Thank you very much to all of you. There are a lot of great suggestions.
First, let me answer some questions:
Originally posted by Sandy Hancock Have you not kept the K-S2?
No, I still have it, but I seldom use it now, just for milky-way shots or very low light photography.
Originally posted by mikesbike Try a good full-featured compatible Pentax flash in the hot shoe
I thought some time ago (I have a question posted somewhere), about a flash for my camera. However, at the end I bought a small continuous led light. It's much less powerful than the flash, though, but what you see is what you get
Originally posted by pres589 How do you like the images you're getting with the DA 35 f2.4?
They are quite good, this lens has one of the best price/performance ratio I've seen. Optically it's fast and very sharp, and it also has good contrast and saturation. Unfortunately, I usually shot with relatively wide apertures, and when it's not completely wide open the aperture blades are quite apparent. On the other hand, with the Z-1p and Z-20 I tend to fine tune the focus manually but this lens does not have quick-shift. I also miss a depth of field scale. But I'm not complaining, for its price this lens is superb, competing with much more expensive glasses.
Originally posted by UncleVanya I think if I were you I'd look for the FA 77, and if one wasn't available in my price range I'd look at the DFA 100. Alternately frame the subjects so that the softer parts of the DA 70 are cropped out and grab the FA 43 or F/FA 50 f1.4 as your normal lens. Keep the DA 35 for now.
It might work, yes. The ideal scenario would be to get the 77mm, if not, the 50mm. Keeping the 35mm. The 100mm FOV is very close to my 135mm and the lens is much bigger than the 70mm, so I am not very inclined to get the 100mm.
Originally posted by aaacb I'd probably go for one of the zooms
Originally posted by bassek I would suggest the F-series zooms
Thanks for the suggestion, but I think zooms do not match well with my way of working, I feel clumsy, I prefer fast sharp minimalist primes. On the other hand, I also favor fast primes because I cannot change the ISO mid-roll, and although I can push a Portra 400 a stop, or even two, the film gets more contrasty and grainy; I prefer my photos with less contrast and subtle grain, and a good creamy bokeh when needed.
I think this is the summary the proposed approaches that might solve the dilemma:
Keeping the SMC Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL for the moment:
- Get a SMC Pentax-FA 77mm F1.8 Limited
- Get a SMC Pentax-D FA 100mm F2.8 Macro WR
- Get a SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.7 / F1.4
Or get the SMC Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL and the SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.7/F1.4.
Regarding other suggestions, about manual focusing lenses, I think it will be better with autofocus, to minimize the probability of missed shots (to shot as fast as possible). Regarding the SMC Pentax-FA 35mm F2 AL, it seems too similar to my SMC Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL (6 blades/regular bokeh, no quick shift, but it is faster). It seems that the only upgrade around this focal length would be the very expensive 43mm limited.
I am still thinking, but in the mean time, I made some quick numbers about the field of view of the various focal lengths and a graph.
I prefer 70mm over 50mm, but if I get a 100mm, then the 50mm is a solid candidate. I think I need over 17 degrees of difference in FOV to justify a new lens, or else, they will be too similar.