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07-16-2018, 06:50 PM - 1 Like   #31
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Like Interested_Observer, I bought the K-1 primarily for Astrophotography. I use a Samyang 14/2.8 for astro, but I wanted a walk-around travel lens that is full-frame compatible and auto-focus. I did not want the weight (or cost) of the DFA 15-30 for a travel lens. I wanted a zoom so I wouldn’t need to switch lenses as I was wandering around cities or parks.

I used to think a prime would always beat a zoom, but this is not always the case. With my K-5, I used the 16-85 and the DFA 38-105 has comperable image quality. (I do wish it were a bit wider at 24 mm.)

For a crop sensor, I would go with the 16-85.

07-16-2018, 08:27 PM - 1 Like   #32
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I’m another that shoots both K-1 and Pentax aps-c. My reasoning for the 28-105 is simple, I shoot a lot of film, but will usually carry the K-1 with me since I’m using the same lenses (usually vintage). Having a good WR lens available, which is lightweight is very nice since my vintage glass isn’t.
07-16-2018, 09:20 PM - 3 Likes   #33
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I have hiked with my K-S2, DFA 28-105 and DA12-24. Could have gone even lighter with the DA15 instead of the 12-24.

All really good lenses.

We can be proud in Pentax land. The Canon equivalent (24-105 f4) runs wider, but the extra 4mm and constant aperture compromises mean that it hasn't got a great reputation. I saw a YouTube video the other day of someone who argued it simply didn't deserve 'L' series status.

I really enjoy our 'kit' lens:










Last edited by clackers; 07-17-2018 at 12:21 AM.
07-16-2018, 11:50 PM   #34
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When I bought my K-1, I also purchased the D-FA 24-70 lens. which is an excellent lens. But if I had it to do over, knowing what I know now, and based on how I shoot, I'd of purchased the D-FA 28-105 and saved the cost difference to apply towards the D-FA 15-30 at a later date. I think having the additional range on the long end outweighs the difference in range on the short end when in comes to the 24-70 and the 28-105, especially at more than half the cost. And if one is going to shoot wide, then one will be looking for a UWA lens in addition to which ever of the two lenses one gets. At the end of the day, Ricoh would just have to wait a little longer to get the rest of my money

07-17-2018, 01:38 AM - 1 Like   #35
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QuoteOriginally posted by 08amczb Quote
While I know the lens is very good, I don't understand why would someone buy it. If I would like to travel light/make family memories then the KP + DA 16-85/DA17-70 is much more compact, lighter and cheaper. I think the full frame camera is for the maximal image quality, so I prefer primes on the K-1, or the professional F2.8 zooms.
My walk-about system camera is the K-1ii + D FA 28-105mm. (Without battery grip).

If I'm doing some serious shooting, in a studio or an outdoor event, I'll add extra lenses, typically the recent Pentax zooms, or sometimes a prime, to that combination. (And for outside the studio, especially with a long lens, I'll add a battery grip).

The D FA 28-105mm lens is rarely if ever more than a yard/metre or two from the camera. It is so versatile that it can often cater for cases that the main lens can't handle. It often isn't wide enough, but then I take several shots and stitch them together later.

My most used of the modern Pentax FF lenses is the D FA 150-450mm lens. It has excellent image quality. If I went on a long trip and could only have two lenses, they would be the modern 28-105mm and the 150-450mm Pentax lenses. There is little that those couldn't handle with high image quality.

I've pretty-well switched entirely to FF. My K-3ii is now a back-up in case my K-1ii breaks, which hasn't happened in more than 2 years since I bought the K-1. (Which is now upgraded to a K-1ii).

(My walk-about non-system camera, really for when I'm not expecting any serious photography and just want to be able take snap-shots, is currently the Lumix LX100).
07-17-2018, 01:55 AM - 2 Likes   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
We can be proud in Pentax land. The Canon equivalent (24-105 f4) runs wider, but the extra 4mm and constant aperture compromises mean that it hasn't got a great reputation. I saw a YouTube video the other day of someone who argued it simply didn't deserve 'L' series status.
People complain a lot on Youtube about anything. Look at that former Pentax guy for example (Ed from Photo Universe) who changed so many systems and he still doesn't know which one is good for him. He complained about Pentax, then about Canon, then about Nikon, Fuji... Now I understood that he is using Olympus.

Sue Bryce uses quite often the 24-105mm f4L lens and I don't think she cares about what people say on Youtube regarding that lens.

Posing Archives - Sue Bryce Education


QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
I really enjoy our 'kit' lens:
If it does what you want and not what people dream about, then it is a good lens. I came back from a nude & fashion photo shoot in Danube Delta and when I looked at the exif of my images, most of them were taken with the 35mm f2 lens and with the 70-200mm f4L lens, despite the fact that I had with me the 85mm f1.4L IS and 85mm f1.8 lenses. People asked me why I didn't used the 85mm lens because it is a better lens, optically speaking. The answer is simple: I use the lens that I consider suited for each particular shooting session. Flexibility of the zoom lens was more important than luminosity of the 85mm lens.

I used a lot kit lenses. But I tried to use them as primes. One day I was shooting only at 24mm, the next day I was shooting at 50mm and so on. A beginer will learn a lot just by doing this "exercise". Unfortunately, today almost everybody is interested in specs rather than learning about composition, about light, etc.

Last edited by Dan Rentea; 07-17-2018 at 02:45 AM.
07-17-2018, 02:25 AM - 1 Like   #37
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I think you have your answer.

Basically it is for walk around purposes. With a walk around lens you want decent quality (this lens has that), to cover your common focal lengths (once again the 28-105 does that), and not to be too big. I own the DFA 24-70 and use that as my walk around lens and it works well. Does it work better than the 28-105? For some things maybe, for other things it probably is awash. If you are stopped down using a tripod, then I'm sure there is no difference. If you need f2.8 than the 24-70 can get there and the 28-105 can't.

It is nice that there are multiple lens options out there for us to use and try and if you are walking around with your family and taking snap shots you can have a slower, but more flexible zoom on your camera and if you are taking serious portraits, you put the new DFA *50 or FA 77 on your camera. That's why we bought ILCs over fixed lens cameras in the first place, wasn't it?

07-17-2018, 02:56 AM   #38
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Thanks for the answares.

I'am supprised how many of us would like to walkaround with a FF digital K-1, I do not want (and I don't have one). I use my KP with my 18-135 for walkaround, I add the DA15 when I need a wider lens also. My other walkaround setup is the PZ-1p with the three FA limiteds.
07-17-2018, 03:11 AM   #39
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QuoteOriginally posted by 08amczb Quote
While I know the lens is very good, I don't understand why would someone buy it. If I would like to travel light/make family memories then the KP + DA 16-85/DA17-70 is much more compact, lighter and cheaper. I think the full frame camera is for the maximal image quality, so I prefer primes on the K-1, or the professional F2.8 zooms. Tele zooms are another story. At 105mm F5.6 I get a similar background blur as 70mm F4 on APS-C, so again, the full frame does not have advantage with the 28-105. The KP has a similar ISO performance, only one stop worse, but I can gain that one stop when I open the sigma 17-70 F2.8-4 to one more stop. (I also get the same DoF then.) Okey, I get 36MP insted of 24MP, but if I would like to make large prints, then the better lens would help a lot.
With the option of modern APS-C cameras I really not see the purpose of the consumer standard zooms on full frame.
Wrong question. It should be: "Why would somebody not buy the D FA 28-105?". This lens is THAT good (for its price).

If having an additional APS-C kit works for you, by all means... but the D FA 28-105 is lighter and much less expensive than a KP with a 16-85. The D FA 28-105 is actually a bit smaller and lighter than the 16-85, as well as cheaper.
It also doesn't have to be your only lens. Throw in a few high-quality primes, a long tele zoom (like the 150-450) and you have pretty much everything covered.

As an ultra-light walk-around solution, I'm thinking of a GR (or something similar). A few specialized choices - walk around lens, high-quality, long lens, ultra-portable - rather than a "generalist" f/2.8-trio kit and then a smaller kit which isn't really that small.
But that's me.
07-17-2018, 03:25 AM - 1 Like   #40
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QuoteOriginally posted by 08amczb Quote
I'am supprised how many of us would like to walkaround with a FF digital K-1, I do not want (and I don't have one)
As with the lens, it's all down to a wide range of individual priorities, likes and dislikes. Sometimes, a K-1 will be the best camera for the job... I've seen some beautiful landscape photography from the K-1 plus D FA28-105, and that's a very manageable kit considering the incredible detail and overall image quality it provides. Other times, the K-1 might be overkill, but people will still shoot it because they enjoy doing so. For many of us, the enjoyment we get from using our cameras can be an important factor in encouraging us to get out there and shoot
07-17-2018, 04:02 AM   #41
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Dfa28105 is the good choice for hiking to landscape photo locations, because it is small light weight and versatile enough for landscape. Carrying an apsc system is a good choice too. But for landscapes nothing beats a larger sensor.
07-17-2018, 04:07 AM - 1 Like   #42
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QuoteOriginally posted by 08amczb Quote
While I know the lens is very good, I don't understand why would someone buy it. If I would like to travel light/make family memories then the KP + DA 16-85/DA17-70 is much more compact, lighter and cheaper. I think the full frame camera is for the maximal image quality, so I prefer primes on the K-1, or the professional F2.8 zooms. Tele zooms are another story. At 105mm F5.6 I get a similar background blur as 70mm F4 on APS-C, so again, the full frame does not have advantage with the 28-105. The KP has a similar ISO performance, only one stop worse, but I can gain that one stop when I open the sigma 17-70 F2.8-4 to one more stop. (I also get the same DoF then.) Okey, I get 36MP insted of 24MP, but if I would like to make large prints, then the better lens would help a lot.
With the option of modern APS-C cameras I really not see the purpose of the consumer standard zooms on full frame.
As has been said by many, the DFA28-105 is both excellent and small. I use mine almost exclusively when travelling. At home I shoot primes. And I use the K-1 both at home and when travelling because I don't care to leave it at home even when my K-3 might have done the job better. The reasons are many, but mainly...

QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
I enjoy my K-1 more than my KP. The ergonomics are better, the viewfinder is bigger, the files are better, and it gets the most out of my favourite lenses.
Yes, I simply think the K-1 is a better camera. Not primarily because of sensor size, but the whole package. (I compare with my K-3, though, since I don't have a KP.)

QuoteOriginally posted by 08amczb Quote
I'am supprised how many of us would like to walkaround with a FF digital K-1, I do not want (and I don't have one). I use my KP with my 18-135 for walkaround, I add the DA15 when I need a wider lens also. My other walkaround setup is the PZ-1p with the three FA limiteds.
Perfectly reasonable. Of course, someone with a µ4/3 system will wonder why anybody would want to lug an APS-C DSLR along on their walkabout

I do miss the DA15. Nothing like in the FF world.

Btw, the 28-105 is only 1cm lnger and 35g heavier than the 18-135 - but quite noticably better optically. And I believe my 18-135 is a good copy.

QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
it may well be that now might be the time to begin discussions of Norwegian brown cheese and Inuit Igunaq
I'm appalled! Putting igunaq in the same sentence as brown cheese! I never...! A lot of people enjoy brown cheese with their lutefisk, though
07-17-2018, 04:10 AM   #43
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QuoteOriginally posted by 08amczb Quote
I am surprised how many of us would like to walk around with a FF digital K-1
I do it all the time. I like my KP a lot, but for me at least the K-1 offers a better overall user experience. I have carried it on foot all day around London (maybe 15km round trip) with the DA10-17, DFA15-30, FA31, DA*55, DFA100WR and HD55-300, and on trail runs with the the DFA28-105. My preferred day trip kit at the moment is the K-1 with the Three Amigos, the FA20 and K135/2.5, which I consider a trivial carry.

I only really keep a crop camera as a "teleconverter" for my longer lenses, and I only keep my DA limited lenses and the DA10-17 because I still have a crop camera.
07-17-2018, 04:17 AM - 2 Likes   #44
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
I tend to agree, 08amczb, that putting an f4 zoom or a superzoom on a expensive FF flagship instead of the pro f2.8 zooms just surrenders the advantage over APS-C. From a formal point of view, you're running on the same spot for all the extra cash you've put out.

But these are IQ compromises people are willing to take in order to carry the body/lenses package, and for a compromise, the DFA 28-105 is pretty amazing.
Also, for many of us this is purely a hobby. It's not only about the best image quality or "IQ per pound" (weight and money both). It's about enjoying what we do. And I find the K-1 more enjoyable to use. I find primes more enjoyable than zooms, too, but sometimes a zoom is more convenient.

Some find the Q more enjoyable to use. Some adapt shoddy projector lenses for use on their DSLR, hardly sensible at all if not for the fun of it.
07-17-2018, 04:24 AM - 1 Like   #45
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QuoteOriginally posted by savoche Quote
Some adapt shoddy projector lenses for use on their DSLR, hardly sensible at all if not for the fun of it.
Or even for their 645Z
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