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03-04-2015, 05:20 AM - 8 Likes   #1
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DA 35mm F2.4 AL "Plastic Fantastic" Review Posted! *NOW WITH BTS*



DA 35mm F2.4 AL Review

-Heie

P.S. I'll be publishing a BTS on how that cover shot was made - involved three off-camera speedlights, one of which had a green gel (my first time using a gel to add color) :)

Behind the scenes ;)



Last edited by Heie; 03-14-2015 at 06:47 PM.
03-04-2015, 06:39 AM   #2
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Thank you for this great review (and for all the others). I already own this little jewel, it was my first prime but I am sure that this review will be very helpful for a lot of people!
03-04-2015, 12:24 PM   #3
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Great review!
Thank You
03-04-2015, 01:25 PM   #4
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Excellent review, particularly as I have been looking to purchase my first prime lens for the Pentax system.

Cheers,

Simon.

03-04-2015, 01:38 PM   #5
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You've done it now Heie, now let's just sit back and watch the prices on the DA 35mm f2.4 skyrocket

Thank you for the thorough review, it was very informative. I noticed on the sharpness you stated that the 35mm f2.4 is sharper in the center but doesn't match the contrast and clarity of the 35 LTD. Looking at the images I was noticing more moire from the LTD then the plastic fantastic which I believe means more resolution. I don't have full rez images to compare but It looked to me that at f2.8 both lenses resolved equally then the LTD started moving ahead. Now that you got me curious I'll have to check both my copies at once.

Last edited by Stavri; 03-04-2015 at 01:47 PM.
03-04-2015, 06:26 PM   #6
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You compare to what you have, but I would have enjoyed a comparison to the (also plastic and fantastic) FA 35/2, which has been a go-to for me for many years. I broke my FA 35 last summer, and I have been considering whether to replace it with the DA 35/2.4 or another FA 35. I do wish I had mounted a $150 lens rather than a $400 lens before tripping and falling on the sidewalk of a back street in Romania.

Last edited by GeneV; 03-04-2015 at 06:34 PM.
03-05-2015, 04:22 PM   #7
Des
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Alex, you've set a new standard for lens reviews. The comparison with the DA 35 f2.8Ltd was inspired. Test charts are great. Real world flare/CA tests very useful.

There are plenty of number-crunching tests (Photozone, LensTip, etc) but this brings the perspective of an experienced user.

03-07-2015, 05:59 AM   #8
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Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoyed it I had a blast playing with both lenses (now makes me consider wanting that HD 35 Macro, but I'll be a good boy and hold off...........................................for now ).

QuoteOriginally posted by Stavri Quote
You've done it now Heie, now let's just sit back and watch the prices on the DA 35mm f2.4 skyrocket Thank you for the thorough review, it was very informative. I noticed on the sharpness you stated that the 35mm f2.4 is sharper in the center but doesn't match the contrast and clarity of the 35 LTD. Looking at the images I was noticing more moire from the LTD then the plastic fantastic which I believe means more resolution. I don't have full rez images to compare but It looked to me that at f2.8 both lenses resolved equally then the LTD started moving ahead. Now that you got me curious I'll have to check both my copies at once.
haha better sell yours quick then to ride that price increase wave

And yes - the increased amount of moire on behalf of the Ltd would mean a higher resolution since they both had the same focal length and shooting distance from the target. And those images you are looking at are 100% crops from the full resolution - the rest of the image not trimmed away was the fenceline you saw in the BTS images on that page.

QuoteOriginally posted by GeneV Quote
You compare to what you have, but I would have enjoyed a comparison to the (also plastic and fantastic) FA 35/2, which has been a go-to for me for many years. I broke my FA 35 last summer, and I have been considering whether to replace it with the DA 35/2.4 or another FA 35. I do wish I had mounted a $150 lens rather than a $400 lens before tripping and falling on the sidewalk of a back street in Romania.
It would have been great to use the FA 35 but alas it wasn't meant to be as they are hard to find (and I don't have one - and if Adam did I'm sure he would have sent it to me). But I wouldn't be so quick to call the FA 35 a "Plastic Fantastic" - at 195g it's almost almost double the weight of the DA's 124g. And sorry to hear about your loss

QuoteOriginally posted by Des Quote
Alex, you've set a new standard for lens reviews. The comparison with the DA 35 f2.8Ltd was inspired. Test charts are great. Real world flare/CA tests very useful. There are plenty of number-crunching tests (Photozone, LensTip, etc) but this brings the perspective of an experienced user.
Thanks Des! Have you seen my other lens reviews? Being a prime lens this was actually the shortest and least involved review lol:
But thank you very much for the complements

Thanks again everyone!

-Heie
03-07-2015, 03:25 PM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Heie Quote
Thanks Des! Have you seen my other lens reviews? Being a prime lens this was actually the shortest and least involved review lol:
I had seen each of those. When I said you were setting new standards in lens reviews I was referring to your whole set. Great work.
03-09-2015, 10:42 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Heie Quote
It would have been great to use the FA 35 but alas it wasn't meant to be as they are hard to find (and I don't have one - and if Adam did I'm sure he would have sent it to me). But I wouldn't be so quick to call the FA 35 a "Plastic Fantastic" - at 195g it's almost almost double the weight of the DA's 124g. And sorry to hear about your loss

-Heie
Too bad. The FA 35 is plastic AND fantastic, but is not a "plastic fantastic." For one thing. it has a metal mount on its plastic barrel, which probably adds about half of that 71 grams of difference. However it is very light and compact for such a fast lens. For the price, it is probably worth giving the DA 35 a try.
03-14-2015, 06:48 PM   #11
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Thank you all - here's the BTS I promised!

Alex Jansen Photography | A New Lens Review, a New Cover Photo

-Heie
03-15-2015, 03:40 AM   #12
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Great job, Alex, as usual!
03-16-2015, 05:25 PM   #13
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thx for taking the time to do this review, really appreciate it, i was wondering how this lens would look on the a7r, for shooting landscapes.

unfortunately, it appears to have the usual field curvature issues on the sides, even on a crop sensor at f/8, see the lakehouse shot.

huge bang for the buck if you are shooting centered objects tho!
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