Lens review

Pentax smc FA 50 mm f/1.4

3. Build quality

The Pentax smc FA 50 mm f/1.4 is not a big instrument, taking into account its parameters. A bit bigger dimensions feature the Sony and the Nikkor; the Canon is significantly larger. Although it is small, the tested lens boasts a clear distance scale. A manual focus ring could have been wider and ribbed, though; the work with it would be nicer and more precise (but it is rubberized so at least the fingers don’t slip). In the front of the lens we find a non-rotating filter thread, 49 mm in diameter (the smallest in this class because the competitors’ threads range from 52 to 58 mm) and a metal mount behind it. The barrel is made of metal, plastics- or rubber-padded in some places. Cutting costs, Pentax included only caps with this instrument but one of them has a thread made of poor quality plastics and it is of a push-in, not screw-in variety.

All the 1.4/50 constructions, mentioned above, consist of 7 elements in 6 groups. The Pentax is not an exception to this rule. As its competitors, the Pentax doesn’t boast of using any elements made of special kind of glass. It does feature an aperture with 8 diaphragm blades, which can be closed down to f/22.