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10-12-2012, 01:58 AM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by everydaylife Quote
What do you think is the best out and out made for portrait lens pentax has ever made for film or dslr. From the Taks to the Da"s.
K85/2.2 soft?

10-12-2012, 02:07 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by lytrytyr Quote
K85/2.2 soft?
Yes it is I have never read anything that praises the k85/2.2 as a portrait lens. Do you have one?
10-12-2012, 02:18 AM   #18
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I don't, but it was certainly an "out and out made for portrait lens,"
as opposed to the other lenses that are less specialized.
10-12-2012, 04:54 AM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jean Poitiers Quote
D FA 100/2.8 WR ? ... mine works well here for me ... J
ditto here. That lens and the F50 f1,7 both are great for portraits, due to their very flat fields. I've never used the 70 something lenses, I'm sure they would perform well too.

10-12-2012, 04:54 AM   #20
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Pentax DA* 50-135mm is a candidate?
10-12-2012, 05:45 AM   #21
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FA77 because I have one! :-p
10-12-2012, 06:00 AM   #22
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As far as the Pentax label goes for existing marketed lens'...

My personal choices would be the DFA 50mm f2.8 macro. The FA 77 is a close runner up, bt for most it is a bit too telephoto for effective portrait use.

Something no longer marketed was a Zeiss, but not the 25 or 28mm. It was more so in the 50's range - although don't recall specifically what that fixed range was. Although all of the Zeiss ones are manual focus - their optical ability is unmatched by anything Pentax offers

10-12-2012, 08:02 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by everydaylife Quote
What do you think is the best out and out made for portrait lens
What's the best hammer to use for building a house?
10-12-2012, 09:36 AM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by everydaylife Quote
Yes it is I have never read anything that praises the k85/2.2 as a portrait lens. Do you have one?
I have the K85.2.2 Soft and it’s more of a specialty lens than an all purpose portrait lens. (It’s also good with an extension tube for “soft” shots of flowers.)

I much prefer my K85/1.8 or K105/2.8 for portrait work on FF film.

Phil.
10-12-2012, 11:14 AM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by TOUGEFC Quote
I think your wrong, the only real answer is the A*135mm f/1.8
I agree in principle, ignoring other focal lengths like the 105's 120's and 135's is like saying what is the best hand gun ever, and restricting the selection to one caliber.
10-12-2012, 01:38 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lowell Goudge Quote
I agree in principle, ignoring other focal lengths like the 105's 120's and 135's is like saying what is the best hand gun ever, and restricting the selection to one caliber.
Lowell is so right. Back-in-the-day, for 35mm, a portrait lens meant any short to medium tele with reasonably large maximum aperture, That usually meant some where between 70mm and 135mm with f/2.8 at the long end and f/2 or wider at the short end of the range. The intent was to provide:
  • Reasonable working distance to avoid freaking the model
  • Adequate working distance to ensure low anisomorphic distortion
  • Shallow DOF
Good bokeh was usually not a concern. (Heck, I never even heard the term "bokeh" until well into the digital age.) Photographers would often use soft focus or doughnut filters to even out skin tones and give the photo that dreamy look, hence lenses like the 85/2.8 Soft

Taking the same intent and applying it to APS-C digital SLRs and you get the focal length range of about 45mm to 85mm. The great news is that the classic 50mm lens fits the criteria perfectly. You don't need to plunk down the big $$$ for the 77/1.8 Limited. A Pentax-M 50/1.7 for a fraction of the cost will do quite nicely.

Again...there is really no such thing as a dedicated portrait lens.


Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 10-12-2012 at 01:47 PM.
10-12-2012, 02:15 PM   #27
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I don't know about the best, but certainly in the running - F135/2.8

(Yes - on APS-C)
10-12-2012, 04:21 PM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lowell Goudge Quote
I agree in principle, ignoring other focal lengths like the 105's 120's and 135's is like saying what is the best hand gun ever, and restricting the selection to one caliber.
Sorry, it seems my short list of suggestiions has given the impression that I am restricting focal lengths and that wasn't my intention at all. I am interested in peoples opinions regarding the best Pentax lenses for shooting at portrait distances.
10-12-2012, 04:32 PM   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by L33tGreg Quote
FA77 because I have one! :-p
--------- because I have one. Absolutely spot on!
10-12-2012, 09:38 PM   #30
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Pentax 50/1.2. my all time favorite.
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