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11-21-2017, 02:18 PM   #46
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QuoteOriginally posted by iheiramo Quote
So far I have been collecting M series primes. I currently own 28/3.5, 35/2, 50/1.7, 85/2, 100/2.8, 120/2.8, 200/4 and 300/4. My original plan was to get M20/4 to be my ultra wide, but according to reviews it's not as sharp as most other primes in M series or other 20mm Pentax lenses. As I already have cast 100/2.8 aside for not being on acceptable level in sharpness for my taste, I have started to second guess my plan. Especially because the sharpness of M100 is not generally questioned. M20 is in my preferred price group, but would be waste of money if I don't use it. But sharpness is not all in all for me. I really like the colors, bokeh and rendition in M series and view M50/1.7 a much better lens than DA50/1.8, which was my main lens before my first manual lenses.
If you like Pentax M Series lenses then the M24-35/3.5 zoom might be an another option for a wide angle lens. I have it and the FA20-35/4 and prefer the M zoom.

Phil.

11-21-2017, 06:31 PM - 3 Likes   #47
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I had the FA*24/2, but it was not sharp enough for me on the edges on the A7 (though the A7 does have a thick sensor stack that may actually have made it worse than it should be).

The M20/4 is really nice because its small and portable.
Its only poorer in sharpness on the last 1/10 or 1/8 of the frame.
Put in the lens corrections or a 5x7 crop for composition, and most of that is gone anyway.




In the context of cityscapes, I find that 24mm is really too narrow since its hard to step back for framing and vantage point limitations.
20mm is barely enough actually and often, with the 20mm, I need to shoot in the portrait orientation.
So for citiyscapes, as wide as one can get is usually necessary.

Samyang 14mm


Voigtlander 12mm (not a PK mount lens)
11-24-2017, 02:25 AM   #48
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Damn Black Friday! I went for what I said I would not

A used SMC DA21ltd is now on the way. Due to black Friday discount I got it cheaper than what M20's go around here. I should be able to get my money back, if I ever need to go FF on that focal length. DA21 should give me the flare resistance, starburst and wide angle capabilities that my set has been missing.

FA*24 still interests me, but the discount they gave for it wasn't enough. Especially considering very high starting price. As there is no pressure to get that focal length anymore, I can wait for occasion when I can get it at reasonable price. But I think the camera upgrade should be my next move to get the best out of my current lens lineup and 24 should wait for a time when I can better judge the need for it.

Thank you all for the comments in this thread. It was nice to read your opinions and you came up with some solutions that I had not previously thought. Even if I didn't follow them, it was an other angle to the problem to think about and made me think what I was really after. In the end it was value, the IQ vs money, what made my decision and it's no surprise. That's what brought me to Pentax in the first place.
11-24-2017, 02:34 AM   #49
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Excellent choice. The DA21 is one of my reasons for always keeping a crop system.

11-30-2017, 06:53 AM   #50
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DA21ltd arrived yesterday. I continue this thread a little with my first impression. But before I go any further, I start with important question:

The AF doesn't lock into infinity with my copy and therefore refuses to take a shot. Based on test shots taken in manual mode it looks like the lens doesn't quite reach the infinity. I have had to adjust focus on 2 of my older manual primes. Does anybody know if it can be done in similar way with modern AF lenses? Has anybody done it with 21ltd or seen good how to do it guide for 21ltd? Previously I have followed these instructions. As the store I bought the lens from is 2 hours drive from my home, I would prefer to adjust it myself, if possible.

Back to impressions. In size this was better choice. It's small enough to always keep in the camera bag. The field of view is about the same that I have in my mobile phones and that's about what I had wanted. On DSLR this opens new angles I haven't used for some time, so I think it will take some time to get used to lens. IQ wise I believe this was the safiest of my possible choices. Shouldn't be any problems here. After a year with manual glass the AF feels odd and I already missed some shots. Not sure at the moment if it's a positive feature in a lens. Need to get used to controlling the focus point. With manual lenses I use catch in focus a lot, so maybe I need to switch the AF to back button.

All in all, I'm currently satisfied with my decicion. 24mm might have been a bit tight on APS-C and I still question if I have need for that wide lens on FF. 28mm might be more than I need on FF, as it would give wider FOV than 21 gives me currently. I think I need to get that K1 before that issue can be solved. But at this point I'm already pretty sure that 20mm on FF is wider than I want to shoot, so it doesn't matter that 21 is APS-C lens.

K5 & DA21ltd:



11-30-2017, 08:07 AM   #51
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How far from infinity? Is it physically not dialing to infinity, or are the results just not right? You can fine tune lenses:

Fixing Front and Back Focus - The Remedy - In-Depth Articles
11-30-2017, 09:13 AM   #52
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
How far from infinity? Is it physically not dialing to infinity, or are the results just not right?
On short distance the AF is spot on. It's right in the center of DOF.

The infinity is harder to say. If the lens is off, it's not by much. It looks like my M35 which was so close that I wasn't sure until I had it set correctly. I tested the camera in the middle of the day and AF could not lock to objects far away, but this time of the year in a cloudy day it's pretty dark even at noon, so can't confirm if the issue is AF itself or the lens. Thought the AF didn't have any problems to lock for distances under 10m. Also manual focused test shot was hand held with relatively long exposure, so can't judge based on that. I need to do more tests to confirm the cause of the problem.

11-30-2017, 11:32 AM   #53
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I've had similar AF issues with my K-5 and a couple of my LTD primes. There was also some AF problems with my Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8 on the K-5, all of which were perfectly fine previously with my K-200D, K-20D, and K-100D. I have not encountered any focusing issues with my K-5 IIs, K-S2, or KP, including using these same lenses.
11-30-2017, 12:48 PM   #54
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I've found that the surest way to check focus on a K-5 is to zoom in 10 times with the live view.
If you want to check PDAF this way, focus with the PDAF, then switch to manual focus and go to live view.
Otherwise, you can only zoom in 6 times with the live view.
11-30-2017, 01:53 PM - 1 Like   #55
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QuoteOriginally posted by iheiramo Quote
maybe I need to switch the AF to back button.
I'm a big fan of back button AF. It makes focussing a separate action from capture, like it is with manual focus, and with a quick shift lens you choose between AF and MF on the fly.

As for the infinity focus issue, I would make the two hour drive to the shop and get it sorted under warranty.
12-01-2017, 05:54 AM   #56
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QuoteOriginally posted by iheiramo Quote
The AF doesn't lock into infinity with my copy and therefore refuses to take a shot. Based on test shots taken in manual mode it looks like the lens doesn't quite reach the infinity. I have had to adjust focus on 2 of my older manual primes. Does anybody know if it can be done in similar way with modern AF lenses? Has anybody done it with 21ltd or seen good how to do it guide for 21ltd? Previously I have followed these instructions. As the store I bought the lens from is 2 hours drive from my home, I would prefer to adjust it myself, if possible.
With my DA21, when I got it it had been bumped and some stuff was misaligned inside, causing the friction to increase near infinity. The lens couldn't go there and actually got stuck. A local photo repair shop fixed it in less than an hour.
12-01-2017, 06:40 PM   #57
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
I'm a big fan of back button AF. It makes focussing a separate action from capture, like it is with manual focus, and with a quick shift lens you choose between AF and MF on the fly.

As for the infinity focus issue, I would make the two hour drive to the shop and get it sorted under warranty.
I totally agree with the usefulness of back button focus, at least for landscapes which I do almost exclusively. Using it with a single focus point the focus can be made exactly where it's desired in a scene and it stays there until manually changed, which is usually when the photographer moves to another scene. I've found using BBF and following that with checking using focus peaking to be very useful.
12-03-2017, 10:27 AM   #58
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We had a good bright weather for test shots yesterday. The AF problem is apparently due to camera. The lens seem to focus to infinity manually and also with AF if target is not too far away. If target is far enough then camera doesn't seem to know what to do and does nothing. Not a big problem, as infinity is easy to set manually, so I can live with that.

I noticed that catch in focus doesn't work if AF is set off from shutter release. As I mainly shoot with manual lenses, I think I rather play with AF/MF switch than turn shutter release on and off from menus. Therefore back button AF is not my way.

Flare resistance is really impressive. Still happy with my choice.



12-03-2017, 11:33 AM   #59
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Catch in focus isn't supposed to work with any lens without a switch on the lens that has Autofocus.
12-03-2017, 11:39 AM   #60
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
Catch in focus isn't supposed to work with any lens without a switch on the lens that has Autofocus.
Yes, I know. I used manual lens later in the evening when I needed faster lens.
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