Customer Reviews

Pentax 70mm f/2.4 DA Limited Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras

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A lot of people have a tough time choosing between DA 70mm Limited and the FA 77mm Limited. Both lenses have their merits, but I ended up going with the DA 70mm for a few reasons...

DA 70mm pros:
+ Much faster autofocus.
+ Much less CA (chromatic aberrations) and purple fringing.
+ Much cheaper.
+ Still works on film bodies, but you need a body that supports aperture controls.
+ Eolake points out in the comments that the DA 70mm is much more compact than the FA 77mm.
+ Lijia Zhang points out in the comments that the DA 70mm also supports Quick-Shift focusing.

FA 77mm pros:
+ About 1 stop faster (f/1.8 vs f/2.4).
+ Has an aperture ring so it works on all Pentax 35mm film bodies as well as digital.
+ General consensus that the bokeh is better.
+ Slightly longer reach.

Both lenses are sharp and render images beautifully, so as you can see, it really depends on what you want from the lens.

Since I wanted this lens for candid portraits, I needed the much faster autofocus capabilities. I also figured that I wouldn't shoot at f/1.8 much anyways since I find it difficult to work with such a small depth of field when shooting portraits. While most people find the FA 77mm's bokeh to be better, the 70mm still produces very pleasing bokeh. It's just different.

All in all, the DA 70mm seemed like a much better deal to me and I don't regret buying it over the FA 77mm at all.

Now I have used many different camera systems and their respective lenses, I am now buying my second 70mm Da limited, the first being stolen. This is the first lens I used that really shows of the K20D's capabilities, even the old faithful 50mm does not render as well nor is as sharp over all ( edge to edge ). This lens is Very sharp wide open edge to edge right to F16, great contrast, I even compared it's sharpness to the Sigma 70mm macro and at normal distances it beats the macro for sharpness and contrast and has much better bokeh.

The lens is small and light and surprisingly feels great when mounted on camera, the quick shift focusing ring is something I wish the older Fa limited lenses had so you can manual focus at anytime.

Af speed is fast, this is the fastest Pentax lens I had used until the DA 40mm limited and now newer sdm/hsm lenses, yes it is a little noisy but not so bad, it focuses with zest and lets you know it. I did have to adjust the AF on the K20D to fix a bit of front focusing with this lens but I think they are all like that on the K20D, once adjusted it is very accurate from 2ft to infinity with very little hunting.

But the lens does have it's real faults, first the close focus I wish was better, not macro but say to 1ft min distance, it does also purple ca at big apertures, not alot but just enough that you can see it, still much better than the FA 77mm in that regard. It handles flare well but has some ghosting, again not so bad but it is there. The last wish was that this was an F2 or better but F2.4 is just enough to get those shallow dof blown away bokeh shots, just.

So it's not a perfect lens but for it's price its a real bargain for how it performs and how well made it is, if your a prime shooter and need a short tele I think this is your best bet, even over the FA 77mm ( unless you really need the shallower dof/ faster aperture or are using it manual focus only ). This is one of Pentax's real "L" glass beating lenses, I have Nikon D300 and canon 5D owners jaws drop at the sharpness and clarity ( micro contrast ) of this lens, Only the Canon 85mm and 135mm L ( the 100mm to but they stopped making that one ) lenses are as good IQ wise.

I'm extremely happy with this lens. The speed is decent enough at f2.4 and the autofocus works fast with the K100D. Apart from film size advantages, one of the reasons medium format is such a good portrait format has to do with the 'normal' lens being in the 70-85mm zone. You get just the right perspective and DOF.

This lens is good to use across the room, as you can concentrate on one or two people at a time. On digital the detail and color resolution is very natural, not over done as with some. The smooth transition to really good bokeh is another advantage.

Even though Pentax does not recommend the DA lenses for film bodies, I tried it out with good results on a ZX-10 camera. No vignetting and decent sharpness across the field. There is no aperture ring on the lens, so you'd need a body that works with that.

Overall I recommend this lens as an excellent optic, well made and compact.

This is a truly wonderful lens. The IQ would be hard to beat in any way. The corner-to-corner sharpness is amazing. Look for the photozone review for the numbers on sharpness. The bokeh is lovely, creamy (9 aperture blades). The color rendition and contrast are excellent across the image. Very little distortion or CA (completely non-issues in practical terms.)

I've owned a long series of PENTAX primes over the last 30 years (50mm f/2, 50mm f/1.2, 28mm f/2.8, 40mm f/2.8, 85mm f/2, 135mm f/3.5, and others) not to mention some extremely sharp, recently produced zooms from other manufacturers. This is, by a fair margin, the sharpest lens I've owned. I've done direct tests against the PENTAX 50 f/1.2 and the PENTAX 85mm f/2, both of which I consider extremely sharp for film work (Kodachrome 64 and Tri-X-Pan, Plux-X, or Panatomic-X); and this lens blows them away in every aspect of IQ.

I wanted a fast, very sharp portrait lens. This lens fills the bill in spades. I also love how tiny it is: It takes up only a very small corner of my bag, and it's the smallest lens I currently own, so it is very unobtrusive and doesn't intimidate the subject. The 70mm focal length (35mm-equivalent of 105mm, generally considered the best portrait focal length) also gives it the reach to stay out of the subjects comfort zone. Wonderful for candids and portraits.

I chose this lens over the Pentax SMCP-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited Lens with Case and Hood for the following reasons:
1. Better corner sharpness wide open (generally better edge sharpness, though a bit less at center though still excellent)
2. Less purple fringing
3. Size
4. Cost
5. I don't really need f/1.8, especially in digital and the DOF at 2.4 is plenty shallow

I have only one negative with this lens, and it's a minor quibble: The minimum focus distance is rather long (27.6 inches according to the PENTAX website) but my intent was not macro anyway, no issue for me. I do intend to purchase the Pentax 100mm f/2.8 WR D FA smc Macro Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras.

I was a little leery of the screw-in lens hood; but it works just fine. You can put filters under it or dispense with it altogether. I happen to really like it, both for flare and lens protection. The leather pouch is very nice. I keep coming back to the tiny size of this lens as well: A real plus in my opinion. Built like a tank: All metal.

I'm using this lens on a couple of K-X bodies. I love it!

Search the web for images made with this lens. The eye-candy abounds.

Super sharp, super IQ, a real bargain for the money. Enjoy.

I was UNPREPARED for the quality of this lens with portraits. Granted there is no zoom but wow! I am not a professional but if you are an amateur photographer trying to move upto taking better pics, this lens will go a long way.

The bokeh and the skin tones just look good is all I will say. I bought this lens specifically to take portrait shots of my family and it's superb for this purpose. Pentax claims that it is a good landscape lens even though it is not wide angle. I am happy to say that this is actually true. Obviously you have to move back a lot to get a large scenery since it is not wide angle but I have been consistently surprised by the landscape quality.

Disadvantages:
1. I was unprepared for the limit on close focusing distance. Not a problem with portraits but if you are using it as a walk around lens you will often have to step back to get the picture focused. Once you get used to this limitation it is no big deal.

2. The lens hood is convenient except when trying to place filters for landscapes etc. Then you have to remove the built in hood which would be ok if it could have been placed back with the filter in place but it would not grip onto the filter I already have so I end up having to store the hood when doing so. Not an issue with portraits though.

3. With the issue noted in #1 you cant do anything close to macros. Well I did the next best thing: I got the DA 35mm macro. Another superb product since I dont shoot bugs just flowers and abstracts.Pentax SMC DA - Macro lens - 35 mm - f/2.8 Limited - Pentax K

General advantage of pancake type lenses:
The biggest unexpected advantage to this type of lens is something I just noticed accidentaly. When you dont have to carry a big lens around, you will use your camera more. Which means more photos. More photos means you learn to take better pics. Better pics is a positive feedback cycle. You keep shooting pics...Buy this lens today!

Small, light, beautifully made, extremely sharp. This is just about my favorite lens on my K20D. As others have said it's the ideal length for portraits, and the widest aperture is for the most part large enough to easily throw the background out of focus.

Like most of the pancake lenses, the bokeh is not as smooth as the equivalent focal length full-size lens, but it's not objectionable by any means, and can vary quite a bit depending on the distance from the subject to the background.

The detail this lens can pull out with the K20D is just astonishing. Yes, the closest you can focus is not that close compared to a full size lens, but if you've got 12MP+ sensor it won't matter, because you can just crop to your heart's content.

Like the other DA Limited lenses I have (the 21 and the 35 macro), the color balance is a little on the cool side, with highly contrasty and saturated colors. The lens isn't adding saturation of course, it's just letting it all through. And it's not adding contrast, but it just captures as wide a range as your sensor will allow, with all the gradations in between. I have not had any issues with lens flare.

The pull-out hood is neat, and personally I like the press-on cap, though others don't. With the hood and cap attached the length does grow maybe 50% beyond what you see in the picture here, but if using the lens "naked" then it is small and unobtrusive, perfect for candids.

I got the DA 70 limited as a follow up to my DA 40 limited. I loved the DA 40 and since size wise they are similar, I didn't think I could go wrong with it.

The DA 70 has an all metal build and quite tight construction. It includes "quick shift" which allows the tweaking of focus without putting the camera into manual mode. I also has a screw on hood, that I leave on all of the time. I put away the metal lens cap, since I have a paranoia about losing it. A 43 mm lens cap seems to fit perfectly in the end of the hood: Fotodiox Inner pinch Lens Cap, 43mm.

As far as shooting with this lens, it is a joy. Even with the lens hood, it is tiny, which makes hand holding shots much easier. In street shooting situation it is non threatening as well. Colors are nice, contrast sharp. In particular, it seems to be about the perfect portrait lens, with excellent central sharpness, even wide open.

I looked at the FA 77 limited as well, but couldn't afford the extra cost.

The only negative with the DA 70 is that it lacks close focus ability. On the other hand, if you look at the size differential between it and say, the Sigma 70mm which does have macro ability, it is considerable.

All in all, it is an excellent lens that I highly recommend.

I purchased the 70mm DA Limited to round out my DA21, FA31, FA50, M100 Macro prime lens lineup. I agonized for months about the FA77 vs the DA70 but decided on the DA70 because of the price and the fact that in reviews, the DA70 is sharper at f2.4 than the FA77 is at similar apetures. This, in addition to the faster focusing, quick shift focus adjustment feature, lower chromatic aboration and much lower price, finally swayed me in favor of the DA70. I am very happy with my decision based on use of the lens. I find the sharpness of the lens to be astounding with excellent contrast, color rendition and bokeh.
I highly recommend this lens and think that it is one of the best values in the Pentax lineup.

I've gone sort of nuts buying Pentax lenses for my k5 and kx. I have the 10-17 Fisheye, 15mm Limited, 21mm Limited, 35 mm Macro Limited, 40 mm Limited, 70 mm Limited, 200mm DA*, 50mm Takumar m42 and just bought the 50mm f1.2 SMCA. I take a lot of events/street, flowers and nature shots. If you want to take portraits and candids with Pentax, this is the lens. It basically has the same effective focal length as the classic 135 on a full frame/film camera which helps with perspective. I think the color, contrast, and sharpness of the 70mm is the best of any of the modern Pentax lenses that I own. And the size is amazingly small. It is also pretty good right from f2.4 wide open, especially for portraits where a touch of softness is an advantage. I tend to use the 35mm Limited and 50mm lenses more, but that's substantially related to preference and not due to the quality of the 70mm lens. I highly recommend this lens for portrait photography. You can see my photos with EXIF info here: [...]

I've had my Pentax 70mm Limited for 10 days and have run it through my shooting and image processing tests. I'm happy with it and have no regrets for adding it to my collection. It's clearly my top portrait lens now and it does double duty if I want some candid, tight shots out in public (due to its quick auto focus). There are plenty of reviews about technical issues so I'll leave that out here. Likely no lens is perfect in this price range. The build feels like a pro lens and it shoots the way I want it to shoot. I shoot this lens on my Pentax K10d and K20d bodies. If you need a portrait lens and you have the cash, do it.

Postscript 9/11/11: I was not liking the over-the-top contrast I was getting with this lens on my K7...so I notched up (+) the EV setting 1/3 - a full stop and I'm getting images that I really, really like...feels like I just got a new lens!