When I click on Reviews all I get is the FA31.

John, can I point out that the DA70 review is now very difficult to find? It doesn't show up in the reviews index, on the main page, under recent articles or using a search. (The website has always been poor this way.)

Looking forward to your other reviews and especially the FA77, just to see the comparison.

That is a miraculous price. Reasonably one would expect to pay over $100 -- though it's still well worth it at that. I wouldn't say "no distortion" but it has a reasonably small amount. The 24mm has notably more and still I don't mind the look for most shots.

However all of these Vivitar variants I have owned (quite a few) benefit from being stopped down to f/4 for sharpness. Generally that is not an issue with the normal uses for wide angle. They do have a nice manual focus feeling and are very usable on digital.

Yeah, it's true, I never liked 50mm on film either.

And let's not open up the "natural perspective" can of worms. As we know, 50mm was a hold-over from cine lenses and only chosen for ease of manufacturing at the time. (Or so says several histories I have read, including Leica docs.)

I suffer from the horrible condition of not liking the35mm focal length on APS-C... too "inbetweeny". Since Pentax has a profusion of lenses at this point this predilection at least manages to narrow my lens purchase decisions.

I did owned the DA35 Macro for some time. Amazing lens and no doubt about it.

It works very well since you can still use A mode and control aperture with the ring. Exposure is then significantly more accurate than on a Pentax body itself. Focus is set using focus ring as usual and it's quite easy to see the "snap" on the LCD. There is also a magnification system to assist in this.

You probably don't mean this Robin, but I am sure glad I went for the FA77. The aperture ring is darned useful on my Olympus PEN and the extra stop is rather nice. In terms of size the FA77 is only a tiny bit larger than the DA70 with hood. And they are distinctly closer in price on the used market than brand new.

As for rendering, I have seen very good images from both lenses. But I have seen magic from the FA Limiteds.

There are thousands of images out there, so it shouldn't be hard to judge for yourself.

Thing is, just about every Pentax lens in production is good. So one has to narrow things down more, by budget, aperture, or overall desire for prime or zoom.

If you simply want the best, get the FA Limiteds.

Don't be jealous yet! I have been waiting my whole life for this and now have a family reason to travel. First must save the money.