[nobody]

I mostly shoot street photos using Tamron 17-50f/2.8. Sometimes but not so often Pentax da35f/2.8AL or Pentax dfa100f/2.8macro. It depends if I am planning to get closer to the subject or prefer to be an "objective onlooker" rather and take pics from distance to get trully natural photos. Here yoou have 2 examples, first taken with dfa100 wchich is a class for its own and the second one taken with Tamron 17-50 wchich I found as a really sharp lens after proper FF/BF calibration.

Attached Images

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

[kiwi_jono]

I have three Samyang primes ... very brave of me, I think!

I have 2 Samyangs myself. Still particularly like my 85 (seems a relatively safe bet QC wise). Given up on the idea of getting a 14mm thats not decentred for now.

[Justin.APR]

Put an F 28 f2.8 up against most any zoom at f2.8. What's going to match it in sharpness, the Sigma 18-35? D-FA 24-70? They're huge in comparison and way more money. To me street is small lens, discrete package, etc. On the K-1 it's a bit better, where the FA 43 makes a normal view, or the 40XS/40 Ltd twins and their tiny size, but on crop it's not so easy.

What's your suggestion?

Yeah it is a lot easier to figure out with a FF K-1. Hoping to upgrade eventually though. I think the 35 mm is good most of the time and fits the low profile bill, but its a bit narrow on the crop sensor. I do have my Pentax ME that I have been messing around with. Which is even more low profile.

---------- Post added 07-07-18 at 07:14 PM ----------

I have three Samyang primes ... very brave of me, I think!

Yeah I was nervous about getting a used 24mm Samyang. But IQ so far seems great. Though for the type of shots I am using it for currently its probably hard to spot any issues on the corners. We will see when I shoot some astro photography.

[cyberjunkie]

Sigma 30's might be cool but too many AF horror stories for me to want to spend my money for one.

My Sigma 30mm non-Art is the best lens for night photography I've ever used (for crop format).
At least on my K-5 II it never gave AF problems. Now I'm mainly using a K-1, so the lens is sort of retired. I miss it, though.
The only problem/feature is field curvature, it's never sharp at the borders like at the center of the picture.
For full frame, I own most of the lenses that have been mentioned.
The Samyang 24mm is great, but also quite big, and too wide to be an ideal walk around lens (IMHO).
The Kiron/Vivitar 2/28mm is a good choice for MF. The Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm is a good OPTION too, if you don't need f/2, and is also available in AF version.
I just found a nice example (M42 mount) of the Soligor C/D 'P' 2/28mm, made by Tokina. Same family of the famous 2/135mm I love (and use very often). I'll see how it fares. It should give a nice out of focus rendition, that's the reason I've been looking for that lens for a while..
If 35mm is wide enough, Makina Japan made a 1.8/35mm sold under various names, that is quite good for bokeh-oriented photography

[mikesbike]

For street photography one must consider focal length. What particular interest in street photography? Zeroing in on people shots from a distance? Or more of an entire scene with the people? I would think for general use, some wide angle capability would be important. Therefore, the Sigma 24mm f/1.8 would be a very good candidate for its versatility and performance. Good for low light use. I have one, and find it is best to stop down just a little if one wants better overall resolution. Even just to f/2 or so brings improvement.

Actually, the DA 18-135mm can deliver surprisingly good bokeh. If not used at wide angle, but more at a tele range, that fact will bring a reduced DOF in and of itself, combined with its well-known softer edge performance at longer FL settings.

[pres589]

My Sigma 30mm non-Art is the best lens for night photography I've ever used (for crop format).
At least on my K-5 II it never gave AF problems. Now I'm mainly using a K-1, so the lens is sort of retired. I miss it, though.
The only problem/feature is field curvature, it's never sharp at the borders like at the center of the picture.
For full frame, I own most of the lenses that have been mentioned.
The Samyang 24mm is great, but also quite big, and too wide to be an ideal walk around lens (IMHO).
The Kiron/Vivitar 2/28mm is a good choice for MF. The Sigma Mini-Wide II 28mm is a good OPTION too, if you don't need f/2, and is also available in AF version.
I just found a nice example (M42 mount) of the Soligor C/D 'P' 2/28mm, made by Tokina. Same family of the famous 2/135mm I love (and use very often). I'll see how it fares. It should give a nice out of focus rendition, that's the reason I've been looking for that lens for a while..
If 35mm is wide enough, Makina Japan made a 1.8/35mm sold under various names, that is quite good for bokeh-oriented photography

Is it really that different using a fast 50 on full frame in place of the Sigma 30 on crop? Just a bit tighter and just as fast if you grab something like the FA 50 1.4.

It's so weird, too, how some folks seemed to have a bunch of trouble with AF and the Sigma 30's and other folks didn't. Then again, I'm the only person I know of that's complained about AF performance with the Sigma 28 1.8. Seems like another "your mileage may vary" situation.

[UserAccessDenied]

I just got back from a 3 week trip to Switzerland/Italy and I will say the most used lens on my trip was the HD DA 35mm f2.8 macro.

I had purchased an HD DA 16-85 just for the trip, but was drawn towards the 35 still, almost every day. I immediately sold the 16-85 upon my return.


I honestly wasn't expecting this. And almost left the 35 at home!
The second most used lens was my HD DA 70mm f2.4


Between the two, I had 90% of my shots covered. The rest were DA 15mm, DFA 100mm macro; and the 16-85 just because I had to justify it's purchase...


I'm seriously considering the FA31 now.
It's out of my budget at the moment, especially since I'm primarily a wildlife shooter. All my funds are being saved towards a DFA 150-450 at the moment.

But as far as street photography with APS-C, the 35mm macro was the best thing in the bag for me.

YMMV

[officiousbystander]

Between the two, I had 90% of my shots covered.

My last big European holiday I took the 15, 35 and 70 ltds with a K5. That's all I needed. And it's a very light kit which packs small.

[Sandy Hancock]

Not exactly street shots, but you get the idea.

FA*24 on crop. Wide open



The bokeh from the DA21 isn't too bad really.

[SharkyCA]

OK, I've read most of the threads and still need some advise!
I am a hobbyist, retired, I have a K-70 purchased last Sept. 2017 and have added a 55-300mm to complement my kit lens 18-135 but was thinking of something a little more "cityscape" or "architecture" oriented.

I am leaning toward the DA 35mm F2.4 AL or the DA 50 F1.8 right now there is a $20 spread between the two $96-$116.

Any input on this would be great!

[pepperberry farm]

OK, I've read most of the threads and still need some advise!
I am a hobbyist, retired, I have a K-70 purchased last Sept. 2017 and have added a 55-300mm to complement my kit lens 18-135 but was thinking of something a little more "cityscape" or "architecture" oriented.

I am leaning toward the DA 35mm F2.4 AL or the DA 50 F1.8 right now there is a $20 spread between the two $96-$116.

Any input on this would be great!

anytime anyone mentions purchasing the DA 35/2.4, my reaction is to suggest spending a bit more for a good used copy of the DA 35/2.8 Macro Limited - the images are sooo much better and it's a much more versatile lens...

[SSGGeezer]

Not exactly street shots, but you get the idea.

FA*24 on crop. Wide open



The bokeh from the DA21 isn't too bad really.

It is easy when your relatives are pretty women Sandy! Very nice.

---------- Post added 07-14-18 at 07:37 AM ----------

anytime anyone mentions purchasing the DA 35/2.4, my reaction is to suggest spending a bit more for a good used copy of the DA 35/2.8 Macro Limited - the images are sooo much better and it's a much more versatile lens...

I loved my DA 35 2.4 but now Dave posts all the pretty shots with the 2.8 macro. How am I supposed to fight off my LBA long enough to afford the DA 11-18 when he keeps doing that?

[pepperberry farm]

I loved my DA 35 2.4 but now Dave posts all the pretty shots with the 2.8 macro. How am I supposed to fight off my LBA long enough to afford the DA 11-18 when he keeps doing that?

he is a bastard, isn't he?


(:

[pres589]

Sharky, I'm going to make an assumption, that you shot on 35mm film once upon a time, and can remember what different focal lengths on a film camera provided as far as a field of view. On your crop K-70, a 50mm like the DA 50 1.8 is basically a short-telephoto lens, and is great for portraits. Like a 75mm lens on film. 35mm lenses like the DA 35 f2.4 provides a field of view of just a touch narrower than what a 50mm lens did on film.

Cityscape & architecture, to me, is going to be better supported by a 28mm or wider optic. 24mm on your K-70 is very similar to a 35mm lens on film. The image you shared in this thread has some good information attached via the album here on PF, namely the following; "Focal Length 18.0mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)". If that sort of field of view is of interest, something like the DA 21 might be of interest. After that, Pentax is kind of... not so hot on what is offered right now. A used Sigma 24mm "Super-Wide II AF" might fit the bill. Or the F or FA 28 f2.8's, also only available used.

That said, your 18-135 is a very strong performer from about 22 or so mm and tighter. To get something better you're probably going to end up with something quite large for a prime, like a Samyang 24mm (available new) or a Sigma 28mm EX (used/refurbs).

I really like the field of view and IQ provided by a good 28mm prime on my crop Pentax. Just know that you've already got a very high performing 28mm lens in your 18-135, albeit with a slow max aperture.

[SharkyCA]

Thanks for the input!