the poor shall inherit a limited ?

Transit · 03-29-2009, 02:48 PM

With the chances of ever owning a limited receding to zero in a day or two,
I am faced with a stark choice

I can sell my M40, M50/1.4, M50/1.7and M135/3.5 and buy a new DA40
or...
sell them and get into the Takumars as well and get the DA70
I can hear the 105 quivering in the drawer
been walking around with the M40 and the Sigma zoom on 70
trying to decide.
Given a choice I do pick up a longer lens.

might be a middle age crisis too...
wanted to buy a motorbike on the weekend but decided photography less risky

Pete

*séamuis* · 03-29-2009, 03:01 PM

yes get into Takumars... as long as you aren't going to cannibalize them to K mount. I use mostly Takumars myself but I have been itching for an FA 43mm limited. my only AF (not counting the kit lens I don't use) so I cant be of much help as I am in a similar dilemma. why would you buy a DA40 when you have an M40?

*k100d* · 03-29-2009, 03:01 PM

the limiteds are good, but not worth selling all your other lenses to get one
the differences aren't that obvious besides AF and easier metering

Transit · 03-29-2009, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by séamuis

yes get into Takumars... as long as you aren't going to cannibalize them to K mount. I use mostly Takumars myself but I have been itching for an FA 43mm limited. my only AF (not counting the kit lens I don't use) so I cant be of much help as I am in a similar dilemma. why would you buy a DA40 when you have an M40?

gee you would sell the Taks that easily ?

the m40 doesn't AF

my eyes are really just not up to it these days I think, there is nowhere in that diopter I can sharpen with

Originally Posted by k100d

the limiteds are good, but not worth selling all your other lenses to get one
the differences aren't that obvious besides AF and easier metering

thanks

There is something about the ascending line of M lens on the shelf
damn I'm a gearist

It's the AF aspect I think...
I have these lovely shallow dof lenses but focus hit rate is sad with candid stuff

*Andi Lo* · 03-29-2009, 03:28 PM

Heh, I'm actually in a similar dillema. I love my taks but the fa/da 35 is calling my soul

especially since my FA 50 got married to my zx-l so I need another low light prime. If I sell all my less used lenses (including almost all the taks) it's just enough for the FA.

I'll probably never sell my Tak 50 though.

*séamuis* · 03-29-2009, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by Transit

gee you would sell the Taks that easily ?
the m40 doesn't AF
my eyes are really just not up to it these days I think, there is nowhere in that diopter I can sharpen with

thanks
There is something about the ascending line of M lens on the shelf
damn I'm a gearist

It's the AF aspect I think...
I have these lovely shallow dof lenses but focus hit rate is sad with candid stuff

no, I wont. in fact I just put a bid on an S-M-C macro Takumar 100mm. but I have thought about putting up a few to fund the purchase of an FA 43mm. have you thought about getting a split-image focus screen?

*Michaelina2* · 03-29-2009, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by Transit

my eyes are really just not up to it these days...

Get a Katz-eye (or a Chinese knock-off) split focusing screen... problem solved forever!

Cheers..

Transit · 03-29-2009, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by Andi Lo

Heh, I'm actually in a similar dillema. I love my taks but the fa/da 35 is calling my soul especially since my FA 50 got married to my zx-l so I need another low light prime. If I sell all my less used lenses (including almost all the taks) it's just enough for the FA.

I'll probably never sell my Tak 50 though.

good luck with that !
let us know how you get on

Originally Posted by séamuis

no, I wont. in fact I just put a bid on an S-M-C macro Takumar 100mm. but I have thought about putting up a few to fund the purchase of an FA 43mm. have you thought about getting a split-image focus screen?

I had but thought it might dull the K100D view, I like the clean view but maybe it's holding me back

Originally Posted by Michaelina2

Get a Katz-eye (or a Chinese knock-off) split focusing screen... problem solved forever!

Cheers..

snap...
ok I will check out the posibilities, certainly cleaper than a lens

*séamuis* · 03-29-2009, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by Transit

good luck with that !
let us know how you get on

I had but thought it might dull the K100D view, I like the clean view but maybe it's holding me back

snap...
ok I will check out the posibilities, certainly cleaper than a lens

getting a split-image focusing screen wont dull your view. no it wont be as 'clean' as your matte screen but you will certainly be able to do manual focus much easier. I would certainly suggest a katz eye. Pentax DSLRs - Katz Eye Optics and if you don't like it, you can certainly sell it here in the marketplace. someone will buy it.

schmik · 03-29-2009, 05:20 PM

Out of interst, what's a 40mm LTD worth in NZ? (they are $400 in Aus).

I had one.... last week. And it was soooooo soft wide open that it was un-usable. For the week i had it i pretty much did test shots to find out WTF was wrong with it. In the end it looked like a serious backfocusing issue. I have sent it back and am waiting for a replacement.

In my testing i decided to put it up against my A 50mm f1.7. Guess which was sharper....... the 50 was sharper at 1.7 than the 40 was at 4.5 (backfocusing not an issue at this aperture). I was VERY disappointed. I hope that this is just a really crap copy.

Then to make the whole thing interesting i shot and shot and shot with it. Just mucking around with the kids and the dog. I left it at 4.5 (so it didn't matter the focus was oof a little). A few (out of dozens) of shots blew me away for sharpness and a certain 'pop'. Even on the poorly focused shots the color was great.

I do need some longer lenses as the crapo sigmas i am using in that range are very poor. So now i am looking at some Taks. The opposite to your story eh!

Just some food for thought bro!

cheers
mike

cpopham · 03-29-2009, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by schmik

Out of interst, what's a 40mm LTD worth in NZ? (they are $400 in Aus).

You don't want to know...... $790 (NZ)....
Obviously I think most of us have stopped buying stuff domestically. Hell, a brand new K20 kit is about $4,000 (NZ). Why hello there B & H!

Originally Posted by schmik

I had one.... last week. And it was soooooo soft wide open that it was un-usable. For the week i had it i pretty much did test shots to find out WTF was wrong with it. In the end it looked like a serious backfocusing issue. I have sent it back and am waiting for a replacement.

The DA40 isn't particularly soft, which is not to say that a 50 f1.7 won't utterly trash the DA40 in centre sharpness, especially stopped down a bit, but try comparing the borders!

There's definitely something special about the DA40 (it's the only limited I own). As you say, it just renders some scenes so beautifully, and the focal length / aperture combination actually works pretty well for inside photos with a touch of flash (or high ISO).

Transit · 03-29-2009, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by schmik

Out of interst, what's a 40mm LTD worth in NZ? (they are $400 in Aus)..............

I do need some longer lenses as the crapo sigmas i am using in that range are very poor. So now i am looking at some Taks. The opposite to your story eh!

Just some food for thought bro!

cheers
mike

Thanks Mike,
Found a place in Aussie that posts across the Tasman

things in NZ are as cpopham says....

er which shop did you use ?
wouldn't want to strike the copy you had !

you are looking for longer taks ?
good luck some lovely models out there

Pete

Jewelltrail · 03-29-2009, 08:43 PM

Transit:

I owned the Katzeye and a Chinese Split-Prism. I compared them both in my K20 and returned the Kateye. Currently, you can get a Chinese Split Prism for the k100d for <$22, shipped! There are many threads with happy owners chiming in to discuss their happiness with the Chinese Screen. You just have to be sure you buy the correct screen. In this link I am posting below, there is a specific question on the K100d tot he seller--read it-- Best of luck whatever you do--the Katzeye is a good screen too, and so are the numerous choices you have a focusingscreens.com. Best!

Split Image Focus Screen for Pentax ist D DL K10d K100D - eBay (item 220370384206 end time Mar-30-09 19:11:29 PDT)

schmik · 03-30-2009, 12:15 AM

Yeah, looking for some longer taks.

My strategy is to buy older primes and then see what focal lengths i am happy with. Once i am happy with the length i'll look into a modern auto-focus replacement. Like the A 50...... it is just a tad too long for my liking so i got the 40mm.

I think i'll try a tak 135 and 105 next. Then I'll see with i want the 70mm LTD or the 200mm *................. until i see the price. OUCH. Maybe the 70 will be next.

Why is there no primes betwwen 70 and 200? Am i correct in that?

mike

*Andi Lo* · 03-30-2009, 12:24 AM

I heard that the Katzeye blackouts less than the Chinese screen though? Mine stars blacking out at exactly f/4, I heard the katzeye doesn't blackout until around f/8. This might not be as important if you're not into screwmounts.

Originally Posted by schmik

Why is there no primes betwwen 70 and 200? Am i correct in that?

There's the DFA 100. Again, Pentax seems to think of focal length as their 35mm FOV equivalents, so using that principle the range we're missing now is the 135mm (90mm), 180 (120mm - pentax never made this length though) and 200mm (135mm).

The tamron macro covers the 135mm (90mm), but yeah something needs to be done with the hole in the lineup... I'm guessing based on former lens sales, the missing ranges are not a strong seller in the past, thus the lack of urgency placed in their production. At least to make up for this they really need to get that 60-250/4 up soon.