[vrrattko]

simple....get an cheap Contax Zeiss Planar 50/1.7 and convert it via Leitax.....it is very good, equal to FA 43 Limited in colour and resolution....lovely cheap lens. Manual of course, but why do you need af for portrait photoraphy?

[FrancisK7]

Fashion photography often moves too quickly for manual to be useful. 77mm is too long for full body shots anyway, so I would use the FA50 in those cases, but the IQ drop between FA50 and FA77 is easily noticed, especially when compared side by side on a calibrated S-IPS (like the U3011), even on prints.

Basically I need IQ the likes of FA77, but shorter.

[stevebrot]

Thanks!

Is there a place somewhere the VL can be acquired new or are they rare? BH doesn't even have it listed, which is never a good sign for availability.

Cameraquest.com has the VL in stock.


Steve

[xjjohnno]

Modern Zeiss, perhaps the 50mm f1.4 Planar.
Older CZJ in M42 and you are seriously spoilt for choice in the 50mm range.

[TOUGEFC]

My current lens line-up is the following:
77mm FA Limited
35mm DA Limited Macro
50-135mm DA*
12-24mm DA

The 77mm is my absolute all time favorite lens for portraiture and studio work. Its superb IQ and sharpness just can't be beat. But 77mm is a little long in some circumstances...

Tigerlord, as a fellow FA77mm lover which is also my favorite all-time lens.
Consider the DA*55, its a bit shorter than the 77mm and its IQ, sharpness and bokeh is right up there along side the mighty FA77 and thats really saying something!

[interested_observer]

les3547 has a couple of VL lenses - the 58 and 90 I believe. I have seen several of his images and the image quality is excellent.

• Voigtlaender - 58 mm F 1,4 Nokton SLII

Voigtlander has discontinued the Pentax mount (as has Zeiss with the ZK), so you need to find existing inventory.
B&H does carry Voigtlander however it becomes a question if they have any stock left in the K mount.

• Voigtlander

[hcc]

Thanks!

Is there a place somewhere the VL can be acquired new or are they rare? BH doesn't even have it listed, which is never a good sign for availability.

A number of shops incl. possilby Adorama and B&H may still have some few VL lenses in stock, although the K-mount was discontinued 2 years ago. I woudl try to buy 2nd hand because the lens is a really sturdy one, and I woudl try the PentaxForum marketplace (place a Wanted Ad), keh.com, Adorama Used, and B&H Used, even Amazon.

I believe that the lens is getting rarer but it is a very worthwhile one.

[FrancisK7]

I bought thet VL 125mm APO from Cameraquest 5 years ago and had received great service, so I'll probably get the VL from there as well. I should have at least 1 quality MF lens for portrait in my bag!

[FrancisK7]

Tigerlord, as a fellow FA77mm lover which is also my favorite all-time lens.
Consider the DA*55, its a bit shorter than the 77mm and its IQ, sharpness and bokeh is right up there along side the mighty FA77 and thats really saying something!

Could it be that even a DA* lens matches the IQ of the FA77? I'm very skeptical about that... not saying the DA*55 isn't great, everybody raves about it... but that's quite a statement!

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

Could it be that even a DA* lens matches the IQ of the FA77? I'm very skeptical about that... not saying the DA*55 isn't great, everybody raves about it... but that's quite a statement!

I think IQ is a too vague term to get any valid comparisons across the board. Everyone's understanding of IQ will be very subjective, especially when you get into aspects like bokeh. I'm afraid you'll have to take everything with a grain of salt.

FWIW, I found the Nokton 58 and Planar 85 to be excellent lenses. But whether you would see in them what you see in the 77 - that I don't know. I also looked at images from the DA* 55 and it looks like an excellent option - however, in certain situations, on busy backgrounds, it seems to produce a more nervous bokeh - something to keep in mind.

[twitch]

The FA31 iq is even better than the FA77 IMHO, and the focal length far more useful. I have a FA50 which seems to be a love it or hate it lens, count me as one who absolutely loves it. I can't understand the negative views, it's iq at f2 is stunning, and even at 1.4 it's very useable. DA40 is sharp but too slow, skip it.

[peasant]

PopFlash still have some zk mount lens in stock including 50/2 makro and the 85/1.4. Only risk in buying Zeiss is you will want more.LBA on industrial scale.Not joking.The 50/2 was somewhere around US950.

[peasant]

So does Leica Boutique.It's in Montreal.

[tyronfall]

Hello, I own both 31mm Ltd and a Zeiss T* 35/2. I have found that the image quality between the two very comparable. Manual focus is a joy on the Zeiss and I found it easier to manual focus with the Zeiss than the Pentax. Build quality, there's nothing between them both are great. Admittedly I find that I use the 31mm more often because of autofocus but if I had all the time for the shoot I would prefer to use the Zeiss. if you wanted a comparison between a 31mm Ltd and a Zeiss 35mm f2 I can take some sample photos for you, just PM and when I doing a shoot for friends next I'll take both along. I shoot my portraits outdoors though and can't really show you studio results.

[FrancisK7]

Someone is selling their Cosina 55/1.2 on the marketplace here and I'm very, very tempted to pull the trigger.

Anyone thinks it's a bad idea? I just love the bookeh on this lens. I'd buy an adapter with it so I could use my K5 in Av mode.