 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| PhotoKB HomeDiscussion Groups Digital Photography Digital PhotoDSLR CamerasZLR CamerasPoint & Shoot CamerasFilm Photography 35 mmLarge FormatMedium formatDarkroomFilm and LabsOther EquipmentPhoto Technique Nature PhotographyPeople PhotographyTechnique GeneralGeneral Photo Topics General TopicsAustralian PhotographyUK PhotographyDirectoryPhoto Clubs |
Photo Forum / Digital Photography / DSLR Cameras / July 2006Recommended lenses for Pentax *ist DL
I'm just getting into digital SLR photography and was wondering what lenses other *ist owners use. I'm currently using the DA 18-55mm kit lens but would like get better results when taking shots in low-light situations. Thanks. Joe, Get yourself a Pentax SMC-A 50mm f1:1.4 lens. They are a manual focus but auto aperture lens that works on the Pentax DSLR range. If you look on ebay, they are running around AU160 - $170.00 when they come up. If you have lots of money, get the new Pentax 50mm AF I think it is, they auto focus. * A 50mm 'analogue' lens = 75mm focal length for you with the DSLR and you will never believe how well these things just seem to make their own light. Great for portrait shots in existing light situations. I also have the f1:2.8 135mm lens in the SMC Pentax A range. It's basically a 200mm lens at 2.8. Nice. Jock > I'm just getting into digital SLR photography and was wondering what > lenses > other *ist owners use. I'm currently using the DA 18-55mm kit lens but > would like get better results when taking shots in low-light situations. > Thanks. I'll try bidding on the SMC-A 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.7 lenses. Do you know if there is a significant difference between the f/1.4 and f/1.7 lenses? Judging by the Ebay prices, it appears that the f/1.4 is a much better lens. I also found a website selling a brand new FA 50mm f/1.7 for $135US. What do you think of this lens? Thanks. > Joe, > Get yourself a Pentax SMC-A 50mm f1:1.4 lens. They are a manual focus [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > basically a 200mm lens at 2.8. Nice. > Jock Joe, Never tried the 1.7 but it would still be a quick lens - I think the main thing that stands out with the 1.4 is the bokeh it produces. You really see a slight saving $ wise on the 1.7 but for the difference, I am recommending you get the 1.4 if possible. If you want the FA, that is a pretty good price, again, I have no experience with the 1.7 in either flavour - AF or MF. Just be sure if you get a manual focus, you get the A - otherwise, it's manual aperture & focus. Keep reading the dpreview site and look here http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/lenses/ for a really great site with the Pentax lens range. Happy hunting! Jock > I'll try bidding on the SMC-A 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.7 lenses. Do you know if > there is a significant difference between the f/1.4 and f/1.7 lenses? [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> basically a 200mm lens at 2.8. Nice. >> Jock Jock, I'll probably try the 1.7 and then get the 1.4 a little later. Thanks for the heads up about the A setting. I noticed that certain auctions had the 1.7 without this A setting. Great link, lots of info on the Pentax lenses. Thanks for all the advice! > Joe, > Never tried the 1.7 but it would still be a quick lens - I think the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Pentax lens range. Happy hunting! > Jock And remember that the high ISO performance of these Pentax cameras is very good, don't be afraid to use 800 and above, in good light 1600 and 3200 is still good. > Jock, > I'll probably try the 1.7 and then get the 1.4 a little later. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> Pentax lens range. Happy hunting! >> Jock Joe, no problem. Make sure to post some sort of progress report when you get your lens. Jock > Jock, > I'll probably try the 1.7 and then get the 1.4 a little later. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> Pentax lens range. Happy hunting! >> Jock > I'll try bidding on the SMC-A 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.7 lenses. Do you know > if > there is a significant difference between the f/1.4 and f/1.7 lenses? > Judging by the Ebay prices, it appears that the f/1.4 is a much better Well, it's half stop faster, obviously. Beyond that, I can't say. I've used only the 1.7, and that's the M version - no "A", so manual aperture setting only. I like it just fine, although will probably replace it with an A if not autofocus version someday just because of the hassle. Anyhow, while *I* can't compare directly, I would note that in previous threads on dpreview, people who have compared are not by any means unanimous on the superiority of the 1.4. While some prefer the 1.4, it is usually by only slight amounts, and there were those who preferred the 1.7 as well. Most call it a tossup. I suspect the higher Ebay price of the 1.4 has as much to do with its relative rareness. For years, almost every Pentax SLR sold came with a 50/1.7. Most used camera stores or larger pawn shops I visit have a whole box of them. 1.4's are more specialty items. > I also found a website selling a brand new FA 50mm f/1.7 for $135US. > What > do you think of this lens? I think that *if* you believe you'd be happier with an even faster lens, the FA 50/1.4, it isn't *that* much more expensive. And if you're sitting on the fence, $20 and a visit to your local pwn shop will set you up with an M 50/1.7 to try out while you mull it over. But otherwise, I doubt you'd be disappointed with the FA 50/1.7 - by all accounts I've seen, it's basically the same lens as the well-regarded M and A 50/1.7. --------------- Marc Sabatella marc@outsideshore.com Music, art, & educational materials Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer" http://www.outsideshore.com/ > I'm just getting into digital SLR photography and was wondering what > lenses > other *ist owners use. I'm currently using the DA 18-55mm kit lens but > would like get better results when taking shots in low-light > situations. The cheapest option is a used manual focus 50mm - either f1.7 or f1.4. These can be had for under $50 (US). A new autofocus 50mm will be more like $100-$200. There are also lenses in other focal lengths, of course - most of the used ones will be 28/2.8 and not a huge improvement over the kit lens in my book. Pentax has quite a few newer autofocus lenses that are quite fast (wide aperture / low f-stop) but are rather more expensive - more than you probably paid for your camera. See the Pentax SLR discussions on dpreview.com for more than you probably ever wanted to know about your camera and lenses available for it... --------------- Marc Sabatella marc@outsideshore.com Music, art, & educational materials Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer" http://www.outsideshore.com/ Marc: Thanks for the link to the dpreview.com forums. I'll check it out. >> I'm just getting into digital SLR photography and was wondering what >> lenses [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer" > http://www.outsideshore.com/ |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.