50mm lens
Posted 19/02/2004 - 13:50
Link
Hi,
There is a lot to be said for the good old 50mm lens. Because you may have to move rather than just rotate the zoom ring, it might make you think more about the composition and be more creative. The 50mm lenses are superb. The quality is first rate and the brighter viewfinder is a joy to use. They also give you a better range of depth of field at the wider apertures. I have always prefered fixed focal length lenses but I know that there are people who would advocate a really good quality zoom. It could certainly work out cheaper and means less to carry around. I would suggest looking at a few shops selling secondhand camers and look at a couple with 50mm lenses to see what you think for yourself. They don't even have to be Pentax. Unfortunately, although there are lots of MF lenses on the second hand market, the AF versions are few and far between and so tend to be rather expensive. This is even more so for new ones. An alternative would be to get an MF one. You should be able to get one for about £30 and as the MZ-7 doesn't have a crippled mount even the earlier ones will be compatible although you won't be able to use full auto exposure. On the other hand, this may also help you to be more creative by having to think about exposure and focus rather than letting the camera do it all for you.
Regards
Kim
There is a lot to be said for the good old 50mm lens. Because you may have to move rather than just rotate the zoom ring, it might make you think more about the composition and be more creative. The 50mm lenses are superb. The quality is first rate and the brighter viewfinder is a joy to use. They also give you a better range of depth of field at the wider apertures. I have always prefered fixed focal length lenses but I know that there are people who would advocate a really good quality zoom. It could certainly work out cheaper and means less to carry around. I would suggest looking at a few shops selling secondhand camers and look at a couple with 50mm lenses to see what you think for yourself. They don't even have to be Pentax. Unfortunately, although there are lots of MF lenses on the second hand market, the AF versions are few and far between and so tend to be rather expensive. This is even more so for new ones. An alternative would be to get an MF one. You should be able to get one for about £30 and as the MZ-7 doesn't have a crippled mount even the earlier ones will be compatible although you won't be able to use full auto exposure. On the other hand, this may also help you to be more creative by having to think about exposure and focus rather than letting the camera do it all for you.
Regards
Kim
Posted 19/02/2004 - 18:21
Link
It's now fairly easy to find a nice SMC Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 for around £20, and that is an excellent lens. The 50mm f2 should be cheaper and is pretty much as good. The 50mm f1.4 sacrifices absolute resolution for contrast, and for the low light reportage it might be used for then that is arguably the right choice. The 50mm f1.2 controls flare and coma extremely well, rendering light sources correctly even at full aperture, whilst giving good performance stopped down.
Finally, you might consider the 50mm f4 and 50mm f2.8 Macro lenses, which, although more expensive, will be very, very useful.
Finally, you might consider the 50mm f4 and 50mm f2.8 Macro lenses, which, although more expensive, will be very, very useful.
Best regards, John
Add Comment
To leave a comment - Log in to Pentax User or create a new account.
2277 posts
24 years