[photolady95]

I was just mentioning that it's not as expensive as a flash.

Rob thanks. However, I knew they weren't expensive. I bought two last year and then gave one to a friend who wanted one but couldn't afford to buy one, and then sold the other one.

[OzzRod]

HD DA 35mm F2.8 Limited Macro

Because I missed quite a few days in February, I decided to extend into March with this lens. As I look back I’m pretty happy with the combined album I put together.

It’s certainly sharp and that’s probably my first priority in any lens. Even wide open it delivers very good IQ across the frame. Obviously it’s designed to excel for close-ups and macros, but I tested it many times on landscapes as well. My stitched bushland image of March 30 was based on frames that were accidentally taken wide open, but blew me away with the fine tree detail a kilometre or more away. And it was my March 21 distant sea/cloudscape that delivered my only Explore for the month. Conversely, a few star shots were disappointing - when examined closely, the stars were certainly not sharp points, and repeated efforts to improve those results simply didn’t work. Is that a technical deficiency of the lens or my deteriorating eyesight, or both? That I can get sharp star points using MF with other lenses suggests it’s the 35, but how do I reconcile that with the very acceptable landscapes? I don’t do much in the way of portraiture, but there are a couple of pics of Mum that I thought were very acceptable.

As expected it does produce fine macro images, although once you get to the larger magnifications, the lens is disconcertingly close to the subject. If they’re alive that can be problematic. The lens has its own built-in extendable hood, but when super close it needs to be pulled right back to focus properly. This hood feature also becomes a nuisance if you have a polarising filter installed - once the hood is extended you can’t readily rotate the filter. And, if you have a lens-protecting filter fitted, the lens cap often falls off when the hood is retracted fully.

The lens is light and compact but reassuringly solid; and could readily serve as an everyday walkabout unit. Colour rendition was routinely terrific; aberrations were not an issue and bokeh generally had a lovely unstructured smoothness. However, despite all its strengths I have to admit that I haven’t developed any life-long bond with it - but, I’m certainly not parting with it.

[mtux]

Is that a technical deficiency of the lens or my deteriorating eyesight, or both? That I can get sharp star points using MF with other lenses suggests it’s the 35, but how do I reconcile that with the very acceptable landscapes?

I guess it could be a result of super short focus throw in normal focusing distance! It's very hard to focus this lens in normal (non-macro) manually!

Yesterday I was thinking that a DA 35mm f/2 ltd 1:2 macro lens is really one of my dream lenses. Then I can live with that only lens.

[RobG]

HD DA 35mm F2.8 Limited Macro
And, if you have a lens-protecting filter fitted, the lens cap often falls off when the hood is retracted fully.

I bought a plastic lens cap to replace the Pentax one after nearly losing it many times. The Pentax cap is awful considering the price of the lens. The lens itself is fabulous. The built-in hood is great except for extremely close macros where it blocks the light. I agree with Rod that the rendition from the lens is wonderful. My main frustration with it as a macro lens is the short focal length which makes getting close to subjects painful (literally in my case with injured knees).

[Sandy Hancock]

My main frustration with it as a macro lens is the short focal length which makes getting close to subjects painful.

Funny, I think that is exactly what makes it so uniquely wonderful - it gets you right inside the subject. A longer macro lens is great too, but it gives a completely different feel.

[RobG]

Funny, I think that is exactly what makes it so uniquely wonderful - it gets you right inside the subject. A longer macro lens is great too, but it gives a completely different feel.

Depends on what you're photographing. Today I attempted to get close-ups of bees on flowers, and with the DA35 macro it's a little close for comfort. The main reason it's an issue for me is my knees, so that's a personal thing. Others who can easily kneel may not find it so painful. I took quite a few "macro" shots today with the DA*300!