[kenafein]

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I lucked on a new old stock Samsung version of the FA35 f2.0 and it's awesome. I didn't pay much more than I would have paid for the DA35. Before that I was considering getting the DA35 or the DA40mm limited. The DA35 is based off the FA 2.0 design, and the sample pics are really good. I have the 35mm Tak/3.5 and I think I'm going to sell it now that I have the 2.0, but something's making me hold on to it. It's a really great lens too.

[kenafein]

* Isco Westron 35/2.8, pixie-dusted

Darn it Rico! Now I have to add this to my search list. I am a fan of pixie-dusted lenses.

Are you a fan of any of the other Isco lenses?

[repaap]

Oh man! My list is getting bigger. Thou atleast 3 votes fol DA-L...

And Tak 35/3.5, some completelly different ones too. Just what I asked for. I have to make some more reseach, BTW I have been thinkig about Meyer opinion too. It's supposed to have a good bokeh too?

[abacus07]

If you want to go cheap ($50-75) the tak 35 is a great choice. The DAL 35 is a great choice for all of the modern conveniences. There are a few others that I haven't researched so I can't comment.

But one more option is to go for the DA 40. Used they are going for low $300's and there is something special about the limiteds according to some. The one downside for me is that I like 28-35mm focal lengths and the 35-50mm focal lengths are not usually what I want to use. I'm not sure I would be completely happy with that length. But I'm content collecting too many $25-50 lenses right now.

[RioRico]

Are you a fan of any of the other Isco lenses?

The only other I could afford is an Isco Westar 100/4.5, nice but not magickal. I *am* a fan of lenses from Isco's parent company, Schneider. Most available Schneiders won't work on Pentax without a bit of work, or an expensive adapter. But Schneider enlarger lenses work fine on bellows and can be found cheap.

And another of my don't-leave-home-without-it lenses is the absolutely incredible Schneider Betavaron 50-125/4-5.6 enlarger zoom. (Actually it's marked as Betavaron 3,5...11/0.08 Schneider-Kreuznach.) Brutally sharp, quite dense and heavy. Only 5 aperture blades but creamy smooth bokeh -- maybe 2 pounds of glass helps there, eh? List price: US$3500. A couple years ago a USA liquidator was offing them at US$70 NIB. I couldn't resist and I'm HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! I really need a 30-50mm focusing helicoid to get the most out of it, but when I mount it on about 32mm of tubes it's fine for general work.

The aperture isn't marked with f-stops, but as 1-2-3-4-5. The focus scale isn't marked with distance but with reproduction ratios: 3.5-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11. It's extremely weird to use: Focus by zooming, so far shots are at 50mm and closeups are at 125mm. Focusing means reframing, so grabbing any shot involves dancing back and forth a bit. See the world in an entirely different way! A helicoid will tame it somewhat. But helicoids are costly, and aren't available in 30-50mm or 30-70mm or anywhere around there. If I can just get hold of a cheap junky macro-focusing TC, any mount...

ObTopic: You can't go wrong with the SuperTak 35/3.5.

[kenafein]

Wrong mount, but this is it? Schneider Betavaron Macro Vario lens 3 10/0.08 Leica S | eBay

[gofour3]

Oh man! My list is getting bigger. Thou atleast 3 votes fol DA-L...

And Tak 35/3.5, some completelly different ones too. Just what I asked for. I have to make some more reseach, BTW I have been thinkig about Meyer opinion too. It's supposed to have a good bokeh too?

I'd go with the K35/3.5 so you don't need the M42 adapter.
It's an outstanding lens and very small.

Phil.

[RioRico]

Wrong mount, but this is it? Schneider Betavaron Macro Vario lens 3 10/0.08 Leica S | eBay

Yes, that IS it!! Actually that's the older version, almost as good as mine. Don't worry about the mount stuff, it's an ENLARGER lens, and the standard there is 39mm / L39 / Leica threadmount (LTM). Enlarger lenses don't have registers so it's not like an Elmar or Hektor that only close-focuses on dSLRs. It just needs the right extension to reach infinity-focus on a PK cam. For me, that's a 2mm bushing plus an M39-M42 ring plus a flanged M42-PK adapter plus some cheap macro tubes, total extension about 32mm, just enough to let me zoom-focus from 60cm / 2ft to past infinity. I need bellows (50mm+ more extension) to get much closer. Yeah, with a 30-90mm helicoid it would be a REAL macro-zoom!

[Blue]

How much fun for such a lens?

Calling Big Bird, come get your camera at the Lost & Found desk!

[Blue]

If you want to go cheap ($50-75) the tak 35 is a great choice. The DAL 35 is a great choice for all of the modern conveniences. There are a few others that I haven't researched so I can't comment.

But one more option is to go for the DA 40. Used they are going for low $300's and there is something special about the limiteds according to some. The one downside for me is that I like 28-35mm focal lengths and the 35-50mm focal lengths are not usually what I want to use. I'm not sure I would be completely happy with that length. But I'm content collecting too many $25-50 lenses right now.

O.K. if you throw in the DA 40 LTd, I have to throw in the DA 35/2.8 LTD.

[twitch]

The answer is easy, buy the fastest 35 you can afford.

[TOUGEFC]

What twitch said, also the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is excellent for shallow dof photography and subject isolation, its
a very fun lens to use, and is very affordable.

[abacus07]

O.K. if you throw in the DA 40 LTd, I have to throw in the DA 35/2.8 LTD.

One of these is 300ish used and the other is 600ish used...

[Nick Siebers]

If it is in your budget, the DA-L 35/2.4 seems like an easy choice. I have never owned one, but they get high marks. The K35/3.5 is special, but the used price is probably as or almost as high as the DA-L. Ditto for the Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f/2.4, which can focus close, almost to 1:2 macro. But you need an M42 adapter, manual focus, and it isn't really all that cheap either as I said. Fun factor for both those lenses is high. I had a Super Tak 35/2 for a while, but found it a little too hard to use. Ultimately, I like to fall back on AF a fair bit, so if I were you I would try to go the DA route.

[repaap]

Thanks all for good adwces. Welli thought that da limiteds would get heretoo, but sadly they are out of my reach. I just might still try out some of those cheaper solutions and sell them if not pleased. I kinda like new and controlled sharpidea behind da-l, but still I like something that for example my helios 44 M does, while it sure has its limitations and that kind a crazy bokeh is just for that.