Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.4 My best night time street lens. Well ok, i only have 2 lenses i use this way: this one i prefer.
Shoot it between f1.4 - f2.8 mostly.
i've had this lens for something like 35 years. Always used it when i needed something really sharp, but my shooting style during film days led me to use the 35mm f2 for candid night shots.
These days find i'm leaning towards telephotos generally and this lens with it's 75mm equivalency on an APS-C cameras has become very useful. It's small, isn't imposing, and colours are great. Sharpness is good enough at the wide apertures, espesh as the K-7 has a sensor with detail-blotting noise at higher ISO's.
Takes a bit of work to focus it at night. Getting better at it.
Wide open it has no DOF and what looks to be spherical aberration: sharp details within a general halo of fogginess around everything. Unnoticeable by f2.8.
Find i don't really worry abt what f-stop i set it to, tho i keep count how many clicks from wide open on the aperture ring. Worry more abt shutter speed. Mounted on a monopod i can go as low as 1/12s with some chance of a clear shot; 1/20s is better.
Skewed horizons, motion blur, oversaturated reds and blues, darkness, little time to compose and less to focus; that's what it's abt. You wouldn't think a completely manual lens would be good in this use: that's how it's always been tho, walking on the streets at night with not very expensive equipment that still gets you great shots with enough IQ to sho... |