Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
04-08-2012, 08:04 PM   #16
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jeffshaddix's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,473
QuoteOriginally posted by v5planet Quote
Another count for the 43. The 77, on the other hand, is a completely different story (for me, anyway).
Just curious, what about the 77 makes you like it better than the 43? For me the 43 had a sloppy focus ring and poor metering reliability. The IQ was great, but the usability wasn't there for a $600 lens. I ended up replacing it with my Voigtlander 58/1.4 and Tokina 90/2.5 Macro for just a $100 more (which are both phenomenal btw). Now I'm looking at the 77 to slide between those two lenses. I briefly handled a 77 a couple weeks back and liked the focus ring much better, but didn't get to test the optics.

04-08-2012, 08:08 PM   #17
Senior Member




Join Date: May 2010
Location: Montreal
Posts: 197
QuoteOriginally posted by Anvh Quote
DA 18-250 simply didn't like to use it.
Same here,

handy that it covers such a wide focal range but distorsions at the wide end are just a little too much for me.
Keeping it for now but will perhaps try to sell/trade it this summer.
04-08-2012, 08:35 PM   #18
Veteran Member
v5planet's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Seattle
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,915
QuoteOriginally posted by jeffshaddix Quote
Just curious, what about the 77 makes you like it better than the 43? For me the 43 had a sloppy focus ring and poor metering reliability. The IQ was great, but the usability wasn't there for a $600 lens. I ended up replacing it with my Voigtlander 58/1.4 and Tokina 90/2.5 Macro for just a $100 more (which are both phenomenal btw). Now I'm looking at the 77 to slide between those two lenses. I briefly handled a 77 a couple weeks back and liked the focus ring much better, but didn't get to test the optics.
I find the 43 to be extremely temperamental with inconsistent focus accuracy, metering issues as you mentioned, and occasionally some rather harsh rendering. Optically, I think the 77 is in a different league, with much more richly smooth tonal transitions, and -- at least with my copies -- better sharpness both wide open and stopped down. It's much longer to autofocus, and not necessarily more reliable in that regard, but I use it almost exclusively for landscape work nowadays where I'm doing fine adjustments manually anyway.

Whether it's a good value for you is up to you, but I would smash the 43 in a heartbeat if it would save my 77 from an untimely death.
04-08-2012, 09:30 PM   #19
Pentaxian
mikeSF's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: East Bay Area, CA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,610
hmm, there is a long list of lenses i've passed on, mostly to upgrade to something else, but a few that did not ring my bell are:

vivitar 200 (komine)
Pentax M-200
Vivitar 28/2 Kiron
Sigma 17-50/2.8 EX
Pentax 18-55 kit lens

04-08-2012, 10:00 PM   #20
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by mlatour Quote
handy that it covers such a wide focal range but distorsions at the wide end are just a little too much for me.
Re: the DA18-250: Your Kx and my K20D don't do in-camera corrections but that barreling is easy to fix in PP. It mostly doesn't bother me because I don't usually shoot flat surfaces at 18mm. I just don't worry about the edges much.

My disappointment: Lil'Bigma DG 170-500, mainly because it cost so much and I use it so little. That's because of me more than it. I just don't find myself in that many places where it would be useful. I bought it at a camera shop on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf; test shots on the street appealed to me, so I bit. But it's just too humongous for the villages I frequent. And I'm not about to sell it at a US$500 loss! Il just need to force myself to go to suitable locations.
04-08-2012, 10:16 PM   #21
Banned




Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: WA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 3,055
DA 18-55
DA 50-200
K 200/4
M 28/2.8
M 135/2.8
Vivitar S1 35-85
Vivitar S1 28-105
Meyer Domiplan 50/2.8
Pentacon 135/2.8
Spiratone 35/2.8

These are all lenses I could do without, although the quality varies from "usable if you don't have anything else", to "better use a pinhole made from a lens cap".
04-08-2012, 10:29 PM   #22
Veteran Member
Anvh's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4,616
QuoteOriginally posted by mlatour Quote
Same here,

handy that it covers such a wide focal range but distorsions at the wide end are just a little too much for me.
Keeping it for now but will perhaps try to sell/trade it this summer.
Wasn't the real problem for me, the slow aperture and just the handling of the lens mostly the focussing (manual + AF) just wasn't for me.
The DA18-250 was my third lens and was the only lens i sold.
At the time i had the DFA 100 and the kit lens and quite soon after bought the DA40, whenever i could i used the two primes, the f/2.8 just gave me much more felibility then the focal length range of the DA18-250 ever gave me.
I replaced it with a DA*50-135 and that was my walk around lens for quite some time but the DA*16-50 is more convenient though but i still love the DA*50-135 the most and get the most keepers with that lens as well besides the primes.

04-08-2012, 10:32 PM   #23
Veteran Member
maltfalc's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Winnipeg
Photos: Albums
Posts: 396
every lens has some fault that will lead to me selling it as soon as i find a better one.
04-08-2012, 11:23 PM   #24
Senior Member
Skullsroad's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 267
The only lens I own that keeps me coming back is the DA15 Limited. All others are merely "pretty good" in my book. So I guess almost all my lenses have "dissatisfied" me. Pretty sad I guess...

However, I am partial to wide angles. And I'm not impressed with mega pixel peeping sharpness unless it's wide open, which is an actual engineering feat, most lenses are sharp stopped down big whoop.
04-09-2012, 02:00 AM   #25
Pentaxian
Jonathan Mac's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Madrid, Spain
Posts: 10,843
The M 28mm f/2.8 was one of those lenses that is sharp enough, but totally lacks any character to the shots taken with it, they were really dull. I now have the f/3.5 version which is much better. I also have the K, but have yet to do any extensive shooting with it.

The M 200mm f/4 got it's first outing last week & I think I got one shot I was happy with. The biggest problem was fringing wide open, and even stopped down to f/5.6. I'll keep it for further testing though.

I went through two very bad copies of the Tamton 28-75 and one of the Sigma 18-50 before I settled on the Tamron 17-50 as a standard zoom. The 28-75s were terrible wide open & not much better stopped down. The Sigma was bad wide open but improved stopped down. The Tammy 17-50 is MUCH better.
04-09-2012, 03:08 AM   #26
Col
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Stansted Essex
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 614
Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8 Doesn't disappoint at all optically.

However, the one property that wasn't specified in the ebay description of my copy was that it stinks, literally.

I would guess at least 30 years accumulating exhaust fumes on a garage shelf. Any suggestions as to how to "clean" it up, gratefully received.
04-09-2012, 03:15 AM   #27
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Gladys, Virginia
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 27,602
Sigma 70-300 macro; my original kit lens: Pentax FA-J 28-80. Both lenses were really soft, even stopped down, were extremely prone to flare and weren't well built either. I was glad to upgrade when I got the chance.
04-09-2012, 03:18 AM   #28
Senior Member




Join Date: May 2010
Location: Montreal
Posts: 197
QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
Re: the DA18-250: Your Kx and my K20D don't do in-camera corrections but that barreling is easy to fix in PP. It mostly doesn't bother me because I don't usually shoot flat surfaces at 18mm. I just don't worry about the edges much.

.
RioRico, actually the K-x (K-r's too) can do in-camera corrections with DA lenses.

Previously had a Tamron 18-200mm, switching to a DA 18-250mm wasn't the big 'step up' in image quality I was hoping for. (keeping in mind it's a superzoom)
plus the general handling/lens creep just doesn't feel comfortable to me.

Not decided yet if I keep it or not, it's stored in the car ready at all times but never end up using it. If an interesting trade offer should pop up it would be my first lens to go.

Last edited by mlatour; 04-09-2012 at 03:31 AM.
04-09-2012, 03:33 AM   #29
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,698
It's not the lens itself, it is when it is used - in the evening and at night. I acquired an absolutely perfect 50+ year old, SMC Takumar 85mm/f1.8, and it does a stunning job. Its a M42 lens and that in and of itself is not the problem, it is when the lens comes off. I need to extract the M42 adapter in the dark - without getting my grubby fingerprints on the mirror. So, I went out and found over time a Contax Zeiss 85/2.8 and converted it to a K mount. The two lenses are equivalent in IQ, color rendering and resolution - the main difference is it dismounts much easier - no pearl diving required on my part....

04-09-2012, 04:45 AM   #30
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
Hmmm, I see a little Domiplan-hate creeping in here...

QuoteOriginally posted by maltfalc Quote
every lens has some fault that will lead to me selling it as soon as i find a better one.
Perfection: A goal that may never be obtained, but the quest is fun, eh?

QuoteOriginally posted by mlatour Quote
RioRico, actually the K-x (K-r's too) can do in-camera corrections with DA lenses.
Oops. If I'd had a Kx, I might have known that.
QuoteOriginally posted by mlatour Quote
plus the general handling/lens creep just doesn't feel comfortable to me.
The vast majority (9 or 10 of 11) of my one-touch zooms creep. It comes with the plumbing, as they say in the urology biz. The trade-off vs non-creeping 2- or 3-touch zooms is MF convenience. Anyway, I've just trained myself not to be bothered. Still, the only one-touch that I'd put on a tripod and aim at a vertical angle would be my newly-received Vivitar-Komine Series 1 Version 3 70-210/2.8-4. *IT* won't creep!

QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
Its a M42 lens and that in and of itself is not the problem, it is when the lens comes off. I need to extract the M42 adapter in the dark - without getting my grubby fingerprints on the mirror.
That's why I tighten cheap clone M42-PK adapters onto my screwmount lenses, so I don't have to diddle with the adapter in-camera.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
k-mount, pentax lens, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Do m42 lenses measure up to todays lenses? Vantage-Point Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 25 05-14-2011 07:51 AM
Huge test on the influence of fungus in lenses (on 9 lenses) CarbonR Photographic Technique 18 03-14-2011 10:34 PM
For Sale - Sold: (3) Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm lenses + 3 Pentax lenses JP_Seattle Sold Items 13 04-23-2010 03:10 PM
For Sale - Sold: Yard sale: M lenses, K 300mm, DA 14mm, ME film body, Nikkor lenses and more Nachodog Sold Items 24 12-26-2009 12:03 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:58 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top