When the 77 limited first came out, some testing was done with it and the FA*85. Several of us (me included) had the FA*85.
In a nutshell, the FA*85 seems to be a slightly better portrait lens - bokeh and focus point seem more tuned for head/shoulders type shots. But at distance (30-infinity), the FA*85 is not very sharp at all until you stop down past f8. The 77 was still a fine portrait lens, but a much better general purpose lens. So the wisdom from that is if you are looking for just a portrait lens, the FA*85 is a great choice. If you are looking for a general purpose lens that also doubles as a good portrait lens, the 77 is the way to go. HTH, Bruce Friday, January 12, 2007, 4:34:55 PM, you wrote: TØ> I had an interesting visit today. Not the mailman with the K10, but a chap TØ> who has the dilemma in the subject line. So to make himself even more TØ> confused he fondled my dear FA*. We had a couple of hours of fun talking TØ> Pentax in general and short telephoto. He showed me a couple of his TØ> preciousness, and I showed him mine. It was quite cosy really. And guys, TØ> don't get any ideas, I'm talking photographic tools. TØ> He has been offered a demo FA* for near exactly the same amount as the Ltd. TØ> What he wants a fast short telephoto for is mainly to shoot his nephews. He TØ> has a Sigma 70-200/2,8 but his experience is that AF is to slow, and off TØ> course it back focuses. He was also talking about using it in a medium TØ> weight trekking kit. TØ> We found the FA* to focus faster than the Sigma. He is also planning to buy TØ> a K10, so AF speed will probably be all right. And that is one reason he was TØ> leaning towards the FA*, because the seller had told him the Ltd has way TØ> slower AF performance. Can someone confirm this? TØ> Another reason for preferring FA* was that he found the Ltd more a piece of TØ> jewellery. He expected he would feel a bit uncomfortable with using it TØ> outdoor under rough conditions. I can sympathise with this. The built of the TØ> FA* begs for real life use. TØ> He asked me if I felt the FA* to be a close range lens. Any comments on TØ> this? TØ> So basically I'm asking for advise for a sympatric Pentax guy. Take it away TØ> Sam... TØ> Tim TØ> Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
