More than just a camera lens database

LENS-DB.COM

smc Pentax-DA 40mm F/2.8 XS

Short telephoto prime lens • Digital era

Sample photos

F/2.8
F/8
F/5
F/2.8
F/2.8
F/8
F/11

Abbreviations

SMC Multi-layer anti-reflection coating is applied to the surfaces of lens elements. This anti-reflection coating boosts light transmission, ensures sharp and high contrast images, minimizes ghosting and flares. Learn more
DA Autofocus lens optimized for Pentax digital SLR cameras.
XS Extra small and lightweight lens.

Model history (1)

■smc Pentax-DA 40mm F/2.8 XS • APS-C • Pancake lensA5 - 40.4m⌀27 2012 ●
smc Pentax-DA 40mm F/2.8 XS Silver (1500 units) • APS-C • Pancake lens 2012 ●

Features highlight

•
APS-C
•
Fast
•
Body AF
•
9 blades
•
Compact
•
Lightweight
•
SP
•
⌀27
filters

Specification

■ Production details
Announced:February 2012
Production status:● In production
Original name:SMC PENTAX-DA 1:2.8 40mm XS
System:-
■ Optical design
Focal length:40mm
Speed:F/2.8
Maximum format:APS-C
Mount and Flange focal distance:Pentax K [45.5mm]
Diagonal angle of view:38.9° (Pentax K APS-C)
Lens construction:5 elements in 4 groups
■ 35mm equivalent focal length and speed
35mm equivalent focal length:61.2mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed:F/4.3 (in terms of depth of field)
■ Focusing
Closest focusing distance:0.4m
Maximum magnification:1:7.7 at the closest focusing distance
Focusing modes:Autofocus, manual focus
Autofocus motor:In-camera motor
Manual focus control:Focusing ring
Focus mode selector:None; focusing mode is set from the camera
Quick-Shift Focus System (QFS):-
■ Diaphragm mechanism
Diaphragm type:Automatic
Aperture control:None; the aperture is controlled from the camera
Number of blades:9 (nine)
■ Shake Reduction (SR)
Built-in SR:-
■ Physical characteristics
Weight:52g
Maximum diameter x Length:⌀62.9×9.2mm
Weather sealing:-
Super Protect (SP) coating:Front element
■ Accessories
Filters:Screw-type 27mm
Lens hood:Not available
Teleconverters:<No data>
■ Source of data
Manufacturer's technical data.

Manufacturer description #1

From the Pentax K-01 manufacturer announcement:

Major Features of the smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 XS lens

1. Exterior design by Marc Newson

Together with the PENTAX K-01 camera body, the exterior of this lens has been designed by Marc Newson. Mounting this lens on the K-01 results in a highly stylish imaging tool.

2. Easy-to-use, super-thin lens for everyday use

This unifocal standard lens offers a focal length equivalent to 61mm in the 35mm format, and measures a mere 9.2 millimeters in length, making it the world’s thinnest interchangeable lens. Thanks to its super-thin design, it is highly portable and easy to store and carry. Its optics were designed based on those of the acclaimed smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited lens. Its maximum aperture of F2.8 produces sharp, bright images in a wide range of applications, including snapshots, scenic photos, portraits, and even incident-light indoor shooting.

3. Exceptional image-description

In addition to numerical evaluations made by various testing machines, PENTAX has also conducted an image-quality evaluation of hundreds of images actually taken with this lens. As a result, it not only offers outstanding specifications, but also demonstrates exceptional image descriptive power and an image rendition unique to this lens. It features a round-shaped diaphragm, which produces a smooth, natural bokeh (out-of-focus) effect in the background.

4. SP coating to block dirt and dust

The front surface of this lens is treated with SP (Super Protect) coating, which applies an exclusive fluorine compound to the lens surface through a vapor deposition process. This SP coating not only repels dust, water and grease, but also makes it easy to wipe off oily stains such as fingerprints and cosmetics.

Manufacturer description #2

This fixed focal length lens designed by Marc Newson is one of the finest lenses in the world. It offers a focal length equivalent to 61mm in 35mm format. Its small size makes it easy to carry. Its large F2.8 aperture ensures sharp images in many shooting situations. The front lens of this lens benefits from SP (Super Protect) fluorine-based coating against water, dust and fingers prints.

Manufacturer description #3

Super thin single focal point lens. Like the digital SLR "PENTAX K-01*" camera, this super thin single focal point lens was designed by the world-renowned industrial designer Marc Newson. Based on the optical design of the "DA 40mm F2.8 Limited" with its proven track record, this lens is super-thin with a total length of only 9.2mm, and it is also called a "biscuit lens". This size enables high mobility when storing or carrying around.

Like the "PENTAX K-01", the lens appearance features an original design by Marc Newson. This provides an even more stylish design when combined with the camera body.

This is a standard single focal point lens that has a focal length equivalent to 61mm in the 35mm film format. Based on the optical design of the "smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited" with its proven track record, this lens is super-thin with a total length of only 9.2mm. This size enables high mobility not only when shooting but also when storing and carrying around. Because the open F value is bright at F2.8, it is suitable for shooting of a wide variety of situations, from snapshots, landscapes, and portraits to indoors with dim lighting.

The design is based on numerical evaluation by various testing instruments and also incorporates advanced evaluation using actual images. The result is a certain "lens flavor" for achieving impressive delineation performance. Also, a round iris diaphragm is used for enabling a more natural and attractive out-of-focus (bokeh) effect.

A SP (super protect) coating made by depositing a special fluorine substance on the lens front surface is used for repelling water and oils and also enabling the easy removal of fingerprints, cosmetics, and other oils adhering to the lens.

From the editor

A kit lens for the Pentax K-01 mirrorless camera. Optically it is based on the smc Pentax-DA 40mm F/2.8 Limited, and, despite the fact that it seems practically impossible, has even more compact and lightweight barrel! To the date, it is the world’s thinnest interchangeable prime lens. Thanks to its super-thin design, it is highly portable and easy to store and carry. Reduction of physical length was made possible by eliminating the distance scale. Additionally, the diameter of the filter thread was reduced from 49 to 27mm. A lens hood is not available for this lens anymore. The lens does not have Quick-Shift Focus System.

Typical application

Class:

Fast APS-C-format short telephoto prime lens • Pancake lens

Pancake lens

Pancake lenses get their name due to the thin and flat size. The other distinctive features are fixed focal length and light weight.

First pancake lenses appeared in the 1950s and were standard prime lenses based on the famous Tessar design – a brilliantly simple design which was developed by Paul Rudolph in 1902, patented by Zeiss company and provided a good optical performance.

With the improvement of optical technologies in the 1970s the optical design of pancake lenses became more complicated and the latest generation has overcome the limitations of traditional designs. As a result, pancake lenses are now also available in wide-angle and even short telephoto variations.

Due to the increasing demand for cameras with a compact form factor, pancake lenses are experiencing a second wave of popularity while having reasonable prices, which makes them accessible to a wide range of photographers. Such lenses are especially useful for those who enjoy travel photography.

Missing features (2):

Built-in autofocus motor • Weather sealing

Genres or subjects of photography (3):

Portraits • Street • Travel photography

Recommended slowest shutter speed when shooting static subjects handheld:

1/40th of a second

Lenses with similar focal length and speed

Sorted by manufacturer name

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Copy this code

and paste it here *

0 comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Share
Clickable
Table of contents
Clickable
Pros and cons
Instruction manual
Clickable

Copyright © 2012-2023 Evgenii Artemov. All rights reserved. Translation and/or reproduction of website materials in any form, including the Internet, is prohibited without the express written permission of the website owner.

Limitation of liability • Privacy policy • Contact • Donate

35mm full frame

43.27 24 36
  • Dimensions: 36 × 24mm
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Diagonal: 43.27mm
  • Area: 864mm2

In-camera motor

Unable to follow the link

You are already on the page dedicated to this lens.

Cannot perform comparison

Cannot compare the lens to itself.

Image stabilizer

A technology used for reducing or even eliminating the effects of camera shake. Gyro sensors inside the lens detect camera shake and pass the data to a microcomputer. Then an image stabilization group of elements controlled by the microcomputer moves inside the lens and compensates camera shake in order to keep the image static on the imaging sensor or film.

The technology allows to increase the shutter speed by several stops and shoot handheld in such lighting conditions and at such focal lengths where without image stabilizer you have to use tripod, decrease the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO setting which can lead to blurry and noisy images.

Original name

Lens name as indicated on the lens barrel (usually on the front ring). With lenses from film era, may vary slightly from batch to batch.

Format

Format refers to the shape and size of film or image sensor.

35mm is the common name of the 36x24mm film format or image sensor format. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a diagonal measurement of approximately 43mm. The name originates with the total width of the 135 film which was the primary medium of the format prior to the invention of the full frame digital SLR. Historically the 35mm format was sometimes called small format to distinguish it from the medium and large formats.

APS-C is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the film negatives of 25.1x16.7mm with an aspect ratio of 3:2.

Medium format is a film format or image sensor format larger than 36x24mm (35mm) but smaller than 4x5in (large format).

Angle of view

Angle of view describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It is used interchangeably with the more general term field of view.

As the focal length changes, the angle of view also changes. The shorter the focal length (eg 18mm), the wider the angle of view. Conversely, the longer the focal length (eg 55mm), the smaller the angle of view.

A camera's angle of view depends not only on the lens, but also on the sensor. Imaging sensors are sometimes smaller than 35mm film frame, and this causes the lens to have a narrower angle of view than with 35mm film, by a certain factor for each sensor (called the crop factor).

This website does not use the angles of view provided by lens manufacturers, but calculates them automatically by the following formula: 114.6 * arctan (21.622 / CF * FL),

where:

CF – crop-factor of a sensor,
FL – focal length of a lens.

Mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a camera body and a lens.

A lens mount may be a screw-threaded type, a bayonet-type, or a breech-lock type. Modern camera lens mounts are of the bayonet type, because the bayonet mechanism precisely aligns mechanical and electrical features between lens and body, unlike screw-threaded mounts.

Lens mounts of competing manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony etc.) are always incompatible. In addition to the mechanical and electrical interface variations, the flange focal distance can also be different.

The flange focal distance (FFD) is the distance from the mechanical rear end surface of the lens mount to the focal plane.

Lens construction

Lens construction – a specific arrangement of elements and groups that make up the optical design, including type and size of elements, type of used materials etc.

Element - an individual piece of glass which makes up one component of a photographic lens. Photographic lenses are nearly always built up of multiple such elements.

Group – a cemented together pieces of glass which form a single unit or an individual piece of glass. The advantage is that there is no glass-air surfaces between cemented together pieces of glass, which reduces reflections.

Focal length

The focal length is the factor that determines the size of the image reproduced on the focal plane, picture angle which covers the area of the subject to be photographed, depth of field, etc.

Speed

The largest opening or stop at which a lens can be used is referred to as the speed of the lens. The larger the maximum aperture is, the faster the lens is considered to be. Lenses that offer a large maximum aperture are commonly referred to as fast lenses, and lenses with smaller maximum aperture are regarded as slow.

In low-light situations, having a wider maximum aperture means that you can shoot at a faster shutter speed or work at a lower ISO, or both.

Closest focusing distance

The minimum distance from the focal plane (film or sensor) to the subject where the lens is still able to focus.

Closest working distance

The distance from the front edge of the lens to the subject at the maximum magnification.

Magnification ratio

Determines how large the subject will appear in the final image. For example, a magnification ratio of 1:1 means that the image of the subject formed on the film or sensor will be the same size as the subject in real life. For this reason, a 1:1 ratio is often called "life-size".

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Electronic manual focus override is performed in the following way: half-press the shutter button, wait until the camera has finished the autofocusing and then focus manually without releasing the shutter button using the focusing ring.

Manual diaphragm

The diaphragm must be stopped down manually by rotating the detent aperture ring.

Preset diaphragm

The lens has two rings, one is for pre-setting, while the other is for normal diaphragm adjustment. The first ring must be set at the desired aperture, the second ring then should be fully opened for focusing, and turned back for stop down to the pre-set value.

Semi-automatic diaphragm

The lens features spring mechanism in the diaphragm, triggered by the shutter release, which stops down the diaphragm to the pre-set value. The spring needs to be reset manually after each exposure to re-open diaphragm to its maximum value.

Automatic diaphragm

The camera automatically closes the diaphragm down during the shutter operation. On completion of the exposure, the diaphragm re-opens to its maximum value.

Fixed diaphragm

The aperture setting is fixed at F/2.8 on this lens, and cannot be adjusted.

Number of blades

As a general rule, the more blades that are used to create the aperture opening in the lens, the rounder the out-of-focus highlights will be.

Some lenses are designed with curved diaphragm blades, so the roundness of the aperture comes not from the number of blades, but from their shape. However, the fewer blades the diaphragm has, the more difficult it is to form a circle, regardless of rounded edges.

At maximum aperture, the opening will be circular regardless of the number of blades.

Weight

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

Maximum diameter x Length

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

For lenses with collapsible design, the length is indicated for the working (retracted) state.

Weather sealing

A rubber material which is inserted in between each externally exposed part (manual focus and zoom rings, buttons, switch panels etc.) to ensure it is properly sealed against dust and moisture.

Lenses that accept front mounted filters typically do not have gaskets behind the filter mount. It is recommended to use a filter for complete weather resistance when desired.

Fluorine coating

Helps keep lenses clean by reducing the possibility of dust and dirt adhering to the lens and by facilitating cleaning should the need arise. Applied to the outer surface of the front and/or rear lens elements over multi-coatings.

Filters

Lens filters are accessories that can protect lenses from dirt and damage, enhance colors, minimize glare and reflections, and add creative effects to images.

Lens hood

A lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare. Flare occurs when stray light strikes the front element of a lens and then bounces around within the lens. This stray light often comes from very bright light sources, such as the sun, bright studio lights, or a bright white background.

The geometry of the lens hood can vary from a plain cylindrical or conical section to a more complex shape, sometimes called a petal, tulip, or flower hood. This allows the lens hood to block stray light with the higher portions of the lens hood, while allowing more light into the corners of the image through the lowered portions of the hood.

Lens hoods are more prominent in long focus lenses because they have a smaller viewing angle than that of wide-angle lenses. For wide angle lenses, the length of the hood cannot be as long as those for telephoto lenses, as a longer hood would enter the wider field of view of the lens.

Lens hoods are often designed to fit onto the matching lens facing either forward, for normal use, or backwards, so that the hood may be stored with the lens without occupying much additional space. In addition, lens hoods can offer some degree of physical protection for the lens due to the hood extending farther than the lens itself.

Teleconverters

Teleconverters increase the effective focal length of lenses. They also usually maintain the closest focusing distance of lenses, thus increasing the magnification significantly. A lens combined with a teleconverter is normally smaller, lighter and cheaper than a "direct" telephoto lens of the same focal length and speed.

Teleconverters are a convenient way of enhancing telephoto capability, but it comes at a cost − reduced maximum aperture. Also, since teleconverters magnify every detail in the image, they logically also magnify residual aberrations of the lens.

Lens caps

Scratched lens surfaces can spoil the definition and contrast of even the finest lenses. Lens covers are the best and most inexpensive protection available against dust, moisture and abrasion. Safeguard lens elements - both front and rear - whenever the lens is not in use.