[oliver]

I know that ultimately its up to an individual to make their own choices about what's right for them but I am really struggling to reach a decision over an idea I have in my mind and I was hoping to gather some opinions of wisdom from the forum.

Over the past few years I've built up a collection of old lenses (various k and m and fa primes, mostly) as it was a way an affordable way of getting some fast lenses when starting out on a limited budget. The lenses in question are the k24/2.8, m50/1.7, m85/2, fa35/2 and a couple of old tokina zooms 20-35/2.8 and 28-70/2.8. My current body is a k-x.

All have served me well but I'm trying to come up with a more portable system that will be easier to take out and travel with. In particular, while I do love the build quality of the k and m lenses they are not that convenient to use -- only in m mode with stop down metering, no AF, no compatibility with PTTL flash etc. And neither the Tokina or FA are compatible with automatic CA or lens distortion correction.

Now, I've done some calculations and realized that if I sell them all along with old k100d body it would almost exactly match the second-hand price of a trio of limiteds (da 21, 40 and 70) based on prices at my local camera store. This would then give me a lightweight and compact wide, normal-ish, and tele that along with my k-x could always be with me.

So the question is does this make sense? Would you do it ?

Oliver

[adpo]

honestly, if the benefits of having three excellent compact lenses that have the added automatic functions (pttl, af, and whatnot) are what you're looking for, i say its worth it.
if i was in your situation, i'd just use the tokina 28-70 and fix whatever small issues it has in PP. Then just shoot with that if i want convenience and have the others for fun shooting with primes. In a way, I'm just describing my current setup =D (sigma zooms for serious business, primes for happy fun time)

once again, i believe it comes down to what you want to shoot. swapping everything for the limiteds in my opinion would make an ideal kit for walkaround/street/travel photography. if that's what you're going for, i say go for it =)

one last thing, are auto CA and distortion correction really all that important? i find very little benefit in my own shooting from using the CA correction (never saw any difference with what lenses i got to play with that did support it) and i generally apply lens profiles in PP to correct for lens distortion if the distortion is enough of an issue. Plus, they slow your body down a tad.

just my 2 cents

[Ash]

honestly, if the benefits of having three excellent compact lenses that have the added automatic functions (pttl, af, and whatnot) are what you're looking for, i say its worth it.

It's as simple as that for me too.
What's not to like about petit yet top quality prime lenses to make you doubt?
If you need more speed than what they offer, look for alternatives, but they will be bulkier and heavier (e.g. Sigma 30/1.4 instead of DA 21 or FA 50/1.4 instead of DA 40 - but they won't be as brilliant as the DA ltds )

[yusuf]

Yes, it makes sense. I slowly migrated from MF->AF route and never looked back.

[aurele]

Agreed with previous post. The only question i'd ask to yours, it's wich of your current lense do you use as your normal lense ?

And so, does one your "gang of three" will replace it well ?

(for ex: my normal prime is a 28mm f2.8, and 24 is too short, 35 too long, so i will change it only for a 31ltd )

[Kim C]

I would need to ask if these MF lenses are the only ones you have at the moment before I could give an answer? Do you have any AF primes or "A" lenses and if so where do they fit within the 20/40/70 spread?

Kim

[oliver]

thanks for the advice everyone.
To answer the questions above. I currently use the fa35 as my most common walk around lens. The idea would be to replace that with the da40. I'd then switch to the 21 if I wanted a wider view or the 70 for something closer. As for other lens I also have the 18-55 and 50-200 and the sigma 10-20 which I all plan on keeping for time being as a convenient zoom option across the range if I need it. But most of the time I do prefer using primes.

The only real thing holding me back is that I will be losing some speed if I move to the da primes .
1 stop from fa 35 to da 40
1/2 stop from k24 to da 21
1/2 from m85 to da 70

But on the lure of the da primes is their quality, that they are good wide open and more compact and completely compatible with a modern body.

Oliver

[Ash]

What the DA ltds lose in speed, they make up in image quality and brilliance.
When you shoot with the DA 40, you'll see how fast it focuses and how impressive the results are that you'll forget you ever lost that stop of aperture...

If you don't absolutely need that extra thin DoF, then those DA ltds are just about as good as you can get. On par are the faster FA ltds but they are considerably more expensive.

[Lowell Goudge]

I have multiple lens systems based upon what I want to do on any particular outing.

For travel with family, where I have to fit my hobby into their vacation I go with zooms

Sigma 10-20/4-5.6, Tamron 28-75/2.8 and sigma 70-200/2.8 plus a couple of sigma TC's
I might also drop the tele zoom and TCs if I am city bound and add in my samyang 85/1.4 and 8/3.5 fisheye as they are more useful. I also take in that case the 1.7x AF TC if I need some reach.

On my own, I will either take some M42 or K mount primes because I have the time to lay a little, and am not rushing to get a shot. Family patience for my hobby can wear thin at times.

I have M42 lenses from 24mm through 200mm, and with only 1 or 2 exceptions they are faster than my zooms at every focal length.

In K mount (manual focus), I have 8mm fisheye and 14-400mm Again all faster than my zooms at any focal length. (or equal if youconsier the 70-200 with 1.4x and 2x TCs compared to my 300/4 and 400/5.6)

I personally like the MF primes, and since it is my hobby and when I am on my own time, I use them.