Query : Best Pentax DSLR prime lens ?

jsherman999 · 11-20-2009, 07:44 AM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

not really. how would you do a close-up shot (no crops/no resize) ? even in a 100mm (150mm equiv.) on an APS-C sensor camera, you needed a bit of a working distance for your shoots. so much more for the added 30mm for it. a 100mm lens would work perfectly well on a FF camera, the max-out would be at 135mm using a 135mm lens on a FF camera. but the 100mm lens would have a 150mm equivalent and 135mm lens on an APS-C camera would have atleast 200mm FL equivalent. that's a lot of FOV lost. unless you are just shooting a full-head, a 180-200mm would be useable quite near but needed some real distance when shooting 1/4s and 1/2s (outdoors and studio shoot). need to work the macro flash distance as well. again, space is considered here so you dont want your back against the wall or run-out of space to shoot. a versatile and flexible fl is more recommended.

btw, this is also the reason why I got myself an 85mm, because I lost quite some working space to shoot using the 100mm alone.

.

Portrait studio, 180-200 might be too long. Portrait style, with more space to work with - or candids shot in portrait style - 180mm is perfect.

These are at 180mm:

melander · 11-20-2009, 08:41 AM

I must say that I would take with me the Upcomming Pentax DA*30/1.0

**Digitalis** · 11-20-2009, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by melander

I must say that I would take with me the Upcomming Pentax DA*30/1.0

A few months ago we discussed the possibility of such a lens. It turns out that pentax would have to completely redesign the K mount to make such a fast lens, and that would make the rest of their lens series obsolete by doing so. So I hope they don't make it.

Blue · 11-20-2009, 03:23 PM

Originally posted by Digitalis

A few months ago we discussed the possibility of such a lens. It turns out that pentax would have to completely redesign the K mount to make such a fast lens, and that would make the rest of their lens series obsolete by doing so. So I hope they don't make it.

If they can make it work for the Nikon mount, why not the K-mount?

axl · 11-20-2009, 03:30 PM

Originally posted by melander

I must say that I would take with me the Upcomming Pentax DA*30/1.0

Any lens in DAltd or DA* around 30-35mm faster than f2 would compete with their own and very well regarded 31ltd, that would be slightly non logical situation to have 2 premium, high quality and high price products and nothing for average Joe...
since they have just transfered production of ltds to Vietnam, I assume they don't plan to discontinue them any time soon. My conclusion, for a while to come, I don't think we'll see upper end DA(*/ltd) 30ish fast lens.
my 2p

**wtlwdwgn** · 11-20-2009, 06:01 PM

If you're asking for our favorite primes, mine is the DA 35 Limited, relatively inexpensive compared to the other Limiteds. I don't have any of the FA series so I'm not a good judge of those but the images they produce are just amazing.

If you're asking for suggestions because you haven't any and want one, I would also recommend the M 50 f/1.7, a terrific little lens and easy to find on a budget. I also have the wider A 24 f/2.8 which is very good as well and also inexpensive.

Of course if you have an un-limited budget, get one of each and post the images here!

Indianadinos · 11-20-2009, 06:32 PM

Hi,

Well, if in 2012 i will need AF, my choice would be the FA-31 (my best AF lens).
But, if i will still be able to MF, then i would get one of my preferred P/K (85/1.8, 105/2.8, 135/2.5), for their sharpness and bokeh ...

Now, i only guess to reach 2012 still having the strength to bring my "usual" backpack with me (with a 28/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 105/2.8, 135/2.5, 200/4 and a Kiron 105/2.8, the FA-31 being on the camera body) ;-) ...

Cheers

Steve Beswick · 11-20-2009, 07:08 PM

It's the end of the world, and you are worried about which lens to put on your DSLR? Are you aware that some day your batteries are going to die?

For the end of the world I will take a K1000 with a K or M series 50mm, And a truck load of HP5 or Tri-X.

**Digitalis** · 11-20-2009, 08:05 PM

Originally posted by Blue

If they can make it work for the Nikon mount, why not the K-mount?

basically, the K mount is too small. and nikon only have a 35mm f/1.4 - there is a big difference between f/1.4 and f/1.0 - granted the K mount doesn't have the limitations of the F mount. The canon EF mount allows for a 50mm f/1.0 lens - that's why canon changed to the EF mount from the older FD mount - it was too small. Have you noticed that nikon has discintinued most of their FAST glass I.E 28mm f/1.4D AF and they only have a manual focus 35mm f/1.4.. (I'll admit i'm stymied as to why they did that the 28mm f/1.4 was a brilliant lens). Even if you are making a lens for the APS-C format you can still hit the limits of the mount. Although, it is possible to make a 30mm f/1.2 - and in the days of yore, Pentax had a prototype of a 20mm f/1.4 in K mount. it was never released. Pentax also had a 35mm f/1.4 in the works but(as legend has it) it never got as far as production...though there are rumors that this lens does actually exist,only a handful were actually made even fewer sold....as to where they are, no-one knows.

Blue · 11-20-2009, 08:19 PM

Originally posted by Digitalis

basically, the K mount is too small. and nikon only have a 35mm f/1.4 - there is a big difference between f/1.4 and f/1.0 - granted the K mount doesn't have the limitations of the F mount. The canon EF mount allows for a 50mm f/1.0 lens - that's why canon changed to the EF mount from the older FD mount - it was too small. Have you noticed that nikon has discintinued most of their FAST glass I.E 28mm f/1.4D AF and they only have a manual focus 35mm f/1.4.. (I'll admit i'm stymied as to why they did that the 28mm f/1.4 was a brilliant lens). Even if you are making a lens for the APS-C format you can still hit the limits of the mount. Although, it is possible to make a 30mm f/1.2 - and in the days of yore, Pentax had a prototype of a 20mm f/1.4 in K mount. it was never released. Pentax also had a 35mm f/1.4 in the works but(as legend has it) it never got as far as production...though there are rumors that this lens does actually exist,only a handful were actually made even fewer sold....as to where they are, no-one knows.

I'm aware of those Pentax 24x36 wide-angle prototypes. However, if Pentax could make a f1.2 A lens for 24x36, it seems feasible to do so for ~30mm on APS-c. Granted f1.2 on a 30 is a far cry from a 1.0. However, the FD mount was a far cry from the K and F mounts and their were several similar mounts around including Yashica/Contax, Mamiya etc. Canon's real motivation to move to EF had to do with AF systems. I think for Pentax the limit would be 1.1 and that would be a longer F.L.

**Digitalis** · 11-21-2009, 03:01 AM

[QUOTE Granted f1.2 on a 30 is a far cry from a 1.0][/QUOTE]

I own two notilix (noctili?) lenses: the f/1.2 variant and the f/1.0 version, and the differnence between the two isn't as big as you would think.. but those are "normal" focal lengths the dfference between the voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 and the 35mm f/1.2 nokton is huge. if they made a lens like the nokton for Large Format and kept the proportions the same, the blasted thing would be the size of a Big bertha shell. - and it would weigh almost as much too.

Pentaxor · 11-21-2009, 04:12 PM

Originally posted by jsherman999

.

Portrait studio, 180-200 might be too long. Portrait style, with more space to work with - or candids shot in portrait style - 180mm is perfect.

These are at 180mm:

long candid shots Yes, but close corners and up-close shots is a No ! it's either you switch between prime lenses or bring a 50-135mm zoom or a 70-210 zoom.

pcarfan · 11-21-2009, 05:10 PM

FA43/1.9 limited.

jani80k · 11-19-2010, 03:07 PM

FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited. Clearly and without a doubt.

paperbag846 · 11-20-2010, 03:24 PM

While the nature of primes sort of makes it impossible to choose one for everything, my vote would go to the DA 40 ltd, taking rendering, build, and price into account. The 40 is an extremely flexible length, and it's great from wide-open.

Unfortunately while you could make it work for pretty much anything, it would either be too long or too short to be ideal for all sorts of applications.

11-20-2009, 08:19 PM	#55
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by Digitalis basically, the K mount is too small. and nikon only have a 35mm f/1.4 - there is a big difference between f/1.4 and f/1.0 - granted the K mount doesn't have the limitations of the F mount. The canon EF mount allows for a 50mm f/1.0 lens - that's why canon changed to the EF mount from the older FD mount - it was too small. Have you noticed that nikon has discintinued most of their FAST glass I.E 28mm f/1.4D AF and they only have a manual focus 35mm f/1.4.. (I'll admit i'm stymied as to why they did that the 28mm f/1.4 was a brilliant lens). Even if you are making a lens for the APS-C format you can still hit the limits of the mount. Although, it is possible to make a 30mm f/1.2 - and in the days of yore, Pentax had a prototype of a 20mm f/1.4 in K mount. it was never released. Pentax also had a 35mm f/1.4 in the works but(as legend has it) it never got as far as production...though there are rumors that this lens does actually exist,only a handful were actually made even fewer sold....as to where they are, no-one knows. I'm aware of those Pentax 24x36 wide-angle prototypes. However, if Pentax could make a f1.2 A lens for 24x36, it seems feasible to do so for ~30mm on APS-c. Granted f1.2 on a 30 is a far cry from a 1.0. However, the FD mount was a far cry from the K and F mounts and their were several similar mounts around including Yashica/Contax, Mamiya etc. Canon's real motivation to move to EF had to do with AF systems. I think for Pentax the limit would be 1.1 and that would be a longer F.L. Last edited by Blue; 11-20-2009 at 08:28 PM.

11-21-2009, 04:12 PM	#57
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by jsherman999 . Portrait studio, 180-200 might be too long. Portrait style, with more space to work with - or candids shot in portrait style - 180mm is perfect. These are at 180mm: long candid shots Yes, but close corners and up-close shots is a No ! it's either you switch between prime lenses or bring a 50-135mm zoom or a 70-210 zoom. Last edited by Pentaxor; 11-21-2009 at 07:39 PM.

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11-20-2009, 07:44 AM	#46
jsherman999 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,237	Originally posted by Pentaxor not really. how would you do a close-up shot (no crops/no resize) ? even in a 100mm (150mm equiv.) on an APS-C sensor camera, you needed a bit of a working distance for your shoots. so much more for the added 30mm for it. a 100mm lens would work perfectly well on a FF camera, the max-out would be at 135mm using a 135mm lens on a FF camera. but the 100mm lens would have a 150mm equivalent and 135mm lens on an APS-C camera would have atleast 200mm FL equivalent. that's a lot of FOV lost. unless you are just shooting a full-head, a 180-200mm would be useable quite near but needed some real distance when shooting 1/4s and 1/2s (outdoors and studio shoot). need to work the macro flash distance as well. again, space is considered here so you dont want your back against the wall or run-out of space to shoot. a versatile and flexible fl is more recommended. btw, this is also the reason why I got myself an 85mm, because I lost quite some working space to shoot using the 100mm alone. . Portrait studio, 180-200 might be too long. Portrait style, with more space to work with - or candids shot in portrait style - 180mm is perfect. These are at 180mm:

11-20-2009, 08:41 AM	#47
melander Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sweden, Umea Posts: 876	I must say that I would take with me the Upcomming Pentax DA*30/1.0

11-20-2009, 03:22 PM	#48
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	Originally posted by melander I must say that I would take with me the Upcomming Pentax DA*30/1.0 A few months ago we discussed the possibility of such a lens. It turns out that pentax would have to completely redesign the K mount to make such a fast lens, and that would make the rest of their lens series obsolete by doing so. So I hope they don't make it.

11-20-2009, 03:23 PM	#49
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by Digitalis A few months ago we discussed the possibility of such a lens. It turns out that pentax would have to completely redesign the K mount to make such a fast lens, and that would make the rest of their lens series obsolete by doing so. So I hope they don't make it. If they can make it work for the Nikon mount, why not the K-mount?

11-20-2009, 03:30 PM	#50
axl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,183	Originally posted by melander I must say that I would take with me the Upcomming Pentax DA30/1.0 Any lens in DAltd or DA around 30-35mm faster than f2 would compete with their own and very well regarded 31ltd, that would be slightly non logical situation to have 2 premium, high quality and high price products and nothing for average Joe... since they have just transfered production of ltds to Vietnam, I assume they don't plan to discontinue them any time soon. My conclusion, for a while to come, I don't think we'll see upper end DA(*/ltd) 30ish fast lens. my 2p

11-20-2009, 06:01 PM	#51
wtlwdwgn Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Billings, MT Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,845	If you're asking for our favorite primes, mine is the DA 35 Limited, relatively inexpensive compared to the other Limiteds. I don't have any of the FA series so I'm not a good judge of those but the images they produce are just amazing. If you're asking for suggestions because you haven't any and want one, I would also recommend the M 50 f/1.7, a terrific little lens and easy to find on a budget. I also have the wider A 24 f/2.8 which is very good as well and also inexpensive. Of course if you have an un-limited budget, get one of each and post the images here!

11-20-2009, 06:32 PM	#52
Indianadinos Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: France Posts: 128	Hi, Well, if in 2012 i will need AF, my choice would be the FA-31 (my best AF lens). But, if i will still be able to MF, then i would get one of my preferred P/K (85/1.8, 105/2.8, 135/2.5), for their sharpness and bokeh ... Now, i only guess to reach 2012 still having the strength to bring my "usual" backpack with me (with a 28/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 105/2.8, 135/2.5, 200/4 and a Kiron 105/2.8, the FA-31 being on the camera body) ;-) ... Cheers

11-20-2009, 07:08 PM	#53
Steve Beswick Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ontario, California Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,736	It's the end of the world, and you are worried about which lens to put on your DSLR? Are you aware that some day your batteries are going to die? For the end of the world I will take a K1000 with a K or M series 50mm, And a truck load of HP5 or Tri-X.

11-20-2009, 08:05 PM	#54
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	Originally posted by Blue If they can make it work for the Nikon mount, why not the K-mount? basically, the K mount is too small. and nikon only have a 35mm f/1.4 - there is a big difference between f/1.4 and f/1.0 - granted the K mount doesn't have the limitations of the F mount. The canon EF mount allows for a 50mm f/1.0 lens - that's why canon changed to the EF mount from the older FD mount - it was too small. Have you noticed that nikon has discintinued most of their FAST glass I.E 28mm f/1.4D AF and they only have a manual focus 35mm f/1.4.. (I'll admit i'm stymied as to why they did that the 28mm f/1.4 was a brilliant lens). Even if you are making a lens for the APS-C format you can still hit the limits of the mount. Although, it is possible to make a 30mm f/1.2 - and in the days of yore, Pentax had a prototype of a 20mm f/1.4 in K mount. it was never released. Pentax also had a 35mm f/1.4 in the works but(as legend has it) it never got as far as production...though there are rumors that this lens does actually exist,only a handful were actually made even fewer sold....as to where they are, no-one knows.

11-21-2009, 03:01 AM	#56
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	[QUOTE Granted f1.2 on a 30 is a far cry from a 1.0][/QUOTE] I own two notilix (noctili?) lenses: the f/1.2 variant and the f/1.0 version, and the differnence between the two isn't as big as you would think.. but those are "normal" focal lengths the dfference between the voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 and the 35mm f/1.2 nokton is huge. if they made a lens like the nokton for Large Format and kept the proportions the same, the blasted thing would be the size of a Big bertha shell. - and it would weigh almost as much too.

11-21-2009, 05:10 PM	#58
pcarfan Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dayton, Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,978	FA43/1.9 limited.

11-19-2010, 03:07 PM	#59
jani80k New Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North Germany Posts: 21	FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited. Clearly and without a doubt.

11-20-2010, 03:24 PM	#60
paperbag846 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,395	While the nature of primes sort of makes it impossible to choose one for everything, my vote would go to the DA 40 ltd, taking rendering, build, and price into account. The 40 is an extremely flexible length, and it's great from wide-open. Unfortunately while you could make it work for pretty much anything, it would either be too long or too short to be ideal for all sorts of applications.