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03-11-2008, 11:11 PM   #1
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Change FA 77mm Limited for a DA 70mm Limited.

Hello Pentaxians,

I am not happy with the autofocus performance of my FA 77mm Limited when shooting street photography. I never use the 1.8 aperture as the DoF is too short for any practical street photography. I am really happy with the rendering and sharpness of the 77mm Limited though. But I need the faster autofocus of the DA 70mm Limited.

BTW, I have the 21mm Limited, and ordered the 40mm Limited from BHPhoto. I also have a Jupiter-9 which is a really good lens especially when using it with a small hood to prevent from some hazy reflections. So I would prefer to have a 70mm than 77mm focal length lens anyway.

So the question is what will I loose in image quality and rendering if I sell the FA 77mm Limited and buy DA 70mm Limited?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Cheers,

Voe


Last edited by Voe; 03-12-2008 at 05:53 AM.
03-12-2008, 01:20 AM   #2
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Hi Voe.

You are certainly right about Fa 77 ltd autofocusing rather slow in street shooting. Often missing the shot by the time lens locks into a focus.

Da 70mm f2.4 is certainly a lot faster if it comes to autofocus speed. You do not get much difference in image quality from this lens comparing to 77 ltd

One thing to note is the issue of using it in harsh lighting where the bokeh does not do as well as fa 77 ltd.

Da 70 ltd also does not perform as well with trees in the background bokeh - rather chalky and distracting much worse than Fa 77 ltd.

Joel has Da 70 ltd and if you are heading out some time, you should ask him for the lens to try out

p.s. Some street photographers I know use Fa 31 ltd for street shooting and does it well. Sometimes it is about how brave and relaxing you are with street shooting rather than autofocus
03-12-2008, 02:22 AM   #3
Voe
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QuoteOriginally posted by roentarre Quote
Hi Voe.

You are certainly right about Fa 77 ltd autofocusing rather slow in street shooting. Often missing the shot by the time lens locks into a focus.

Da 70mm f2.4 is certainly a lot faster if it comes to autofocus speed. You do not get much difference in image quality from this lens comparing to 77 ltd

One thing to note is the issue of using it in harsh lighting where the bokeh does not do as well as fa 77 ltd.

Da 70 ltd also does not perform as well with trees in the background bokeh - rather chalky and distracting much worse than Fa 77 ltd.

Joel has Da 70 ltd and if you are heading out some time, you should ask him for the lens to try out

p.s. Some street photographers I know use Fa 31 ltd for street shooting and does it well. Sometimes it is about how brave and relaxing you are with street shooting rather than autofocus
Hi Roentarre,

I noticed that I rarely use the 77mm Limited as a portrait lens (it is a little bit too long for the portraits I do), but the 70-77 focal length is very useful for candid and street photography which matches my shooting style.

I would not feel comfortable to use somebody else lens for long enough to be able to decide which one to have, so I guess I will go and buy it as soon as I get aproval from my wife
03-12-2008, 02:49 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Voe Quote
Hi Roentarre,

I noticed that I rarely use the 77mm Limited as a portrait lens (it is a little bit too long for the portraits I do), but the 70-77 focal length is very useful for candid and street photography which matches my shooting style.

I would not feel comfortable to use somebody else lens for long enough to be able to decide which one to have, so I guess I will go and buy it as soon as I get aproval from my wife

You are right about 77mm a little too long for protraits - most of the time, I feel like beheading the subject I was photographing...

Fa 43 or 31 ltd is more reasonable as a focal length for protrait.

Let me know if you are heading for some street shooting again

03-12-2008, 05:28 AM   #5
Voe
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QuoteOriginally posted by roentarre Quote

Let me know if you are heading for some street shooting again
Sure, I will.
03-12-2008, 06:11 AM   #6
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Voe, see the WTB notices -- a person there has been pleading for a secondhand 77.
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