SMC Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited Lens

SMC Pentax-FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited Lens: Handling

In general, Pentax lenses are compact, nicely designed in terms of ergonomics and very hard to fault in their handling. This 31mm is no exception and it balances beautifully on the K-5 DSLR. The viewfinder image is of course bright and clear, thanks to the f1.8 maximum aperture, and a pleasure to see.

The manual focusing is smooth and nicely damped. It feels very different to the classic manual focus lenses, but this is different technology despite the classic appearance.

A lens like this is always a pleasure to handle for those who like fine engineering and we are very much in Leica territory here in terms of finish. Even the lens cap is a precision item and I would not like to have to find out what a replacement cap might cost. Built in lens hoods are also an excellent idea, making operation faster and far more convenient.

The 31mm focal length would be a moderate wide angle on film, but on the DSLRs is becomes a standard lens. 43mm is the actual theoretical standard for 35mm film, being the measurement of the diagonal of the format, so ironically this 31mm is to APS-C what the 43mm Limited is to film. It is a good, useful length and makes an excellent digital standard lens.

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