Pentax Lente Grande Angular AL Autofoco f/2.0 SMCP-FA de 35mm USA

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

The lens is light and produces sharp detail. Works beautifully with fast autofocus on my Pentax K-x, and it gives full frame on the older film bodies. A "must have" lens along with the Pentax FA 50mm F1.4, and the FA 77m 1.8 limited.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I had a couple of other FA lenses from my film days, when I saw that B&H had some FA 35mm's in stock, I jumped on it. Glad I did, I really like this lens, it's been getting a lot of use since I got it. My recommendation is that if they find a few more in the back room and put them up for sale - get one. You'll be glad you did.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I doubted about getting it, since I already had this focal range covered by 2 quality zooms and very sharp Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9. So far no regrets. True to life colors even under "grey" light (heavy clouds, late evening) with K-5 or K-x. Good for candids - doesn't stick out and focuses on the spot.
I generally hate Pentax/Tamron/Sigma snap-on hoods that tend to pop off at the most inapproprite moments. Finally Pentax got it right, this on clicks and stays!
Unfortunately the lens cap is traditional, not "pinch-in" and hard to use with the hood attached.
I don't find bokeh terrible as many others. One can't expect an eerie bokeh of 50mm f/1.4 from such sharp lens, at least in this price range and size!

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

FOR AN OLDER MODEL LENS THIS IS TOP-NOTCH. SHARP AT f2!!!! USE MAINLY FOR LOW-LIGHT IN-DOORS.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

IQ is good. Had never tried the Limited though. AF performance is quite similar to FA 50mm/1.4 but focal length is much more useful - as using APS-C. Slight back-focus on K10 & K20. No biggie as I've adjusted the cameras to compensate.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

So far I have only used this lens on my K20D(~52 mm focal length) and have been pleased with the results. I was pleasantly surprised by the AF quality. So far appears sharp throughout f stops. The lens upon first inspection appears slightly fragile(plastic housing) but haven't had any problems with other similarly built lenses. I am looking forward to using it on my film camera.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I did a quick comparison of this product against a zoom and this lens is more contrasty and more sharp.

It performed better at all apertures especially wide open.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I was looking for a lens for a K20D Pentax.
I was interested in trying a prime lens that was fast.

So far:
Very good at indoor photos w/out use of flash
Images look good even with a flash

I will need to see how the photos look when I get them developed.

I need to improve my picture taking skills to recognize when to use a flash and when to let the lens do its work.

It is cool to see the difference between photos w/flash and w/out flash. The color tones look different.

Will update as needed.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

Sharp, fast, handles well. The only reason I did not rate it 5 stars is that I have not found it as useful as I originally thought I would. I find myself more often using the 16-45 or the 50-135mm zooms. However, it is an excellent lens if you want the focal length.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I bought this lens to use now with a K20D and with an eye to the future and a full frame Pentax DSLR. I think this lens and the 50mm FA are two of the best performing lenses I own for the K20D. Resolved detail at all apertures, corner to corner sharpness and lack of distortion just can't be matched by even the best zoom. You and I need this lens! However, I wish it were made with less plastic and more metal, like my DA 'Limited' lenses.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

This is my main "take anywhere" lens for several years.

The lens is compact and light-weight. The build quality may be not as good as with Limited series lenses, but still very solid - that statement is proven by 4 years of extensive use on bicycle trips.

The lens has no internal AF motor, so AF speed and accuracy strongly depend on the camera body capabilities. With the recent cameras (K20D and K200D) everything seems good at my taste - there are no miracles, but there is nothing to complain about.

Optical performance is outstanding - IMHO it beats much more ambitious and expensive lenses and seems absolutely unbelievable in this price category. It is fast, so it is suitable for indoors and dim light photography. It is already very sharp across entire field at F2, so you can use entire aperture range without worrying about the picture quality. At F2.8+ (I believe) the lens is capable to deliver more fine details than the camera's sensor can reproduce. In other aspects (color, contrast, flare, distortions, CA) the lens is also beyond serious criticism. Bokeh is very smooth, which is pretty unusual for inexpensive AL lens with 6 aperture blades.

There are some lenses which perform better in some specific areas (e.g. "pancakes" may appear a little bit flare-prone, while specialized portrait lenses may produce slightly nicer bokeh), but this lens appears the most versatile with minimal (if any) compromises. It is almost permanently installed on my camera being rarely replaced with 21 Lim or 70 Lim when I need essentially different focal length.

Only visible disadvantage of this lens is its old AF system design: quick manual focus correction is unavailable in AF mode (you need to switch to MF in this case). That may make sense for those who frequently switches between AF and MF.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

Sharp even wide open at f2.0, great build quality, compact, well dampened manual focus.

Only minor downside is the lens cap is slightly difficult to take on/off with the lens hood on, could do with a better designed cap, maybe a pinch cap.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I use this lense with a K10D for every day/portable and low light photo. The build quality is good. Photo's are sharp already at f/2 and also in the corners. Color is good. Manual focus adjustment is often necessary when the background is too homogenous (might be the camera's fault). Surprizingly high quality for the money. Highly recommended

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

Equivalent to around 50mm in an APS-C camera, it is a perfect complement to my K10D. Anyone looking for a good standard lens should give it a try.

Pros:
Very sharp from wide open, razor sharp stopped down
Decent build quality. Includes a little bag to carry the lens
Quick AF, although generates a little noise
Nice bokeh, although the six-blade diafragm can produce harsh results in extreme contrast situations

Cons:
None, so far

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I just added this lens to the K20D as I like the 50mm coverage on an Aps sensor, Very sharp right across the frame and low distortions and doesn't have Ca's like most older Pentax lenses.

The AF is Fast and the lens was very accurate, the only down side I can see is the 6 blade aperture rings does have a slightly harsh bokeh and it's not SDM super quiet, it does make a bit of noise.

I would recommend this lens over the 50mm F1.4 FA as it has better sharpness across the frame, I think in it's focal length only the new 31mm LTD is better but thats 3x the price for only better bokeh, save the money get this lens and buy a 70mm LTD with it :XD

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

It's been a couple of years since I bought this from [...] but I still think it deserves the time to write a couple of lines. Its top performance is in image quality: resolution wise clearly outperforms the 10 Mpixels sensor of K10D between f/3.5 and f/9. Wide open and at f/2.8 it is very good already, with consistent resolution edge to edge, significantly better than FA 50/1.4 at f/2-2.8. There is almost no hint of chromatic aberrations, certainly none at the optimal apertures. Bokeh is fluid, as for flare - the SMC lives up to expectations: I hardly remember one or two instances where the hood was actually needed. Resulting images have excellent contrast and saturation out of the box, requiring virtually no post processing. I have also exposed a couple dozen rolls of Provia through this lens and I must tell its image qualities extend over the full frame. Construction is very solid for a non-limited, non-star lens, with tight tolerances and no wobble. Autofocus is resonably fast, snappier than with FA 50/1.4. Given the very useful focal length both on film and APS sized digitals, the light weight and the very reasonable price tag - this must be the real gem of current Pentax line. Hopefully it will be kept in production for time to come.

Comments about Pentax Wide Angle 35mm f/2.0 SMCP-FA AL Autofocus Lens:

I have this lens on a MZS body and use it for streetphotography.The auto focus works fast enough for my purposes and thenegatives are tack sharp, with nice contrast and bokeh. Ishoot B&W so can't comment on color results. Good buildquality for the money.

Expertise: Pro

Problems Encountered: No problems at all.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: 28mm F2.8, 50mm F1.7, 135mm F2.8

Items I Recommend: B&W UV filter MC for color film SC for B&W, B&W 022 filter for B&W film