Game Single in February 2017

Sluggo · 02-28-2017, 06:11 PM

Spending a month with the DA40XS was instructive. It's not an angle of view I'm drawn to, and I struggled with composition sometimes; still, as one would hope, staying outside my comfort zone for this long helped me see differently, and over the course of the month I ended up with a number of keepers.

The image quality of this lens is quite strong, even before you take into account that it is hardly any thicker than a body cap. Good detail for the in-focus areas and creamy smooth elsewhere, and f/2.8 is fast enough for most situations. The only thing I found myself wishing for was a closer minimum focus distance; that's 40cm, which is pretty much on par for a pancake lens, but felt a bit limiting when I'd become so accustomed to the ridiculous closeups possible with the MX-1 compact camera (used for the previous month's challenge).

I won't post samples here, but anyone is welcome to peruse the album. Thank you all for the insightful comments throughout the month.

**pepperberry farm** · 03-02-2017, 07:20 PM - **2 Likes**

my month with the SMC 24mm f2.8 (Ariane) was quite the surprise for me, as I thought it would more of a struggle to come to grips with this older, fully-manual lens.

I was wrong - this lens is a joy to work with...

the K24/2.8 was a lens I traded for, giving away a Vivitar (Cosina) 24mm f2.8, and a SMC M 50mm f4 Macro for it...

of course, as film-era Pentax, the build quality and feel of the lens are stellar - my copy seems nearly-unused, except for some cleaning marks on the front element and missing the white mount-nub..

the worst thing about the lens is the fact that it is a manual lens - no 'A' on the aperture ring, no auto-focus, none of that - and that makes me think so much more about what I'm shooting; I have to fully think about the exposure and lighting and shutter speed and ISO....and makes me practice the craft of photography...

I love the color rendition of the lens, especially blues - this lens does amazing things with landscapes and blue skies; bokeh is only 'ok' with this lens, but not as harsh or busy as other wide-angle lenses; focus is better at center than edges, but not horribly so...

it is very versatile - with a MFD of less that a foot, I could bring subjects in quite close for detail and texture; and with the 24mm of width to work with, it's easy to use for street photography or landscapes...

some of my favorites from the month:

and the rest of the album:

Single in February 2017 | Flickr

I entered the month with the idea that I would be listing this lens for sale in March - I'm glad that I did the diligent thing and shot the K24/2.8 for February, because it's a keeper....

wolfiegirl · 03-07-2017, 11:17 PM - **3 Likes**

ok. just caught up with feb. rather than bring up old threads, here's the link to the feb album:

02, Q-s1 | Flickr

I was pleasantly surprised with the 02. so versatile. went wider than the 01, which i hadn't realised before this challenge..

I'll certainly reconsider its place in my arsenal - it's moved up a few notches in my esteem

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02-28-2017, 06:11 PM	#166
Sluggo Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ames, Iowa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 774	Spending a month with the DA40XS was instructive. It's not an angle of view I'm drawn to, and I struggled with composition sometimes; still, as one would hope, staying outside my comfort zone for this long helped me see differently, and over the course of the month I ended up with a number of keepers. The image quality of this lens is quite strong, even before you take into account that it is hardly any thicker than a body cap. Good detail for the in-focus areas and creamy smooth elsewhere, and f/2.8 is fast enough for most situations. The only thing I found myself wishing for was a closer minimum focus distance; that's 40cm, which is pretty much on par for a pancake lens, but felt a bit limiting when I'd become so accustomed to the ridiculous closeups possible with the MX-1 compact camera (used for the previous month's challenge). I won't post samples here, but anyone is welcome to peruse the album. Thank you all for the insightful comments throughout the month.

03-02-2017, 07:20 PM - 2 Likes	#167
pepperberry farm amateur dirt farmer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: probably out in a field somewhere... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 41,766	my month with the SMC 24mm f2.8 (Ariane) was quite the surprise for me, as I thought it would more of a struggle to come to grips with this older, fully-manual lens. I was wrong - this lens is a joy to work with... the K24/2.8 was a lens I traded for, giving away a Vivitar (Cosina) 24mm f2.8, and a SMC M 50mm f4 Macro for it... of course, as film-era Pentax, the build quality and feel of the lens are stellar - my copy seems nearly-unused, except for some cleaning marks on the front element and missing the white mount-nub.. the worst thing about the lens is the fact that it is a manual lens - no 'A' on the aperture ring, no auto-focus, none of that - and that makes me think so much more about what I'm shooting; I have to fully think about the exposure and lighting and shutter speed and ISO....and makes me practice the craft of photography... I love the color rendition of the lens, especially blues - this lens does amazing things with landscapes and blue skies; bokeh is only 'ok' with this lens, but not as harsh or busy as other wide-angle lenses; focus is better at center than edges, but not horribly so... it is very versatile - with a MFD of less that a foot, I could bring subjects in quite close for detail and texture; and with the 24mm of width to work with, it's easy to use for street photography or landscapes... some of my favorites from the month: and the rest of the album: Single in February 2017 \| Flickr I entered the month with the idea that I would be listing this lens for sale in March - I'm glad that I did the diligent thing and shot the K24/2.8 for February, because it's a keeper....

03-07-2017, 11:17 PM - 3 Likes	#168
wolfiegirl Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Mystery Bay, NSW Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,111	ok. just caught up with feb. rather than bring up old threads, here's the link to the feb album: 02, Q-s1 \| Flickr I was pleasantly surprised with the 02. so versatile. went wider than the 01, which i hadn't realised before this challenge.. I'll certainly reconsider its place in my arsenal - it's moved up a few notches in my esteem