[Lindethiel]

First of all, I want to apologize for the woeful noob-ness that this post is gunna be. I'm not very active here at all, but have recently come into a bit of money & thought it was time I added a nice lens to my collection. Last summer I got a KX w/ the Pentax 18-55 kit lens which is woefully inadequate for me.

These shots were taken by one of the best photographers I ever knew, he doesn't shoot on Pentax, but he became my greatest idol. Unfortunately he passed away last December, so I am unable to ask him what he shot with in detail, but I was wondering, what are the Bayonet mount equivalents that glean these amazing results? All the portraiture lenses I have browsed tend to have flawless, flat bokeh and I personally don't like it. I like my bokeh to have character & shape, vastly thanks to Onihide's influence.








From what I could glean the Pentax M 85mm f/2, Pentax DA* 55mm f/1.4 & the Pentax DA* 55mm f/1.4 came in pretty good too.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want a lens capable of full-length body shots with shallow DOF. I can't remember, but is it primes or zooms that give this effect? I have a 50mm prime that only has creamy, formed bokeh up close to the camera & opened up wide. Anything beyond a head & shoulders shot and the DOF begins widening. That's not the kinda style I'm in to. I'm particularly interested in the way he gets shallow DOF in his long shots. Zoom?

Can anybody point me in the right direction? There's so many numbers and measurements and resources that I can't imagine where to look first!

[Chex]

Currently available, I would say the FA 77mm ltd would be pretty darn close, if not the FA 85mm f1.4 or D FA 100mm f2.8 Macro. Third party lenses, I would say the Sigma 85mm f1.4 or 70mm f2.8 even.

[rob1234]

Afraid you won't get exactly that sort of look from Pentax as a) there's no 200/2 lens available, and b) there's no full-frame Pentax DSLR.

However, there are some fantastic lenses available, and I don't think the results you could get would disappoint - say with a 135/2.8, or move back and use another f/2.8 medium telephoto (100-200mm).

This a (poor) example of the FA135/2.8 wide-open:


and here's one at 115mm, f/2.8:


(I'd suggest maybe 150-200mm and get slightly further back to minimise depth-of-field with a crop sensor and only f/2.8 available, although I have no experience of what a 85/1.4 is capable of.)

[rob1234]

On second thoughts, an 85/1.4 might be more the ticket, eg:

IMGP0302 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[hcc]

For full-length body shots with shallow DOF, the Pentax FA31mm f1.8 can be recommended. It is an oustanding lens with superb IQ and you may read in PF the in-depth review at:
Pentax-FA 31mm Limited F1.8 - Review

The highest score of in-depth lens review. You may also read an independent review at:
Pentax SMC-FA 31mm f/1.8 AL Limited - Review / Test Report (Highky recommended lens)

"The bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is very smooth and buttery which is fairly unusual for a lens with aspherical elements."

Hope that the comment wil help.

[wizofoz]

here is an example of the bokeh you can expect from the Fa77. I think it is an outstanding portrait lens.

[axl]

looking at OP's pictures I can't see anything DA*55 or FA77 couldn't do...
my 2p

[TOUGEFC]

I agree with Peter (axl)
The DA*55 and FA 77 can get the same results as all of those pics, except for maybe that last pic which looks like something longer and fast.

[sjwaldron]

I too am on a quest for full-body photos with background blur. Our lives would be easier if Pentax offered us a FF body, but oh well. :S

The Pentax FA* 85mm f1.4, or the alternative like the new Sigma 85mm f1.4 or even that cheap samyang 85mm manual focus lens.

Pentax FA* 85mm Examples:
scottjwaldron.com | Saturday - Requests & People
scottjwaldron.com | Saturday - Requests & People
scottjwaldron.com | Sunday - Requests & People
scottjwaldron.com | Sunday - Requests & People


The 55mm f1.4 is an option as well, but getting blur magnification from a long focal length really helps in the case of a 85mm. The 55 would be easier to use though.

scottjwaldron.com | Princemercury1 Photoshoot
scottjwaldron.com | Cosplay - Day 1
scottjwaldron.com | Cosplay - Day 1
scottjwaldron.com | Cosplay - Day 1
scottjwaldron.com | Cosplay - Day 2


The FA 77 is probably a good option as well, but I don't have one of those.

[aliasant]

Heres one with my older SMC Takumar 85mm f1.8.
Theres a K version of this lens too.
All manual of course. Maybe you want AF and all the modern glimmer ?

I think what most suggest is that you use a longer lens then a 50mm? Somewere inbetween that 77 and a good 135mm prime not to slow.
I have the Zeiss 135mm f3.5 and it has a crazy nice bokeh but again that is an m42 lens and I dont really have any examples to put here.
Worth trying though since it can be found cheap on fleebay. You can probably get 10 of those for 1 77mm limited

[Spock]

There are other Pentax options for those whose budget doesn't stretch to the FA77/1.8 or A85/1.4. This is one; it's not a bayonet lens strictly speaking but it becomes one with a adaptor;

Pentax 85mm F1.8 @ F1.8, 1/60s with K10D camera



100% crop

[lepiallou]

I found some EXIF of the pictures and it seems that he was using a Canon 70-200 f2.8 mainly above 150mm on a Canon 5D Mark II

One example here : Exif | Maiko, apprentice geisha, Ichiteru | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

So as said before the DA*55 and FA77 could do the job (even if I don't have these)... You can find some portraits picture done with the FA77 on PENTAX Photo Gallery and some with DA*55 on PENTAX Photo Gallery

Good luck for finding your gem

[pinholecam]

Hmm.. the posted shots does have very shallow DOF even for full body shots.
Maybe you got the wrong camera brand
There is no 135/2; 200/2; 300/2.8 new for Pentax nor is there a FF camera to maximize (or rather reduce) the DOF effect you want.

Off the top of my head, I'd think of the FA*85/1.4; A*135/1.8; K135/2.5; FA*80-200/2.8, DA*200/2.8, DA*300/4.
But I've never shot much full body shots to really tell.


Some samples from me, but don't mistake my poor skills as the fault of the lens

FA*85





F*300/4.5



FA*80-200
@200mm


Probably around 80-135mm

[Digitalis]

These shots were taken by one of the best photographers I ever knew, he doesn't shoot on Pentax, but he became my greatest idol.

The best way to pay homage to another photographer is not to use the same equipment, but to capture the essence of his subjects in the manner he did. Simply using the same equipment he used isn't going to achieve this*, and it certainly isn't going to guarantee your results will be anywhere near as good - because what worked for him isn't necessarily going to work for you. A good eye for photography is something that cannot be bought, it has to be developed in a similar way a musician develops his own sound on his instrument.

It is good that you know what you like to see in photography, Identifying the things you like and do not like is a way to train your aesthetic and develop a style of your own.


*There are GPS co-ordinates of the positions where Ansel Adams took many of his ground breaking landscape images, you can take a 8X10 view camera to any of those locations -shoot T-MAX 100 film- use the zone system - do everything he did...but the end the result will only be just another copy of what Ansel Adams did - instead: try to do something Ansel Adams would do.

[miltona580]

Also, using a depth of field calculator helps. I've found this online one to be helpful -> Online Depth of Field Calculator