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FA 50 1.4 vs DA 50 1.8

Started Mar 31, 2015 | Questions thread
madbrain
madbrain Regular Member • Posts: 186
Re: FA 50 1.4 vs DA 50 1.8

I know this is an old thread, but I will comment on this.

I have a DA 50/1.8 which I bought new years ago, as well as an FA50/1.4 which I bought used last week.

I tested both on my K-1 II. Both lenses fill the entire sensor, though I have to force FF mode with the DA50.

The DA 50 autofocuses faster and more reliably than the FA 50.

The FA50 is absolutely no good wide open at 1.4, at least on my copy. But it becomes great when stopped down to f2.0 .

When comparing both lenses at f1.8, the image from the FA50 is bit sharper than the one from the DA50, but it's not a night-and day difference.

I would say that in the majority of situations, the DA50 is the better choice, as you don't have to spend extra time to manually stop it down, and it autofocuses better. If you have a high ISO camera like a K-P, K-1 or K-1 II, letting the camera just bump the ISO slightly higher will probably work just as well.

I'm actually torn on as I thought I would sell my DA50 after acquiring the FA50, but the FA50 isn't superior to it in every respect. I will probably end up keeping both ...

 madbrain's gear list:madbrain's gear list
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85 Pentax K-1 II Pentax smc FA 50mm F1.4 Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro +9 more
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