[Bagga_Txips]

For street, definitely the 21. I am currently committed to using a 40 all month for this forum's Single in challenge, while at the same time there challenge for my local camera group is street photography... And it's frustrating the hell out of me, because with the 40's mild telephoto effect on aps-c most of my shots are more like candid portraits rather than 'authentic' street shots. The 40 makes it harder to include environmental context, unless you stand further away, which changes dof etc and takes away the feelings of immediacy and rapport with the subject.

The 21 is sharp enough to crop if you sometimes only need the area of the shot that is equivalent to the 40. The only reason I would buy the 40 is if you could get a 40XS dead cheap, like I did. If you don't want to pay the price of the 21, I would get the 35 f2.4.

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Last edited by Bagga_Txips; 04-08-2015 at 10:44 PM.

[mgvh]

I have the 35 2.4 (not macro) and the 21. Here's another vote for the 21 for street photography. (I can see how the 24 might be good, though.)

[ramseybuckeye]

My son went to several European countries let summer, took a couple of my lenses and used a Tamron 10-24 almost exclusively. l am no recommending a zoom, just saying anything else was to long. I don't have the 21 but it may be perfect for your trip. I have and love the 15, but not sure as a street lens, it may be great but I haven had enough opportunities with it on the street.

[TomTextura]

I have the FA 31mm and love it. It's super versatile! One good prime deserves another though, so whatever lens you are thinking about getting first, I'd recommend also thinking about what prime you'd want to get next. Getting the affordable DAL 35 and then picking up either a longer or a shorter prime to complement it would be well worth it. Maybe a used DA 15 or 70?

Wide, normal, and short tele are all good for street. It just depends on how much of the street and its colorful characters you want in the frame! I realize that doesn't help narrow it down much.

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Last edited by TomTextura; 04-08-2015 at 10:36 PM.

[biz-engineer]

I own the FA 35/2 and while it rocks for street photography with 35mm FF film, it is just a little too long on APS-C. The suggestions regarding 24mm are well-made.

Agree with Steve, 35mm is a little long for street, 24mm or 28mm would do it. But I'm not aware of any Pentax AF prime at 28mm or 24mm . Regarding the 40mm and 35 macro, I have both, I prefer the 35 macro because it's a larger than the DA40 (easier to handle), sharper and better built, I'm not sure if it would work on FF like the FA35 2 or DA35 2.4 .

[cali92rs]

Here is a comparison i did of the 35mm f2.4 vs 35mm macro ltd
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/225856-da-3...ni-review.html

Long story short, i didnt feel the limited was worth the premium.

I also had the 21mm...others love it, i didn't. I just didn't like focal length.

[yusuf]

FA35 is the best choice among all the lenses you mentioned, it's excellent at f2 and IMO perfect for the street photography. However if you prefer more environmental street pictures, DA21 would be a better choice though you wont see any significant difference over your 18-55 other than the size.

[redcat]

Unless you do street photo in low light, the Tamron 28-75 could be your best friend ! it's super sharp and versatile (the beloved wedding lens). and as others already mention, you can check the focal length statistic to find out which FL you used the most
Sometimes it's not the prime or the zoom, it's the moment that you capture just my 2 cents ^^

[pepperberry farm]

You can try it out by testing the 18-55 at 21, then 35 for a day.

this is what I did when I was trying to decide on a prime - I found that I used the DA L 18-55mm mostly between 28mm and 50mm.... so I bought a Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm and a DA 50mm F/1.8....

diggin' both of them....

[stevebrot]

But I'm not aware of any Pentax AF prime at 28mm or 24mm .

Available new...no. Available used...there are FA lenses at 20mm, 24mm, and 28mm. Both the 20mm and 24mm are highly regarded with the 28mm somewhat less so.


Steve

[biz-engineer]

Available new...no. Available used...there are FA lenses at 20mm, 24mm, and 28mm. Both the 20mm and 24mm are highly regarded with the 28mm somewhat less so. Steve

Yes, that's correct, most (all?) FA are not available new. I looked at the review of FA lenses on this forum (it is very useful), and then I searched on ebay (and other sites) in Europe to find a FA 20, but I did not find.
Thanks for the precision.

[ChristianRock]

The 21 on the camera and the your 50 1.4 in your pocket might be all you need to go out shooting. Though adding a 35 2.4 wouldn't be a bad decision either. It can go in the other jacket pocket

[wowtip]

Let's hope Pentax release an updated FA31Ltd for FF for street shooting, given the praise the DA21Ltd FL gets here!

[stevebrot]

Yes, that's correct, most (all?) FA are not available new.

Yep, the FA 35/2 and FA 50/1.4 along with the three FA Limiteds are the sole representatives of that line still in production. The FA 35/2 is somewhat unique in that it was officially discontinued several years ago and was magically resurrected a few years later at a much higher price point. The FA 50/1.4 might also have had a lapse in availability. I don't remember exactly except that its price in the 2008 was usually less than $200 USD and sometimes as low as $160 USD.


Steve

[Transit]

Let's hope Pentax release an updated FA31Ltd for FF for street shooting,....

They would probably stick the focus motor in the lens thus losing its nice slim size