The Pentax 50mm 1.4 lens is an old lens that has been the standard, normal Pentax lens for years. You can get the best price from Amazon
Thankfully, this glass is one of the most affordable and also one of the fastest lens in their lens lineup.
Note that this is a full frame (FA) glass and that means you can use this glass in both full frame and cropped sensor DSLR camera.
Tested on the current DSLR, this glass still performs well. Although it does not belong to the Limited lineup, the build quality is pretty good for the price.
In terms of optical quality, it performs well, except at f/1.4 and f/2.
At those two apertures, this glass is simply soft on the borders and center. You’d need to stop down to f/2.8 to make it much sharper.
Apart from this issue, this glass is good in all aspect. By that I mean above average, not great.
Considering the price that you pay for this glass, this gem will give you more than acceptable performance.
If you are using a cropped sensor DSLR and planning to switch to a full frame one, then this is the standard glass to get.
It is a good performing fast normal glass for the price.
This glass is one of the pancake types on their lineup. It get the name from its tiny dimension (it measures only 25mm).
To learn more about this glass, see the complete Pentax 50mm 1.4 review below.
Specs • Performance • Sample Image • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Pentax 50mm 1.4 Specs
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Official Name:
Pentax SMC FA 50mm f/1.4
Focal Length Markings:
50mm
Features:
SMC – Super Multi Coating – Minimizes flare in the glass elements.
FA – Compatible with both full frame and cropped sensor DSLR camera.
Full Technical Specs
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 6 / 7 |
| Angle of View | 47° |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 6 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 18in. |
| Filter Thread | 49mm |
| Weight | 7.8oz. (220g) |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | ø2.5 x 1.5″ (65 x 37mm) |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 0.15X |
| Available at | Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama |
Optical Performance
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Pentax 50mm 1.4 Sharpness
Center sharpness is a bit weak at f/1.4. Stop down to f/2 to make it sharper to an acceptable level.
Border sharpness are weak at f/1.4 and f/2. You need to stop down to f/2.8 to make it sharp to an acceptable level.
To get maximum sharpness on this instrument, shoot at f/4.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/1.4 | f/2 | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
| 50mm | Good | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/1.4 | f/2 | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
| 50mm | Fair | Fair | Great | Great | Great | Great |
Distortion
Being a normal lens, distortion is very low and can be safely neglected in all shooting conditions.
See the distortion grid test below.
Pentax 50mm 1.4 Distortion
Vignetting
Vignetting is slightly apparent at the widest aperture of f/1.4.
To completely eliminate it, stop down to f/2.
See the vignetting test result below.
Pentax 50mm 1.4 Vignetting
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration is fairly well controlled here. Although still visible sometimes, it can be considered low on most aperture.
You can see the chromatic aberration test result below.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/1.4 | f/2 | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
| 50mm | Very Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Build Quality
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Materials
High quality plastics with metal mount.
Focusing
Autofocus is fast and accurate. Focus ring operates smoothly.
The physical dimension will extend a bit when focused on closer distance.
Filter thread does not rotate here so using a polarizing filter will be easy.
This lens has no internal focusing motor and has so has to use the internal camera’s motor to drive the autofocus. This will make the glass generate some mild autofocus noise during focusing.
Image Stabilization
The Image Stabilization feature is installed in the camera body itself and not on the lenses. Check your DSLR camera if it has Image Stabilization feature.
Compatibility
The FA designation means that this glass can be used with both full frame and cropped sensor DSLR camera. It is also compatible with film SLR camera.
Sample Image
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Below are some sample shots that I took using this particular glass. Click on any thumbnail to open the image.
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Conclusion
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Here I will be summarize this Pentax 50mm 1.4 lens review.
Being an old lens, this lens still perform quite decently on the current digital bodies.
The performance is just average though. It is good, but not great.
The main downside is the f/1.4 and f/2 aperture. Images taken at this aperture are soft. You need to stop down to f/2.8 to greatly improve the sharpness.
Vignetting is also slightly visible at f/1.4 but it is gone by f/2.
Distortion and well controlled and chromatic aberration are fairly low throughout all apertures.
Because this is not a Limited lens, the build quality is just average. It is made of high quality plastic, but still feels solid.
In terms of price, this lens is priced well according to its performance and price. While you cannot expect to get superior quality, this lens will perform good enough for the price that you are paying.
Drawbacks
- Center and borders are soft at f/1.4
- Slightly visible vignetting at f/1.4
- Moderate autofocus noise
Positives
- Very sharp on the center and borders at f/2.8 an above
- Good chromatic aberration control
- Decent build quality for the price
- Fast and accurate autofocus mechanism
- Good price for the quality
Good For
- Normal lens when used with a full frame DSLR
- Semi telephoto lens when used with a cropped sensor DSLR
- Street photography
- Portraiture photography
Not So Good For
- Taking sharp pictures at wide aperture – because the f/1.4 is soft both on the center and borders
What Others Are Saying…
by “P. Tcholakov”
Despite the plastic outer skin, this is one excellent lens. Its f/1.4 maximum aperture combined with the clean high-ISO performance of Pentax digital SLR’s allows you to get some amazing shots without…
Click here to see the full review
by “PRAXIS”
Let me just say that theres a whole other pricepoint for pentax glass and gear than the big houses, just for reference, I’m coming from being a Nikon guy, my film kit got stolen, and so I’m getting into…
Click here to see the full review
Where to Buy
Support this site, buy the Pentax 50mm 1.4 lens from these sites (best price online):
Amazon (Best Price + FREE Shipping)
See the related post below to see more lens review options.
Thanks for reading my Pentax 50mm 1.4 review and by reading this, I hope you’ll be able to make a good purchasing decision.
| Lens Score | |
|---|---|
| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
Tags: pentax 50, pentax 50 1.4, pentax 50 mm lens, pentax 50mm, pentax 50mm 1.4, pentax 50mm 1.4 lens, pentax 50mm f 1.4, pentax 50mm f1.4, pentax 50mm lens, pentax 50mm prime
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