[stevebrot]

I was in a fancy, very dim bar this weekend where the waiter makes your drinks table side. A 16 or 23mm f1.4 would've been very handy. Indoors, poorly lit environment where things move....SR/IS does not help you much there.

Yes, that is the usual case that is brought up...club lighting and tight space. At ISO 1600, that would be about 1/60s at f/1.4 or 1/15s at f/2.8. Assuming the waiter is the subject and their waist is about 2 feet away, the DOF at f/1.4 is about 3" at the belt buckle and about 8" at their face.

Camera motion is the least of one's concerns.


Steve

[Rondec]

well it would be just great

IRIX 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone Lens for Pentax K?

---------- Post added 08-25-17 at 11:58 AM ----------



yes Rondec, I was also thinking about this lens, thanks. so if Irix is able to make 15 2.4 for K mount, I just wonder why Pentax can't or don't?

Well, there is the DA 14mm f2.8 and the DA 15 f4, both of which are nice lenses. It is just that neither of them are weather sealed.

[stevebrot]

Irix is able to make 15 2.4 for K mount, I just wonder why Pentax can't or don't?

That is a very good question and while the Irix is not an f/1.4 lens (the original discussion point), it does appear to be a pretty nice option despite lacking AF and not being particularly svelte. Pity that the DA 15/4 Limited is too slow for club shooting. I have shot with that lens and it is a pleasure to use, handles nicely, and is an excellent performer. The price is right too. Too bad that Pentax did not see that the real need was for something faster and fatter in that focal length range.


Steve

[totsmuyco]

The only prime lens I have is the DFA 100 Macro WR and it's super sharp. As a matter of fact, it puts life into my cameras. The colors are just beautiful. I would love to see more fast primes in the future.

I know Fuji makes a lot of fine lenses. But I know of someone who uses Fuji, and it seems that his camera is quite troublesome. It often lands at the service center for repair. I don't know if you guys have experienced it.

[Sandy Hancock]

The IQ from the DFA15-30 is at least comparable to many primes. It's huge, and expensive, and not as fast as other options, but it is WR....

[Lev]

The IQ from the DFA15-30 is at least comparable to many primes. It's huge, and expensive, and not as fast as other options, but it is WR....

yep, not a compact one but it's very good lens yeah

[Jonathan Mac]

I don't have any WR primes and the only Fuji prime I have is the 35mm f/1.4, but it's a superb lens, as all the Fujis are reputed to be.

If I had to choose between a Fuji camera with 35/1.4 and a Pentax one with the DA 35/2.8 limited I would find that very difficult indeed.

[totsmuyco]

I'm not a prime shooter but lately I've been playing with my DFA 100 macro WR and I'm starting to fall in love with primes. Now, I'm thinking of buying WR primes if they become available.

[Lev]

I'm not a prime shooter but lately I've been playing with my DFA 100 macro WR and I'm starting to fall in love with primes. Now, I'm thinking of buying WR primes if they become available.

DFA100 WR is a gorgeous lens! If I had known that it was so good, I would have paid even more. I wish I could have a wide angle lens with this capabilities....

---------- Post added 08-26-17 at 04:56 AM ----------

I don't have any WR primes and the only Fuji prime I have is the 35mm f/1.4, but it's a superb lens, as all the Fujis are reputed to be.

If I had to choose between a Fuji camera with 35/1.4 and a Pentax one with the DA 35/2.8 limited I would find that very difficult indeed.

yea 1.4 must be a cake. Which body do you have for Fuji lens?

[normhead]

The imagination can think of all kinds of things it might want, but it can't tell you if you'd actually find them useful if you bought them.

Some of the things I "wanted" most are unused in storage, because though they seem like good ideas at the time, the downside of using them didn't become apparent until I actually purchased them and tried them out. I bought my Pentax 645, and every film processor within 100 miles stopped processing film. But the 645 looks great in the camera case.

[stevebrot]

The imagination can think of all kinds of things it might want, but it can't tell you if you'd actually find them useful if you bought them.

Yep...to elaborate a bit...

A fast ultra-wide sounds great until the realization hits that at f/1.4 and 16mm on 24x36 FF the combination of fairly limited DOF and 107° diagonal FOV make manual focus extremely difficult (everything looks soooo teeny) and even if properly acquired, one may find themselves with more "selective" focus than is desirable with a wide perspective.*


Steve

* I know it sounds counter intuitive. After all, who cares about focus with an ultra-wide? Those shooting at wide apertures, that's who. The hyperfocal at f/1.4 on 16mm is 30' distant on APS-C and 20' on 35mm FF. Both distances are quite long considering the FOV and relative size of objects in the frame and even on the final 8x10" print. F/4 brings it down to 8' on FF with acceptable focus forward to 5', which is much more manageable.

[Jonathan Mac]

DFA100 WR is a gorgeous lens! If I had known that it was so good, I would have paid even more. I wish I could have a wide angle lens with this capabilities....

---------- Post added 08-26-17 at 04:56 AM ----------



yea 1.4 must be a cake. Which body do you have for Fuji lens?

Fujifilm X-M1. It's a few years old now and the XM line never made it beyond the first generation of Fujifilm cameras, but it works great and produces fantastic results.

Having a small, sharp wide open standard prime is fantastic.

[Rondec]

Yep...to elaborate a bit...

A fast ultra-wide sounds great until the realization hits that at f/1.4 and 16mm on 24x36 FF the combination of fairly limited DOF and 107° diagonal FOV make manual focus extremely difficult (everything looks soooo teeny) and even if properly acquired, one may find themselves with more "selective" focus than is desirable with a wide perspective.*


Steve

* I know it sounds counter intuitive. After all, who cares about focus with an ultra-wide? Those shooting at wide apertures, that's who. The hyperfocal at f/1.4 on 16mm is 30' distant on APS-C and 20' on 35mm FF. Both distances are quite long considering the FOV and relative size of objects in the frame and even on the final 8x10" print. F/4 brings it down to 8' on FF with acceptable focus forward to 5', which is much more manageable.

I always thought that astro photography was probably the big application. Maybe event photography too, although my guess is that for that you probably would generally want a longer lens.

[stevebrot]

I always thought that astro photography was probably the big application.

Yes, that is what first comes to mind for me as well, though I usually hear the event/club case cited.


Steve