[Wheatfield]

those are my most used lens in past 5 years .

What's yours .... ????

dfa* 85/1.4, dfa* 50/1.4

[Kerrowdown]

She’s not called my “Special Lady” (Pentax-A 50mm F1.2) for no reason.

[Eyewanders]

According Lightroom, by the numbers... it's "Unknown Lens".
Which makes sense because I'm awful at EXIF tagging scanned shots sometimes, particularly if I don't do any editing of the scans.

But KNOWN by the numbers it's the DA*300/4 ... though that isn't really accurate either because it includes chimps and rapid-fires for birding, dozens upon dozens of shots I've not culled and binned.

The real answer is FA 31/1.8 Limited .... with the Hexanon 38/1.8 on my C35FD beginning to catch up in recent years. That sounds about right.

---------- Post added 06-30-22 at 10:31 PM ----------

She’s not called my “Special Lady” (Pentax-A 50mm F1.2) for no reason.

I've tried so many times to warm to the Special Lady, but she leaves me a bit cold. Seems she only has eyes for you and doesn't stray.
("My Loving Man" might be the moniker I need to give to my Hexanon AR 57/1.2)

[Kerrowdown]

I've tried so many times to warm to the Special Lady, but she leaves me a bit cold.

That's cos your not treating her right!!!

Seems she only has eyes for you and doesn't stray.

That's cos I am treating her right

"My Loving Man" might be the moniker I need to give to my Hexanon AR 57/1.2

This could be the first part of your problem... it's well known that all lenses are female, bit like ships and planes.

[donaldslevine]

That's cos your not treating her right!!!



That's cos I am treating her right



This could be the first part of your problem... it's well known that all lenses are female, bit like ships and planes.

Ships and planes are female only in English speaking countries. In France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Germany they are most definitely masculine. I don't know about Slavic countries as I don't speak any Slavic language.

[Kerrowdown]

Ships and planes are female only in English speaking countries. In France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Germany they are most definitely masculine. I don't know about Slavic countries as I don't speak any Slavic language.

Now there’s something I didn’t know, this forum is a great place to gain by all sorts of good info.

No doubt about my favorite/most used lens: Pentax Auto 110 50mm f2.8 on a Pentax Q7 or Q-s1. Perfect combination of size and weight for the diminutive Q body, fast focusing and with a washer in the adapter the f-stop is always at optimum. Beautiful rendition, excellent edge to edge sharpness and resolution.

[csa]

Since my back injury; my new 55-300 PLM is on my camera 24/7. Sadly, haven't seen much to photograph, but love this lens. I also have a "new" Pentax TC that works very well with this lens.

Cipher, those images are so beautiful! You mentioned a washer; perhaps you could explain further in the Q forum as to how the 110 lens, etc. is mounted?

Here is a thread on this: Aperture Washer for Auto 110 Lenses - PentaxForums.com

Basically it boils down to this:

Get a Pentax 110 to Q adapter (Adorama has one for $13)

Get a 1 and 1/4" flat rubber washer that has a 3/16" hole in the center at a hardware store

Put the washer in the adapter from the rear and push it in so it bulges toward the lens

You're all set! It works out to about f4.5. You can use the Pentax 110 lens without a washer (at f2.8) but the image will be softer.

Post processing with a "dehaze" setting and sharpening will also help.


The thread above mentions Lensbaby discs, I think those go in the front of the lens, I've never used them, they seem kind of fiddly to me.

The Pentax 110 prime lenses work pretty good, the best is the 50mm with its 233mm F.F. FOV equivalent. The 70mm is nice, but does fringe quite a bit. The 18mm and 24mm are not as good as the 06 at those focal lengths.

Here is my favorite set-up:



Shown with a 37.5mm to 37mm filter adapter and 37mm lens hood. I've added some "gun grip" to the body to make it handle better. 9 ounces total weight!

[donaldslevine]

Since my back injury; my new 55-300 PLM is on my camera 24/7. Sadly, haven't seen much to photograph, but love this lens. I also have a "new" Pentax TC that works very well with this lens.

Cipher, those images are so beautiful! You mentioned a washer; perhaps you could explain further in the Q forum as to how the 110 lens, etc. is mounted?

I have a K3Mkiii and a KP. I bought the 55-300 but I find my go to lenses are my Sigma 17-50 and Pentax 18-135. They seem most useful. The 18-135 sees the most use because its somewhat petit and fits perfectly with my KP. The others balance better on the K3Mkiii.

[abruzzi]

My most used lens is schizophrenic, because I have an identical lens in multiple focal lengths—the Kodak Wide Field Ektar. I have the 80mm, 100mm, 135mm, and 190mm (I haven’t found an affordable 250mm yet.). Obviously they are all view camera lenses, but I used them on 6x9, 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 (and occasionally, Instax Wide.). The smaller ones would be fun to adapt to a digital camera, but I haven’t tried.

[csa]

I have a K3Mkiii and a KP. I bought the 55-300 but I find my go to lenses are my Sigma 17-50 and Pentax 18-135. They seem most useful. The 18-135 sees the most use because its somewhat petit and fits perfectly with my KP. The others balance better on the K3Mkiii.

The reason I prefer the 55-300; is most of my shooting is wildlife, so I want that extra reach. I have other lenses that I love for different purposes, but the all around for me is the 55-300 PLM.

[csa]

Cipher, thanks for the detailed instructions, as well as that link! Greatly appreciated.

[lesmore49]

My favourite lenses change over the years. Back in my later film days, from around 1984 to 2007, it was my Pentax 35-105 Macro Zoom. Great lens, well built, indeed a stack of primes as many say....but a heavy beastie.

In my early DSLR days, for quite awhile it was my 55-300 and 12-24. When I got my K1, in 2017, my faves ....are (still current) my 100 mm Macro, F 2.8 WR and my 24-70 F 2.8...with my 28-105 coming in close.

What I'm finding, is that I like fast lens...(F 2.8). I also like the excellence, superb quality of my 100 macro. I use it for a lot of stuff...vintage machinery, portraits of people and animals. My 24-70 F 2.8, is a great all around lens....and just bumps out it's cheaper cousin the 28-105..because of the F 2.8. That 28-105 lens...the so called kit lens, is nothing to sneeze at. Good lens at a good price.

Now, I have two telephoto zooms. My old, but good 55-300 and my one and only Sigma...which is a 150-500 , I call this lens my 'Bigma'. Yeah I know that nick name is supposed to be reserved for the Sigma 50-500...but the 150-500 is still a big, heavy lens.

My Bigma is great for photographing the far off. Pretty clear images, it produces, as long as I use common sense to cope with the focal length, physical size and weight.

The key....fast shutter speed, and judicious use of ISO and F stop.

In my early film days from 1968 to 1984....my favourite lenses were my 50 macro and 135mm F 3.5, both Taks. Also my non Pentax...Leitz Elmar collapsible 50 F 3.5 and 80mm TLR for my Mamiya medium format TLR camera.

An exhaustive list, no doubt....so on that note, I think I'll take a nap.

[UlrichSchiegg]

35mm limited on my KP. Mainly because the focal length and speed (f2.8) is good for a wide range of shots, and the macro capability is just a very nice bonus! I do wish there was a faster 35mm prime for APSC, something like a 35mm f1.7

The question should really be, which focal length do you use most.To me it is the "normal" length - since I use APSC only, it is around the 30-35mm too.

Don't ask me why, but if I operate the 16-85mm Zoom, very often the focal length in the exifs read 31mm. That is my most often used lens for versatility reasons. Whenever I do not need the versatility, it is the FA 31mm limited.