Originally posted by bdery Why is the 21 not useful?
21 would be very useful if I did not have the 15.
You should realize I'm cheap AND a minimalist. I want the fewest number of small lenses. My idea kit looks like this:
15mm - 24mm - 55mm.
This roughly corresponds to a common kit from the yesteryear:
20mm - 35mm - 85mm.
For some reason I don't really care for normals (35mm or 50mm on film).
For those "other" focal lengths (namely, normal and telephoto) I'm happy to use cheap zooms (the kit and my F 70-210, which is very inexpensive for the performance).
Each lens (15 - 24 - 55) is approximately a 2X zoom, and that focal range covers a great deal of what I care to shoot (I like having the zoom around for the occasional sporting event, or wildlife, but this happens very infrequently and I don't feel like sinking much more than 50 dollars into a lens for that range).
The 21 is quite a bit closer to the 15, and does not accomplish as much over the kit as would a 24mm f2.8. I want something versatile for indoors / groups / streets, wtih a low-light advantage over the kit lens.
The 21 is not a good fit between my 15mm and 50mm (which is a compromise because I can't afford the DA * 55mm, and I have an old K 55 f1.8 lying around for the times I really want to use that focal length). Its a little too wide, and since it's a 21, it's also a little slower than the 24 f2.8's available to me.
So basically, for my purposes, I lose TWICE on the DA 21... and it's not exactly a cheap lens. I'm convinced I can do much better for 500 dollars.
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Before the 15 existed, the 21- 40 -70 spread makes a lot of sense, although it was arguably skewed to the long end of things. I prefer the looser feel of a wider lens, mostly. I prefer 55mm to 70mm for portraits, and that threw the whole DA LTD line into a bit of a no mans land for me (except for the 15).
I really like the 50mm on digital (similar FOV to the FA 77 on film), and barring a cheaper DA* 55mm alternative, I'm going to stick with the FA 50.
If you have / like the DA 40 or 70, the DA 21 is a great wide to tack on to your kit.