[mattt]

Well... if anyone followed Chris "LeRolls" post in the market place - he unloaded a pile of stuff.. but I didnt see his 77 or 85 primes there... apparently even in times of crisis, once one owns one of those, one is reluctant to let them go...

[Wheatfield]

Well... if anyone followed Chris "LeRolls" post in the market place - he unloaded a pile of stuff.. but I didnt see his 77 or 85 primes there... apparently even in times of crisis, once one owns one of those, one is reluctant to let them go...

I have a few of those lenses, and yes, they will be pried from the clutches of my cold dead hands.

[robbiec]

I have a few of those lenses, and yes, they will be pried from the clutches of my cold dead hands.

I've my crowbar ready for your 200/4 Macro

[Wheatfield]

Check out the DFA 28-105 mm HD. At f/11, no lens is much sharper, it is light and can be bought quite inexpensively used. Perfect landscape lens on a K1. The "ultimate prime" may be a zoom ...

Regards

I hear it isn't much good at apertures wider than f4 and really bad faster than f3.5

Any lens is going to do well at f11 unless it's broken. There isn't any point in buying a fast lens if all your shooting is done in broad daylight at small apertures. This doesn't make it the ultimate lens, it just makes it like every other lens ever made.

[mattt]

I hear it isn't much good at apertures wider than f4 and really bad faster than f3.5

Any lens is going to do well at f11 unless it's broken. There isn't any point in buying a fast lens if all your shooting is done in broad daylight at small apertures. This doesn't make it the ultimate lens, it just makes it like every other lens ever made.

Ahem.. "REAL Landscape photographers" use a tripod so apertures wider than 4 are not really requried.

I have some 28-105 images to look through too - its a great travel lens for all the reasons listed above (including the W/R finish)

[Unregistered User 8]

I hear it isn't much good at apertures wider than f4 and really bad faster than f3.5

Any lens is going to do well at f11 unless it's broken. There isn't any point in buying a fast lens if all your shooting is done in broad daylight at small apertures. This doesn't make it the ultimate lens, it just makes it like every other lens ever made.

I'm not sure it is helpful to the OP to have this sort of reply given to a thoughtful, real world example with images, of a suggested lens.
Varied opinions are what make this excellent site work so well, but being dismissive of others opinions makes interactions more abrasive than they need to be.

EDIT - This reply is posted as a member, and not as a moderator.

[Ash]

Another opinion here, take it or leave it: Each lens has its purpose and capability, of which both are limited by the lens properties. The end result is what matters, and there are some results that clearly a kit zoom cannot produce, whereas the finest prime can - although there aren't many instances where a series of primes cannot produce what a zoom can within that focal range. You would only have to have enough time to change lenses over if you needed a different focal length to shoot with.

Horses for courses.

[Wheatfield]

I'm not sure it is helpful to the OP to have this sort of reply given to a thoughtful, real world example with images, of a suggested lens.
Varied opinions are what make this excellent site work so well, but being dismissive of others opinions makes interactions more abrasive than they need to be.

EDIT - This reply is posted as a member, and not as a moderator.

The OP is asking specifically about prime lenses, not zoom lenses. Technically, the opinion regarding zooms is off topic anyway.

[Wheatfield]

My bad then. I mostly use a Pentax 645Z these days anyway and my "PRIMES" of choice are P67 late-model lenses. I am particularly fond of the P67 75 mm f/2.8 AL and of the P67 165 mm f/2.8 lens, bought new 15 years ago. Both can be used successfully for landscapes starting at f/5.6 and going to f/16. Using primes on a 50 Mpx sensor makes sense whereas a super high quality zoom like the DFA 28-105 mm HD is amply sufficient on a small sensor.

It is until you find f/3.5-5/6 limiting. Like I said, if all you do is stop down to f/11, a coke bottle with a K-Mount is going to meet most every need. If you want to shoot at wider apertures for subject separation, the zoom fails every single time, but a high end prime such as the D FA* 50/1.4 or 85/1.4 sings.

Actually, smaller sensors are far more demanding of lenses than large sensors. The Pentax 645Z has a pixel density of 3.53mp/cm², the K1 is substantially higher density at 4.24mp/cm², the K3III will be 7.11mp/cm², or double the pixel density of the 645Z.
The higher the pixel density, the better the lens needs to be to take full advantage of the sensor.

Also, it appears the OP is not looking at the 645, and is concentrating on 35mm or APS-C, so I'm not sure how a 165 on a 645 equates to what he is asking.

[Wheatfield]

I use only a few primes in little formats. I have mostly FA single focal length lenses : 20 mm f/2.8, 28 mm f/2.8, 35 mm f/2, 50 mm f/1.7, 50 mm f/1.4 and 300 mm f/4.5. I also use a DFA 100 mm f/2.8 macro. All are super sharp on the K3 although they may not have a ravishing metal build like the Limiteds. BTW all my 645 and 67 lenses can be used on a K mount with the proper Pentax adapter and let me tell you nothing comes close to the P67 75 mm f/2.8 and P67 55 mm f/4 in image quality.

Perhaps we should get back to the thread topic.

[TwoUptons]

Where’d you find a Coke bottle with a K-Mount.

I can only find them in Sony E

I think finding the objectively ultimate prime is about like hunting snipe... it’s either a joke someone (likely at the camera shop) is playing on you or something you’re intentionally doing yourself for fun.

I can do things with a Tele-Takumar 300mm f6.3 that no fancy 50mm could ever do, but it’s hardly the “ultimate prime”.

-Eric

[SportsDudeJeff]

Forget the 85, it will upset your datum point of what is acceptably good in a lens and you'll be wanting the 50 too - the 31 is a chunky bit of glass compared to your next biggest (77) but it is a baby compared to the DFA*'s. My advice? Get the 31 and you have a great travel kit and perhaps look at a DFA100 Macro to close off at telephoto.
The DFA* class are a different breed altogether and deserve a separate bag

Kind of like flying first class and getting spoiled for good?

[bdery]

With the new HD limiteds on the horizon and not a lot of info on the silver FA 21 release, I’m patiently waiting trying not to jump the gun. I need the FA 31 Ltd to complete my Ltd (15,21,43,77) collection but the new DFA* 85 is occupying a lot of my research time. I don’t shoot a lot of sports. However I’m planning on doing some traveling so people and landscapes are on the list as well as architectural subjects. Space is limited so I don’t want to pack all my gear. A couple bodies and 2-4 lenses in a bag is ideal.

You want to travel light and have the 77mm. I wouldn't consider the 85 for travel and would think myself properly equipped in your shoes.

For portraits when carrying a large lens is no problem, the 85 makes a lot of sense, however. It's an amazing lens.

In your kit, what I would feel is missing would be a wide FF option, such as the Laowa 12mm.

[RICHARD L.]

Let me reiterate that for travel, the new DFA 28-105 mm HD lens makes a lot of sense. Picture quality is EXCELLENT starting @ f/6.3, very good wide-open and there is no better lens for landscapes. Usable on a K1 FF as well as on an APSc K3 (42-160 mm equivalent then). During my 19 000 km U.S. tour in 2019, most of my pictures were taken with it. Easy to use, you can't ask for much better or predictable results. Colors are saturated and brilliant, focus is accurate and sharpness is outstanding. Check other user's opinions, everybody who uses one seems to be have been awed by its performance.

With the Pentax K1 :



















With the Pentax K3 :

[bdery]

Let me reiterate that for travel, the new DFA 28-105 mm HD lens makes a lot of sense.

I agree that the 28-105 is a great lens, it's my main zoom on the K-1.

By the way those images are nice, and the one after the crater is amazing!