The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL and the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL is the longer of the two lenses at 68mm. The HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL with a length of 45mm, is 23mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL also has a larger diameter of 68mm compared to the HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL's 64mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL weighs 193g, which means it is 32g (14%) lighter than the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL which has a weight of 225g.
Filter Threads
The HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL has a filter size of 49mm whereas the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL has a 52mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 49mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL:
And these are the 52mm filters that we recommend for the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL:
Lens Mounts
Both the HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL and the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL has the same Pentax KAF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Pentax KAF lenses are Pentax K-3 III Mono, Pentax KF and Pentax K-3 III.
Focal Range
HD Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 35mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
52.5mm.
On the other hand, the Pentax 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL has a focal range of 18-55mm and 3.1X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 27-82.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
