[newarts]

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why not? the 28 appears to work rather nicely in street scenes

I dunno why for certain - it is just my experience; I guess I'm not very interested in street scenes.

It is a good, sharp Sigma 28:2.8 MF lens, I acquired it after selling a similar Tamron lens because it wasn't sharp enough at the edges wide open. However, now that I think about it, I've never had a situation where I wanted to use either lens after testing.

Almost all my photos have a well defined subject; maybe because I'm mobility limited I use focal length to be close enough to the subject rather than walking up to it!

The fifty is fine to fill a frame with a face even at the dinner table.

I tell this tale in case OP leans towards tight crops/long lenses & doesn't realize it yet.

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Last edited by newarts; 03-16-2010 at 07:22 AM.

[tokyoso]

Thanks, I was wondering if i should get a fast 28mm. I suppose I don't really need one....

[newarts]

Thanks, I was wondering if i should get a fast 28mm. I suppose I don't really need one....

Do you ever use your kit lens at its wider end? If so, then maybe you'd like a 28mm lens. We all see the world differently I think.

There's a nice looking Pentax-A 50:2 on ebay right now for $30USD.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-smc-A-50mm-1-2-LENS-EXCELLENCE-CONDITION_W0QQitem...item20aff98fd9

[Marc Sabatella]

FWIW, I had an offbrand manual 28 for a long time and rarely used it. It didn't seem to offer enough advantage over the kit lens to be worth it. Indoors I was happier with my 50, and then after getting tired of constantly backing up to frame things, my DA40, and outdoors, the extra stop the 28 had over the kit lens wasn't needed.

Then, after realizing I was using my kit lens *a lot* right around 28mm, and started to think how nice it would be to have a small prime kit rather than always carrying my zooms, I got a better and also smaller 28 (Pentax M28/2.8) and it's become one of my favorite lenses. It makes a nice partner to my DA40 - and could make an even better partner to a 50, perhaps. 40 or 50 when I want to focus on one person or thing in particular (but the 40 shows more context, which I usually like), 28 when I want to show more of the scene while not *completely* dwarfing the subject as anything wider tends to. In fact, a lot of my stated reservations to assuming everyone should have a 50 would disappear if this were amended to "everyone should have a 50 *and a 28*". You can get both for $100 or so in all.

[tokyoso]

I only use my kit lens at both ends lately, so I'm attempting to get wider. I wish there's something sharp across the frame at 14-18 like the nikkor 14-24 but the DA 15 limited looks quite tempting

[RioRico]

All this talk (cheap 50s, ideal lens, this vs that, etc) has me constantly re-evaluating my bloated (mostly manual) collection, trying to re-frame just what should be in my kit. The FA50/1.4, sure, and DA10-17, and now the DA18-55, and... and... and the choices keep swirling around. Yow. Do I have to choose between the small, sharp SMC-M 28/8, and the Isco-Westron (Schneider) 35/2.8 with its 13-blade iris? Between the rich, creamy Nikkor 85/2 and the heavy, smooth Viv 90/2.8 macro and the light, crisp Meyer 100/2.8? Et al. Ay yi yi. My head spins. No convulsions, now.

[tokyoso]

All this talk (cheap 50s, ideal lens, this vs that, etc) has me constantly re-evaluating my bloated (mostly manual) collection, trying to re-frame just what should be in my kit. The FA50/1.4, sure, and DA10-17, and now the DA18-55, and... and... and the choices keep swirling around. Yow. Do I have to choose between the small, sharp SMC-M 28/8, and the Isco-Westron (Schneider) 35/2.8 with its 13-blade iris? Between the rich, creamy Nikkor 85/2 and the heavy, smooth Viv 90/2.8 macro and the light, crisp Meyer 100/2.8? Et al. Ay yi yi. My head spins. No convulsions, now.

it's quite alright. take a deep breath and think about your wife's shoes....

[newarts]

it's quite alright. take a deep breath and think about your wife's shoes....

That's a GREAT LBA retort!!

"Uh-huh, and what about your shoes?"

[RioRico]

it's quite alright. take a deep breath and think about your wife's shoes....

Actually it's the old-pawn Zuni & Navaho & Hopi jewelry that I have to think about. She got lots of that on eBay too. Besides LBA there's JBA. More dense goodies. Terms like Morenci and Bisbee and Austin turquoise, and squash-blossom silver, and... oh, it can make lens terminology seem simple. And it's all wearable art. But don't get hooked. Stay away from Winslow AZ and especially Gallup NM. Imagine whole towns filled with big and small shops stuffed with lenses, from Porsts and Hanimars, to Takumars and Tokinas, to Nikkors and Schneiders, acres of them. Oooohhh...

[tokyoso]

right, I bet she always has your lenses on her mind...

[RioRico]

right, I bet she always has your lenses on her mind...

Only when I'm blabbing about them. (She prefers her old Bronica gear.) I try to control myself. But yesterday when we drove her mom (a Minolta photog) into Sacratomato and she wore some Zuni stuff, I just kept jabbering about using the Schneider Betavaron at 10m. Turns out it's better near than far. Oh well, I can always use it to shoot the Steve Natahay gold-on-silver conchos, etc.

I think we're getting away from Fast 50's.

And so: What's your cheapest and worst?

My cheapest is a M42 Chinon-Argus Auto-Cintar 55/1.7 (US$3, and damn good!) and my worst has gotta be a M39 Industar-50 f/3.5 pancake (US$14, and corroded). Or maybe the winner (loser) on both counts is a Petri 55/1.8 (free, but munged - a good candidate for sloppy surgery).

[tokyoso]

And so: What's your cheapest and worst?

Since I only have the M50 1.4, it's my cheapest and worst by default. It's also the sharpest fast 50 in the world to me.

[stevebrot]

...the winner (loser) on both counts is a Petri 55/1.8 (free, but munged - a good candidate for sloppy surgery).

I read an article where a guy re-purposed the elements from an old lens to make a high quality loupe.

Steve

(element + plastic conduit/pipe = loupe)

[RioRico]

I read an article where a guy re-purposed the elements from an old lens to make a high quality loupe.

Reverse-mounted, they're all macro lenses. But how many [multiple extreme expletives deleted] macro lenses do I [multiple extreme expletives deleted] need?

When the sun comes out, I'll have to take up a new hobby: insect immolation. Hmmm, I wonder how a plastic lens does in a microwave oven? Time for research. Can we get a grant?

[aleonx3]

FWIW, I had an offbrand manual 28 for a long time and rarely used it. It didn't seem to offer enough advantage over the kit lens to be worth it. Indoors I was happier with my 50, and then after getting tired of constantly backing up to frame things, my DA40, and outdoors, the extra stop the 28 had over the kit lens wasn't needed.

Then, after realizing I was using my kit lens *a lot* right around 28mm, and started to think how nice it would be to have a small prime kit rather than always carrying my zooms, I got a better and also smaller 28 (Pentax M28/2.8) and it's become one of my favorite lenses. It makes a nice partner to my DA40 - and could make an even better partner to a 50, perhaps. 40 or 50 when I want to focus on one person or thing in particular (but the 40 shows more context, which I usually like), 28 when I want to show more of the scene while not *completely* dwarfing the subject as anything wider tends to. In fact, a lot of my stated reservations to assuming everyone should have a 50 would disappear if this were amended to "everyone should have a 50 *and a 28*". You can get both for $100 or so in all.

Marc, recently I scored a Cosinon-W 28mm f2, that one is a stellar performer. It is a wonderful walk around lens (day and night). The additional stop is so nice for night shots. Put it in f4, it locks focus so easily and also hardly any distortion at all. I also have the A-28mm f2.8, also another stellar performer.