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12-18-2014, 06:41 AM   #1
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Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL Lens for my trip

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I will be going on a Med cruise in May 2015, I bought a k-50, to replace my old SF1, had been shooting with point and shoots for the last 15 years and decided to go back to SLRs, so I still have my sigma 70 to 210 macro lens, and the kit 18 to 55, I will be in Venice and planning to visit the Doge, Instanbul the Bue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, an under ground structure, and lost of roman ruins, I've been practicing in churches and other dark places with the kit lens, with good results, but could be better(my fault) I noticed that the Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL Lens is on sale on amazon.ca for $179, and am contemplating buying this lens it has good reviews. Would it be much better that the kit? A have to have or want to have? wish i could rent one.....

12-18-2014, 06:48 AM   #2
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It is significantly better than the kit 18-55. It's not wide enough IMHO for many museum situations but it will give you better photos at 35 and can be used at a lower f than the 18-55 at 35.
12-18-2014, 07:18 AM - 1 Like   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Docrwm Quote
It is significantly better than the kit 18-55. It's not wide enough IMHO for many museum situations but it will give you better photos at 35 and can be used at a lower f than the 18-55 at 35.
What he said.
It is a great lens considering the price.
You could use the 18-55 for the wide angle when you will need it.
12-18-2014, 07:26 AM - 1 Like   #4
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Lens is even cheaper at B&H or Adorama ($145) if you do decide to get it. It's really not wide enough for much, especially interiors. Pentax unfortunately has nothing wide that's reasonably priced. Canon has a very nice 10-18mm lens for $300 so you'd be better off financially, and get great images, buying that lens and a "cheapo" Canon 20D.

12-18-2014, 07:55 AM   #5
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Returned from an Athens->Turkey->Greek Isles -> Venice (3 week) trip last October. My kit consisted of a K-3/DA15/DA20-40/FA77 and Q7/01/06/08. Both kits can produce pleasing results. As it turned out, the Q7 kit was used 100% of the time with the K-3 held in reserve. The trade-off in favor of the Q7 was lite-weight, overall hassle-free convenience, stealthy-ness and ease of post-processing on the road and when I returned home. Also, many sites prohibit photography. But if you ask permission, show a tiny camera and use native lighting, you may (like me) get a break where others with their DSLRs are denied.

Consider getting everything at once like this (or similar). It's a steal...

New Boxed Pentax Q7 Camera Black Premium Kit Limited 01 02 06 08 Lens 0027075213166 | eBay

Next time, for me, it's Q7 (or similar, alone) + three batteries and 32mb card... all the way... no regrets.

...my 2 cent$... M

Last edited by Michaelina2; 12-18-2014 at 08:05 AM.
12-18-2014, 08:23 AM - 2 Likes   #6
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Come in here saying you want to spend 100 bucks and change and people will try to convince you to spend a grand in a hurry

The DA 35 2.4 AL is showing at 149 for me on Amazon. But for the same price, use BHPhoto instead. And don't forget to use one of the links in this forum to get to BHPhoto, that helps to keep fund this website that we all love That's what I did when I got mine. Except, I paid a bit more over a year ago... still worth it though!!

Last edited by ChristianRock; 12-18-2014 at 12:37 PM.
12-18-2014, 08:40 AM - 1 Like   #7
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You might also consider an older 28mm or 24mm lens. Lots to choose from and they'll be that bit wider for interiors.

12-18-2014, 08:49 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Michaelina2 Quote
Returned from an Athens->Turkey->Greek Isles -> Venice (3 week) trip last October. My kit consisted of a K-3/DA15/DA20-40/FA77 and Q7/01/06/08. Both kits can produce pleasing results. As it turned out, the Q7 kit was used 100% of the time with the K-3 held in reserve. The trade-off in favor of the Q7 was lite-weight, overall hassle-free convenience, stealthy-ness and ease of post-processing on the road and when I returned home. Also, many sites prohibit photography. But if you ask permission, show a tiny camera and use native lighting, you may (like me) get a break where others with their DSLRs are denied.

Consider getting everything at once like this (or similar). It's a steal...

New Boxed Pentax Q7 Camera Black Premium Kit Limited 01 02 06 08 Lens 0027075213166 | eBay

Next time, for me, it's Q7 (or similar, alone) + three batteries and 32mb card... all the way... no regrets.

...my 2 cent$... M
Michaeline2, did you run into any photography barriers in Istanbul? I'm curious as I'm making a short visit there in a couple months. Thanks.
12-18-2014, 08:58 AM   #9
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the price is the same for me as I must pay tariffs, thanks all for the quick replies, ill look for some used lenses roberrl, always leary of buying used
12-18-2014, 08:58 AM - 1 Like   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by jc_leblanc Quote
I will be going on a Med cruise in May 2015, I bought a k-50, to replace my old SF1, had been shooting with point and shoots for the last 15 years and decided to go back to SLRs, so I still have my sigma 70 to 210 macro lens, and the kit 18 to 55, I will be in Venice and planning to visit the Doge, Instanbul the Bue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, an under ground structure, and lost of roman ruins, I've been practicing in churches and other dark places with the kit lens, with good results, but could be better(my fault) I noticed that the Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL Lens is on sale on amazon.ca for $179, and am contemplating buying this lens it has good reviews. Would it be much better that the kit? A have to have or want to have? wish i could rent one.....
For outdoor shots, your two lenses should be fine. What you don't have is something really wide for interiors. If you don't mind manually focusing (which isn't all that critical on very wide angle lenses) there's the Rokinon 14/2.8 for ~$300. Alternately, there's the autofocusing Sigma 10-20/4-5.6 for ~$400. Both are quite well regarded though neither is small.

Lastly, take a look through this website's used marketplace. There are often lenses you can find which are great to own and use.
12-18-2014, 10:38 AM - 1 Like   #11
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I've been to Athens and Istanbul a couple times, and I did not encounter any prohibitions on photography. (Some museums may prohibit flash.)
I got most of my shots with the DA 18-135. For wider, I used a Sigma 10-20 f4.5-5.6. For faster, I have a DA 50 f1.8, but that's a bit long for interiors where I most needed the speed, so I went for the DA 35 f2.4. Works great and is a significant step up from the kit lens, but still a bit long for some interiors, so I've ended up with the DA 21 f3.2 as a better option. Of course, the DA 21 is somewhat more expensive...
Your K-50 should be able to do well with ISO of 1600 and perhaps even more, so you have some flexibility.
In any case, if you get the DA35 f2.4, I'm pretty sure you would use it!
12-18-2014, 12:14 PM - 1 Like   #12
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If you are happy with manual focus the M28/2.8 is a very nice lens and a bit wider than the 35/2.4 but is pretty inexpensive.
12-18-2014, 03:30 PM - 1 Like   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by jc_leblanc Quote
I will be going on a Med cruise in May 2015, I bought a k-50, to replace my old SF1, had been shooting with point and shoots for the last 15 years and decided to go back to SLRs, so I still have my sigma 70 to 210 macro lens, and the kit 18 to 55, I will be in Venice and planning to visit the Doge, Instanbul the Bue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, an under ground structure, and lost of roman ruins, I've been practicing in churches and other dark places with the kit lens, with good results, but could be better(my fault) I noticed that the Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL Lens is on sale on amazon.ca for $179, and am contemplating buying this lens it has good reviews. Would it be much better that the kit? A have to have or want to have? wish i could rent one.....
For what it's worth, after tripping while hiking in the rain forest on the first day of my honeymoon and smashing my 18-200 lens, I used my 35mm (it was a nikon 1.8, very similar) for my entire honeymoon and there were only a few times I *really* regretted not having a longer lens (photographing surfers in Rincon, snapping shots of the harbor in St. Thomas (whatever USVI it was, I really don't remember) from the top of the cruise ship, and trying to photograph diving pelicans at some beach. (I wished for a wider lens a fair bit more often, but I could do pano stitches for that). It worked fine in the cisterns beneath El Morro, once I used a flashlight to get it focused and the flash working (it was pitch black in there - it's not part of the normal tour, but they'd recently found that there were paintings on the walls that hadn't been seen before they were cleaned during a dry spell or something), and everywhere else I took it, though I had to stop it down a bit in bright sun on the beach.

But you could certainly rent a lens. I'd probably look for a wider one since you're talking about visiting lots of expansive indoor places.
CameraLensRental.com - Pentax Standardlens rental
CameraLensRental.com - Pentax Wide Anglelens rental

Sigma 28mm/1.8 is $50 for 30 days. 31mm ltd is 160 for 30 days. 15mm ltd is 97 for 30 days, 14mm/2.8 is 135 for 30 days. 10-17 fisheye is 75 for 30 days. 8-16 is 118 for 30 days (that's as wide as you can get without using a fisheye). Or you could rent an 18-250 for 67 bucks. They don't seem to have an 18-135, but LensRentals does, that's 126 for a month.

I don't know how long you're going to be gone, so I went with a month. It's less for a shorter time, but much of the cost is for the first 3-4 days

Also LensRentals.com - Rent Pentax > Lenses and Rent professional cameras or camera lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Leica and Pentax

---------- Post added 12-18-14 at 05:34 PM ----------

oh. I missed that you're in canada. Not sure if they rent to there or not
12-18-2014, 06:54 PM - 1 Like   #14
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FYI, we were in Venice a year ago. Photography is not allowed in the Doge or in St. Mark's. They have a lot of what I'll call "hall monitors" watching in most areas. If I wanted to sneak one now again, I'd use something small and silent. We saw one idiot trying to photograph in St. Mark's with an iPad. That didn't last long.
12-19-2014, 08:25 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Michaelina2 Quote
Returned from an Athens->Turkey->Greek Isles -> Venice (3 week) trip last October. My kit consisted of a K-3/DA15/DA20-40/FA77 and Q7/01/06/08. Both kits can produce pleasing results. As it turned out, the Q7 kit was used 100% of the time with the K-3 held in reserve. The trade-off in favor of the Q7 was lite-weight, overall hassle-free convenience, stealthy-ness and ease of post-processing on the road and when I returned home. Also, many sites prohibit photography. But if you ask permission, show a tiny camera and use native lighting, you may (like me) get a break where others with their DSLRs are denied.

Consider getting everything at once like this (or similar). It's a steal...

New Boxed Pentax Q7 Camera Black Premium Kit Limited 01 02 06 08 Lens 0027075213166 | eBay

Next time, for me, it's Q7 (or similar, alone) + three batteries and 32mb card... all the way... no regrets.

...my 2 cent$... M
Add an 03 lens too!
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