DA 35mm Macro - A Year Later

I posted some of the first sample photos from the DA 35mm Macro lens over a year ago (May 08, 2008) taken while on vacation in Mexico. At the time, I was quite pleased with the results and really liked the philosophy our engineers had taken in designing this lens. There was a need for a small, lightweight normal focal length lens with good optical performance, as well as the ability to offer close focusing capability. In essence, this was a lens designed to satisfy those photographers who wanted a nice walk around lens they could use all day and not need to switch lenses.

It was interesting that the initial reaction to this lens fell firmly into two camps...those that "got it" immediately and those that criticized Pentax for calling this a Macro lens and dismissed it as having no value in anyone's camera bag.

Unfortunately, most of the confusion and criticism of this lens (by folks who had not even used the lens) was semantics driven by our decision to call this a "macro" lens. I know our engineers debated over the naming of this lens realizing that some people would assume by the name that this lens was a dedicated "macro" design. In retrospect, the "macro" moniker was probably the simplest way to identify the additional close focus feature of this lens.

A year has passed, and with the 35mm Macro now in the hands of many Pentaxians, I'm glad to see the increase of posts by photographers who are really pleased with this lens. It's a great example of why our Limited lens are unique in the industry. Much credit goes to our engineers who really think about the way photographers shoot and then design a lens offering the form and function that will best enhance your particular shooting style.

These 35mm Macro photos shot with the K-7 in RAW at ISO 400. Processed with CS4 to produce JPEGs for posting here on Blogger. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger file.

FA 77mm f/1.8

I was rummaging around some equipment drawers at work last week and came across this FA 77 lens which we'd used for media and PR opportunities. The FA 31 is without a doubt my favorite piece of Pentax glass, and a lens I am very familiar with. Since it's been several years since I shot with the FA 77, I decided to borrow this "silver" sample to see how it renders light with the new K-7.

I didn't have much time over the weekend to test this lens, but I brought it along with me when we went to our local farmer's market on Sunday to pick up some vegetables for a family get together.

(Note: All FA 77 images shot at ISO 400 in RAW in AV mode and processed by CS4 into JPEG's for uploading here at Blogger. Click on any thumbnail to view a larger file. All images as shot with no cropping. Photo of the K-7 with FA 77 was shot with a K20D and DA*55)