Greetings from scenic Virginia!
Hey everyone, I'm as new to the forum as one can get (just made the profile), so I apologize for being naive in any manner regarding forum lingo, but I'm a younger photo enthusiast who is facing the problem of buying lenses on a student budget.
I shoot a K200D with the kit lens and I recently acquired my first prime lens, a Pentax-A 50mm 1.4 that I got for under $70 at my local camera shop. I wish I could say that I love the 50mm, but on my DSLR, it has a focal length a little too long for general use. I took portraits with it for my actor roommate, and they look fantastic, but that's pretty much all the equivalent 75mm length is good for. I was also a little unimpressed with the build quality compared to my canon manual focus lenses, the barrel has a wobble and the aperture ring doesn't always click right on (because it's plastic
).
Anyway, I've heard good things about using the even older Takumar screwmounts on a DSLR with an adapter. I've been trawling through good ol eBay and found some good Takumars, as well as at KEH.
The problem? I'm in school and have a virtually non-existent income, and I can't buy another lens without getting a profit from selling something else. So, I was thinking about letting go of the 50mm 1.4 for the going price on eBay (up to $200!) and use that profit to get a Takumar and adapter with money to spare. I was looking at the S-M-C Takumar 35mm f3.5 since KEH has it for only $72 in "excellent" condition, and the resulting crop factor will make it a 52mm lens in a solid metal body. I also looked at the Super-Takumar 28mm f3.5 since the crop factor will give a wide-normal perspective, also for about $70.
Anybody have any thoughts as to whether letting go of the 50mm 1.4 could be the biggest mistake I can make? Or are the Takumars up to what everyone says?
stay easy,
Mickey