How much better is DA*55-1.4 than FA50-1.4? and...

I am fortunate enought to own the 55mm DA* 1.4, 50mm FA 1.4 and 50mm A 1.4 lenses at present - I am intending to perform some comparisons and when I get round to it I will publish them, but from "playing around" with the lenses I have become a big fan of the 55mm. It seems to have a quality about it that suits portraiture particularly well (which it should as that is what is was designed for!), it is not easy to use - and at f1.4 I feel it is a little dissapointing (soft compared to an 85mm A* f1.4), but at f2.0 it is absolutely stunning. It has a really nice feel as well, a slightly bigger barrel and very smooth to use. It does "hunt" a lot in some situations (lower contrast/light) but it isn't a major problem.

Having said all that I have absolutely no complaints about the performance of either of the other 50's, and in terms of value for money the FA (at the jessops price) is an absolute steal!

A word of warning if you are going for the 55 though - my first copy didn't perform well - the focussing was out (more than the compensation on the camera could deal with) and it produced poor contrast photos (blacks often had a blueish/purple tinge) at apertures up to about 5.6. I would "try before your buy" or at least deal with a supplier who you know will accept a return.

Hope this is of some use