[GeneV]

So we're actually looking at posed shots of dancers where light and noise are a complete non-issue, but sharp focus and subject isolation are essential. You need a fast mid-telephoto lens, which performs well wide open.

Remember also that David Hofmann is almost certainly using a full frame body, so he can get better subject isolation from the same lens because he needs to be closer to the subject to get the same framing, giving a shallower focal plane at the same aperture.

Your DA50/1.8 should work quite nicely - roughly equivalent to a 75/2.6 on full frame. If you want even shallower depth of field or more distance from your subject, the FA135/2.8 I mentioned earlier would be one of the better options. The FA77/1.8 would be even better, but more expensive, or if you are willing to put up with manual focus and stop down metering, the K135/2.5 might suit. To get the same effect on crop as a full frame 200/2.8, you will need a 135/2, for which there are no autofocus options for K-mount, although as mentioned above, Samyang makes an affordable manual focus version.

The other path is to move to a full frame body. That of course would involve even more expense

I shoot a lot of dance photos, both action and posed. Dance, followed by wildlife, are my two most common subjects. Those lenses are pretty much my recommendations. As a cheap option, for posed photos, the DA50 or even a DA35 will be fine. For action, my favorites are the FA77 or DA*50-135. In my cheaper years, I substituted manual primes for the latter two. In large spaces for action my go to was the smc K135/2.5.

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Last edited by GeneV; 04-27-2016 at 07:50 AM.

[mosasaur]

Thank you so much to everyone for the advice and recommendations!