[Ash]

Overall, I'll be boring and say the 77ltd - but it just can't be matched by anything else I've tried.

FA 100 macro's gotta be close to it, though, along with the DA* 16-50.

Then again, the DA 12-24 just gives me great pleasure to shoot with, and the DA 10-17 is just such a gem of a lens to have.

Oh, I don't know anymore!

I will get back to you after I get my M 50mm F1.7 and Sigma 30mm F1.4 at the moment my Samyang 85mm F1.4 is probably my favourite...the bokeh and colour rendering is cool. My most used lens is my Sigma 135-400 which I use for sports...

The 30mm Sigma looks like it will be a hit, I tried it on the K-7 (sweeeeet) and it was razor sharp...can't wait to pay it off...

[Zubati Kit]

among others I own DA35ltd, FA43ltd, DA*55, DA70, 90mm Tamron macro, voigtlander 180mm f4...

what is the best??? what does it even mean... best in what aspect, all lenses are great... but some perhaps a tiny bit better than others... still my favourite is...

43mm ltd... at f4-5.6 I am sort of only using this lens for everything and using the rest on "as needed" basis, like 55* in low light or bad weather etc... if something else is stuck on my K20D when opportunity arises I don't complain but I sort of prefer 43ltd...

Voigtlander 180mm f4 is sort of my second favourite, but due to it's fl you can use it only when applicable... razor thin DOF with that lens, i can even see a difference between 2-3km and 5km objects at infinity... hard to use sometimes but rewarding...

43 is the combination of IQ perfection, ease of use, slight tele (which is perspective I prefer, I may prefer it because of this lens also... not sure anymore what came first ), small size, and did I mention rendering... beautiful...

[robbiec]

Absolutely without a doubt my Super Takumar 85 f1.9, colours, resolution, bokeh and even the tactile feel.



Rufus!

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[jerrymouse]

DA 40 ltd..my first limited <3 So cute, so small <3

And my new love...Pentax DA 18-250 (I sold both kit lens after buying this for 200€)...even at 250mm, it seems sharped than DA 50-200 and I like the colors more. Only drawback is speed.

[Lowell Goudge]

Almost every lens I own is the best at something. It is easier to list the exceptions.

My vivitar 400mmF5.6, is not as good as my sigma APO 70-200mmF2.8 and 2X TC

My SMC-FA 28-80 F3.5-4.5 is not as fast as my Tamron 28-75 F2.8 (hard to judge between the two on image or build)

My vivitar 20-21- F3.5 is not quite as good or as fast as my sigma APO 70-200mmF2.8, and also lacks AF, but does to 1:3 macro so I would call this a toss up.

aside from that I would ahve to say that all my other lenses are best at something unique. The only absolute duplicate I have in focal length and speed are my Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm F2.5 and my Vivitar 28mm F2.5 (M42 mount) Neither lens cost more that $10 and I just have not had the time to do a head to head. At the moment the tamron wins because it has a PK/A mount

[gofour3]

I originally replied to this thread back in March, but have added a few more lenses to my collection. This is a revised list of favorites in each lens category:

Fish-eye: K17/4
Super Wide-angle: K18/3.5
Wide-angle: K28/3.5
Standard: K55/1.8
Telephoto: K200/2.5
Super-telephoto: K400/5.6
Zoom: FA28-105MM F4-5.6 [IF] (I only have one zoom, so it wins by default)
Macro: K50/4

[bdery]

Most used : Sigma 17-70. Most satisfying : FA 50 macro. Best optically : F 50 1,7. Best colours, contrast, and results I'm the most happy with : Vivitar series 1 70-210.

If I can only keep one, it'll be the Sigma. But my kit as a whole is extremely balanced and it allows me to do what I want in most situations.

[gdog]

Between da*300, da*50-135, da 40 lmtd and da 16-45 my best and most used is the da*300.

[2Thumbs]

For sharpness - S-M-C Takumar 50mm f/1.4

For everyday - S-M-C Takumar 28mm f/3.5

What's great about the 28mm is the focal length is around 45mm on a crop so quite 'standard' and setting the aperture to f/8 and the focus ring to the red numbers (35ft iirc) means it'll focus from 5 feet to infinity so it's great for just pointing 'n' shooting without worrying about if the shot will be in focus. It's a great feature.

[Ben_Edict]

Favorite: FA* 28-70/2.8
- tack sharp, fairly compact, large max aperture, covers the range I use the most

I can go with most of that, but "compact" - that's really stretching the definition of compact

Ben

[georgweb]

In addition to my original post, my most used and most trusted lens is an M42 Mamiya Sekor SX 1.4/55. I was after the best IQ I could get
no matter what. You will most probably get that from a 24x36mm standard lens on the Pentax DSLR. I use the SMC Tak 1.4/50 + 1.8/55
as well as the Contax pendants and many more 50ies. The winner is the Mamiya for my style of photography.

Anything I want: Colors, bokeh, spherical appearance, 'sharpness' right from f/1.4 (this one's 2.8 probably, no PP but cropped)

I have just found the original design. Frank Mechelhoff claims it is the 1961 Zeiss Ikon Contarex Planar 1.4/55. This lens has seen quite some
mass production as the Rolleinar MC 1:1,4/55mm in Rollei QBM mount (only on Canon EOS without slaughtering).

It seems strange that 1960's designs shall be better than those of the seventies and onwards. OTOH "better" always just meant sharper in a
lab-test perspective. That can involve skipping bokeh and rendition characteristics in favor of the lab test. I am having an eye on those old
Auto Takumars and Nikkors and stuff, but they are hard to find. Canon SSC FD lenses are said to be excellent also, but impossible to get onto
PK-mount.

I am only talking 6mpix K100D here, so maybe I'll revert the pecking order when those oldies would be mounted on a K20D or similar .-)
Best, Georg (the other)

[EsBee]

Currenly Pentax-F 50mm f1.4. Prior to that, Pentax-K 35mm f3.5.

[deadwolfbones]

I think my Helios-44K-4 is my favorite, but I dunno if I could call it the best.

[nostatic]

77/1.8. It is magic.