Lens Test: Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

A venerable, high-speed prime takes on a new role for Pentax-loving portrait shooters.

By Julia Silber | Published Dec 17, 2008 7:19 AM EST

Gear & Reviews

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFNYC street fruit stand shot with an exposure of 1/750 sec at f/8 and ISO 400.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFNectarines glistening in the sunlight. This Pentax 50mm lens did a great job at capturing detail, even when shooting into light.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFWith its wide aperture and 75mm effective focal length on Pentax DSLRs, this lens is good for throwing the background out of focus. Try using it at a wedding, or maybe with just green grapes.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFWe wanted to focus just on the sun-kissed grapes at the top of the pile, and the Pentax 50mm did the trick.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFFun with mixed fruit: an interesting display and colorful background. 1/1000 sec at f/9.5, ISO 400

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFOrange you glad we got this shot? 1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFGrape Expectations: fruit shot at 1/250 at f/4 and ISO 200.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFThis row of trees is a great example of how to use this lens to get an out of focus background with the extremely shallow depth of field f/1.4.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFImpressionistic image was shot using f/1.4 and a shutter speed of 1/4000 to blur out the buildings behind the tree.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFAgain, defocusing the background at f/1.4 adds interest to this photo.

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Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AFThe turning colors of the leaves in early fall, enhanced with an f/1.4 aperture setting.

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