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03-10-2010, 11:54 PM   #1
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Please help… I have “LBA-P”… LBA Paranoia!!!!!

After purchasing a FA 77mm recently for bokeh purposes but have ended playing with it wide open just for narrow depth of field photos; mainly portraits of statues and a few garden shots and I was wondering if the DA 55mm width open will give me a more pronounced out of focus on similar subjects and/or distances as well as good bokeh and sharpness? (can any one post any flower shots with stamens at F1.4 with a Da 55mm/F1.9 with a Fa 43mm?) Or… would I be better off investing money on a FA 31mm? Any advice or thoughts about this would be most welcome as I am actually going NUTS over this for the past 2 weeks and even started to look at lens for my Canon 400D!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ps I’m looking at a AF lens and yes I have read most of the posts about 50mm lens and bokeh… etc and have just recently got a FA 1.4 50mm but it is a bit soft – I also find that the 77mm just doesn’t take a bad photo and maybe I’m hoping the 31 or 43 may be the same!)

03-11-2010, 01:42 AM   #2
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Try some macro lens it will surely have a very good and smooth bokeh
03-11-2010, 02:07 AM   #3
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Generally, longer focal length gives more pronounced OOF transition and bokeh at same distance. But I see your point, wanting similar bokeh goodness but with wider angle of view. Is that correct?

I have similar interest. I started with Pentax A 50mm 1.4 and zoom with my feet. It's sufficient for my need, from half body portrait to full body with some background, all with thin DOF and pronounced bokeh.

But then I got tired of manual focusing, my skill didn't seem to improve as much as I want. So I got a 77mm Ltd. So far I'm satisfied with result, I PP my photos less and less after using it. But, for wider portrait, I found it a little too long, I need to step back a lot, which often not possible. And even with 50mm I sometimes felt I need something a little wider so I don't have to step back too far.

Reading the FA Limited lens club certainly didn't help and so I finally bought a 43mm Ltd :ugh: . IMHO, 43 is the widest focal length I can get, which still gives OOF transition and bokeh that I want, for portraits. I have Kiron 28mm F2 and while it can create nice smooth bokeh I need to focus on something real close to get this, and thus it's not suitable for wide-ish portraits with thin DOF. I'm sure 31mm has better bokeh than my Kiron but still it's 31mm so I think it's not good enough for this purpose. I don't have a 31mm so this is just guessing.

So, assuming I understand you correctly, I think you should buy 43mm Ltd It certainly will complement your 77mm nicely.

But if I was wrong and your real interest is small subject and flowers, then it's a whole different matter. At close focus (and macro) distance the DOF is much smaller for same aperture setting, so you don't really need very fast lens to get smooth bokeh. What you need to consider is the minimum focus distance. Oh well, I'll let someone else to cope with this. Goodluck!
03-11-2010, 02:27 AM   #4
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hmmm...

rustynail925 thanks... I've got a tamron 90mm which I haven't used much and only on very small still life but never thought to try it on larger objects so I will do some comparisons with the 77mm and experiment with depth of field - could be quite interesting!!!

sajah thanks also with the 43mm suggestion - its a lens I haven't really thought about until the last few days and it seems to bit a little different than the other FA LTDs which may suit me quite well!!!

has anyone got any pros and cons about the DA55mm and FA 43mm???

03-11-2010, 02:37 AM   #5
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DFA 100mm 2.8 Macro WR
PENTAX D FA???100mmF2.8 ????FLENS???? ??? ????????
03-12-2010, 02:46 AM   #6
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Well it really depends on your purposes. Are you going to shoot "big" things or "small" things.

DOF is smaller when you 1.) increase your focal length 2.) make a bigger aperature with a smaller f-number 3.) coming closer to the object.

If you are shoot small things like flowers and the like, the fastest way to get a really small DOF is zoom with your feet and get really close. This implies a macro lens. And a 100mm macro will do wonders. But of course the angle of view will limit the size of the subject that you want to shoot.

If the size of the object is larger, like portraits (e.g. half-body) then you are going to go for a larger aperature. The 77 limited has a 1.8 so its a near ideal solution. Going to the 55 will not help so much because what you gain going from 1.8 to 1.4 you lose in going from 77 to 55. If you want to make a smaller DOF for this angle of view then you are better off considering an 85mm 1.4. There are a whole bunch of manual focus varieties on the market today for relatively cheap. Keep in mind that focusing manually is probably best when your DOF is so small! But if you must go AF, then Sigma will be selling an 85mm 1.4 later on this year.
03-12-2010, 03:18 AM   #7
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Why don't you just use your FA77? It's already a superb perfomer for your purposes:




03-12-2010, 03:49 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by rustynail925 Quote
Try some macro lens it will surely have a very good and smooth bokeh
So my manual M42 Vivitar (Komine) 90/2.8 macro cost an entire US$3 on eBay (shipping included). Bokeh is incredible; IQ is great, at old Series 1 level. Focus the usual way, or use trap-focus, no problem. Goes to 1:1 magnification; at full extension it's 7 inches / 18cm long. Sure, it weighs 470g and can crush kittens. Sure, it's ugly -- the knurled rubber focus grip was half torn off -- that's probably why it cost US$3, eh? So I finished the removal and replaced the grip with a band of duct tape. So don't look at the lens -- look at what it does. Did I mention that it cost US$3 total? Well, a few dollars more for the Bowers M42-PK adapter that lives on it.
03-12-2010, 05:32 AM   #9
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There is a thread comparing the Sigma 50 f1.4 to the DA*55 and it has plenty of examples of the DA * lens in it (although not so many of the Sigma). Both of those lenses are definitely sharper than the FA 50 wide open, for what its worth (although they cost more too).
03-12-2010, 07:23 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
So my manual M42 Vivitar (Komine) 90/2.8 macro cost an entire US$3 on eBay (shipping included). Bokeh is incredible; IQ is great, at old Series 1 level. Focus the usual way, or use trap-focus, no problem. Goes to 1:1 magnification; at full extension it's 7 inches / 18cm long. Sure, it weighs 470g and can crush kittens. Sure, it's ugly -- the knurled rubber focus grip was half torn off -- that's probably why it cost US$3, eh? So I finished the removal and replaced the grip with a band of duct tape. So don't look at the lens -- look at what it does. Did I mention that it cost US$3 total? Well, a few dollars more for the Bowers M42-PK adapter that lives on it.
Great work! might as well weather seal it with some chaulk while you're at it!~ :smile:
03-12-2010, 10:23 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by tokyoso Quote
Great work! might as well weather seal it with some chaulk while you're at it!~ :smile:
Oh well, for a weather sealed macro, I'd love to have this: Pentax Lens Review and Specification Database - 100mm F2.8 Macro WR
It'll cost a little more. I'll need another inheritance. C-mon Uncle Ray, just a little sip of kool-ade now...
03-12-2010, 11:18 PM   #12
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You really sound like you are loosing it pHREDD!

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/92961-ultimate...mpilation.html
03-13-2010, 01:09 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
Oh well, for a weather sealed macro, I'd love to have this: Pentax Lens Review and Specification Database - 100mm F2.8 Macro WR
It'll cost a little more. I'll need another inheritance. C-mon Uncle Ray, just a little sip of kool-ade now...
why not just buy one ? you sound like a well off guy
03-13-2010, 02:53 AM   #14
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just wanted to say thanks!

believe it or not all yours replies have been most helpful, made me think and even made me smile especially when I read tokyoso's "you sound like a well off guy" - I had to show my wife that one!!! but that's the main problem with the Pentax system... it gives you a thirst for perfection and for me really delivers it (its just a hobby for me that started when someone gave a one of Canon 10D he wasn't using - now he was a well off guy!!) but this thirst for improvement made me eventually shift sides and now I'm using Pentax and makes me unbelievably excited and proud because I'm able to bit by bit to produce some stunning photos (well at least in my eyes) and now I'm slowly learning to be creative with my photography.
And that’s why I can't sleep - buying lenses is addictive and 'cause money is often hard to come by and I can't really afford to buy another one and probably don't need another one but if "beans on toast for a few weeks" and not paying off the car loan sooner etc. allows me to buy another lens that lets me do something creative and different and which ultimately in the end puts a dirty great big smile on my face... well I'll want that lens... no! I'll need that lens!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
03-13-2010, 07:29 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by pHREDD D Quote
believe it or not all yours replies have been most helpful, made me think and even made me smile especially when I read tokyoso's "you sound like a well off guy" - I had to show my wife that one!!! but that's the main problem with the Pentax system... it gives you a thirst for perfection and for me really delivers it (its just a hobby for me that started when someone gave a one of Canon 10D he wasn't using - now he was a well off guy!!) but this thirst for improvement made me eventually shift sides and now I'm using Pentax and makes me unbelievably excited and proud because I'm able to bit by bit to produce some stunning photos (well at least in my eyes) and now I'm slowly learning to be creative with my photography.
And that’s why I can't sleep - buying lenses is addictive and 'cause money is often hard to come by and I can't really afford to buy another one and probably don't need another one but if "beans on toast for a few weeks" and not paying off the car loan sooner etc. allows me to buy another lens that lets me do something creative and different and which ultimately in the end puts a dirty great big smile on my face... well I'll want that lens... no! I'll need that lens!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
if your wife wears the pants in the house, then a one-size-fits-all superzoom is what you really need.
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