Pentax fa 20 2.8

Hi all... have recently developed a bit of a taste for old fa primes... really like the rendering, and the colours in particular... have an fa 50 1.4, and an fa 35 f2... am considering going after the old fa 20 2.8... know they're like hens teeth... they seem to come up every now and then on the other forum, but tend to be around the $600-$700 mark (before tax/import duty etc) which seems mighty steep... have yet to see one round these parts... do they come up here? And anyone have any idea of the UK going rate as and when they do come up?

Opinions on whether it's as good as the likes of photozone/other forum suggest also welcome... would be using it mainly as very wide portrait lens - barrel distortion and all - as well as landscapes/cityscapes...

Thanks very much

The only one I have ever seen come up was on ebay about 2 months ago - very badly advertised as part of a kit including 3 or 4 lenses and a Z1-p I think. The lot went for around the £300 mark - I had a bid myself but didn't realise at the time just how much that lens was worth!

Good luck

Carl

You and me both!! (on all counts...)

They come up on ebay fairly regular from Japanese sellers (set search parameters to worldwide) but looking at between £400 and £600... I've been in the unlucky position that I've as yet not had the cash at the time (poor organisation on my part).

The reviews on the 'other forum' are favourable...

i got one from ffordes a couple of years ago. I think i paid around £300. Highly recommended lens.

Join the club .
I have become a lover of old and new small primes. Not just FA, but Limiteds, F primes and old manual ones. Love them.

It would be interesting to compare the FA20mm and the DA21mm Limited on performance, as focally they are so close.

20mm is an ideal focal length for street work on cropped. It also works very well as a good wide on FF. I use the 21mm on the Pentax system and really like the lens. Due to that, I bought a 20mm for the Nikon system and use it between cropped and FF. It's just too good a focal length as it fits both formats so efficiently. Should a FF Pentax DSLR appear, the FA20 will only go up in price.

Best regards

I recall there was a comparison on the web, possibly on pentaxforum. Not much difference between the two. Da is smaller but fa is faster. Image quality much the same.

There won't be any FF on Pentax and the FA20 is rubbish... You should give your copy to me so I can properly dispose of it...

Thanks all for advice as ever... Will let you know if I manage to track one down...

Best