Originally posted by ratjadi Thanks for the answers folks.
@Pentaxor: yes I have the 16-50 and i like this lens. But I need fast. I have the 31 Ltd. and the 35/2 - please don't ask ;-) The 31 Ltd. is my love, but I want wider and fast.
@wlachan: sorry, but I had a Canon 30D some time ago. No way, I hate the placement of the buttons, plus it feels cheap. Even more annoying there is the odd behaviour of the dials, i.e. they change functions depending if A or M mode. This cannot be changed by user and is an absolute no-go for me. The 5D MKII has a very loud shutter too. The K20D's is not the best in that regard, but way better than the Canon.
I am happy with Pentax (exept some AF issues, but I have seen same or even worse problems with high end Canon and Nikon. A side note on AF: I actually think that (some/many) Pros just don't care, from the little I have seen. But look in magazines and ads: even in high gloss there are often photos OOF if you look close).
Well what I really wanted to say is that I need to know if the FA* 24 is any good. So thanks again to wlachan here.
Do you know any online samples of these lenses' (FA* and Sigma) pictures, or more resources?
Thanks.
James/ Roentarre has the FA* 24/2. He explained to me :
"Fa* 24mm f2 is a lens with a lot of cons than pros.
Pros
1. Bokeh are often swirly against most background. Neutral bokeh were noted against highlights. Otherwise, I think this lens probably has the best bokeh among all the fa* or fa limited lenses
2. Fantastic protrait lens using wide open. It performs with great contrast at f2, but worsening the overall look stopping down to f8 (A very weird phenomenon for me)
Cons
1. Prone to wear and tear with metallic paint loss
2. Backlighting setting ruins everything (no colour in shadows and flare flooding is a terminology I would use)
3. Landscape photo stopping down to f8 lacks contrast. Many people talk about weak corner on digital sensor. It really does not bother me with prints up to A3 size. But the lens renders a lot of yellow tone while Fa 31 ltd renders strong evergreen colour. Very interesting colour rendering characteristics.
4. Erratic autoexposure on k20d - unreliable
Summary
Sigma 24mm f1.8 would certainly perform a lot better than Fa* 24mm f2 in many areas. However, Fa* 24mm f2 would certainly beat Sigma 24mm f1.8 if it is used wide open at f2 in settings where the lighting is low contrast and homogenous.
Hope that helps!"
Here are some more shots :
The FA*24 jumps a train that never stops [18 imgs] [Page 1]: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
And here are some tests :
Pentax SMC-FA* 24mm f/2 AL [IF] Review / Lab Test Report
Else check Pbase for samples from the lens.
Mark Dimo's signature picture is from the FA* 24.
Darren M. liked the Sigma 28/1.8 a lot. He has now gone for the Sigma 24/1.8, and also likes that one