I am just an amateur who is not interested in test report (I used to read a
lot though). I had the FA*85/1.4 and now have the FA77/1.8. For portraits, I
have found the FA77/1.8 produces smoother and more natural results than the
FA*85/1.4 which had serious "bright-ring" bokeh in some situations (So to
the F*300/4.5). When talking about lens performance, I have found that most
people would concern contrast and resolution mainly. When in fact,
resolution and contrast alone do not determine the overal quality of any
lens. A super sharp lens does not necessily produce better result. I think
what I have tried to say is, sometimes, the naturalness of the result is
just as important. And I don't know if any test would be able to evaluate
this unique quality.
regards,
Alan Chan
>The differences in optical formulas do not, per se, cause the autofocusing
>FA* 85/1.4 to be a better lens than is the A* 85/1.4. Rather, I think that
>the internal focusing ease for autofocusing was the main reason for the
>change in optical design.
>
>As for published lens tests, many feel that the CdI tests may be unreliable
>(due to inconsistencies, I would say). However, since you want to bring up
>such tests, I will point out some test results from Photodo
>(http://www.photodo.com/prod/) (also thought of as unreliable by many,
>admittedly) for the A* 85/1.4: (And, to be honest, I haven't looked
>carefully at the most current results for the following, which were
>compiled
>"the last time I looked".)
>
>In tests of 42 Pentax lenses there, here's how the A* 85/1.4 compared:
>At f/1.4, the A* 85/1.4 had the HIGHEST score of 0.73.
>At f/2, the A* 85/1.4 had the HIGHEST score of 0.80.
>At f/2.8, the A* 85/1.4 had the HIGHEST score of 0.84.
>At f/4, the A* 85/1.4 had the HIGHEST score of 0.86.
>At f/8, the A* 85/1.4 was tied for SECOND (along with the F 100f/2.8 Macro)
>with a score of 0.86. (The highest score was 0.87, reached by the F 50f/2.8
>Macro and F 50f/1.4 lenses.)
>For the OVERALL SCORE, the A* 85/1.4 tied for FIRST PLACE among the 42
>Pentax
>lenses tested (along with the F 50f/2.8 Macro and F 50f/1.4 lenses), with a
>weighted score of 4.6 points (out of a possible 5.0).
>
>Comparing the results for all the lenses from all makers on Photodo:
>At f/1.4, the A* 85/1.4 had the HIGHEST score of 0.73.
>At f/2, the A* 85/1.4 had the HIGHEST score of 0.80 (although the Canon EF
>200f/1.8 L USM achieved 0.82 @ f/1.8).
>At f/2.8, the A* 85/1.4 tied for the FOURTH HIGHEST score of 0.84, along
>with
>the Contax Planar T* 85f/1.4, and behind the Leica Apo-Telyt-R 280f/2.8
>(0.85), the Canon EF 400f/2.8 L II (0.87), the Leica Apo-Macro-Elmarit-R
>100f/2.8 (0.87), and the Canon EF 200f/1.8 L USM (0.89).
>At f/4, the A* 85/1.4 tied for the THIRD HIGHEST score of 0.87, along with
>the Contax Planar T* 85f/1.4, the Leica Summicron-R 50f/2.0, and the Leica
>Apo-Telyt-R 280f/2.8 (0.87), and behind the Contax G Planar 45f/2.0 (0.88),
>the Leica Apo-Macro-Elmarit-R 100f/2.8 (0.88), and the Canon EF 200f/1.8 L
>USM (0.90).
>At f/8, the A* 85/1.4 tied for the THIRD HIGHEST score of 0.86, with the
>highest ranked lens (the Contax Planar T* 50f/1.7) reaching 0.88.
>For the OVERALL SCORE, the A* 85/1.4 tied for THIRD PLACE among the 335
>lenses tested, with a weighted score of 4.6 points (out of a possible 5.0),
>bettered only by the even-more-phenomenal Contax G Planar 35f/2.0 (4.7
>points) and the Canon EF 200f/1.8 L USM (4.8 points).
>
>In ANOTHER set of lens tests, at http://www.photozone.de/olle_ii.htm, the
>A*
>85/1.4 was tested alongside 22 other short-telephoto prime lenses from
>several manufacturers, and the A* 85/1.4 came out NUMBER ONE, beating out 3
>Leica lenses (at #2, #3, and #4), 8 Canon lenses, 4 Nikon lenses, and the
>rest of the also-ran's. (Its most direct competitors, the corresponding
>85/1.4 lenses from Contax, Nikon, and Minolta, ALL scored way down in the
>BOTTOM HALF of the list.)
>
>Of course, the above results may or may not be worth much (and my use of
>them
>was prompted merely by your use of the suspect CdI tests), but they do show
>that the A* 85/1.4 is no "slouch".
>
>Fred
>
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