Over their more than twenty years, the Limited lenses by Pentax have received a lot of praise and been adored by many. SMC FA43mm F1.9 Limited was first introduced in 1997. It is currently getting a slight refresh for its 25th anniversary. Pentax HD FA43mm F1.9 Limited (599.95 USD) has improved flare resistance and anti-smudge protection. It also swaps out a rectangular aperture for one with a circular lens. Although the changes aren’t major, the HD FA 43mm lens is still beautiful and an Editors’ Choice winner.
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All Cameras, Old and New
The HD FA 43mm is identical to the SMC version, with some cosmetic modifications. Even without the threaded cover, it is surprisingly small. It measures 1.1x2.5 inches (HD), weighs in at 5.5 ozs and can accept 49mm threaded filter. You can choose from either black or silver for the barrel. For review, we received the black edition.
Pentax opted to keep the physical design of the HD 43mm close to the original. Enthusiasts will note the addition of a Shippo-yaki mounting indicator, a raised green enamel bump that acts as a visual guide for mounting the lens. It's a small touch, one that more closely matches the aesthetics of other lenses in the series, including the similarly refreshed HD FA 31mm and HD FA 77mm, and the first made-for-digital FA Limited, the 21mm F2.4.
The metal hood's interior is lined with soft black felt. Metal lens caps have an embossed Pentax logo at the front and a green felt interior. The box also includes a black leatherette drawstring pouch and a rear-lens.
Keeping the design consistent means the new lens is just as compatible and adaptable as its predecessor. Film cameras were dominant in the late '90s and the FA 43mm includes mechanical aperture control, so it can work with cameras ranging from a 1970s-era K1000 to Pentax's latest digital model, the K-3 Mark III.
I took advantage and loaded my Pentax LX with a roll of Tri-X for testing. I also used the lens with a couple of Pentax digitals, including the full-frame K-1 Mark II and the APS-C sensor K-3 Mark III. Just remember to set the ring to its A position when using a camera with electronic aperture control and to manually adjust it when you pair it with an older film camera.
SLR lenses, especially those with manual aperture controls, are easy to use with mirrorless cameras too, but you'll typically give up autofocus—we've got a guide if you're new to moving lenses across systems. The HD FA 43mm was available to me with the MonsterAdapter LA–KE1, which allows you to use Pentax lenses with Sony mirrorless cameras that have electronic aperture control and autofocus. Although the LA-KE1's motor screw-drive is slower than the K-1's, it does an excellent job.
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Autofocus and Handling
Although we love the FA43mm's classic engineering, it lacks some of the features Pentax owners might expect. Weather protection is the big one—it's not included, undoubtedly because Pentax would have had to come up with a new barrel design to add that feature. The HD DFA* 50mm F1.4 SDM SAW is an option if you need weatherproofing.
The camera body drives autofocus—a screw in the lens mount moves the inner lens block in and out to set focus. It may be a bit disconcerting for the younger set who have only used lenses with internal focus motors, but it's relatively easy to get used to this mechanism. The focus motor is loud enough to hear in a quiet room, but its noise will blend into the background at a party.
For handheld photos, don't cradle your lens too close to the base. The manual focus ring rotates and the front of your lens retracts or extends to focus. You can't use Quick Shift manual override, but you will need to flip the AF/MF switch on your camera to change focus modes.
The lens is not strong at close-up focus. The lens can lock to a distance of 17.7 inches (45cm), and has a very low 1:8.3 magnification. This is a reasonable compromise for a compact lens. The SMC DFA Macro 50mmF2.8 for Pentax full-frame cameras is also available. For APS-C models, the HD DA Limited 35mmF2.8 is another option.
Focus breathing is evident—the angle of view narrows a bit when focusing close. This is not an issue for photography. However, if you are looking to add some character to your video, the FA43mm may not be the best choice.
Pentax changed its lens coating from the older Super Multi-Coating to the newer HD. This reduces flare in strong backlight situations. The SMC43mm I have is over a decade old. It produces greenish ghosts when photographed in the sun. HD coating is a better choice for suppressing this effect, resulting in stronger contrast and less false colors for these kinds of scenes.
Pentax's Super-Protect SP coating is also applied to the front glass. This is a fluorine-based coating that has become popular on digital cameras. Fluorine is resistant to grease and water, making it easier to clean your glass after a storm. Pentax promises extra scratch protection for lenses that will last decades.
Pentax fans will also note that the HD FA 43mm is made in Vietnam. Pentax shifted production of its Limited series away from Japan more than a decade ago. There's no drop in build quality, at least none that I can discern—the HD FA 43mm is just as well made as my Japanese edition of the SMC 43mm.
Pentax HDFA 43mm Limited: In the Lab
HD FA 43mm is an older lens with some issues. Chromatic aberration can be seen. You'll notice the false purple color in high-contrast areas of the frame. Although they can be removed from JPGs by in-camera adjustments, Raw processing software usually removes them with one click. The comparison below shows the differences between Raw images with and without CA adjustments. To better illustrate the differences, we've cropped it.
Longitudinal chromatic aberration—LoCa—is more troublesome. False green and purple color is visible in defocused backgrounds and isn't easy to wipe away with software. It's not something you'll see in every photo, however, and isn't a concern for black-and-white imaging.
Pentax long praised the FA43mm's resolution. They even released a limited edition of this lens to Leica rangefinders. It is now considered a collectible item. The 43mm certainly has some optical similarities to Leica Summicron lenses of its era—strong central sharpness wide open, with edge-to-edge clarity at narrower apertures.
The K-1 Mark II lens produces good resolution at wide apertures, but very poor results in the middle of the frame. The sharpest images are obtained by reducing the aperture to f/4 or f/11. However, you will see a little less detail when using f/16 or f/22.
It is a great performer with the crop-sensor K-3 Mark III, as it only makes use of the center part of the image circle. The FA 43mm produces excellent results at wide apertures, with very high marks at f/2.8 and great resolution at smaller apertures. If you use an APS-C Pentax, you may find the featherweight HD DA 40mm F2.8 Limited to be a better match—it doesn't gather as much light wide open, but it costs $200 less.
Imatest can also show a little barrel distortion. This is enough to bend a line in an architectural photograph or a horizon in landscape shots. It's removed automatically by digital cameras from JPG files, but it is easy to fix if you are working in Raw format. Adobe Lightroom has a lens correction profile that can be used to correct the problem in just one click. The profile also corrects for a natural vignette—the FA 43mm shows darkened edges and corners at its widest aperture.
Pentax swapped out the aperture from SMC 43mm for a new one with rounded edges. It retains the 8-blade design, but where the SMC 43mm shows polygonal highlights when stopped down, the HD 43mm draws circular highlights instead. It affects the bokeh subtly, but doesn't change its character.
It's this character that makes FA 43mm so popular. The background blur is often a little busy. This is a common look for Tessar-inspired optical designs like pancake. This effect is especially noticeable in scenes that have foliage as the background. The lens creates a sequence of circular highlights by drawing them in the lens. Although the effect of the Meyer Optik Trioplan soap bubble specialist Meyer Optik Trioplan is more dramatic, it doesn't have as strong an edge.
The rounded aperture blades cut down on sunstar quality, but don't eliminate your ability to capture scenes with the look. You can get crisp multi-point sunstars with the SMC 43mm by f/5.6, but you need to stop down to f/16 to create them with the HD 43mm, or even f/22 to accentuate the look.
It Stands The Test of Time
Although the term classic is often used a lot, it still fits the FA 43mm Limited perfectly. This refreshed edition keeps the same spirit. There are minor improvements, including improved coatings that provide better protection against flares and smudges. Also, the aperture blades have been rounded to allow for circularly defocused highlights.
Pentax did not redesign the barrel so it doesn't have a Quick Shift or weather resistance option. The aperture ring is still in place so that the lens can be used with an old K-mount SLR, or converted to full-frame digital mirrorless. The lens produces crisp and character-rich images inside, which is what has earned it its fame.
I looked through some photos I made with the original version of the lens when prepping this review—it's one that I used during my first hands-on test of the K-1, took to Cologne for a Photokina conference, and used to grab a quick portrait of renowned NY street photographer Louis Mendes at a PhotoPlus show. It's a great lens to take photos of friends and family, and it's also one that I love to review new gear.
Cameras come and go, especially in the digital era, but lenses tend to last longer between upgrades. Even so, there aren't many 1990s optical designs still in production today. The FA 43mm has stood the test of time, and this HD edition should manage the same feat. The HD FA 43mm F1.9 Limited is one of our favorite lenses for the Pentax system, and an Editors Choice winner.