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12-28-2011, 03:56 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
I see the role of AF zooms as the TAKING of pictures, and that of MF primes as the MAKING of pictures. (AF primes are somewhere in-between.) TAKING: documenting what's in front of you. MAKING: looking closely at what's around you.
I see what you're getting at, but before you decide on the quality of a picture you view, do you check the EXIF info and make sure the person used a MF prime first? How could you tell what was used once you're just viewing the image? I thought it was all about what the artist painted, not what brushes were used.


Rons,
Buying primes has been the best thing I've done. I've noticed the color, contrast and sharpness difference has been huge. I started with the 35mm 2.4 and then got the 70mm 2.4 Limited. I rarely use my kit lenses now that I have these two. In a sense, yes you're more limited due to the fixed focal length, but as has been mentioned you then think more about composition - and you get a better quality image in return (at least technically, the artistic part is up to you of course ).

You could try the route of getting an old manual lens (the 50s are especially cheap), or get that 35mm 2.4 since it's currently only $170 (!!!) on B and H and has auto focus / aperture and all that to get you started in the prime world while being able to use all the modern conveniences to help you adjust - Pentax 35mm DA L F2.4 AL Lens 21987 B&H Photo Video

12-28-2011, 05:00 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
No, don't do it, you will regret your actions - you will ruin your life and your LBA will spin out of control, always looking for your next fix. Just look at what it did to Rico....
I don't suffer from LBA (lens-buying adrenaline) -- I enjoy every minute of it!

QuoteOriginally posted by Rons Quote
Thank you all, i value very high your replies. As for MF, i think that it will be to hard for me . In you opinion Which could be moust flexible prime lens?
No such thing. Zooms are flexible; primes are usable. The easy advice: Shoot with your kit lens. Run software to see which focal lengths you use most; this can inform your lens-buying decisions. Otherwise, here are some ideas:

* Manual focus ain't no big thang. It takes practice, is all, and maybe a few aids like a split-focus screen and CIF (catch in focus). My delaminating eyeballs depend on CIF with manual lenses, even very fast f/1.2 and f/1.4 glass.

* Manual focus especially ain't no big thang with wide lenses, which have thicker DOF. I really love my M42 Tokina-made 21/3.8. I set the aperture to f/11, prefocus to 2m, and I have DOF from 1m to infinity. Point and shoot!

* When I grab a prime for general shooting, it's usually either 28mm, or 50-55mm, or 200-300mm. My favorite 28 is a fast Vivitar-Komine 28/2 CFWA that cost me all of US$18. An AF equivalent would be the DA31Ltd. 28-31mm gives the same AOV as you looking at the world with just one eye. A fast or slow Fifty (I have several favorites) lets you concentrate on a subject. A 200-300mm forces you to look closely, narrowly. All are great.

* I have a zillion lenses, including ~20 zooms, about half of which are AF. Some of these are indispensible: DA10-17, Tamron 10-24, DA18-250, F35-75, FA100-300 (silver), Lil'Bigma 170-500. I have exactly ONE autofocus prime, the FA50/1.4, my gotta-get-the-shot lens. I use it much more than the better-rendering and faster K50/1.2; but my slower CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (12 iris blades) and Macro-Takumar 50/4 (1x) also see much use.

* Various focal lengths are good for certain situations. Besides what I mentioned above: lenses around 14-15-16mm are good for tight spaces. Lenses around 21-24mm are good for many 'scapes. Those around 28-35mm give a 'normal' look. Those around 50-58mm are great for half-body portraiture; 70-90mm for close headshot portraiture; 135mm for further headshots. My most minimal prime kit would contain a 24 or 28, a 50 or 55, and something around 100mm. Another kit might have 20-40-80-150mm glass. See a pettern there?

My recommendations: For an all-purpose beginning prime, get a manual 28 or the DA31Ltd (if budget allows). For shooting low-light action and half-body portraits and all sorts of stuff, the FA50/1.4 can't be beat. For shooting 'scapes, get a manual 24 or the DA21Ltd. Better yet, ask yourself, "What do I want to do that I can't do with what I have?" and consider your answers. Have fun!
12-28-2011, 05:49 PM   #18
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The making pictures/taking pictures argument is weak, sorry.

It takes an eye to compose - not some arbitrarily restrictive rectangle you need to fit an image into. Although that fitting-it-into-a-frame exercise can be fun, I guess, for the particular challenge, it will teach you nothing more than seeing with a particular angle of view. I have nothing against primes except their awkwardness, but you can use a zoom to frame what you see.
12-28-2011, 07:10 PM   #19
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DA 40mm f2.8 is the one to go with.

12-28-2011, 08:44 PM   #20
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I bought the 35mm f2.4 last spring and it is an excellent lens. If it is not too large for you, then I would recommend it as the best value. I have just ordered the 40mm this week because I want the smaller size. If I had it to do over again I would have bought the 40mm first and then saved up for the 21mm. However, now that I have the 35mm I can't part with it. It's an awesome lens!
12-28-2011, 09:09 PM - 1 Like   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by SpecialK Quote
The making pictures/taking pictures argument is weak, sorry.

It takes an eye to compose - not some arbitrarily restrictive rectangle you need to fit an image into. Although that fitting-it-into-a-frame exercise can be fun, I guess, for the particular challenge, it will teach you nothing more than seeing with a particular angle of view. I have nothing against primes except their awkwardness, but you can use a zoom to frame what you see.

I dont know if it was supposed to be an arguement or not but I can tell you with full certainty that my composition has benefited from shooting with primes recently. I find that when i pick up the camera to "capture that shot" and see that it is too far out, as I am walking closer I am thinking about the shot and how I should compose it better. With a zoom, I would have picked up the camera, zoomed and snapped, mostly resulting in snap shot esque pictures.

Perhaps it should be phrased as primes force you to consider compostion whereas zooms allow you to shoot right away.

QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
Better yet, ask yourself, "What do I want to do that I can't do with what I have?" and consider your answers. Have fun!
HAHA!! funny you should mention that... this mentality has cost me $$! I had a 28 and a 50 originally. too wide and too narrow for how i normally shoot, so i "needed" a s-m-c tak 35/3.5. after that i "needed" a tak 135/3.5, just today i "needed" a tak 200/4. and after shooting so many manuals i "needed" a canon ee-s screen!! did i mention this was all in the last month?? well i am back off to go hide from the wife!!

to the OP: there are lots of good deals out there, make good use of the lens review data base to guide you in your quest. Just keep an eye out for cheap lenses and go from there. IMHO 28mm was a bit too wide for a walk around, and 50 was too narrow. 35mm was perfect for me, so my advice would be to start there
12-28-2011, 09:19 PM   #22
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I only shoot with prime lens.

35 f2.4 is a good choice for general purposes but it is not an ultra fast lens.

If budget is not a problem, then Sigma 30 f1.4 or Pentax 50 f1.4 or Pentax 31 f1.8 Ltd are some good choices.

All the best with your selection!

12-28-2011, 10:08 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by hawk232 Quote
HAHA!! funny you should mention that... this mentality has cost me $$! I had a 28 and a 50 originally. too wide and too narrow for how i normally shoot, so i "needed" a s-m-c tak 35/3.5. after that i "needed" a tak 135/3.5, just today i "needed" a tak 200/4
That's a good start! And I have all those lenses (except different 28s) and that's some class glass there. Now you need to look for 21, 24, 40 or 45, 58, 85, 105. And don't forget macro. Maybe some bellows, macro tubes, and enlarger lenses. And a long mirror. And...

Money -- I have a trick: I have no disposable income. If I want to buy something, I must first sell something. And that's how I became a lens trader on eBay. (I sell off other extra stuff too.) As long as all my photo cashflow happens within my PayPal account and doesn't show up on a credit statement, all is peaceful in the house.
12-29-2011, 10:46 AM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
That's a good start! And I have all those lenses (except different 28s) and that's some class glass there. Now you need to look for 21, 24, 40 or 45, 58, 85, 105. And don't forget macro. Maybe some bellows, macro tubes, and enlarger lenses. And a long mirror. And...

Money -- I have a trick: I have no disposable income. If I want to buy something, I must first sell something. And that's how I became a lens trader on eBay. (I sell off other extra stuff too.) As long as all my photo cashflow happens within my PayPal account and doesn't show up on a credit statement, all is peaceful in the house.
you are right, a 21 or wider is next on the list...

as for the money idea. if i had 200+ lenses your method would work for me too until then, i just have to buy buy buy!
12-29-2011, 08:32 PM   #25
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I like my da40, even for landscapes. But I like to shoot wider some too so I cover that end with the da15. Or the Rokinon 8mm. Then you have the long end: 100, 135, 300, etc... Might as well just pick one to get started and get the rest as you go.
12-29-2011, 09:01 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by hawk232 Quote
as for the money idea. if i had 200+ lenses your method would work for me too until then, i just have to buy buy buy!
Yeah, keep the economy moving! But I started that trick before I had a zillion lenses. Buy a batch-lot of mixed stuff; keep the good stuff; wait a couple months and sell the unusable stuff. I was hesitant at first. Then I found that some FD lenses for which I'd paid US$9 each were selling for US$60+. That motorvated me, fer sure! The rest is history.

I just checked my database. I now own about 220 lenses; I've sold about 120 more in the last 1.5 years. Sold lenses -- mean purchase price: US$14.33, shipped; mean sales profit: US$14.23. That's a 99% profit. That helps pay for the keepers: mean price, US$31.30 shipped. Something like 98% of my dealings have been on eBay, and my profit includes deduction of eBay/PayPal fees. So my lens addiction is self-supporting. Whew.

It's either that, or get a job. [/me shudders]
12-29-2011, 09:30 PM   #27
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Stepping in to the Prime arena.... I would say prepare to spend money... a lot of money... "If you get addicted on how sharp and fun it is to shoot with this little babies you will..."

As a newbie I would say test the waters out first. get a cheap 50mm 1.7 for 40 bucks. And If you like it, get your second prime and then third and then forth, believe me you'll be buying more. Also only you will know what you focal length you need. check your old shots with your zoom and try to figure out what FL you shoot.

Good luck
12-30-2011, 08:19 AM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by mattb123 Quote
I like my da40, even for landscapes. But I like to shoot wider some too so I cover that end with the da15. Or the Rokinon 8mm. Then you have the long end: 100, 135, 300, etc... Might as well just pick one to get started and get the rest as you go.
I also like my DA40 and A50/1.7 for landscapes. I get far more keepers with these two since I compose pictures better and get rid of the boring crap. I always have a 24/28mm lens available because there are times that I'm really close and need wider. And a DA15 is on the way.
12-30-2011, 08:54 AM   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
... I just checked my database. I now own about 220 lenses; I've sold about 120 more in the last 1.5 years. Sold lenses -- mean purchase price: US$14.33, shipped; mean sales profit: US$14.23. That's a 99% profit. That helps pay for the keepers: mean price, US$31.30 shipped. Something like 98% of my dealings have been on eBay, and my profit includes deduction of eBay/PayPal fees. So my lens addiction is self-supporting. Whew.

It's either that, or get a job. [/me shudders]
I'm not sure how you live but the realized profit you're making from your hoard is pennies... but I guess with all the time you have from not working that's better than nothing. Why not consider a regular paying job and have the financial option of being able to buy any lens at any time, and you'd have a more stable financial security for the future too.
12-30-2011, 09:08 AM   #30
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I finally i setup my mind that i will buy 35mm 2.4 or da 40mm 2.8, is there any big difference in image quality between this two lenses? thanks
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