John Riley casts his expert opinion on the SMC Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited lens.

High quality of construction; Compact; Built on lens hood; High quality results; Fast maximum aperture

High Price

"I mostly shoot film cameras from the 40s to 70s, but recently acquired a used Pentax DSLR and suddenly found myself needing a bag of some sort to cart everything around in while out trekking about. I felt as though spending over 100.00 on a bag was a bit...

A very good Pentax SMC P FA 43 mm F/1.9 Lens (Silver). A very good Pentax SMC P FA 43 mm F/1.9 Lens (Silver). A very good Pentax SMC P FA 43 mm F/1.9 Lens (Silver). A very good Pentax SMC P FA 43 mm F/1.9 Lens (Silver).

43Ltd is a great portrait lens as FA50/1.4 or A50/1.2. And as similar lenses Pentax is sharp, with great color rendition and has a beautiful bokeh. Additionally, it is compact and well built. Highly recomended.

Size; build; sharpness; color rendition

none

As the oldest lens in the Pentax lineup-it was introduced in 1997-you'd expect the SMC FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited ($599.95) to deliver optical performance that's behind the times. But that isn't the case at all.

Sharp; Compact; Wide aperture; Excellent build quality; True standard-angle design

Slow, noisy autofocus; Some barrel distortion; Dim corners at wide apertures; Omits weather sealing

The Pentax SMC FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited lens ($749.98 direct)  is a compact all-metal prime lens that can be used with Pentax D-SLRs and the K-01 interchangeable lens camera. When used on an APS-C camera it captures a 64.5mm equivalent field of view, which makes it a long normal or short telephoto...

These are film-era lenses with screw-drive autofocus. Pretty quick but make a slight noise.The older SMC coating is also prone to fringing wide-open in high contrast situations. Luckily there's a PP adjustment in your Pentax body to help minimize.Quirks aside, they quite possibly capture the most...

Consistent Output; Durable; Easily Interchangeable; Fast / accurate auto-focus; Lightweight; Nice Bokeh; Strong Construction

What can I say about the mighty 43mm... For those who are not familiar with Pentax this lens as well as the other FA Limited lenses are known in Pentax circles as the 3 amigos. The 31mmm 43mm and 77mm.... These lenses are every bit as sharp as any L Series lens Canon puts out.

Fast, incredibly sharp, quick focusing, excellent in indoor light and highly compact..... This is a gem of a lens. I had it and then sold it because I have some good lens in the 30-50mm range. But as I was going through my Lightroom catalogue, I just loved the shots I had with this lens.

As the oldest lens in the Pentax lineup—it was introduced in 1997—you'd expect the SMC FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited ($599.95) to deliver optical performance that's behind the times. But that isn't the case at all. The svelte, all-metal prime lens is quite sharp, even when paired with the high-resolution full-frame Pentax K-1 ($1,599.00 at Amazon) . It lacks some modern features, including weather sealing and an in-lens focus motor, but it's still the best standard-angle lens you can get for a full-frame Pentax, so we're naming it Editors' Choice. DesignThe FA 43mm ($596.95 at Amazon) set the tone for the Limited series. It's very small, at just 1.1 by 2.5 inches (HD) without its lens hood. It extends when focused close by about a quarter inch. It weighs just 5.5 ounces and supports 49mm front filters. The hood adds about a half inch to the height, but a negligbile amount of weight. A slip-on metal cap is included. Older versions of the FA 43mm are marked Made in Japan, while newer copies...

The Pentax SMC FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited is the oldest lens that Pentax still makes, but its performance has withstood the test of time, and it captures the perfect standard-angle field of view on a full-frame camera.

Sharp; Compact; Wide aperture; Excellent build quality; True standard-angle design

Slow, noisy autofocus; Some barrel distortion; Dim corners at wide apertures; Omits weather sealing