Pentax SMC-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited - Review / Test Report
Lens Reviews - Pentax

Review by Klaus Schroiff, published May 2007

Special thanks to Rüdiger Neumann for providing this lens!

Introduction

The Pentax SMC FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited is another representative of Pentax' prestigious Limited lens lineup. The production of the lens seems to fade out in favor of the new SMC-DA 70mm f/2.4 Limited but you should still be able to find new ones for around 800€/US$. It is not a budget item obviously - "normal" AF 85mm f/1.8 lenses sell for a lot less these days. Typical for all FA lenses it supports the full 35mm format so it can be used both on film and digital SLRs. On the Pentax K10D its field-of-view is equivalent to about 120mm (full format).

The build quality of the lens is superb with all parts made of metal. The small focus ring operates very smooth and slightly damped. Typical for FA-type lenses there's a dedicated aperture ring on the lens. The FA 77mm f/1.8 extends a little when focusing towards close distances. A nice feature is the built-in telescope-style lens hood (not shown below). The lens is/was available in a silver- and black-colored variant.

The FA 77mm f/1.8 has no internal AF motor and relies on a slotted drive screw operated by the camera. As a result AF operation will generate a moderate degree of noise. The AF speed is very fast on the K10D.

Specifications
Equiv. focal length115.5 mm (full format equivalent)
Equiv. aperturef/2.7 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field)
Optical construction7 elements in 6 groups
Number of aperture blades9
min. focus distance0.7 m (max. magnification ratio 1:7.1)
Dimensions64 x 48 mm
Weight270 g
Filter size49 mm (non-rotating)
Hoodbuilt-in, telescope-style and barrel shaped
Other features-


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