[jgnfld]

The 40mm renders water, snow, trees, sky and sea beautifully...to my mind anyway. Especially at golden hour...



Composited+ND filter both to get a horsehair effect...

[aslyfox]

Warning

about those limited ( FA, SMC DA and HD DA ) primes

it is hard to stop at just one

the limiteds do they live up to the reputation and why

the limiteds do they live up to the reputation and why - Page 26 - PentaxForums.com

[jgnfld]

Warning

about those limiteds ( FA, SMC DA and HD DA ) primes

it is hard to stop at just one





the limiteds do they live up to the reputation and why - Page 26 - PentaxForums.com

Lookin at a DA70 right now.

[gatorguy]

Lookin at a DA70 right now.

FWIW a DA70 on your K70 would be considered a short telephoto rather than a landscape lens. If you really want one for landscapes you should be staying under 40mm and really well under.. It's going to be tough getting much of that oceanview you're seeing in the DA70 frame. It''s a great lens, but more for portraits and close-in shots.

[aslyfox]

Lookin at a DA70 right now.

this might be of interest then

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

[MSL]

I would like to add a wide angle Limited lens for Landscapes, and would like to get feedback and any suggestions. I'm curious what is the most popular Limited wide angle lens?

I have been wrestling with a similar question, however I started from a slightly different position. The two questions I've been trying to figure out is 1) whether I want another zoom or I would prefer something lighter and 2) do I need something wider than 18mm. To answer the second I've been using my 18-55 and often forcing myself to stay in the 18-21 mm range. It is something you might want to try if you have a kit lens and you aren't sure of the field of view that you will need.

[ramseybuckeye]

I would like to add a wide angle Limited lens for Landscapes, and would like to get feedback and any suggestions. I'm curious what is the most popular Limited wide angle lens?

TIA!!

I don't have any idea what the most 'popular' limited is. I have two limited lens both considered wide angle, the HD DA 15 and HD DA 20-40. I do shoot a lot of landscapes and these two do get used for that as do many other lenses I own. The 20-40 is the most useful of the two, the 15 is too wide for many landscapes, perfect for some. The 20-40 is a more useful range for myself, and it is weather resistant, which is important to me. After the 20-40 I probably use the DA 55-300 PLM next for most landscapes. Here's a couple recent examples from the 20-40






And one from the 55-300 at 135mm

---

Last edited by ramseybuckeye; 01-02-2021 at 05:25 PM.

[DWS1]

I think you may want to also consider where you are taking your landscape photos from. If you are having to do some serious hiking to get to your locations you have to ask yourself how much extra photo gear do you want to carry along with your normal hiking gear, including food & water. If you're shooting from close to the road, then it's not much of a consideration.

Since most of my shots involve quite a bit of hiking, I chose to use the DA 16-85 on a K70 over taking a few different primes. I don't really like changing a lens in the middle of the wilderness. The DA 16-85 is a very good lens and provides a lot of flexibility when out in the backcountry.

[Just1MoreDave]

I suggest the SMC version of the DA21 Limited because you already have a good lens at 35mm. The SMC version is better at sunstars and cheaper. I wanted one for a ling time. What I did was set a price that I was willing to pay and waited for one in the marketplace. The cheaper ones may not have the original box or pouch or whatever. I think the hood is necessary for all the Limiteds.

There are excellent technical reviews here comparing HD vs SMC versions, so look at those first to see if you want HD.

Eventually you'll end up with all of them. I set the same price for the DA 35 and DA 70, and found them all in short time. I didn't look for the DA 15 because I suck at wide angle.

[jgnfld]

FWIW a DA70 on your K70 would be considered a short telephoto rather than a landscape lens. If you really want one for landscapes you should be staying under 40mm and really well under.. It's going to be tough getting much of that oceanview you're seeing in the DA70 frame. It''s a great lens, but more for portraits and close-in shots.

Mostly these days I use my KP as a first body (and ONLY body) when hiking.

Landscape was a misstatement...meant short tele but when I'm on the ocean, for example, the distances are such that my 40 Ltd is often a bit wide.
As in taking pictures of friend's boats for them out on the water.

A 70mm would have improved this pic over a 40mm, for example, (assuming it renders the light at golden hour like my 40) as this pic is cropped down into the area of a 70's FOV. I'd rather have had a bit extra reach for it w/ a Ltd. over my 16-85 which is really nice but just isn't quiter the same near golden hour (my lens copies/my eyes anyway).

[Sandy Hancock]

I have all the DA and FA Limiteds. May favourite on crop is the DA21, and my favourite on full frame is the FA31. The fact that they are nearly identical in field of view is probably no coincidence.

As for losing their character stopped down, I respectfully disagree.

DA21









FA31

[mannyquinto]

Got the HD 21 first and is still my mostly used lens but added a SMC 15 for a wider view and sunburst. The DA 15 is rarely used but when you need/want wider then it is must. My 3rd lens was the 16-45 and was the basis why I ended with the HD21 and DA15 for a smaller/lighter combo.

[pinholecam]

On APSC, the DA15ltd is unique to the Pentax system.
Tiny (hence very portable), very flare resistant, and the starburst (for the non-HD version)
I used it a lot before my switch to the K1.
Add in simple vertical frame panos and its versatility is further increased.













---------- Post added 01-03-2021 at 06:45 PM ----------

On the K1, the Ltd that is most versatile is certainly the FA31ltd.
A decent smallish sized for a fast f1.8 wide lens, superb reportage focal length and very flexible natural landscape focal length.
The amazing draw of the subject when slightly stopped down is icing on the cake.

[MrB1]

Primarily, I'm looking for the best image quality in the 15-35mm range. I have the 35/3.5 and love that lens. I also have some longer reach lenses. Just need something wider for landscapes.

In the DA Limited series, it would seem hard to beat the image quality of the 35mm Macro:-

HD Pentax-DA 35mm F2.8 Limited Macro Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

It is also a versatile "standard" focal length lens on APS-C, similar to the 50mm lenses that came with full-frame 35 mm film cameras, with the added advantage of its close-focusing capability.

As mentioned by pinholecam in Post 28, if you require a wider field of view, and your landscape shots are of subjects for which movement is not an issue, you can achieve any width (or height) by shooting overlapping shots with the same focus and exposure settings, and stitching them together to make a composite image. You might already have this capability in your imaging software; if not, there are free software applications available (e.g. Microsoft Image Composite Editor). The result is a very high resolution image.

Philip

[Alnjpn]

Another vote for the DA21, its almost perfect fov for landscapes on an APSC, perhaps slightly tight. but I find the 15mm is just too wide unless you have a good foreground.