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08-06-2015, 04:25 AM - 1 Like   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
I have the DA35/2.8 and it is sharper edge to edge, as one would expect from a macro lens, but it doesn't have the same magic for general use.
The DA35/2.8 is an image-recording workhorse - the FA 31 is for creating works of art. If you do any macro shooting at all, try to find a good used 35 Macro so you can use it for both; otherwise, see the suggestions of others above. I stupidly passed over an FA31 a while back (I didn't realise what I held in my hands; I know better now), but if I ever meet one in the flesh again I think I'll bite the bullet and get it.

08-06-2015, 06:32 AM   #17
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I have a Sigma Art 30mm f/1.4 that does much of what my 31/1.8 used to, at a much lower price point. It if bigger and heavier than the fa 35/2, but you can go down to f/1.4, which isn't razor sharp but can be useful.
08-06-2015, 09:38 AM   #18
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28mm would actually be way closer to giving a "normal" fov with aps-c, if that's what you're going for.
08-06-2015, 09:41 AM   #19
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If you can find it the Carl Zeiss ZK 35 mm F2 lens for Pentax is very sharp and renders colors beautifully. It is a PKA lens so you do have to focus manually but it does communicate with the camera.

08-06-2015, 10:08 AM   #20
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I liked my 40mm f2.8, but it went out of use (and probably on sale) after I got a 35 f2.8 macro which suits my purposes better for an SFL lens of about that focal length. I would advocate the 35 macro because of high IQ and macro capacity, but do you want or need macro versus something faster (f1.8~1.4) for hand-held low light work or subject isolation? In that case one of the faster lenses recommended above would be a better choice than either of the lenses familiar to me.
08-06-2015, 10:52 AM   #21
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My 40/2.8 Limited has been seeing a lot less use since various 28mm and 50/55mm lenses came into my life, but I'm in no hurry to get rid of it. Among other things, if I ever made the decision to go overseas with my three-Takumar-prime kit on my K-5, I know I could shove it into a corner of the bag and it would take up negligible extra weight and space in case I felt the need for an AF lens with all bells and whistles. Being able to work the camera one-handed is a godsend sometimes.
08-06-2015, 11:13 AM   #22
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FA31 and be done with it.

08-06-2015, 11:21 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by maltfalc Quote
28mm would actually be way closer to giving a "normal" fov with aps-c, if that's what you're going for.
Closer than 30-35? That's what the original post specified.
I'm not sure I agree if that's what you are saying.

28mm FOV on APSC = 55 degrees diag / 46 degrees horz
31mm FOV on APSC = 50/42
35mm FOV on APSC = 45/38
50mm FOV on Full Frame = 47/40
43mm FOV on Full Frame = 53/45
55mm FOV on Full Frame = 43/36
58mm FOV on Full Frame = 41/34
40mm FOV on APSC = 39/33

So I'm not sure that 30-35 is any farther out of "normal" for APSC than the 28. Realistically 43 - 55 are all considered normal on FF and consequently I think we can say that 28-35 are all within spec for APSC normal lenses. The DA 40 is slightly narrower but still close to the longer normal lenses used in the film era. The "ideal spec" per Pentax is the 43mm but that's not a universally accepted lens for normal perspective.
08-06-2015, 12:43 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
Closer than 30-35? That's what the original post specified.
I'm not sure I agree if that's what you are saying.

28mm FOV on APSC = 55 degrees diag / 46 degrees horz
31mm FOV on APSC = 50/42
35mm FOV on APSC = 45/38
50mm FOV on Full Frame = 47/40
43mm FOV on Full Frame = 53/45
55mm FOV on Full Frame = 43/36
58mm FOV on Full Frame = 41/34
40mm FOV on APSC = 39/33

So I'm not sure that 30-35 is any farther out of "normal" for APSC than the 28. Realistically 43 - 55 are all considered normal on FF and consequently I think we can say that 28-35 are all within spec for APSC normal lenses. The DA 40 is slightly narrower but still close to the longer normal lenses used in the film era. The "ideal spec" per Pentax is the 43mm but that's not a universally accepted lens for normal perspective.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens
08-06-2015, 01:24 PM   #25
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Pentax M42 Screwmount Normal Primes - Lens Reviews and Specifications - SLR and Interchangeable Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

There are many definitions - and if the goal is what a 50mm made on FF (which is what the Original Post indicated) then no matter what Wikipedia indicates the 28 is farther from that perspective than a 31-35mm.

Accepted practice is to follow what the FOV is of past "normal" lenses.

Also the article you linked clearly says:
"For a 35 mm camera with a diagonal of 43 mm, the most commonly used normal lens is 50 mm, but focal lengths between about 40 and 58 mm are also considered normal. The 50 mm focal length was chosen by Oskar Barnack, the creator of the Leica camera."

I think you missed my point about the 28 perhaps being a more IDEAL normal lens (since it is closer to the 43 than many others) but that it is not more representative of the normal lens than the other choices - it is likely less representative - in the same way the 43 is more ideal than a 50 but less normal in the sense it is less often seen as the correct normal focal length by most FF photographers. Right or wrong Oskar Barnack has marked us all.

Last edited by UncleVanya; 08-06-2015 at 01:32 PM.
08-06-2015, 03:26 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by drypenn Quote
Oh, "only" an "A"! I only have a K.

I hate you!
I prefer the K. Sold my A.
08-06-2015, 05:53 PM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
I prefer the K. Sold my A.
I would take the A as it would talk to my DSLR. What was the reason for your preference?
08-06-2015, 09:27 PM   #28
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Curmudgeonly contrariness.

Actually, the A is an all-around better lens, not just for the contacts. I think the formula is slightly different and the coatings are probably better.

But I like K lenses. They're a touch warmer than A and later and I don't think there's plastic in them anywhere.
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