FA77 Limited images for newbies

A recent one - the first of my non-photo-a-day photos - taken on January 1 - I couldn't help myself : )



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Betsy
http://www.pbase.com/betsypdx/photo_a_day

But unfortunately it's not available. :cries: I'm gonna wait a few more weeks and if it's still not available I'm gonna get me a 12-24.

east(but it is on my personal LBA "roadmap" )saltwater

Lovely photos, Ben.

Here is one of mine from a while ago as I haven't any recent portraits with the FA77:



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Lance B

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b
GMT +10hours

Lovely portraits with that ghostly warm reflected sunlight and amazing sharpness. I have a newbie 50mm 1.4 for my Ds and have been experimenting with mixed results on my two terriers. I've discovered that it is much more demanding than the kit lens or the 50-200, especially with a moving target like two dogs. Wide open the 1.4 has a very shallow DOF and there is not always time to get the whole face in focus. I am intrigued by the FA 85mm 1.4 but it seems to be extinct. I thought it would give me greater reach and faster shutter speeds. Both are pricey. Suggestions?
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jgauthier

For what it's worth, I ordered a 50 1.4 FA from tristate last Sunday and had it in my hands on Tuesday. Of course on Monday I got the phone call trying to sell me filters, and even though I didn't buy anything else, they shipped it out that day without a hassle.

Now all I need it a Pentax camera to go with the two lenses I already bought (50 1.4 + 50-200)

Eric H said:

thanks, but I'll pass on tristate.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/TriState_Camera_Video_and_Computers

Datavis has it too, but their ratings are also pretty low. Did B&H
or Adorama have it in stock more than once during the entire rebate
period? It's kind of frustrating that they offer a rebate on
lenses that are nearly impossible to find.

Click to expand...

I don't see the 77mm much on ebay. It seems like they would be more commonplace but I suppose my judgement is skewed because so many forum participants have it.

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rc

Another lovely shot of your son Scott, nice one. Actually, one of the better ones i think, the angle works for me, good work.

Ben
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I've enjoyed your Tokina shots Don, and this example is excellent as well. That lens is amazingly sharp, renders colours nicely and has lovely bokeh indeed. But the 77 logically takes cult status. It also has the unique, creamy 3D look that i don't feel the Tokina has.

Ben
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I like the PP work you've done here, a different look.

Ben
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Thought you may post that one Lance, a fine example of what this lens can do and an excellent capture of your son.

Ben
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The fact that this lens is hard to find as another confirming factor that the K10D and K100D are selling well, as is the fact that KEH was reported completely out of Pentax primes recently.

This is very encouraging, since the best thing for Pentax in its new role with Hoya is for it to sell well. The performance of the new cameras in the market since their release, should surely be reassuring to Hoya.
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bill wilson

Don Allison said:

I'll take my Tokina ATX 90mm F2.5 anytime. Granted, it doesn't have
AF, but it has the finest bokeh of any lens, and there is not a
sharper lens on the market. Photodo gives this 1:2 macro a stellar
4.6, the highest of any macro in its range. Don't get me wrong, I'm
not dissing the 77 Ltd. I'm just not ready to elevate it to the
cult status of the Tokina Bokina. Talking about portraits, here's a
recent quick snap.

Click to expand...

That's a fine portrait indeed Don, and like you I also won't give the 77 a cult status, I'm happy to use my old A* 85/1.4 anytime and see no use for a AF 77mm. It also was way cheaper than a new 77 so that's an added bonus.

85 @ f2.2 K10



Cheers,
Mike

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'Best wide angle lens? Take a few steps back and look for the WoW effect.'



http://www.culinair.com

Mousehill said:

Don Allison said:

I'll take my Tokina ATX 90mm F2.5 anytime. Granted, it doesn't have
AF, but it has the finest bokeh of any lens, and there is not a
sharper lens on the market. Photodo gives this 1:2 macro a stellar
4.6, the highest of any macro in its range. Don't get me wrong, I'm
not dissing the 77 Ltd. I'm just not ready to elevate it to the
cult status of the Tokina Bokina. Talking about portraits, here's a
recent quick snap.

Click to expand...

That's a fine portrait indeed Don, and like you I also won't give
the 77 a cult status, I'm happy to use my old A* 85/1.4 anytime and
see no use for a AF 77mm. It also was way cheaper than a new 77 so
that's an added bonus.

85 @ f2.2 K10
http://k53.pbase.com/o6/40/593540/1/72006904.Wkdgew4V._IGP0459_web.jpg

Click to expand...

That's an excellent portrait of a beautiful girl, Mike.

But A85/1.4 is cheaper than a new 77? It's not the case anymore I think. Most A85/1.4 sold at eBay for a lot more than a 77 nowadays.

Mike Muizebelt said:

Cheers,
Mike

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--
'Best wide angle lens? Take a few steps back and look for the WoW
effect.'



http://www.culinair.com

Click to expand...

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Frank
GMT+8hours

http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp0301zt2.jpg









http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp7023rz1.jpg

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Roentarre - just an amateur
http://www.pbase.com/roentarre

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Roentarre - just an amateur
http://www.pbase.com/roentarre

Hi Ben,

Awesome pictures with the 77 lmt.

In this older thread (about the 77), you wrote :

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&message=20814050&q=rare+lens&qf=m

“Considering the FA77 is in it's last months or production AND you are now getting it cheaper than ever brand new, i would get that. You won't regret it, it's a superb lens and you'll reach for it everytime you want to take a potrait.”

Where do you have information that specifies this ?

Because it is still listed in production, both from the Japanese and American site :

http://www.digital.pentax.co.jp/en/lens/

http://www.pentaximaging.com/products/cameras/lenses/digital_35mm/telephoto.jsp

They do not even seem to have stopped the 43 limited, which was mentioned to be the first to exit production.

Generally Pentax lenses seem to have been vacuumed from the major places. Many places are sold out, of various lenses. But I have not seen anywhere that they would stop producing the 77 or 31.

Yes, they have come out with new limited, but these are pancake, and made for digital. And they are not particularly fast lenses.

Taking into consideration, how highly thought of, the original limited are. And how surprisingly well they have sold, it would not seem a logical choice for Pentax to abandon them. In the past, Pentax have tried to move on from some SLR cameras and lenses, but the customers continued interest, has stopped Pentax from being able to finish some products off. (This is also said to be the case with the FA 50 f/1.4.)

When the FA limited are spoken for, the moment they leave the factory, and they are produced in numbers that can’t keep up with demand, it would seem a strange thought to stop selling them. Also many reviewers have been given the original limited lenses to use with new DSLR cameras. This would be hard to justify, if the lens was about to leave the marked.

On the general topic, all the nice contributions on the forum over the limited, sure makes one eager to get the 77 or the 31, at some point.

Mike also mentions the 85/1.4. It’s tough; I keep telling myself that I would not really need it. But it just seems such a lovely lens as well.

Don mentions Tokina, I haven’t any lenses by them. But it seems they should produce fine lenses as well.

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Kind regards
Sune

At the time, my information suggested that the FA series was being discontinued. I read this to also include the FA Limited's and as the DA Limited's were in production and selling well, i saw this as a commitment to the APS-C sensor.

In more recent times, some suggest a Full Frame DSLR is on the cards in the coming years. This would make FA Limited's more useful and valuable, so perhaps they won't be discontinued. OTOH, if they were discontinued, some have suggested it's quite possible they could begin manufacture again at some stage in the future.

In the end, as good as the FA77 is, my real message was/is to just get one while you can. If you knew how great it was, could afford to buy one, why wouldn't you while it was available?

Ben
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I have a few more shots in this thread:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=21675165

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Learning to light at http://www.Strobist.com

http://www.trappedlight.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LAShooters/

Hi Ben,

Sounds great. I’m planning on getting the K10 in April with the 12-24, and the DFA 100 macro. I also have my eye on a used FA* 400 5.6 that I found in a store.

Still being a student, this leaves very little room for getting the limited 31 and 77 as well. Having missed out on most of the lovely FA* glass, I would like to get the 31 and 77, in the not to distant future. In the meantime I can look at the nice contributions that you’ll come up with.

Also a question for Don Allison,

the Tokina ATX 90mm F2.5 of yours, does it work like the Pentax K or A lenses on the K10 ?

Can you put in the aperture value, and then the camera sets the shutter speed ?

After acquiring the K 50 1.2, I’m getting pretty fascinated by the manual lenses. It’s good for the photo skills, and fun. I also find this 20-year-old lens, to have better color rendering and sharpness, than the Tamron consumer zoom that I previously used.
But maybe I’m just stoked about my first LBA lens.

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Kind regards
Sune

Jonson PL said:

Sounds great. I’m planning on getting the K10 in April with the
12-24, and the DFA 100 macro. I also have my eye on a used FA* 400
5.6 that I found in a store.

Click to expand...

Just go buy the FA* 400. It will go to someone else if you don't, those lenses aren't too common in stores.

Jonson PL said:

Still being a student, this leaves very little room for getting the
limited 31 and 77 as well. Having missed out on most of the lovely
FA* glass, I would like to get the 31 and 77, in the not to distant
future. In the meantime I can look at the nice contributions that
you’ll come up with.

Click to expand...

The 31 and 77 are fine lenses, and well worth the money if you can buy them, but you can take just as good photos and get stuck into photography in a big way without them. They're just a different way of capturing, give a different feel.

Ben

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