Pentax 55mm f/1.4 SDM SMC DA*

Pentax 55mm f/1.4 SDM SMC DA* User Reviews

• 10 out of 10 points and recommended by Wingincamera (1 reviews)
  Very sharp, silent focus, smooth bokeh.

  A little larger than my other 50mm prime lens. The focus appears slower than screw drive. In dim lighted areas focus might be missed.

  I have had this lens for a couple of months now and really like it. I use it with the Pentax KP body. It has replaced my DA 50mm 1.8, and two Takumar M-42 lens, the Asahi SMC Takumar 50mm 1:1.4 and Asahi SMC Takumar 1.8 55mm lens.
  
  This lens is larger & heavier than any of the other similar lens, construction is very good. I did a fine focus adjustment tuning with the KP and the lens required a +1 adjustment. The bokeh is very smooth, smoother than any other lens I have. The one problem I found is focusing in dim lighted buildings on distant objects. An example is inside our church building about 70 feet from the stage and focusing on a person. I have to take a little more time with it compared with the DA 50mm 1.8 or SMC-DA 70mm F2.4.

  reviewed September 4th, 2018 (purchased for $547)
• 10 out of 10 points and recommended by joe88 (44 reviews)
  wide open even enough sharp, f 2 very sharp, f 2,8 extremely sharp,less CA's

  plastic plastic plastic

  this lens is quite better than my old FA 1.4/50, which I can use
  with very good sharpness from f2.8.
  
  You'll win one step of aperture and minimize CA's visibly
  
  much more better than zeiss competitor
  
  unfortunately too much plastic in construction (therefore only eight points for construction)
  
  wide open for portraits, f2 even for landscapes f2.8 for documentation. optically 10 full points

  reviewed January 31st, 2015
• 10 out of 10 points and recommended by 3systemuser (19 reviews)
  IMO, this lens is sharper than all similar portrait lenses +it is sealed.

  just played around with it a few days a go and did not get it yet.

  this lens can be the sharpest portrait lens , if not it at least as sharp as any of other manufactures 85mm f1,2 or 1.4 lenses.
  
  and it has good flare resistance and it is very well sealed.
  
  
  I do not get this lens yet for my K5 but when I had the K7 , I had it before and loved it.
  
  now, I am waiting for my new copy of DA*55f1.4 sdm to reach my house.
  
  as soon as I get this lens back , I will compare it to my Canon 85f1.2LMK2 and Zeiss 85f1.4ZF2.
  
  but I am sure it is sharper than the Zeiss in the center and just as sharp as the Canon and stopped down to f2.8 and more , it is sharper than both.
  
  and it is clearly better optically than the Nikon 85f1.4G and D.
  
  only one super fast 85mm lens to rival this DA*55f1.4SDM is the Sony 85f1.4ZA.

  reviewed February 27th, 2011 (purchased for $500)
• 5 out of 10 points and not recommended by Franks (1 reviews)
  image quality, weather sealing

  SDM reliability, backfocus problem

  I have this lens for a week now, it back focuses severely. I took a lot of shots in all kinds of different conditions, but it’s clear that the lens is badly calibrated. All my other AF lenses work great on my K10D. When I manually correct the AF I get good sharp pictures. I love the IQ and contrast but I bought this lens mainly for the AF (because that’s what I am missing from my Planar 50/1.4), but the AF of the 55/1.4 is clearly not working like it’s supposed to do. I don’t know why Pentax is using the SDM in the Star models, I would prefer the screwdriver, because then I rely on a working AF over let’s say 15 years.

  reviewed April 16th, 2009 (purchased for $850)
• 4 out of 10 points and not recommended by MPhil (1 reviews)
  Sharp

  poor built quality

  My first copy broke after about 50 shots.
  Very ugly noises came out of the lens, then the focussing motor didn't work anymore.
  My second copy is ok so far.
  Sharp at f1.4, AF is a bit on the slow side.

  reviewed March 5th, 2009 (purchased for $780)
• 6 out of 10 points and recommended by willyEngland (1 reviews)
  Great sharpness and contrast

  Slow autofocus, bokeh so-so

  Contrast and sharpness are improved over the FA50.
  CAs and bokeh are almost the same.
  The AF speed is disappointing.
  Much slower than the FA50 or the FA85.

  reviewed February 24th, 2009 (purchased for $550)