20mm lens

Needs some advice. Thinking of getting a 20mm prime lens. Want to use it on film as well as digital and want AF so only seem to have 2 choices - a 2nd hand SMCP FA 20mm f2.8 or a new sigma 20mm EX DG f1.8. Seems to me the new is not much more money than the 2nd hand so would be a better option. Does anyone have any experience of how these two stack up against eachother? Are there any other options? is the 20mm pentax still available new???
Looking forward to the depth and breath of your collective experience!
Cheers
C

The FA 20mm has not been available new for some time. It's also rather rare.

I was going to ask if the DA21 Ltd was out of your budget? But DA21 is not compatible with film unless you want vignettes.

I do have the Sigma and although it's a very good lens it gets little use.

Good luck!

You could go for even more "second hand" and try to find an A or M 20mm f4.

I have the M version and it is a cracking lens. Will probably cost you the best part of £200 though.

edit The K and M are f4, the A is f2.8

I also have the SMCM 20mm f4 and would recommend it if you can find one. Performance is probably on a par with the DA21 Ltd (of close enough as to make no difference), and obviously its cheaper.

It's also surprisingly compact (not much bigger than the pancake actually).

MF not an issue, especially with such a wide angle lens. Only downside is having to do stop down metering, but if you're using it for landscapes etc, then being slow and methodical is probably part of the plan in any case!

Ffordes website (just google ffordes - first search result) has 2 second hand FA 20mm f2.8s for sale at the moment, though at £349 and £399 a pop they're not cheap.

Thanks to all for the advice - i had been toying with the idea of the DA21mm but sadly it wont be much use with film. Ideally i would like the FA20mm and had seen the ffordes webpage but £349 and £399 seems a little steep to me when i could get a new ***ma for £499.

I had heard a rumour that some of the older pentax lenses are still available new in Japan but cant be sold here 'cos they contain lead). Does anyone know if this is true? I'm heading there later this year...

That is still £150 difference! If it is in good condition I'd buy the second hand Pentax lens myself and spend the extra £150 on something else.

K.

Some are, but only to special order and the FA20 isn't one of them unfortunately.

If you want "new" and you don't mind manual focus then I'd suggest the Voigtlander Color Skopar SLII 20/3.5 which is available around the £350-400 mark in Pentax KA fit.

Or from the same production line (but a lot more money and still MF) there's the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* ZK 21/2.8 - expect to pay around £900-1100 for one.

Thanks for the suggestions Kris and Hefty. You are a wealth of knowledge. I didn't know about the Voigtlander so i will check it out. Think they have them at B&H so I'll take a look next time I'm in NY. That is unless i crack and order the used FA20mm from ffordes in a moment of internet weakness . Guess I could always dispose of it on ebay if i dont like it...

That is still £150 difference! If it is in good condition I'd buy the second hand Pentax lens myself and spend the extra £150 on something else.

DITTO....always buy used...

If the Voigtlander is anything like as good as the 40mm and 58mm SLii lenses, then it'll be a keeper for sure: that's where I'd be headed if I was looking for a new lens in this range now, and FF compatability was an issue.

I use the older Pentax A20 with film and can confirm it really is a cracking lens. Don't tend to use it on digital though as the 16-45 covers that focal length and is so good.

Cheers,

/Ian

It is true that Japanese stores are rich in Pentax lenses, new and used...

Sadly the exchange rate means the savings won't be quite as profound... When £1 buys 220 yen then it represents a fantastic saving. At the moment it's just like going to B&H and realising the savings are not quite so good

After much debate I actually went for the sigma 20mm. Even after adjusting for ff/bf found it to be almost impossible to get a sharp photo at anything wider than f5.6 so returned it from whence it came with disgust. Have just taken delivery of a used Pentax 20mm which is much much better. Feel free to say "I told you so!"

I'd never do that...

Glad you got what you were after in the end though.