| Review of: SMC Pentax-F 50mm F1.7 by alamo5000 on Mon November 25, 2013 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 360659
Reviews: 99
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I don't think the current overall rating of this lens justifies 'just how good' this lens is.
First the so called 'downsides'... the lens I have needed 'fine adjustment'... I had to fiddle around with that for quite some time before I figured out where it needed to be. And if you set it to be 'spot on' at say 10 feet (wide open) it might be a little off if you shoot closer or farther away. This is more of a limitation of the AF system on the K-5 as well as the manufacturing tolerances of the F50 f1.7.
On the upside, this lens is near limited lens sharpness...not quite..but it is close. It's pretty zippy once you get it dialed in too. The sharpness wide open is pretty remarkable. Also some people want lenses that are faster (f1.4 or even f1.2) but the DOF with a Pentax 1.5 crop sensor makes those lenses not as useful at those apertures for 'walking around' in my opinion. The faster lenses are great (I have them too) but they are in my view more for artistic shots. It's not so easy to get a excellent focus at such shallow DOF without taking a lot of care in doing so. That said the f1.7 is a perfect combination for the 1.5 crop sensor due to DOF considerations. (Do the math yourself at various distances/ use a DOF calculator and see what I mean)
All that said, once you get this lens dialed in to your particular camera the results are great. And if you haven't gotten the point yet I took longer to dial in and 'figure out' this lens than any other lens in my bag. That said once you know that 'this lens is dialed in at 10 feet at f1.7' you can work accordingly. If you go off to other more close up shots with narrower DOF just skip the AF...turn on live view and manually focus for best results.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-F 28mm F2.8 by alamo5000 on Mon November 25, 2013 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 242220
Reviews: 44
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I have gone through a complete evolution as a photographer. Before I started I only wanted the long glass. But when I first started out I shot only with zooms... then I switched over to primes and now I shoot only primes.
With this lens...after a couple of months using it...it is by FAR my most used lens. It is a perfect lens for 'walking around'...'street shots' etc etc. If I had to leave the house with only one lens, this would be it. (I own the complete line of DA Limited lenses and this one is not 'as sharp' as those in relative terms, but the difference is negligible. Sharpness wise it would be somewhere in between the regular DA lenses and your average limited lens. I would be first in line if they released a modern version of this focal length in limited format.
I have found the more I shoot, the more I like this lens. It fills an important gap (while still being affordable) in the Pentax lens line up. The lens leaves little to complain about as far as I am concerned. After owning this lens for a while it's making want a 31mm because the focal length is close and I would like the increased speed. All that said, in absence of a 31mm, this is a must have lens as far as I am concerned.
Suggestions would be to use a good standard lens hood with this lens. I use a standard screw in metal hood because if you shoot with sunlight directly hitting the glass you will see reflections.
Overall the pros are the focal length is by far the most useful in my bag, the lens is sharper than most of the modern Pentax lenses (not necessarily the limited lenses though), also the AF works quite well with this lens.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-DA 21mm F3.2 Limited by alamo5000 on Thu December 27, 2012 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 383471
Reviews: 96
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I gave the lens a 10 because I feel the overall rating of the lens in the database is skewed. Its given lower marks than it deserves. If I was offering a my true opinion it would be about a 9.6 (if it were cheaper though it would be better).
I love the focal length. It is absolutely perfect for walking around. I shoot on full resolution RAW so my crops are still good. The color rendition with this lens is awesome and it has something special about it. I won't use the "3D" word but something good is there with this lens.
The FOV is great. Its not as wide as the 15mm but for walking around its amazing. On the street in natural light this thing is awesome. I found that if I stop down some and shoot in daylight it helps produce some great images.
Keep in mind the focal length dictates that this is technically a wide angle lens so physically the characteristics are going to be as such.
Downside is its slow. Shooting indoors is not its forte unless you use a flash or some other better lighting. Give this lens light and its absolutely fantastic.
The DOF is what I find different and tricky about this lens. At wide open and 1 meter from the subject the calculations are that the DOF is .29 meters... or almost 1 foot. The farther out you go from the subject the wider your DOF is and when you stop down its even more. This lens is equivalent to between 30-35mm on a FF camera as to FOV but because its designed for crop sensors you have a shorter focal length and because of its pancake design you don't get the sub f2 apertures.
You are trading off DOF so there is less bokeh but its the physical traits of the lens. To me though shooting outside or in natural lighting this lens is fantastic. In that scenario I would rate it higher than 9.6.
And the colors are just great. There is a learning curve to using this lens. If you try to use it the same way you do as a 50mm lens its going to be different. If on the other hand you learn and get the technicals down you can produce stellar images with this lens. Compare the calculations for a 35mm on a FF at f2 and your DOF is tiny. At 1 meter from the subject its less than 4 inches vs 1 foot for this lens.
Its a mixed breed between that type of FOV and a wide angle lens.
You can get about 8 inches up to your subject with this lens and with it being a pancake design that feels a bit weird, like you are doing macro on someone's face... but it works!
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