Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
08-27-2019, 01:20 PM   #1
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Goldsboro North Carolina
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,860
Considering a 30-35mm prime acquisition

Lately I've been considering a 30-35mm prime lens acquisition. I would use it on my K-5IIs or occasionally K10D. No plans on going FF in the future. I love my M50mm/f1.7, but want a high quality 'normal' prime lens for APS-C. I just read an interesting article about micro-contrast and 3D 'pop':
https://yannickkhong.com/blog/2016/2/8/micro-contrast-the-biggest-optical-luxury-of-the-world


His basic premise is that the more highly corrected a lens is for CA control, the more elements it will have which is great for sharpness/CA but kills 3D 'pop'. My best 3D lens is my F 100mm/f2.8 Macro. It just has 'magic' compared to my other lenses: I'm guessing good micro-contrast is the source.

So my question to y'all is this, in the 30-35mm range, what lenses would you recommend that have decent sharpness (say 8.5 and up), very good micro-contrast, and don't cost a fortune. I'm willing to trade so-so CA control for better micro-contrast if they are indeed mutually incompatible. I don't care if the lens is all manual, although auto-something would be preferable. IQ trumps convenience. It's age/era is not important if I can find a good copy. It doesn't have to be Pentax, although that too would be preferable.

08-27-2019, 01:22 PM   #2
Pentaxian
ZombieArmy's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,209
The best 35 is the 35 limited macro, especially given the price on the used market being only about 200-300 dollars. Extremely sharp, good contrast, 3d pop and macro as a bonus.

For much cheaper though the best value is probably the Takumar 35mm f3.5. Another option would be the Pentacon/Meyer Lidith 30mm f3.5, excellent color and rendering but a difficult lens to use I think due to its very old coatings.

Last edited by ZombieArmy; 08-27-2019 at 01:31 PM.
08-27-2019, 01:47 PM - 2 Likes   #3
Pentaxian
troika's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Seattle, WA USA
Posts: 1,753
QuoteOriginally posted by ZombieArmy Quote
The best 35 is the 35 limited macro, especially given the price on the used market being only about 200-300 dollars. Extremely sharp, good contrast, 3d pop and macro as a bonus.
...
I've not used this lens, but don't doubt that it is true.


I have an FA35/2 that is WAY BETTER than I expected it to be. That extra stop of light makes a big difference because of how and where I use it. If not, maybe the macro is a better choice, but I am 100% satisfied with mine.


The DA 20-40 ltd zoom is a stellar lens as well. Not as fast, pretty good close focusing capabilities, but not technically a macro, but you do get a bit of FL range there.


By all accounts the 31/1.8 is the best prime lens in this range, but I can't personally vouch and they are expensive.


The Sigma 30/1.4, if you get a good copy seems to be a very compelling lens as well.
08-27-2019, 01:50 PM - 1 Like   #4
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
baro-nite's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: North Carolina, USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,294
QuoteOriginally posted by Apet-Sure Quote
what lenses would you recommend that have decent sharpness (say 8.5 and up), very good micro-contrast, and don't cost a fortune.
The old "K series" (or equivalent Takumar) SMC Pentax 1:3.5 35mm. It's a sharp lens, and while I haven't done any kind of systematic comparisons I've always noted it as particularly contrasty. 5 elements in 4 groups.

08-27-2019, 01:56 PM   #5
Forum Member




Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 60
I’ve had a lot of lenses in this range and I’ll sum them up here

DA35 if cost is number 1 priority. Good competent lens.
DA35 Macro Limited is the best available at 35mm APS-C, my most used lens.
Sigma 30mm f1.4 if you want low light capability, this isn’t the sharpest lens of the 3.
Takumar 35mm f2.3 is an awesome vintage lens but m42 isn’t that great for DSLR.

The macro limited has great rendering, good for close and distant subject. The 30mm has a lot of pop because of the large aperture.

I’ve never owned one but if you want ultimate image quality, incomparable 3D pop, low light capability and guaranteed resale value, you want the 31mm limited. It’s expensive though.
08-27-2019, 02:00 PM - 1 Like   #6
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
microlight's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Hampshire, UK
Posts: 2,127
My son uses the DA35/2.8 Limited Macro on his K-5; he loves it.


I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned the 'plastic fantastic' DA35/2.4 yet - I used it regularly before I got the 20-40.
08-27-2019, 02:08 PM - 2 Likes   #7
Pentaxian
ZombieArmy's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,209
QuoteOriginally posted by jpipg Quote
Takumar 35mm f2.3 is an awesome vintage lens but m42 isn’t that great for DSLR.
I'd recommend this lens myself but the going rate for it puts it in squarely "collector" territory. You can still find them relatively cheap like I did but they're fixer uppers.

You're rewarded with out of this world rendering though.





08-27-2019, 02:18 PM - 5 Likes   #8
Pentaxian
ChristianRock's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: People's Republic of America
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 9,897
I also have a K10D (and a K-50 and a K-S1) so I'm in a similar boat. Considering how I love my K10D the answer to me was quite obvious, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Art. When previous comments said the Sigma 30mm wasn't sharp, they were talking about the older versions. The 30mm lens from the Art series, their newest, is pretty sharp all over at f8. Wide open until about f/2.8 the corners are soft, but it's field curvature so you can work with it. And the softness helps isolate objects and enhances bokeh - which is what I go for at larger apertures. So I have no complaints about sharpness from the lens at all...

The one thing regarding the K10D is that it does not offer micro tuning the AF for each lens, so I end up manually focusing my Sigma when I use it. Which isn't a huge burden either - I use a lot of manual focus lenses and the Sigma Art has a great feeling focus ring - almost too hard to turn, but it does allow for very precise focusing. And having f/1.4 available is invaluable when using the K10D! That allows me to never really have to go beyond ISO 400, and most of the time 100-200 will do.

Sigma 30mm Art with K10D



Sigma 30mm Art with K-S1

08-27-2019, 02:21 PM   #9
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Goldsboro North Carolina
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,860
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by ZombieArmy Quote
The best 35 is the 35 limited macro
Do you have the SMC or HD version?

QuoteOriginally posted by troika Quote
The Sigma 30/1.4, if you get a good copy seems to be a very compelling lens as well.
The blogger mentioned in my original post reported that the Sigma ART lenses had very poor micro-contrast in his opinion. Since this characteristic can be as important as sharpness (but not related to it), you need good performance in both categories to get stunning images. Sharpness for pixel detail; micro-contrast for tonal detail/color rendering.

[edit]
Nice pictures ChristianRock. Well, the blogger's opinion was based on something, but it might not apply in all situations.

Last edited by Apet-Sure; 08-27-2019 at 02:36 PM. Reason: ..
08-27-2019, 02:21 PM - 1 Like   #10
Digitiser of Film
Loyal Site Supporter
BigMackCam's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: North East of England
Posts: 20,576
I love lenses in that 30 - 35mm range on APS-C... fantastic for general photography.

In AF prime K-mount glass, I own the HD DA35/2.8 Macro Limited, "plastic fantastic" DA35/2.4, and Sigma 30/1.4 Art. All three are excellent.

The HD DA35 Macro is beautifully built and really nice to shoot with, has great contrast and colour, image quality is generally excellent, and of course the close-focusing macro capability is extremely useful.

The DA35/2.4 is at the other end of the scale in terms of build, and the contrast / colours aren't as impressive without further adjustment, but I actually slightly prefer out-of-focus transition rendering when compared to the Limited lens. It's only a slight preference, but a preference nonetheless. Some folks seem ambivalent about the DA35/2.4, but I really like it, and I can get everything I want out of raw files from it.

The Sigma 30/1.4 Art has something of a reputation for AF inaccuracy when not using the centre AF point. Personally, I haven't found that problem (maybe mine has later firmware?), but since I often shoot using centre point AF, with a focus and re-compose technique, perhaps I haven't pushed its capabilities in this area yet. I will say, though, I have fallen in love with it for its rendering. For me, it's like a modern interpretation of my favourite vintage lenses. Of course, it's better corrected, and definitely sharper, but so much of the character I enjoy in the rendering of certain vintage glass seems to be present here. It's not going to be to everyone's tastes, and perhaps this - along with AF concerns - is the reason it doesn't get more love. It's certainly not the lens to choose for edge-to-edge sharpness, minimal aberrations and test chart comparisons... but it delivers character in spades. The downside is that it's fairly chunky and quite heavy for an APS-C prime, but then it's an f/1.4 lens...

Overall, the Sigma 30/1.4 Art is my favourite APS-C prime lens - but that's largely down to my personal tastes...

Last edited by BigMackCam; 08-27-2019 at 03:59 PM.
08-27-2019, 02:35 PM - 1 Like   #11
Otis Memorial Pentaxian
stevebrot's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Vancouver (USA)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 42,007
QuoteOriginally posted by Apet-Sure Quote
His basic premise is that the more highly corrected a lens is for CA control, the more elements it will have which is great for sharpness/CA but kills 3D 'pop'. My best 3D lens is my F 100mm/f2.8 Macro. It just has 'magic' compared to my other lenses: I'm guessing good micro-contrast is the source.
I am dubious of his claim since my lenses having the most "pop" and 3-D just happen to also be the best-corrected. I don't know about microcontrast since I am not sure what that means. There are a lot of good options in that focal length range. I only have personal experience with the FA 35/2, which I can recommend with no reservations.

Addendum:

As the saying goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating"; I suggest browsing the Lens Sample Photo Archive for the lenses you are interested in and go with the one that best fits your idea of "pop" or "magic". I will caution that many of the example images are the work of some of this site's more accomplished photographers, many of which could shoot through the bottom of a drinking glass and make it look good.
Lens Sample Photo Archive - PentaxForums.com
I suggest sorting by thread name rather than depending on the search feature or the index sticky. (Things are slow to make their way into the index.)


Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 08-27-2019 at 02:58 PM.
08-27-2019, 02:37 PM   #12
Seeker of Knowledge
Loyal Site Supporter
aslyfox's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 24,563
QuoteOriginally posted by Apet-Sure Quote
Do you have the SMC or HD version? . . .
HD or SMC limiteds

the SMC will be cheaper I'm sure

you may want to look at this " in Depth " comparison
QuoteQuote:
HD vs. SMC Pentax Limited Primes

Introduction

At Photokina 2012, Pentax announced a brand new lens coating which they named the "HD Coating". This coating is slowly starting to replace the conventional "Super Multi Coating" (SMC) on high-end Pentax glass. According to Pentax, the new HD coating greatly reduces reflectance without making any sacrifices in terms of durability. This kind of coating isn't new to the industry, however: Pentax digital medium format lenses have been treated with a slightly less durable variant called Aero Bright coating ever since their debut, and other manufacturers have been using "nano" coatings on their premium lenses for several years.

The modern SMC coating that DA lenses have been using for about a decade now isn't the same as the SMC coating that Pentax originally launched in the 1970's. In fact, most DA lenses have been said to have a "ghostless" coating, so while we don't expect the difference between SMC and HD coating to be be a game-changer, it should certainly still be easy to observe. . . .
Read more at: HD vs. SMC Pentax Limited Primes Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

a word of warning, it might be hard to resist getting more limiteds should you get one:

the limiteds do they live up to the reputation and why - Page 17 - PentaxForums.com

[ 17 pages about the Limited Lens series ]
08-27-2019, 03:19 PM - 4 Likes   #13
Moderator
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
pschlute's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Surrey, UK
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 8,117
QuoteOriginally posted by Apet-Sure Quote
in the 30-35mm range, what lenses would you recommend that have decent sharpness (say 8.5 and up), very good micro-contrast, and don't cost a fortune. I'm willing to trade so-so CA control
Ok so the bit I am ignoring in your requirements is "don't cost a fortune"

My stand out favourite in that FL is the 31mm 1.8 Ltd. It is sharp as a sharp thing, even wide open. But the real property it has is the way it transitions from in-focus to out of focus. It has that "pop". CA can be a problem shooting against a bright sky.

Recent captures with the 31mm and K1





08-27-2019, 03:32 PM   #14
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Goldsboro North Carolina
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,860
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
I don't know about microcontrast since I am not sure what that means.
I had run across the term several times, and got the general impression that it is a good thing. The article I mentioned above does a good job of explaining what it is and why it's important to consider it. The 'character', 'feel', and 3D 'depth' of a lens are affected by it. Like lines per millimeter of resolution are important for sharpness, micro-contrast is important for color transition resolution. He shows two graphics that have black on the left and white on the right with a range of grays in-between. One represents a lens with low micro-contrast and one with high micro-contrast. The low one has some banding in the grays; the high one is completely smooth. In a color image, it is analogous to bit depth. The more bits of digital resolution (jpg vs. RAW), the smoother and more realistic the color transitions are. The eye perceives this as added 'detail' in the image. He talks about 'deep' lenses (high m-c) and 'flat' lenses (low m-c). The perceived 3D depth of a lens is based on its micro-contrast. Older lenses with fewer elements tended to have better m-c, which gives them their desirable character and rendering. At least, according to him. I'm just learning about all this myself. What is the 'pixie dust' some lenses have? It just might be good micro-contrast.
08-27-2019, 03:34 PM - 1 Like   #15
amateur dirt farmer
Loyal Site Supporter
pepperberry farm's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: probably out in a field somewhere...
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 41,267
35mm f2.8 Macro Limited - full stop

if you are looking for the best for APS-C in the 35mm range, this is it.... HD or SMC doesn't matter, the optics are the same and are deadly....

my album:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pepperberryfarm/albums/72157696313578554
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
3d, acquisition, control, designs, e.g, k-mount, lens, lenses, pentax lens, sigma 28mm, slr lens, tessar
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
prime, prime, everywhere a prime... pepperberry farm Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 18570 1 Hour Ago 05:04 AM
Spiratone 400mm M42 - Interesting Acquisition jawats Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 15 02-11-2019 08:11 AM
Gear Acquisition Syndrome Lev General Photography 63 12-13-2018 09:43 AM
I have Lens Acquisition Syndrome (L.A.S.) Do I need this lens and if so which one? Craigbob Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 17 02-21-2018 08:32 PM
A timely drone acquisition Tas General Talk 4 01-18-2018 05:03 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:16 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top