A classic lens refreshed with modest updates
The Pentax HD FA 43mm F1.9 Limited introduces some small, but thoughtful, upgrades to one of photography's timeless lenses.
Pentax's Limited lenses have garnered plenty of acclaim and won their share of devotees over their twenty-plus years of existence. The oldest, the SMC FA 43mm F1.9 Limited, debuted in 1997 and is getting a modest refresh in its twenty-fifth year. The new Pentax HD FA 43mm F1.9 Limited ($599.95) improves flare resistance, adds anti-smudge protection to the front glass, and swaps a polygonal aperture for a circular one. The changes aren't huge, but the new HD FA 43mm is just as lovely a lens as the original and an Editors' Choice winner just the same.
Some cosmetic changes aside, the HD FA 43mm looks and handles just like the original SMC edition. It's strikingly small, especially when you leave off its threaded hood. The lens measures just 1.1 by 2.5 inches (HD), weighs 5.5 ounces, and supports 49mm threaded filters. The barrel is aluminum and the lens is available in your choice of black or silver. We received the black edition for review.
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.
Soft black felt lines the inside of the metal hood. The lens cap is metal, sports an embossed Pentax logo embossed on the front, and features a green felt lining on the interior. A black leatherette drawstring pouch (handy when packing the lens away for storage or travel) and a rear lens also come in the box.
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. I had the opportunity to try the HD FA 43mm with the MonsterAdapter LA-KE1, an adapter that lets you use many Pentax lenses on Sony mirrorless cameras with autofocus and electronic aperture control. The LA-KE1's screw-drive motor isn't as quiet or speedy as the K-1, but the adapter still does a good job.
We love the broad compatibility that the FA 43mm's old-school engineering delivers, but it does omit some features that Pentax owners may now 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. If a weatherproof build is a must-have, consider the HD D FA* 50mm F1.4 SDM AW instead.
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.
Take care not to cradle the lens close to its base for handheld shots; the manual focus ring turns and the front of the lens extends and retracts to set focus. Quick Shift manual focus override isn't available either, so you need to flip your camera's AF/MF switch to change focus modes.
Close-up focus isn't a strong point of the lens. It locks as close as 17.7 inches (45cm) and nets a meager 1:8.3 magnification factor. It's an expected compromise for a slimline lens; if you want a standard angle macro for your Pentax, the SMC D-FA Macro 50mm F2.8 is available for full-frame cameras and the HD DA Limited 35mm F2.8 is an option for APS-C models.
Focus breathing is evident—the angle of view narrows a bit when focusing close. It's a nonissue for photography, but if you're eyeing the FA 43mm to give your video project a bit of character, remember that it's not a great choice for shots that rack focus from one subject to another.
The change in lens coating, swapping Pentax's older Super Multi-Coating (SMC) for its newer HD one, reduces flare when shooting into strong backlight. My copy of the SMC 43mm is more than a decade old and draws greenish ghosts and flare when photographing into the sun. The HD coating does a much better job suppressing the effect for stronger contrast and less false color for these types of scenes.
Pentax also puts its Super-Protect (SP) coating on the front glass. It's a version of the fluorine material that's become common on photo lenses. Fluorine repels grease and moisture, so it's easier to wipe off a stray fingerprint or clean the glass if you get caught under a raincloud. Pentax also promises some extra scratch protection, welcome for a lens that's made to last for 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.
The HD FA 43mm has an aging optical design, one that shows some flaws compared with more recent lenses. Chromatic aberration is visible; you'll see the lateral type as false purple color near high-contrast sections of the frame. In-camera corrections remove them from JPGs, though, and Raw processing software wipes them away with a single click in most cases. Take a look at the comparison below to see the difference between the same Raw image with and without CA corrections. We've cropped it to better show the difference.
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 has long touted the resolution of the FA 43mm's pancake optics, going as far as to release a short run of the lens for Leica rangefinders, now a collector's 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.
When tested with the K-1 Mark II, the lens delivers good resolution wide open, with very good results toward the center of the frame. Narrowing the aperture delivers even more resolution from the center to edge, with the sharpest results hitting from f/4 through f/11. You can use f/16 and f/22 too, but expect a bit less detail in your images.
The FA 43mm is an excellent performer on the crop-sensor K-3 Mark III that only uses the central part of the image circle. It delivers good results wide open, very good marks at f/2.8, and excellent resolution at narrower 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 also shows a bit of barrel distortion, just enough to curve a horizon in a landscape shot or the lines in an architectural photo. Digital cameras remove it automatically from JPG images, and it's easy enough to take care of if you work in Raw format. Adobe Lightroom includes a correction profile for the lens that does the job with 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.
And it's the character that makes the FA 43mm a favorite of many. Its background blur tends to be a bit busy, a typical look of pancake and other Tessar-inspired optical designs. It's especially visible in scenes with foliage in the background; the lens draws them as a series of small circular highlights. Hard edges accentuate its bokeh, but the effect isn't quite as extreme as the soap bubble specialist Meyer Optik Trioplan.
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.
The word classic gets thrown around a bit too easily, but it's the right one for the FA 43mm Limited, and this refreshed edition remains faithful to the original. It introduces some minor changes, such as improved coatings for better flare resistance and protection against smudges, as well as rounded aperture blades for more circular defocused highlights.
Pentax didn't redesign the barrel, so there's still no weather resistance or Quick Shift focus option. But the aperture ring remains in place, so you can easily use the 43mm with an antique K-mount SLR or adapt it to a full-frame mirrorless digital. Inside, the lens delivers the same crisp, character-rich images that built its reputation.
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. Snaps of family and friends are there too...it's one of my favorite lenses to use when I take a break from reviewing new gear and I'm happy to see it get an update.
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.
The Pentax HD FA 43mm F1.9 Limited introduces some small, but thoughtful, upgrades to one of photography's timeless lenses.
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Jim Fisher is our lead analyst for cameras, drones, and digital imaging. He studied at RPI and worked on the retail side of the industry at B&H before landing at PCMag. He has a thing for old lenses, boneyards, and waterfowl. When he’s not out with his camera, Jim enjoys watching bad and good television, playing video games (poorly), and reading. You can find him on Instagram @jamespfisher
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