[taita87]

K-30 + DA 21mm Limited - Weather sealed is a huge plus (the 21mm has also proven it can survive a few drops of rain), AA adapter is fantastic (I sometimes go a whole week of shooting 1-2hrs per day without charging my Eneloops) and the DA21mm is by far and away my favourite lens ever (it's not pixel-peep perfect, but it hits a real sweet spot between 28mm and 35mm equivalency.

How do you find the da21 compared to the 35 in terms of color, character, sharpness, etc?

The most exciting thing regarding Fuji bodies, apart from evf and compactness, is the availability of controls in right places... Dials, buttons, function buttons etc. It's like having a k-3ii in half the size

[AndrewG NY]

After some weeks of work, my k-x e-dial is somewhat laggy and it often acts in contrast to my thumb movement for the few first steps. It's somehow frustrating to use.

You might try shooting a little electronics cleaner into the e-dial and working it a bit. I offer no guarantees but this helped my balky *ist DS2 e-dial. I suspect there may be a little bit of crud in there.

[taita87]

You might try shooting a little electronics cleaner into the e-dial and working it a bit. I offer no guarantees but this helped my balky *ist DS2 e-dial. I suspect there may be a little bit of crud in there.

I already tried and wrote it, it didn't work

[surfar]

Divert back to the Tamron/Nikoff versus Pentax situation, i'll be out shooting in sandstorms and hurricanes with the Pentax....I cant see any Nikoffs(with Tamrons attached) anywhere?


Back to Fuji,There are some absolute bargains to be had on some models.New X-E1 $300, I cheapskated it and paid $175 for used.My K mounts and Takumars work quite well too but invested in the bargain 50-230mm slow lens that punches above the $165(new and delivered)pricetag(who said Fuji lenses were costly).

---------- Post added 10-14-16 at 04:38 PM ----------

equivalent Penron zooms

the FL/apeture is equivalent yes, but the actual lenses are different.

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Last edited by surfar; 10-13-2016 at 11:02 PM.

[Dan Rentea]

Divert back to the Tamron/Nikoff versus Pentax situation, i'll be out shooting in sandstorms and hurricanes with the Pentax....I cant see any Nikoffs(with Tamrons attached) anywhere?

Because putting a 30$ rain cover bag on your gear to protect it (regardless of the brand you use) it's embarrassing, right? I didn't realised that all sandstorms and hurricanes images from the internet are taken with only WR lenses and cameras. I guess I have to pay more attention to details... I saw a lot of professionals protecting their gear when the weather was bad, because earning money while keeping their gear safe was more important to them than "earning" some macho title.

That doesn't mean that Pentax WR it's not important, because in some cases it is. Keep in mind through that DA limited lenses are not WR. When I had K-5 II and K-3 II, all my lenses were DA limited, except the 2 plastic fantastic (35mm, 50mm) and the kit lens. So, I kept a rain cover bag in my backpack just in case.

Back to Fuji. If you want IQ and compactness, then Fuji and Olympus have both very good cameras and you can't go wrong with either of them.

[surfar]

Olympus

Yes, very good and so is the price of the EM1 mk 2....almost the price of a K1

it's embarrassing, right

Yes, why use a cheap bit of plastic when you can have weatherproof from 15mm to 450mm.Along with some nice images and room in the backpack for a drink and a sandwich.

[Dan Rentea]

Yes, very good and so is the price of the EM1 mk 2....almost the price of a K1

There are some good cameras from Oly, other than EM1 Mark II. Saying that you need the latest camera from Oly to take good images is like saying you need K-3 II instead of K3, K-S 2 or K5 II, because K-3 II it's the latest APSC high end camera released by Pentax. And the OP said he wants portability, if I remember corectly.

K1 may be an amazing camera, but is not compact and light. You can't recommend to a guy who wants a Fiat 500 to drive with it in an agglomerated city to buy a Mitsubishi Outlander just because it has 4x4 traction, a lot more room inside, and it has some off road capabilities.

Yes, why use a cheap bit of plastic when you can have weatherproof from 15mm to 450mm.Along with some nice images and room in the backpack for a drink and a sandwich.

Tamron has WR on their new lenses, starting from 15-30mm to new 150-600mm. It may not be as good as Pentax WR, but is there. Again, DA 35mm and DA 50mm are cheap/plastic, but are more than ok in terms of IQ.

I don't know how much room you have in your backpack if you use K1 and the new lenses released, but I think you jump from lenses for full frame cameras to lenses for APSC cameras trying to make a point. Noted, but I don't necessarily have to agree with you.

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Last edited by Dan Rentea; 10-14-2016 at 02:25 AM.

[MJKoski]

Tamron and Penron lenses are not any different. Maybe coating but that is it. Both have rubber ring on the back. Penron has green painted ring and different haptics on zoom ring and focus ring. They are just cosmetics though. I do not believe Penron version is sealed any better than Tamron counterpart. Both can be fitted with *same* Filter holder (15-30). Tamron just does not make so much noise about faux "WR" protection. Watch out when trying to shoot sandstorms with 15-30 - if (and when) sand goes into the mechanism which moves the front lens inside the lens barrel it will get stuck.

[Rondec]

There are some good cameras from Oly, other than EM1 Mark II. Saying that you need the latest camera from Oly to take good images is like saying you need K-3 II instead of K3, K-S 2 or K5 II, because K-3 II it's the latest APSC high end camera released by Pentax. And the OP said he wants portability, if I remember corectly.

K1 may be an amazing camera, but is not compact and light. You can't recommend to a guy who wants a Fiat 500 to drive with it in an agglomerated city to buy a Mitsubishi Outlander just because it has 4x4 traction, a lot more room inside, and it has some off road capabilities.



Tamron has WR on their new lenses, starting from 15-30mm to new 150-600mm. It may not be as good as Pentax WR, but is there. Again, DA 35mm and DA 50mm are cheap/plastic, but are more than ok in terms of IQ.

I don't know how much room you have in your backpack if you use K1 and the new lenses released, but I think you jump from lenses for full frame cameras to lenses for APSC cameras trying to make a point. Noted, but I don't necessarily have to agree with you.

A lot of folks buy full frame lenses and mount them on crop cameras. If you are thinking about getting full frame down the road or just want the angle of view that a particular lens offers on crop, it can be worthwhile. I shot with the 24-70 f2.8 for quite awhile on my K3.

But all of this is going far afield from what the OP wants. I think he needs to get a Fuji and try it out and draw up a list of lenses that he thinks he would want. Truthfully, the focus should be more on lenses than on camera bodies, because those will stick with you a lot longer, whereas bodies come and go.

[Dan Rentea]

A lot of folks buy full frame lenses and mount them on crop cameras.

True, especially for macro and action/wildlife photography.

If you are thinking about getting full frame down the road or just want the angle of view that a particular lens offers on crop, it can be worthwhile. I shot with the 24-70 f2.8 for quite awhile on my K3.

My comment about full frame lenses reffers to our colleague's (Surfar) comment regarding the free space in his backpack. I didn't see much difference in size/weight between the 4 amigos (15-30mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm and 150-450mm) and the equivalent lenses from Tamron (or any other lenses from competition).

I bought DA limited lenses when I had K-5 II and K-3 II because of the SDM failure of the 16-50mm and 50-135mm lenses and due to the lack of service in Romania. It turned out to be the best decision ever because with prime lenses I had to be more creative in order to get the shot I wanted and also forced me to learn more about composition, etc. Yes, APSC lenses from Pentax are small and light, but the limited lenses are not WR so, assuming I had to go out and shot sandstorms and hurricanes (with a K3 II and a DA21mm lens) next to Surfar, I still had to put a plastic cover bag on my gear.

But all of this is going far afield from what the OP wants. I think he needs to get a Fuji and try it out and draw up a list of lenses that he thinks he would want. Truthfully, the focus should be more on lenses than on camera bodies, because those will stick with you a lot longer, whereas bodies come and go.

My recommendation to OP is also to rent a Fuji (and also an Oly) and after he plays with both he can decide which one is suited to him. Shooting is about having fun and a "wrong" camera can spoil that fun. I never buy anything until I put my hands on it. Why? Because my needs differ to your needs, or to OP's needs and so on.

[Derwin]

How do you find the da21 compared to the 35 in terms of color, character, sharpness, etc?

Very hard to say. Shooting both at f8 and above (which is what I usually do), they are pretty comparable in terms of sharpness. You might see a difference if you were mounting either lens on one of the new 24mp bodies (X-Pro2/K-3) but, on 16mp there is no discernible difference at normal viewing sizes and distances. Wide open, I still don't think I have front/back focus adjustment quite right on the DA21mm and it's nice not to have to worry about this with the XF 35mm on the X-Pro 1. The colour on both is fantastic. DA21mm, to my mind, has some of the best I've seen of the classic Pentax colour characteristics (great contrast and saturation, without being cartoonish). XF35mm is very nice also, slightly cooler character perhaps but, it has to be said, discerning what is a lens characteristic and separating that out from the characteristics of different sensor, bayer Vs X-trans, WB etc. is tricky. They're different focal lengths and so they have a completely different character, but both are characterful. Personally, for what I shoot, I like the level of barrel distortion on the DA21mm and most oftentimes will leave this uncorrected. A lot has been written about the level of software correction Fuji has worked into the XF 35mm but, again, for what I shoot I don't find either the extreme corner sharpness or barrel distortion to be at all problematic. I prefer the DA21mm FOV and, fairly or not, think this to be the more characterful lens overall.

The most exciting thing regarding Fuji bodies, apart from evf and compactness, is the availability of controls in right places... Dials, buttons, function buttons etc. It's like having a k-3ii in half the size

Big advantage. I think for the style of camera body it is (rangefinder-esque), Fuji have got the ergonomics of the X-Pro 1 just right. That said, do love the deep generous grip of the K-30...

I continue to enjoy both, but one is going to have to go sooner or later...

[MJKoski]

Why? Because my needs differ to your needs, or to OP's needs and so on.

Well said, this is why I do not understand why anyone would ask recommendations for a camera.

[TER-OR]

The FOV of the 21mm on an APSC is very nice, very "normal." It looks like you're standing there looking at the scene yourself.

[Derwin]

The FOV of the 21mm on an APSC is very nice, very "normal." It looks like you're standing there looking at the scene yourself.

Maybe I should just get a PK => XF mount adaptor with approximate aperture control, busk my way to somewhere around f8 and have – nearly – the best of both worlds?

[taita87]

Maybe I should just get a PK => XF mount adaptor with approximate aperture control, busk my way to somewhere around f8 and have – nearly – the best of both worlds?

It's a tempting choice but... Adapters aren't cheap. You also lose the smaller size of the 21 compared to like a fujinon 23 f2 which is almost the same focal length, water resistant, faster, and a good lens too