Pentax SMCP-FA 24mm f/2.0 AL(IF) 35mm Primes
Pentax SMCP-FA 24mm f/2.0 AL(IF) 35mm Primes
USER REVIEWS
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[Mar 31, 2005]
stemked
Expert
Strength:
Clutch mechanism Fast 24mm
Weakness:
Heavy, Pricy I didn't actually purchase the lens, just tried it in store. Heavy, nice clutch to switch from manual to autofocus. Customer Service NA Similar Products Used: 24mm f2.8 K and A lenses |
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[Sep 23, 2004]
quenchfire
Intermediate
Strength:
Sharp as a tack Excellent low light performance Reasonably priced for a f2.0 prime Good color rendition Great MF action...silky Did I say sharp, even at f22?
Weakness:
Hood can be fussy to put on Bit on the heavy side What an incredible piece of glass! I bought one on the strength of reviews here, and have not been disappointed. Not a lightweight, but the amount of detail captured from corner to corner just can't be beat with a zoom lens. Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: SMC-M 28 f3.5 SMCP-F 28 f2.8 Tokina SL 35 f3.5 SMCP-FA 20-35 f4.0 |
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[Dec 06, 2003]
Winston
Intermediate
Strength:
Sharp, bright f/2, well built, great color and flare performance, reasonably priced for a fast wideangle
Weakness:
Barrel distortion, soft at F/2, focus to 0.3m only Very sharp from f/5.6 - f/11. A bit soft wide opened. Color rendition is typical Pentax - excellent. Nicely built with fast AF and great MF. Not recommended for architecture though, the barrel distortion is visible. Customer Service n/a Similar Products Used: Nikon AF 24/2.8, AIS 24/2 |
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[Aug 10, 2003]
AndrewF
Intermediate
Strength:
Refer to the summary.
Weakness:
none. This lens has comes at a pretty high price, however it's worth it. Have had this lens on my Camera almost constantly. It's sharp and contrasty. No Ghosting yet. Out of focus portions of an image are smooth. Handles a Cokin "P" series holder without vignetting (to my experience) and has a solid feel to it. Customer Service no experience Similar Products Used: Zuiko 28mm, Soligar 20mm |
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[Nov 23, 2002]
R W
Expert
Strength:
Fast Sharp Well-made Clutch works great using in manual-focus mode
Weakness:
Not a cheap lens Not small or light (but that’s to be expected considering the F2 aperture and build quality) A great lens Customer Service Not needed Similar Products Used: Tokina 24mm F2.8 |
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[Jul 06, 2000]
Mark Roberts
Expert
Model Reviewed:
SMCP-FA 24mm f/2.0 AL(IF)
Strength:
No light fall-off in corners, even wide open.
Weakness:
Will make you wish all your lenses were this good. I bought a Vivitar 24mm just to see what the focal length would be like and it ended up being my favorite focal length. So...I decided to pay the money to get a really good 24mm and the FA 24mm/f2.0 didn't disappoint. Startlingly sharp, contrasty images. It's very good wide open and just superb from f4.0 onward. Doesn't seem to have any light fall-off in the corners when wide open so skies look natural even when shooting Velvia on drizzly, misty days. Similar Products Used: Vivitar 24mm f2.8 |
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[Jan 28, 2001]
Paul C
Intermediate
Strength:
EXCELLENT sharpness, quality of photos speak for themselves
Weakness:
none Excellent build/picture quality, the focal length has become one of my favorites, relatively cheap compared to other star lenses. Buy one if you can! Customer Service havn't needed it Similar Products Used: none really comparable |
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[May 04, 2001]
Wilson Chow
Casual
Strength:
Very good optics and well built lens construction. Easy to use focusing ring from MF to AF.
Weakness:
Nil The flare control, sharpness and colour reproduction are very good. The aberration is very minimum. Also, F2 allow night shooting easily. Customer Service Nil Similar Products Used: Contax G28/2.8, G21/2.8. Nikon AF20/2.8, AFS17-35/2.8, AF24-120. Pentax A 24/2.8, FA20-35/4. Canon 24-85USM. |
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[Jun 20, 2001]
Alan Chan
Intermediate
Strength:
Solid built, smooth to operate, nice size and hood, excellent flare control, fast AF, can use a regular PL filter without vignetting.
Weakness:
Not particular sharp, especially at wide opened. A tiny bit of flare, but still excellent compared to many other lenses. Inexpensive for what it is, an excellent buy. Similar Products Used: SIGMA 24/2.8 |
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[Aug 17, 2001]
Don Sivori
Professional
Strength:
Fast F2 aperture, low level of flare, AL aspheric lens element gives very sharp pics' IF inner focus design for fast AF , broad skirt at front element allows for use of polarizer with no vignetting
Weakness:
none Optically this matches my Canon 24TS-E L lens. With the exception of the sticky clutch problem & lousy repair work it would be a 5 star lens. Of all the times I had to use Pentax repair that was the only time I felt let down. Pentax is slow to repair but they normally do outstanding work. Customer Service Had to send to Pentax once. AF to MF clutch didn't work properly. I think Pentax farmed out repair . Lens came back with smudge on front element & one screw on back of lens had stripped head. Similar Products Used: Canon 24 TS-E similar in angle of view |