degraded). Also it was working quite rough, and nobody wanted to do a full CLA under the price of a second body. The shiny one is super smooth, lightmeter was overexposing by 2ev but it's a 5 minute job to calibrate it. Gonna load some 5222 and fingers crossed it was worth sourcing it straight from Japan.
Zuiko-logist
Well-known
The shiny one looks very nice indeed. The not so shiny one has lots of character 😊