I am developing a collection of lenses.
I am also developing an addiction to buying lenses.
Its weird. I think I am becoming obsessive about the aperture capabilities of each lens...
I have some of the telephoto lenses such as the current auto focus 55-300mm as seen on pentax website...
I don't know why--- but if you are at the 55mm zoom (not extended) the aperture will be allowed to go down to 4.0...but if you zoom out to 300mm it will not allow you to go down to 4.0. It will automatically shift to 5.8. Maybe its some auto setting? Is there some way to over ride this auto function so that I can get 4.0 at a 300mm zoom? I have tried a bunch of different settings and still...zoom to 300mm and the aperture is 5.8.
I do not know what the nexus is between focal length and aperture...that would be something to look at.
What I am thinking I want to do is collect some more lenses. I know, I know... but I have a purpose!!!
I am becoming a bokeh addict. I don't mind the lenses being manual. In ways that's a good thing because it forces me to take time to manually compose what I am shooting...and it gives me control... (now that I have some gear I need to learn fundamentals of composing photos and having creative effect and so on and so forth)
I am beginning to think manual lenses allow MORE creativity than the newer ones...(that is unless I can over ride the auto functions)...
Now I have a ricoh f1.4 50mm... I like that one.
Also I have 2 seperate 50mm f1.7 lenses
I have an 85mm f1.4 (rokinon) coming...
I am thinking that if I get an older manual zoom lens that has bigger aperture settings I can have control over things more...
Say for example if I can find a 105 mm lens with a f2.0 or better....
Or a 135mm lens with a f2.0 or better (or the best I can get)...
I am thinking that if I go the longer lens route with a broader range of f stops I can then have a 135mm lens with a 2.0 or 2.5 (or the best I can get) and the camera has to live with what I set. Understand? Get the drift?
If the lenses were fixed focal length that's even better but zooms will work too at least in my theoretical concept.
Maybe I am incorrect but I am directly correlating bokeh capability to the f.stop numbers...But I would specifically want those lenses so that I have the broadest range of apertures on my lenses all at different mm focal lengths. And if they are manual lenses I turn that aperture ring to 2.8 @ 100mm (as an example) then I can adjust the other stuff as needed...
I am a rank amateur so I might be completely wrong here in how I am conceptualizing things.
I have a 28mm f 2.8 but I find that lens only creates marginal bokeh.
If I could go the other direction too... say a 28mm lens with a 1.4 or 1.8 or whatever the best I can get in manual lenses...
I have even heard of people using macro lenses to take regular pictures with...for the exact reason I am talking about...
I have never laid hands on a macro lens so I don't know what's different about those...
Here is a link to a thread that is along the theme I am talking about...
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/137392-misc-100mm-f-2-8-...keh-bokeh.html
Honestly I wish they just made lenses that had the broadest range of apertures...
I don't understand WHY at 300mm my lens has to be at f5.8....
I know I am jumping around here but I am really just learning photography. I can only imagine back in the old days people had to manually do everything then keep notes and then go home and develop film and so forth...something about mixing that with modern technology is appealing. It will make me slow down and figure out what I am doing but when I snap the shutter I get instant feedback.
All that auto focusing and auto this and auto that is great and is very useful but sometimes it seems like it is getting in the way of MY intent which is to learn fundamentals, have control, slow down and be creative...
Right now at times with these auto lenses I feel like I have an over glorified point and shoot. Its not exactly like that...but with some things yes...
I am not getting everything in my head out there, but I am hoping someone understands what I am trying to say and will help start a discussion on it....
For example if you look at Pentax's website they have a 300mm fixed lens that has a f4 to an f 32 range... its all auto...why can't they put an f 2.0 on a lens like that????
PENTAX - smc PENTAX DA Star 300mm F4 ED(IF) SDM
I am not nessesarily talking about trying to get all creative with a 300mm prime lens...but maybe the 135mm and down range...
I know I jumped all over the place here but I am not a writer and don't really know how to frame my questions or thoughts so I am just writing what I can get down and hoping someone gets my ideas....
If in theory I could find a 100mm lens with a f2.0 I don't know why or if the focusing would be different...
Possible? not possible??? Please chime in....
Last edited by alamo5000; 06-05-2012 at 03:51 PM.