[blende8]

Another advantage of the 35mm is that you have a larger DoF.

Btw. the price in Germany is 309 Euro!

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Last edited by blende8; 02-15-2008 at 04:59 AM.

[k100d]

anybody got one yet?

i found someone on DPreview who just got one and has some pix on his blog:
Pentax LBA

[Canada_Rockies]

My point exactly. Even with stationary objects, the working distance would be too close to have any "breathing" room. Around this focal length, other brands would have high magnification (greater than life-size) for microphotography, which makes much more sense.

However, one argument for 50ish macro would be the small size for casual close-up work. I would assume the DA 35 will be tiny as its brothers. Thus, the lens might be designed for hand-held close-up (even at life size).

Either way, it's not as versatile as other longer macro lenses. Definitely, close up a shy bug at 35mm would be a challenge (I don't want to say impossible since someone out there will prove me wrong)

When one is shooting static subjects, the greater depth of field with the shorter macro should be helpful. It would also be easier to use on an easel to take images of flat objects. Trying to take a shot of a page of paper with my 100mm macro needs vertical supports.

[a a i b]

anybody got one yet?

I bought one Friday, when I became possessed with the idea of shooting tree buds.

[thePiRaTE!!]

For those that were interested, I'll put up the 31 vs 35 thread I want to do tomorrow. I took the 35 out today, gave it the golden boy treatment never even taking it off the camera all afternoon and by the time I was ready to do some quality head to head I'd lost the good light.

My initial feelings are only so-so, I'm afraid I might have placed too much expectation on how sharp I felt this lens was going to be, being that it was a macro and all.

[k100d]

For those that were interested, I'll put up the 31 vs 35 thread I want to do tomorrow. I took the 35 out today, gave it the golden boy treatment never even taking it off the camera all afternoon and by the time I was ready to do some quality head to head I'd lost the good light.

My initial feelings are only so-so, I'm afraid I might have placed too much expectation on how sharp I felt this lens was going to be, being that it was a macro and all.

thanks i'm very interested! uh oh ... i was all hyped based upon nostatic's initial comments https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/24488-35mm-ltd-macro.html

[thePiRaTE!!]

I have a great brick wall across the street I can shoot from my balcony that tells no lies on sharpness. When the morning sun is lighting it up, there are no excuses. All will be revealed so I'll reserve final judgements until then.

So far, I'll do a few 'pros' and 'cons' -

pros:

- tiny
- light
- well built
- physically looks good!
- priced ok (around $450 CDN after tax)
- its a macro
- because of miniscule working distances, you can have unlimited oof blur.
- manual focus has a nice feel and half barrel twist, good enough throw range for consistent accuracy while manual focusing.
- quick shift

cons:

these are first impressions, testing will settle things

- seemed 'near-sighted'. Close focus work is sharp enough, but infinity detail seems only satisfactory.
- I laughed at how close I was while working 1:1 with this lens, about an inch. People mention its like an old 50mm, but it isn't really in the most important area for a macro, magnification. Only the field of view is equal to a FF 50, the magnification is still just that of a 35mm, so you have to get closer than with a 50.
- I felt a lot of my shots were underexposed, dark. I only have one other macro (VL 125) which I'm used to metering for, so maybe its just something I'd have to get used to.
- AFing seemed a touch off. I got used to quick shifting especially as shots approached inifinity, will tweak as mentioned by nostatic.

[nostatic]

I have a great brick wall across the street I can shoot from my balcony that tells no lies on sharpness. When the morning sun is lighting it up, there are no excuses. All will be revealed so I'll reserve final judgements until then.

So far, I'll do a few 'pros' and 'cons' -

pros:

- tiny
- light
- well built
- physically looks good!
- priced ok (around $450 CDN after tax)
- its a macro
- because of miniscule working distances, you can have unlimited oof blur.
- manual focus has a nice feel and half barrel twist, good enough throw range for consistent accuracy while manual focusing.
- quick shift

cons:

these are first impressions, testing will settle things

- seemed 'near-sighted'. Close focus work is sharp enough, but infinity detail seems only satisfactory.
- I laughed at how close I was while working 1:1 with this lens, about an inch. People mention its like an old 50mm, but it isn't really in the most important area for a macro, magnification. Only the field of view is equal to a FF 50, the magnification is still just that of a 35mm, so you have to get closer than with a 50.
- I felt a lot of my shots were underexposed, dark. I only have one other macro (VL 125) which I'm used to metering for, so maybe its just something I'd have to get used to.
- AFing seemed a touch off. I got used to quick shifting especially as shots approached inifinity, will tweak as mentioned by nostatic.

I would concur on all those. Shots are a bit dark and you have to get *very* close to get any size on your subject. I haven't taken many shots yet at infinity but would agree it isn't razor sharp when you pixel peep on the stuff in the distance. But objects that are within 10' seem to have a nice 3D quality to them.

But on the plus side shooting things a foot away in low light come out amazingly well. For instance, this is shooting a little over a foot away, handheld, available light, overall shot, then 100% crop (no pp):





Tomorrow it'll get a workout. My feeling is that it isn't long enough to be my only macro, but it already is performing better than the 31ltd I had (think I had a rare lemon), and is a *great* focal length for general shooting. Makes me want to get a 40 or 43.

[nostatic]

also depends on what kind of macro shooting you do. I'm more on the abstract side of things, so this will be an interesting focal length to play with. I already think I'll end up getting a 100mm or maybe a 125mm if I'm feeling rich to complement it.

[roentarre]

Now you are tempting me even more. This is the type of shot I want to do more often!