[Andrew Lang]

i love the da* 55mm 1.4 i shoot most of my work now with it... i love shooting the prime and the oof areas are gorgeous imo...

langandrew.smugmug.com

[dmort]

Just going to throw this out there... what about something like the 16-45 or the 17-70 zoom? A fixed f4 is not super slow, especially paired with the high iso capability of the k5. But I guess you won't get the same sort of oof rendering. But then, you don't have to pick a specific focal length.

[Macario]

already made the comment that the 17-70 would be nice. the 16-45 is sadly out of production, as it is a fantastic lens

[dmort]

Ah... but you can find used 16-45 easily! For example, right now, Adorama has two! In fact, adorama currently has a really good selection of used pentax glass.

[Darlene]

The 16-45 is still being sold at Amazon.com (by Amazon) new. I just bought one in November and it is still available, though the price has gone up from what I paid. I guess these might be the last of the batch if it is being discontinued? I love this lens.

Also, love my 15mm prime and 35 f/2/4 prime indoors.

This is with my 15mm prime at f/4 and ISO 3200 on the K-r:

[mKlus]

lkarus, I love the second picture - great light and lovely composition
For the lens suggestions I'd probably like to stay with auto focus lens, it can be handy in some situations.

For indoors baby pictures in poorly lit rooms, I wanted the fastest possible lens at a reasonable price point, and this made the Tak 50/1.4 impossible to beat. Of course, f/1.2 would be even better, but the return on investment seemed a bit disproportionate. It does take practice to focus manually, but newborns make for the perfect training subject, since they don't move much.

[mKlus]

I was hoping you'd say you love the FA 43mm most
I'm not sure why, but I don't like the DA*55 - I mean the lens itself not it's qualities.

Thanks!
Thats a hard question for me to answer, I love the FA77 and DA*55, it would be one of those.
The FA43 is good but the 55 and 77 are much better.

[mKlus]

Thanks dmotr. I'm thinking that the FA 43mm could be one lens for all situations. From close distance it would be great portrait lens, and if I step further from the 'subject' it can be good family (full body) lens. Otherwise I could get the excellent FA 77mm for portraits and the cheap but good DA 35mm F2.4 for the family pictures

I found that it took me a little bit to get used to the 43mm... I think the things that make it special, also make it hard to use. For example, I find that I have a little trouble getting it to focus exactly. But when I get it where I want, the results are great. I love the 3d look I get out the lens. However, sometimes I find it is a little close. I don't think that baby photography and portraiture are exactly the same thing. For example, I live in an apt, and in our bathroom, 43mm is pretty close for the dimensions of the room. But, its a great lens and you have lots of wiggle room with aperture. You can go to 2.8 and still have good low light performance, but retain the option of shallow depth of field at 1.9. Probably the 31mm is also a great choice, but it is pricey. I got my 43mm used from adorama.

[mKlus]

Thanks Drew.
When taking the lats picture, did you have to go really close to the baby?

You could get a Pentax K 55mm lens. I got a f/1.8 for $80. Supposedly the f/2 one is good too - same optical formula?

Here's the promised pictures with the 31 Limited. Excuse the yellow tint. The little guy is slightly jaundiced!

[mKlus]

Another great pictures! I love the first one. As I said earlier I'd like to get autofocus lens, but if I can get manual 50mm fast lens for $16 I should get it just for fun!

Heck, if you're going budget, I have shots of my son I took with an old Sears 50mm f/1.7 I paid $16 for.

[mKlus]

It is, just to heavy for me for a prime!

The Sigma 50mm f1.4 is a hulk of a lens.

It is a fantastic portrait lens and very 'sharp' wide opened- possibly as good as the Zeiss.

All the Best!

[mKlus]

The problem is that I don't know if I want longer or shorter :O I have to meet with our friends and "test" on their baby.

If most of your shooting is going to be indoors, I would recommend the Sigma 30mm 1.4 or the 43 Ltd.. if your wanting something longer, I'd have to agree with Simon and say the DA*55 or 77Ltd.

[mKlus]

Thanks Andrew.

i love the da* 55mm 1.4 i shoot most of my work now with it... i love shooting the prime and the oof areas are gorgeous imo...

langandrew.smugmug.com

[mKlus]

I started with DA 16-45mm on the K100D 5 years ago. Last year I upgraded (or if you like downgraded) to 18-135mm as it is better travel lens and had WR that I needed (we went to Borneo tropics in wet season). DA 16-45mm is a great lens and I loved it for taking landscape pictures but I think it is too slow for indoor on K-7.

Just going to throw this out there... what about something like the 16-45 or the 17-70 zoom? A fixed f4 is not super slow, especially paired with the high iso capability of the k5. But I guess you won't get the same sort of oof rendering. But then, you don't have to pick a specific focal length.

already made the comment that the 17-70 would be nice. the 16-45 is sadly out of production, as it is a fantastic lens

The 16-45 is still being sold at Amazon.com (by Amazon) new. I just bought one in November and it is still available, though the price has gone up from what I paid. I guess these might be the last of the batch if it is being discontinued? I love this lens.

Also, love my 15mm prime and 35 f/2/4 prime indoors.

This is with my 15mm prime at f/4 and ISO 3200 on the K-r:

[dmort]

I have the 18-135 as well and I find I use it all the time for taking pictures of my son. The shots below are both the 18-135. Maybe an external flash could serve as well? Although, I'd never try to dissuade someone from buying more lenses! And I really do love the 43mm!