Pentax DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM Lens Review

As most of our regular readers know, I have a special place in my heart for prime lenses, and for Pentax. Modern zoom lenses provide the most flexibility when composing, but prime lenses offer better low light performance and the ability to isolate your subject with shallow depth of field. The 55mm focal length on Pentax DSLRs works well as a general portrait lens, and the SDM auto focus motor makes this lens much quieter than previous-generation prime lenses.

In short, the new 55mm is an amazing lens with fabulous edge-to-edge sharpness, great bokeh, and exceptional build quality common to the best Pentax prime lenses. However, auto focus inconsistencies and some strong purple fringing wide open at f/1.4 make this lens a questionable value at full MSRP ... at least as long as the old FA 50mm lens is still available.

Pros:

* Bright f/1.4 aperture for shooting in available light
* Excellent contrast
* Excellent center and corner sharpness
* Amazing bokeh for selective focus
* Great color
* Quiet SDM auto focus

Cons:

* SDM focus accuracy varies depending on camera body (K10D had back focus, K2000 had perfect focus)
* SDM auto focus speed not any better than auto focus speed on the old Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens
* Suffers from more purple fringing at center of image when "wide open" than older Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens
* Much more expensive than the old Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens


JerryJ

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