DA 40 Limited appreciation thread

pingflood · 11-11-2008, 05:40 PM

For some reason this lens is not getting enough love. Maybe it's the quirky focal length (equivalent field of view to a 60mm on full frame is just a little weird), maybe it's the diminutive size, maybe it's the somewhat annoying screw-on lens cap. But it's a great piece of glass and one that deserves some attention!

So yeah, ok, this is just a thinly disguised "post your good shots with the 40" thread... but hey, nothing wrong with that.

Let's see them! I'll kick it off with one from today... also, out of curiosity, has anybody had issues with infinity focus and/or performance when it comes to distant objects? Mine is tack sharp at all distances but I've had a couple of people now comment on having troubles getting good results with subjects far away.

paolojackson · 11-11-2008, 07:30 PM

I want a DA 40 so I hope I can contribute to this thread one day...

deuces · 11-11-2008, 07:48 PM

Sorry, most are commuter shots... But hell, that's what I got this lens for!

I love the wet greasy colors this lens puts out.

1

2

3

4

5

6

sharko · 11-11-2008, 09:35 PM

Perfect timing for this thread. I've been trying to decide between this lens and the Ultron 40mm for a pancake lens.

jsherman999 · 11-11-2008, 11:01 PM

.

Nice thread!

Marc Sabatella · 11-11-2008, 11:02 PM

Probably my favorite of my lenses. Just a perfect focal length for casual candids, I think, and for environmental portraits. Works pretty well for landscape too (if your intent is to focus on a particular "thing" in the landscape rather than a panoramic type view), and really, I never cease to be surprised at its versatility. Plus it's hard to argue with the IQ, size, focus speed, or price.

Here's some of my favorites:

yipchunyu · 11-11-2008, 11:02 PM

i got this len too. But my pictures are far behind those posted in this post.
haha. i think the brain / man behind the camera / lens is far more important.

TourDeForce · 11-11-2008, 11:11 PM

I had a copy of this lens for a short while. I found it to be a fantastic lens with great color rendition, but it was a bit soft compared to some of the other lenses I used - like the A 50mm f/1.7 and the FA 50mm 1.4 and 1.7. The auto-focus was blazing fast and sure. All around an excellent lens for candids.

Not a bad lens for portraiture, though not manual focus friendly.

Jay, your little one is growing FAST! Kinda fun to see photos of him as he spans the gap between sleeping baby in a stroller to bruiser with a soda can.

dugrant153 · 11-11-2008, 11:16 PM

I shot an entire wedding with just this one lens and a Pentax AF540FGZ flash. The bride and groom very thoroughly thoroughly pleased with the photos and recommended I consider professional photography!! hehehe

This lens is very capable and very compact. I sometimes use it for those times when I don't want to bring really lug my camera but would like to have it handy (if you know what I mean). It makes the camera ultra-small and on top of that, the image quality is excellent.

Not quite as sharp as the Pentax A 50 F1.7 per the poster above, but really decent

pingflood · 11-12-2008, 06:01 AM

Originally posted by TourDeForce

I had a copy of this lens for a short while. I found it to be a fantastic lens with great color rendition, but it was a bit soft compared to some of the other lenses I used - like the A 50mm f/1.7 and the FA 50mm 1.4 and 1.7.

Out of curiosity, did you ever do any focus tests with it? I thought mine was just soft wide open (it looked stunning stopped down), but thought of actually doing some informal testing a couple of months later. Sure enough, it was off and needed something like a -6 (edit: just looked and it's -8) adjustment to be dead on. Now it's gloriously sharp even wide open and I can't believe what I've been missing out on.

Some nice examples of portraits in this thread so far; it straddles the line between head-and-shoulders type portraits and wider "environmental portraiture" quite nicely!

**germar** · 11-12-2008, 06:10 AM

I like this one. My kid never new I took it.

germar

soccerjoe5 · 11-12-2008, 06:11 AM

Some of my recent shots with the DA40:

pingflood · 11-22-2008, 05:44 PM

Bump!

Red · 11-22-2008, 10:52 PM

Erik · 11-23-2008, 04:29 AM

My first Pentax prime! I like this lens very much. Bought it used recently for a good price and I'm happy with the way it makes the K100D so compact. The funky lens cap/hood combo I could have lived without, though.

Took it out yesterday, shot some random things around the 'hood:

11-11-2008, 05:40 PM	#1
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169	DA 40 Limited appreciation thread For some reason this lens is not getting enough love. Maybe it's the quirky focal length (equivalent field of view to a 60mm on full frame is just a little weird), maybe it's the diminutive size, maybe it's the somewhat annoying screw-on lens cap. But it's a great piece of glass and one that deserves some attention! So yeah, ok, this is just a thinly disguised "post your good shots with the 40" thread... but hey, nothing wrong with that. Let's see them! I'll kick it off with one from today... also, out of curiosity, has anybody had issues with infinity focus and/or performance when it comes to distant objects? Mine is tack sharp at all distances but I've had a couple of people now comment on having troubles getting good results with subjects far away.

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11-11-2008, 07:30 PM	#2
paolojackson Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 379	I want a DA 40 so I hope I can contribute to this thread one day...

11-11-2008, 07:48 PM	#3
deuces Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 168	Sorry, most are commuter shots... But hell, that's what I got this lens for! I love the wet greasy colors this lens puts out. 1 2 3 4 5 6

11-11-2008, 09:35 PM	#4
sharko Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: City of Angels Photos: Gallery Posts: 278	Perfect timing for this thread. I've been trying to decide between this lens and the Ultron 40mm for a pancake lens.

11-11-2008, 11:01 PM	#5
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	. Nice thread!

11-11-2008, 11:02 PM	#6
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	Probably my favorite of my lenses. Just a perfect focal length for casual candids, I think, and for environmental portraits. Works pretty well for landscape too (if your intent is to focus on a particular "thing" in the landscape rather than a panoramic type view), and really, I never cease to be surprised at its versatility. Plus it's hard to argue with the IQ, size, focus speed, or price. Here's some of my favorites:

11-11-2008, 11:02 PM	#7
yipchunyu Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: HK Posts: 171	i got this len too. But my pictures are far behind those posted in this post. haha. i think the brain / man behind the camera / lens is far more important.

11-11-2008, 11:11 PM	#8
TourDeForce Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 514	I had a copy of this lens for a short while. I found it to be a fantastic lens with great color rendition, but it was a bit soft compared to some of the other lenses I used - like the A 50mm f/1.7 and the FA 50mm 1.4 and 1.7. The auto-focus was blazing fast and sure. All around an excellent lens for candids. Not a bad lens for portraiture, though not manual focus friendly. Jay, your little one is growing FAST! Kinda fun to see photos of him as he spans the gap between sleeping baby in a stroller to bruiser with a soda can.

11-11-2008, 11:16 PM	#9
dugrant153 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,059	I shot an entire wedding with just this one lens and a Pentax AF540FGZ flash. The bride and groom very thoroughly thoroughly pleased with the photos and recommended I consider professional photography!! hehehe This lens is very capable and very compact. I sometimes use it for those times when I don't want to bring really lug my camera but would like to have it handy (if you know what I mean). It makes the camera ultra-small and on top of that, the image quality is excellent. Not quite as sharp as the Pentax A 50 F1.7 per the poster above, but really decent

11-12-2008, 06:01 AM	#10
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	Originally posted by TourDeForce I had a copy of this lens for a short while. I found it to be a fantastic lens with great color rendition, but it was a bit soft compared to some of the other lenses I used - like the A 50mm f/1.7 and the FA 50mm 1.4 and 1.7. Out of curiosity, did you ever do any focus tests with it? I thought mine was just soft wide open (it looked stunning stopped down), but thought of actually doing some informal testing a couple of months later. Sure enough, it was off and needed something like a -6 (edit: just looked and it's -8) adjustment to be dead on. Now it's gloriously sharp even wide open and I can't believe what I've been missing out on. Some nice examples of portraits in this thread so far; it straddles the line between head-and-shoulders type portraits and wider "environmental portraiture" quite nicely!

11-12-2008, 06:10 AM	#11
germar Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: North Palm Beach, Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 728	I like this one. My kid never new I took it. germar

11-22-2008, 10:52 PM	#14
Red Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Suwanee, GA USA Posts: 153

11-12-2008, 06:11 AM	#12
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Philippines Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,343	Some of my recent shots with the DA40:

11-22-2008, 05:44 PM	#13
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	Bump!

11-23-2008, 04:29 AM	#15
Erik Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Umeå, Sweden Posts: 755	My first Pentax prime! I like this lens very much. Bought it used recently for a good price and I'm happy with the way it makes the K100D so compact. The funky lens cap/hood combo I could have lived without, though. Took it out yesterday, shot some random things around the 'hood: