[Sandy Hancock]

I can see no sense in buying the 35 limited. Especially as it is no true Pentax limited (it is a Tokina design as far as I know)

Please quote a source for that outrageous claim. On both levels.

1) There is no possible reason not to recommend the DA 35/2.8 Macro Limited. It is one of the best APS-C lenses ever made.

2) It's not a Tokina. Any more than the DFA*50, or the DA*50-135, or the DA10-17. Get over it.

[Fogel70]

Yeah, DA35ltd is one of the most versatile APS-C prime lens ever manufactured. For any system...
If I had to live with only one prime lens for my KP, it would be DA35ltd.

[que es tu]

Y’all are great! I made a PDF of this thread and will review the responses today. Lots of good stuff here! Anyone else who wants to chime in, feel free! All help is appreciated, and constructive criticism is welcome!

[bobbotron]

I’ve owned the 70mm HD for a few years, it’s great for portraits and detail shots. I use it for tighter landscape shots.

[TaoMaas]

I'm a fan of the 70mm Limited, but then my eye tends more towards telephoto, rather than wide angle, so it suits me. I don't feel it conflicts with my 100mm macro because it's so much smaller and lighter. But then, my 100mm is the old FA macro so it's a heavy beast. As others have said, there's a softness to the images the 70mm produces. To my eye, it has more to do with the way colors render, as opposed to actual sharpness because the 70mm is plenty sharp. Since you're into macro...if it were me...I'd probably replace the 40mm with the 35mm macro Limited, and then add the 70mm to fill the gap between 35mm and 100mm. The good news is that there's not really a wrong answer here. All of the lenses being discussed are great.

[Serkevan]

or somebody will bring up the fact that you should forgo the 70 and get the 77 Limited instead...

I've heard getting the 77 is a gateway drug to buying a K-1...

(Not me, no. I bought the K-1 to have an excuse for the Princesses )

[que es tu]

or somebody will bring up the fact that you should forgo the 70 and get the 77 Limited instead...

Well, though the 77 Ltd is the sexiest lens I have seen, the price is way out of my league considering I am not sure how much I would use it. Still, I would love to have one just to stare at it!!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 08:46 ----------

Back to topic.

Qu es tu, as you allready have a macro and the 40 mm I can see no sense in buying the 35 limited. Especially as it is no true Pentax limited (it is a Tokina design as far as I know).

If you need the 70 ltd. I do not know and I am fear your are on your own to find it out, sorry. Best way to do so is to take a zoom lens which includes 70 mm and use it a while a that focal lens only. Then you will have a good idea if the focal lens does help you in your photography.
Additionaly you have to tak ein account, that the 70 ltd. has the typical pixi dust a portrait lens needs.

I do own a Sigma 70 mm, but I very seldom use it for portrait on my K-1 (or general photograpyh), because it lacks the pixi dust. I prefer 50 mm on APS-C instead.

I began testing the 70mm length with my 18-135 yesterday. It feels odd to me and I can’t yet see the uses for it. I will continue to experiment and compare rendering, background, and perspective on different subjects to see what I think. Thank you!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 08:50 ----------

I have both the DA-70 and FA-77 and I think both are great lenses.
I use the DA-70 in my travel light kit (K-01, DA 15, DA 40 and DA 70) and has often pulled off nice images. But it really depends on what you want to shoot of course.

For me, the 70 was my all rounder lens. For me it was a slightly shorter, slightly slower 77. The rendering of the 70 is every bit as nice as the 77. It gave me my favorite angle of view for portraits, and for product photography it gave ample room for lighting placement. For me, the 70 was the perfect short telephoto. It's the one lens I really miss from my APC-C days.

Good insights. Thank you! I have thought of using 15, 40, 70 or 21, 40, 70 as a versatile prime kit. It is just that the 70mm is niggling at me about how to use it! I will keep experimenting with my zooms, and reading the responses here!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 09:13 ----------

If you like telephoto landscapes like I do, the DA 70 Limited is brilliant.

The term “telephoto landscape” has always intrigued me as it seems like a contradiction of terms! Would this be considered a telephoto landscape?

Pentax SMC 18-135 @ 70mm:

[jgnfld]

Someone mentioned still life photography a ways back as a strength with this lens. I agree...

[que es tu]

Someone mentioned still life photography a ways back as a strength with this lens. I agree...

Nice photo! I saw this in the review section and it is a compelling reason for the 70mm Ltd!

[Wheatfield]

The term “telephoto landscape” has always intrigued me as it seems like a contradiction of terms! Would this be considered a telephoto landscape?

To a degree we have been programmed into thinking that "landscape" means wide angle lenses and sweeping views of of massive vistas. When I was shooting 4x5 film, my favourite landscape lens was the Nikkor 210mm f5.6, which gave a field of view similar to a 70mm lens on 35mm or a 50mm lens on APS-C, and often I cropped those images down to a similar field of view as a 105mm on 35mm or it's 70mm field of view equivalent on APS-C. My ideal landscape lens on the 4x5 format would have been 300mm, but I was never able to talk myself into spending the $$.
Now I tend to shoot a lot of my landscapes with the DFA* 85/1.4, and often crop in a little bit, bringing me closer to the angle of view you would get with the 70mm lens on APS-C.
Its easy to pigeon hole "landscape" photography as must be shot with a wide angle to include as much as possible, but more often than not there are better pictures within that sweeping vista that can be plucked out with a telephoto lens.
I just checked my Lightroom catalogue, and it seems I rarely use wide angle lenses in landscape photography, most of my pictures are taken with lenses ranging from the 50mm standard (I use a K1) up to about 150mm. Less than 10% of my landscapes fall outside of that focal length range, and less than half of that are wide angle shots.
Anyway, that's just my experience, but the point is, there is a very strong case to be made that landscapes are not the exclusive domain of wide angle lenses.

[que es tu]

On a crop sensor the 100 is quite long. I admit I’m fine with that but it is pushing the norm. I find the 70 or 77 is about as long as most common portraits poses can be done with normal distances. But I’ve used a 400 on apsc to shoot 3/4 headshots so I’m weird.

The 70 is fabulous. But so is the 35. Which you would use more is not know.

Good points. Yes it is true that I can’t know which I will use more, and even that vacillates over time! Reading the responses, I am slightly leaning toward the 35 Ltd, but the 70 is still whispering to me, mostly because it is an unknown! Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 10:13 ----------

Yeah, DA35ltd is one of the most versatile APS-C prime lens ever manufactured. For any system...
If I had to live with only one prime lens for my KP, it would be DA35ltd.

I think @northcoastgreg said the 35 Ltd is the best SLR lens they have ever used!

[pepperberry farm]

Well, though the 77 Ltd is the sexiest lens I have seen, the price is way out of my league considering I am not sure how much I would use it. Still, I would love to have one just to stare at it!!

oh... you want sexy?


Voigtlander Nokton 58/1.4 or its predecessor, the Auto-Topcor 58/1.4

[que es tu]

Yes all the limiteds are great, or so I’ve heard! So far the 21mm Ltd is the easiest to use and most forgiving, and the 100 macro can be difficult to handhold without catch-in-focus. So, if I replace the 40 with the 35, then get the 70 to fill in the gap, I would have them all and the debate would be over!!!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 10:37 ----------

oh... you want sexy?


Voigtlander Nokton 58/1.4 or its predecessor, the Auto-Topcor 58/1.4

Oh yes! I have looked into the Voightlander lens too! Very nice! The modern lenses have nothing on the aesthetics of those classics!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 10:47 ----------

Yeah, DA35ltd is one of the most versatile APS-C prime lens ever manufactured. For any system...
If I had to live with only one prime lens for my KP, it would be DA35ltd.

I have heard people say that! Very good reason to get the 35mm first!

---------- Post added 01-20-23 at 11:07 ----------

oh... you want sexy?


Voigtlander Nokton 58/1.4 or its predecessor, the Auto-Topcor 58/1.4

I just looked and yours is the only review for the Topcor!

[PKMike]

The comments here have covered it well. I own all of the DA Limeteds and they are all great lenses. They all have advantages and disadvantages.
(35) This is only opinion, but for me the 35 has captured the most outstanding images of them all, which makes me feel that it may be the best (for image quality) of them all. That said it does have some downsides. It can hunt for focus in lower light situations (and the focus throw is quite long). It is not as compact as 21, 40 and 70. However, the image quality is so stunning that it would be the last DA Limited I would part with.
(70) A Stellar performer. Beautiful image quality. I use it on K-3 and (more often) on K-1ii, which makes it very versatile for me. Something to think about if you think you might ever go full frame.

[northcoastgreg]

I think @northcoastgreg said the 35 Ltd is the best SLR lens they have ever used!

I probably said something along those lines six or seven years ago. I have come across better lenses since: the FA 31 and FA 43, for example --- although those are FF lenses and it can be tricky to compare FF lenses with lenses designed for smaller formats, which often have to be sharper (to make up for the smaller sensor), and hence may not be as good in other areas (like rendering). Also, for years I shot the DA 35 on the K-5 series of cameras, with their 16 mpx. But when I've shot it on the 24 mpx sensor of the KP, especially when in pixel shift mode, I've noticed a few weaknesses in the lens. Like the DA 15 (although not nearly to the same extent) the DA 35 is not as sharp toward the edges as in the center at longer distances. In ordinary use it hardly matters, but it's there nonetheless.

Now I don't own any of the FA or DA limited telephotos, because (1) I'm not a portrait photographer and (2) I find that in telephoto landscape photography, I really prefer the flexibility of a zoom. That doesn't mean, of course, that you can't use the DA 70 for landscapes. It's just a question of how comfortable the photographer is taking landscapes at that specific focal length.