At last, some DNGs using the new D FA* 50mm f/1.4

https://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/5037773067/pentax-d-fa-50mm-f1-4-sample-gallery

Now I can have a look at them in Lightroom, and do a bit of pixel-peeping and see what I can do with them.

(PEFs too).

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http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barry_Pearson

For information, these are the counts of photos taken at various apertures.



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I think these files look very organic and Leica like.

Not sure why you need to work on others pics Buy the lens and work on your own ones - there is every reason to get this lens if you can afford it.

I dreamt last night about all the shots I used to take on film using an old Yashika FX3 50mm 1.2 - I had totally forgotten about those years and the stunning pics it took - so my faith in going back to 50mm is restored

cheers

Brett

brett nz said:

Not sure why you need to work on others pics Buy the lens and work on your own ones - there is every reason to get this lens if you can afford it.

Click to expand...

There isn't every reason for me to get this lens. I'm trying to discover whether there is any reason for me to buy it.

brett nz said:

I dreamt last night about all the shots I used to take on film using an old Yashika FX3 50mm 1.2 - I had totally forgotten about those years and the stunning pics it took - so my faith in going back to 50mm is restored

Click to expand...

I've been using Pentax SLRs for 51 years. In all that time, I've never owned, and probably never used, a 50mm prime lens. (For interest, I've never used, and probably never even seen, the famous 3 Limited lenses).

I've never thought of 50mm as a useful focal length on 35mm or FF. I used to use an 85mm lens a lot. Nowadays I mainly use zooms, (when using focal length above 12mm), and I rarely use them at about 50mm.

I have two recent zooms that cover this focal length: the D FA 24-70 f/2.8, and the D FA 28-105mm f/3.5-f/5.6. The latter is f/4 at about 46mm. There needs to be a good reason to add another lens at 50mm.

The two main reasons appear to be: better bokeh; and reduced depth of field when used at a wider aperture than the above two lenses, f/2.8 or f/4.

brett nz said:

cheers

Brett

Click to expand...

I've been using Lightroom to identify cases where I would apparently have found this lens useful in the past. And using other people's photos to suggest what I've been failing to try. I'm gradually identifying some potential uses of it for me.

Also, the new article here, Hands-on with the Pentax HD FA* 50mm F1.4 , identifies one or two aberrations that it says may be hard to fix in post-processing. I want to test that. I'm using its Adobe lens profile in Lightroom, and I'll play around with the images that the article used to illustrate the aberrations.

--
http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barry_Pearson

Hi Barry - yes I am aware of the history and have followed your questions re the 50mm.

Good luck!

Best regards,

Brett

There is still a blue / purple colour on some of the fencing but all I did was shift two sliders in LR and that dealt to all the the green ca.







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See:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9...ax-hd-fa-50mm-f1-4-for-real-this-time?slide=8

"Look closely at the image above (taken at F1.8) and you can clearly see how the wire mesh in front of our subject is ringed with bright green fringes in the areas just beyond the zone of sharp focus and magenta fringes in the areas just ahead of the in-focus point."

I increased the "Exposure" in Lightroom, to see what colour the wire mesh is. See the result below. It is dark greenish. The main component of the green fringe around the wire mesh is out-of-focus subject, (a mixture of the mesh and the bright background), not a lens aberration.

I can't tell what residual green fringing is present, if any. (I don't rule it out). There is indeed some slight magenta fringing elsewhere. I made that go away using the Lightroom "Lens Corrections > Manual > Color Picker".

(I may experiment with tweaking the Adobe lens profile I'm using. I'll also be looking at the other wide-aperture photos).





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brett nz said:

There is still a blue / purple colour on some of the fencing but all I did was shift two sliders in LR and that dealt to all the the green ca.

Click to expand...

As I've just posted here, much of the "green ca" is out-of-focus dark-green wire mesh, not CA at all!

I use Lightroom for every photo I take. (I wouldn't be surprised if you do too). For us, while this lens isn't perfect, (what lens is?), these tiny effects, in somewhat extreme conditions, can be massively reduced / virtually eliminated.

Barry Pearson said:

brett nz said:

There is still a blue / purple colour on some of the fencing but all I did was shift two sliders in LR and that dealt to all the the green ca.

Click to expand...

As I've just posted here, much of the "green ca" is out-of-focus dark-green wire mesh, not CA at all!

I use Lightroom for every photo I take. (I wouldn't be surprised if you do too). For us, while this lens isn't perfect, (what lens is?), these tiny effects, in somewhat extreme conditions, can be massively reduced / virtually eliminated.

--
http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barry_Pearson

Click to expand...

I consider fringe colours on edges as CA - and aside from the green fence there was also green CA in sunlit parts of the fence - it was easily removed.

I have no issue with it - direct sunlit subjects at wide aperture are prone to CA and I will try to find where DPR have tested another 50mm in the same way.

cheers

Brett

--
http://www.bretthayvice.com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zigsta/
https://www.instagram.com/bretthayvice_cheifitz/

Barry Pearson said:

See:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9...ax-hd-fa-50mm-f1-4-for-real-this-time?slide=8

"Look closely at the image above (taken at F1.8) and you can clearly see how the wire mesh in front of our subject is ringed with bright green fringes in the areas just beyond the zone of sharp focus and magenta fringes in the areas just ahead of the in-focus point."

I increased the "Exposure" in Lightroom, to see what colour the wire mesh is. See the result below. It is dark greenish. The main component of the green fringe around the wire mesh is out-of-focus subject, (a mixture of the mesh and the bright background), not a lens aberration.

Click to expand...

Yes well, you were expecting accuracy in reporting from the Faux News version of a camera testing website?

I've taken about 400 exposures with the D FA* 50/1.4 and so far haven't seen anything to complain about.

Barry Pearson said:

I can't tell what residual green fringing is present, if any. (I don't rule it out). There is indeed some slight magenta fringing elsewhere. I made that go away using the Lightroom "Lens Corrections > Manual > Color Picker".

(I may experiment with tweaking the Adobe lens profile I'm using. I'll also be looking at the other wide-aperture photos).



--
http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barry_Pearson

Click to expand...

I think this is interesting:
https://www.dpreview.com/sample-gal...4-dg-hsm-art-lens-for-sony-e-mount/8620621645

Is it my imagination, or is there significant green and purple fringing around the woman's jacket and especially around her left hand and the cords hanging down?

The Adobe lens profile for this lens in Lightroom doesn't fix it.

(Here is the JPEG:]





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Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

See:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9...ax-hd-fa-50mm-f1-4-for-real-this-time?slide=8

"Look closely at the image above (taken at F1.8) and you can clearly see how the wire mesh in front of our subject is ringed with bright green fringes in the areas just beyond the zone of sharp focus and magenta fringes in the areas just ahead of the in-focus point."

I increased the "Exposure" in Lightroom, to see what colour the wire mesh is. See the result below. It is dark greenish. The main component of the green fringe around the wire mesh is out-of-focus subject, (a mixture of the mesh and the bright background), not a lens aberration.

Click to expand...

Yes well, you were expecting accuracy in reporting from the Faux News version of a camera testing website?

Click to expand...

Chuckle!

I'm an engineer, (or was during my career). It isn't sufficient to know that something went wrong. It is useful to know the underlying cause, for purposes of error-cause removal.

There is certainly faulty analysis here, but I'm not sure why.

Member said:

I've taken about 400 exposures with the D FA* 50/1.4 and so far haven't seen anything to complain about.

Click to expand...

I've seen several of your photos, and they are some of the most convincing examples of the high quality of this lens that I've seen. (They helped change my mind from "probably not" to "probably").

Barry Pearson said:

I think this is interesting:
https://www.dpreview.com/sample-gal...4-dg-hsm-art-lens-for-sony-e-mount/8620621645

Is it my imagination, or is there significant green and purple fringing around the woman's jacket and especially around her left hand and the cords hanging down?

Click to expand...

That's pretty brutal, especially for a lens that is supposed to be premium quality. Another SIGnificant MAlfunction.

Barry Pearson said:

The Adobe lens profile for this lens in Lightroom doesn't fix it.

(Here is the JPEG:]



--
http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barry_Pearson

Click to expand...

Barry Pearson said:

Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

See:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9...ax-hd-fa-50mm-f1-4-for-real-this-time?slide=8

"Look closely at the image above (taken at F1.8) and you can clearly see how the wire mesh in front of our subject is ringed with bright green fringes in the areas just beyond the zone of sharp focus and magenta fringes in the areas just ahead of the in-focus point."

I increased the "Exposure" in Lightroom, to see what colour the wire mesh is. See the result below. It is dark greenish. The main component of the green fringe around the wire mesh is out-of-focus subject, (a mixture of the mesh and the bright background), not a lens aberration.

Click to expand...

Yes well, you were expecting accuracy in reporting from the Faux News version of a camera testing website?

Click to expand...

Chuckle!

I'm an engineer, (or was during my career). It isn't sufficient to know that something went wrong. It is useful to know the underlying cause, for purposes of error-cause removal.

There is certainly faulty analysis here, but I'm not sure why.

Click to expand...

I think it's because DPReview's testers overlook the obvious in their attempt to find fault with products.

In this case, missing the fact that a green mesh is going to give green out of focus fringes in the bokeh seems to be the culprit.

Barry Pearson said:

Barry Pearson said:

I've taken about 400 exposures with the D FA* 50/1.4 and so far haven't seen anything to complain about.

Click to expand...

I've seen several of your photos, and they are some of the most convincing examples of the high quality of this lens that I've seen. (They helped change my mind from "probably not" to "probably").

Click to expand...

Thank you for that.

I happen to like standard lenses, and so find this lens pretty easy to get along with.

I do question, if you have virtually no use for this lens, why you are going to this much effort. It's a lot of money to shell out for something you don't want.

Barry Pearson said:

--
http://www.barrypearson.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Barry_Pearson

Click to expand...

Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

I think this is interesting:
https://www.dpreview.com/sample-gal...4-dg-hsm-art-lens-for-sony-e-mount/8620621645

Is it my imagination, or is there significant green and purple fringing around the woman's jacket and especially around her left hand and the cords hanging down?

Click to expand...

That's pretty brutal, especially for a lens that is supposed to be premium quality. Another SIGnificant MAlfunction.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about?

"In terms of lateral chromatic aberration (CA) both lenses perform very well across the aperture range with Sigma performing better when shot wide-open."


;-)

Alex

Alex Sarbu said:

Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

I think this is interesting:
https://www.dpreview.com/sample-gal...4-dg-hsm-art-lens-for-sony-e-mount/8620621645

Is it my imagination, or is there significant green and purple fringing around the woman's jacket and especially around her left hand and the cords hanging down?

Click to expand...

That's pretty brutal, especially for a lens that is supposed to be premium quality. Another SIGnificant MAlfunction.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about?

"In terms of lateral chromatic aberration (CA) both lenses perform very well across the aperture range with Sigma performing better when shot wide-open."

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sigma-85mm-f1-4-art-lens/2

;-)

Click to expand...

You really enjoyed saying that, didn't you?

I downloaded 58 raw files from the DPReview Pentax gallery, and imported them into Lightroom. 6 are at f/1.4. I've spent time examining those at 1:1, and even 4:1.

I think I could shoot at f/1.4 all day, with confidence that either there will be no aberrations worth worrying about, or else any that arise in extreme conditions can easily be fixed in Lightroom.

The one problem I've noticed is that in nearly every photo with a close-up of an eye, the photographer is reflected in the eye!



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Barry Pearson said:

Alex Sarbu said:

Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

I think this is interesting:
https://www.dpreview.com/sample-gal...4-dg-hsm-art-lens-for-sony-e-mount/8620621645

Is it my imagination, or is there significant green and purple fringing around the woman's jacket and especially around her left hand and the cords hanging down?

Click to expand...

That's pretty brutal, especially for a lens that is supposed to be premium quality. Another SIGnificant MAlfunction.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about?

"In terms of lateral chromatic aberration (CA) both lenses perform very well across the aperture range with Sigma performing better when shot wide-open."

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sigma-85mm-f1-4-art-lens/2

;-)

Click to expand...

You really enjoyed saying that, didn't you?

Click to expand...

Absolutely!

Barry Pearson said:

I downloaded 58 raw files from the DPReview Pentax gallery, and imported them into Lightroom. 6 are at f/1.4. I've spent time examining those at 1:1, and even 4:1.

Click to expand...

Your hard work is appreciated. Especially as I'm too lazy to do it myself

(In my defense, I've already seen enough to know it's an excellent lens... more, I'll discover by using it)

Barry Pearson said:

I think I could shoot at f/1.4 all day, with confidence that either there will be no aberrations worth worrying about, or else any that arise in extreme conditions can easily be fixed in Lightroom.

Click to expand...

Same here.

Barry Pearson said:

The one problem I've noticed is that in nearly every photo with a close-up of an eye, the photographer is reflected in the eye!

Click to expand...

LOL. That's a real put-off.

Alex

Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

Wheatfield7 said:

Barry Pearson said:

See:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9...ax-hd-fa-50mm-f1-4-for-real-this-time?slide=8

"Look closely at the image above (taken at F1.8) and you can clearly see how the wire mesh in front of our subject is ringed with bright green fringes in the areas just beyond the zone of sharp focus and magenta fringes in the areas just ahead of the in-focus point."

I increased the "Exposure" in Lightroom, to see what colour the wire mesh is. See the result below. It is dark greenish. The main component of the green fringe around the wire mesh is out-of-focus subject, (a mixture of the mesh and the bright background), not a lens aberration.

Click to expand...

Yes well, you were expecting accuracy in reporting from the Faux News version of a camera testing website?

Click to expand...

Chuckle!

I'm an engineer, (or was during my career). It isn't sufficient to know that something went wrong. It is useful to know the underlying cause, for purposes of error-cause removal.

There is certainly faulty analysis here, but I'm not sure why.

Click to expand...

I think it's because DPReview's testers overlook the obvious in their attempt to find fault with products.

In this case, missing the fact that a green mesh is going to give green out of focus fringes in the bokeh seems to be the culprit.

Member said:

Member said:

I've taken about 400 exposures with the D FA* 50/1.4 and so far haven't seen anything to complain about.

Click to expand...

I've seen several of your photos, and they are some of the most convincing examples of the high quality of this lens that I've seen. (They helped change my mind from "probably not" to "probably").

Click to expand...

Thank you for that.

I happen to like standard lenses, and so find this lens pretty easy to get along with.

I do question, if you have virtually no use for this lens, why you are going to this much effort. It's a lot of money to shell out for something you don't want.

Click to expand...

Here is what my gearlist says about that lens:

"I don't NEED this for most of what I do. But I'm increasingly finding cases where it would enable me to extend what I do."

(I'm in danger of stagnating if I don't try new things. For example, a year ago my photos were ground-to-ground or ground-to-air photos. Recently I've been trying air-to-ground and air-to-air photos. That is nothing to do with this lens, but it illustrates that I am prepared to spend money on new photo-opportunities. For interest, my first air-to-air photo experience lasted about half an hour and cost more than a third of the price of this lens!)

Yep that doesn't look great but in dpreviews defense they did say in their review of the DSLR version "Longitudinal chromatic aberration is just about the only area where the Sigma struggles. In harsh lighting conditions, at F1.4, intense purple fringing and some green fringing (a sure sign of LoCA) can be observed. It should be noted that the fringing all but disappears by F2.5 and even begins to clean up nicely as early as F2.0."

So I guess they understand the drawbacks of these fast lens designs. They also did say just how big and heavy the 85 is.....