[garywakeling]

Thanks for all the comments on my photos this month, the 20mm was an easy lens to to live with. I was surprised with the shallowness of the depth of field, with such a wide lens I expected much more depth even at wide apertures, this made isolating the subject easy. It was a lens from the film era that I have become attached to again thanks to the field of view on the full frame K1, more proof that any holes in the current lens line up can be filled with some of the quality older glass. The contrast the lens shows , even when shot under harsh lighting conditions is impressive. Black and white conversions from the raw file really worked nicely with clouds in the sky showing up nicely. I must confess to not using the dedicated lens hood often enough, this was due to my laziness at not wanting to screw in the saucer like hood for what seemed like mostly little effect, I did manage to get some image degradation in one shot and the rainbow apertures in the picture appealed to me ( but not Ismo ). The small size of the lens even with a 67mm filter thread also made for easy handling, the manual focus ring has plenty of throw making is easy to obtain accurate focus when required, the AF was quick enough and until I started writing this I never really gave the AF speed or accuracy a second thought, always a good sign at the end of a month. I didn't feel the need to try it on the K3 as I was enjoying the wide shots too much, perhaps down the track I will single it again on APS-C. Any deficiency in the images were down to me and defiantly not the lens, this one has moved up in my ratings now that the K1 makes it shine again.

[Chris_K]

This month with M-135/3.5 was more difficult to me than August with DA 35/2.4. On APSC I found it a bit too tight at certain shots and a few times I regretted not having something shorter, maybe 100 mm or so. Wide-open the lens is a bit soft, but for the price, it's both anticipated and fair. Stopped down to 5.6-8 it gives very sharp photos and at these apertures, I was using it the most often. Although I felt a bit tired with it once or twice, it certainly gave me some good shots that otherwise (without SIC) I wouldn't have taken.
Thank you everyone for comments and suggestions!

[gifthorse]

I spent September with the smc PENTAX-FA MACRO 100mm F3.5. Some people lean toward the f2.8 version but I tend to use flash for closeup work so the extra $200 for the f2.8 isn't a draw for me. The bad. Noisy autofocus. (Like all my Pentax autofocus lenses.) It's plastic. That means it likely won't take a lot of abuse. The good. It's plastic. (Why does that sound familiar?) That means it doesn't weigh much. 100mm is a sort of in between Fl for the stuff I do but I managed to use it in every situation I tried. Astro. Street candid. Closeup. Even those times when it was a bit long, stitched panoramas worked out for me. It would be a good lens for a walk in the park shooting bugs and flowers and the occasional landscape and people. It's not my favorite lens but if I was forced to spend a day with only a single lens, I'd likely lean toward this one. There's a better lens for each specific situation encountered but for a general shoot without having to change lenses, this is a pretty good lens.

[Benz3ne]

I've a few more to upload (later today with a bit of luck) but overall this has felt like a mixed bag. My lack of computer time to get photos onto Flickr is what I feel is hindering me most, but this month has felt like a solid one in terms of the photos taken. I've been happier with the 'quick' or 'safety' shots than with the other two months, and my feel for this lens has improved (I think, anyway) with more knowledge of where it best performs. Bokeh is beautiful with it, too.

[Cerebum]

I had a great month with the 50-200. It out performed my 18-135, not by much but it was a joy to use. Thanks for all the great comments and advice. Every suggestion has made me better at what I am doing and I appreciate it so much

[willdmo]

I will not post so many pictures here with the odd combination I had this month.

It is a computer Vision lens, Computar Telecentric 55mm F2.8 and the nifty Pentax Q-S1 (which sadly never had a follow up).
What to say. The lens is troly special in close focus and macro work. It shines on close distances but not so much in direction of infinity. Its original purpose is to show objects in different ranges at the same size. This must be a very limited case, because otherwise it rather handled like any long lens on a small sensor.
I am so far okay with this lens, but think I would not buy it, if I already hadn't had it.

[garywakeling]

I will not post so many pictures here with the odd combination I had this month.

It is a computer Vision lens, Computar Telecentric 55mm F2.8 and the nifty Pentax Q-S1 (which sadly never had a follow up).
What to say. The lens is troly special in close focus and macro work. It shines on close distances but not so much in direction of infinity. Its original purpose is to show objects in different ranges at the same size. This must be a very limited case, because otherwise it rather handled like any long lens on a small sensor.
I am so far okay with this lens, but think I would not buy it, if I already hadn't had it.

Telecentric on the Q certainly was interesting to see, thanks

[Tsuken]

I've a few more to upload (later today with a bit of luck) but overall this has felt like a mixed bag. My lack of computer time to get photos onto Flickr is what I feel is hindering me most,...

I feel quite similar. It’s been not a bad month photographically - some of that is down to the lens, some to lorikeets, and some to Sullivan. Not sure how much is left for attribution to me

The DA 50-200 is a damn easy lens to use, and a solid performer - but doesn’t really have any “wow” about it. That’s ok; not everything can - but yeah, it doesn’t really. Part of that for me is that I just prefer primes over zooms - even though whenever I have a zoom I do use the range and find it really convenient.

I've already strapped on my Super-Tak 135, and the difference is really clear: there's just a “something” about the Tak that isn't there with the DA.

That said, I am happy with some of the pics I took:


Morning floof by -Occasionally Focused-

Sully got a lot of photographic love; he was really my stand-by/go-to subject, and some came out really well.

It's a good lens for lorikeets:


Beady gaze by -Occasionally Focused-


Lori in profile by -Occasionally Focused-

And I liked getting this nod back to my first ever Urban Shopping Trolley photo:


Mismatched Pair ii by -Occasionally Focused-

Overall I think it's a lens well worth having, but it doesn't bring great joy in and of itself. It enables one to take good photographs, but doesn't really bring anything to the party itself. It's wonderfully light though, and not expensive.

[garywakeling]

I feel quite similar. It’s been not a bad month photographically - some of that is down to the lens, some to lorikeets, and some to Sullivan. Not sure how much is left for attribution to me

The DA 50-200 is a damn easy lens to use, and a solid performer - but doesn’t really have any “wow” about it. That’s ok; not everything can - but yeah, it doesn’t really. Part of that for me is that I just prefer primes over zooms - even though whenever I have a zoom I do use the range and find it really convenient.

I've already strapped on my Super-Tak 135, and the difference is really clear: there's just a “something” about the Tak that isn't there with the DA.

That said, I am happy with some of the pics I took:


Morning floof by -Occasionally Focused-

Sully got a lot of photographic love; he was really my stand-by/go-to subject, and some came out really well.

It's a good lens for lorikeets:


Beady gaze by -Occasionally Focused-


Lori in profile by -Occasionally Focused-

And I liked getting this nod back to my first ever Urban Shopping Trolley photo:


Mismatched Pair ii by -Occasionally Focused-

Overall I think it's a lens well worth having, but it doesn't bring great joy in and of itself. It enables one to take good photographs, but doesn't really bring anything to the party itself. It's wonderfully light though, and not expensive.

That shot of the evil parrot is a ripper

[Tsuken]

That shot of the evil parrot is a ripper

Thanks matey 8)

[pepperberry farm]

apologies for running late with my review....

I bought my DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM used from Adorama a couple of weeks before the SIC started and was a completely unexpected purchase; I had not expected to find a decent copy at such a low price, so here I am...


what an epic lens - great color, bokeh, clarity, sharpness... everything you want in a lens (minus one) is here....

yeah, the hood is a little larger and the autofocus is a bit slower than a screwdrive, but this is the price you pay for an over-engineered lens like this...

I used/abused this lens all month and it never disappointed - it has such a character to its captures, you'd swear there were things that it couldn't do... you'd be wrong...

my only ding against this lens is its minimum focusing distance - it is not a macro, I know, nor even a close-focusing lens, but I had to recompose more often than I'd like....

that's it - the only negative thing I can think of to really hit this lens with... and it's sharp enough, you can crop 'til your heart's content...



my faves from the month:











and the rest of the month:

Single In Challenge - September 2019 | Flickr


I originally bought my Sigma 50/1.4 EX DG HSM in place of this lens.... the DA* 55 has completed eclipsed that lens and the Sigma is now for sale....

[garywakeling]

apologies for running late with my review....

I bought my DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM used from Adorama a couple of weeks before the SIC started and was a completely unexpected purchase; I had not expected to find a decent copy at such a low price, so here I am...


what an epic lens - great color, bokeh, clarity, sharpness... everything you want in a lens (minus one) is here....

yeah, the hood is a little larger and the autofocus is a bit slower than a screwdrive, but this is the price you pay for an over-engineered lens like this...

I used/abused this lens all month and it never disappointed - it has such a character to its captures, you'd swear there were things that it couldn't do... you'd be wrong...

my only ding against this lens is its minimum focusing distance - it is not a macro, I know, nor even a close-focusing lens, but I had to recompose more often than I'd like....

that's it - the only negative thing I can think of to really hit this lens with... and it's sharp enough, you can crop 'til your heart's content...



my faves from the month:











and the rest of the month:

Single In Challenge - September 2019 | Flickr


I originally bought my Sigma 50/1.4 EX DG HSM in place of this lens.... the DA* 55 has completed eclipsed that lens and the Sigma is now for sale....

I picked up the 55mm with a dead SDM motor, however for not too much money I had the motor replaced then tried it also in the SIC.
I agree an amazing lens, it worked well on APS-C and full frame, I just changed the hood to a generic screw in hood on the K1. The bokeh is lovely too. A nice month's photos.

[Tsuken]

apologies for running late with my review....



I bought my DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM used from Adorama a couple of weeks before the SIC started and was a completely unexpected purchase; I had not expected to find a decent copy at such a low price, so here I am...





what an epic lens - great color, bokeh, clarity, sharpness... everything you want in a lens (minus one) is here....



yeah, the hood is a little larger and the autofocus is a bit slower than a screwdrive, but this is the price you pay for an over-engineered lens like this...



I used/abused this lens all month and it never disappointed - it has such a character to its captures, you'd swear there were things that it couldn't do... you'd be wrong...



my only ding against this lens is its minimum focusing distance - it is not a macro, I know, nor even a close-focusing lens, but I had to recompose more often than I'd like....



that's it - the only negative thing I can think of to really hit this lens with... and it's sharp enough, you can crop 'til your heart's content...







my faves from the month:

<snip>



and the rest of the month:



Single In Challenge - September 2019 | Flickr





I originally bought my Sigma 50/1.4 EX DG HSM in place of this lens.... the DA* 55 has completed eclipsed that lens and the Sigma is now for sale....

Great photos, and the lens sounds awesome. I’m not a bit surprised it’s eclipsed the Sigma - just thinking about the differences between my Sigma and Pentax lenses