Fast "Noirmal" Lens....

I'm looking for a "normal" lens - an A 50mm 1.7 I was using at a wedding the other day didn't seem wide enough for the shots I've used it for in my film days...

(Read Lilly's Wide and Fast post with interest - Lilly - Did you decide on a lens yet? )

Looking at the Sigma 30mm, and the FA or DA 35mm... (can't financially justify the 31ltd right now... ) I'm leaning towards the Pentaxes, and have read the reviews...

Does anybody have (or had) both the FA and DA 35? I'd like to hear a comparison of the two... The DA is double the price and a stop slower - is it that much better?

---

--------------
MZ-6,K10D,K20D,Grip,DA*Zooms,DA 18-55-200 Kit,FA50,1.7TC,AFZ360
For Saleentax FA28-90,FA100-300,Sigma EX28-80,DC18-200,
Makinon 500mm Mirror

I've tried the af 28mm 2.8. not too bad imho.... fairly fast, good optics and often found in these parts dirt cheap ($40-$70 cdn).

---

Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.

Don - good idea, but...

I have an old (but good) A-28 2.8 that I use, but find myself struggling with manual focus... (One of the downsides of getting older, I guess... It's a rude awakening when you find your camera focuses better than your eyes can... thank goodness for diopter adjustable viewfinders...)

I guess I was looking for something fast in the 28 to 35mm range that I could use for 'Flashless' low light work, or to get that very shallow DOF when I was feeling extra creative... and AF too...

---

--------------
MZ-6,K10D,K20D,Grip,DA*Zooms,DA 18-55-200 Kit,FA50,1.7TC,AFZ360
For Saleentax FA28-90,FA100-300,Sigma EX28-80,DC18-200,
Makinon 500mm Mirror

looking at your lens selection there I wonder....
35 2.8 macro?

bearing in mind of course most macros focus a little slower, and hunt more in low light, but.... I like the specialty optics!

---

Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.

Don beat me to the 35mm macro suggestion. I know Pentaxke is very happy with his. He waited a long time for it to be delivered, by I suspect it hasn't been off the camera since!

There is the "F" auto-focus version of the Pentax 28mm 2.8 that has exactly the same good optics as your "A" version. Examples occasionally pop up on Fleabay.

I have one and it makes an excellent little slightly-wide-of-standard lens on digital.

---

~Pete

The FA 35mm is an excellent lens, but for that reason is hard to find. However, a Dutch seller (generally pretty reliable people, the Dutch) has one in Top Zustand, and it comes of course with OVP (Original Verpackt). On Greedbay, natch.

Worth watching, because it's actually the best choice for you. Nothing I have read about the DA suggests it's much, if any, better.

G

---

Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.

I've been thinking pretty much the same thing - so I guess it'll be the FA35 - now I just gotta find one...



Yeah - hoping to update that real soon - will pick up the FA35 and have lent the Sigma EX28-80 and the DC18-200 to a friend hoping that he'll like them well enough to buy them from me... I've been so impressed with the 50-135 that I've pretty much decided to get the matching 16-50 as well...

I thought that the 28-80 had pretty good IQ - and still do - but it just doesn't compare to the DA*, and the 18-200..., well it's handy, but I don't use it much anymore...

---

--------------
MZ-6,K10D,K20D,Grip,DA*Zooms,DA 18-55-200 Kit,FA50,1.7TC,AFZ360
For Saleentax FA28-90,FA100-300,Sigma EX28-80,DC18-200,
Makinon 500mm Mirror

The one Pentaxke has (and is very happy with) is the new DA 35mm 2.8 limited - SRS have it for 279 pounds.

I'm not sure the DA and FA 35's are directly comparable; the FA is a stop faster but the DA a true 1:1 macro lens (and very nicely built to "Limited" standards to judge by the one I fondled at SRS). As either could be considered a "normal" focal length on a DSLR then the choice would be more like a choice between a normal or macro 50mm in the film days - from what I remember the normal lenses were always quicker and the macros always cost more - not much changes eh?

---

Joining the Q

As I said, there's one on Ebay presently.

G

---

Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.

in London, near the British Museum...

I bought a new one from there for GBP 199..

It's a grey import, the shopkeeper isn't necessarily a 'people person' but it's an FA35.

I sometimes use the FA28 as it's a bit wider than the FA35 and focuses better on my DS.

The FA28 seems to go for less money than the FA35 which is good though it doesn't come up for sale very often.

Of course the FA28 is a stop slower and maybe not as good optically but I haven't noticed much difference.

On digital the 28mm becomes 42mm which is almost the "magical" 43mm favoured by Pentax as the "perfect" field of view or some other baloney they used to use to promoted the expensive 43mm Ltd.