Lens regrets

This is just me having a whine, so apologies!

In the run-up to the purchase of my *istDS I rationalised my lens collection, thinking that several of them would not seem much use in this digital age. After a month or so of only having the kit 18-55mm lens at wide and normal lengths I'm regretting the sale of many of those now because the kit lens really isn't all that good - IMHO it's not even as good as the old SMC-FA 28-200 I used to use for point and shoot duties.

I'm totally sorted (better off even in this day of 1.5x magnification) at the mild to reasonable telephoto coverage as I've got an Tokina ATX-Pro 80-200 F2.8 zoom, an FA* 85mm F1.4 and a couple of SMC-M 50mm F1.7's.

In the wide to normal range I've only got the 18-55mm kit lens, the aforementioned 28-200 and a Pheonix 19-35mm (it's the same lens as the Cosina and Vivitar ones) and to be quite honest none of those are much good.

Given I recently sold such beauties as a Tokina ATX-Pro 28-70 F2.6-2.8, an FA* 24mm F2, a SMC-M 35mm F2, a Sigma 28mm F1.8 and a SMC-M 40mm F2.8 I have to say I'm not feeling pretty dumb as it's going to take a while to find replacements at decent prices. What an idiot...

I'm generally enjoying the *istDS a lot except the for the aforementioned, plus I've also found that the built in flash needs a fair bit of camera to subject distance in order to to over-expose, much more so than any of my 35mm bodies ever did.

You forgot the Lazarette Rule: Never sell a Pentax Star lens, even if it means going hungry.

But commiserations.

And look on the bright side - your lens portfolio needs enhancing by one or more of the following:

DA 14mm f2.8
DA 16-45mm f4
DA 12-24mm f4.

And to get one of them, all it needs is money.

G

Why not think of it as a superb opportunity to re-think the lens line-up completely?

The digital body will need especially some careful consideration regarding wide angles. Perhaps the new 12-24mm will fill the gap, or maybe the 14mm and the 16-45mm.

Whichever way, there are some exciting new lens designs to try out.

I claim repetition!

G

I had pretty much all the lenses I needed except for the wide end when I bought the D. The 16-45 is absolutely superb, as is the 12-24. So my 20mm M lives with the MX cameras, and the rest of the pack can go on either film or digital, except for the two D lenses.

The 16-24 combined with an old K 45-125 is a great kit for walking around, especially when I keep a 31mm f/1.8 as a normal. Just like the old days!!

A very good rule, but sadly learned too late for my FA* 24mm F2 which I'm missing lots. The really sad thing is that I bought it when I lived in Hong Kong and it was vastly cheaper than it would have been here. At UK prices I'd have to sell a child to get one again.

As well as money I also need permission from SWMBO, and that's harder to get! It's my birthday in March though so perhaps if I'm a good boy until then...

The 12-24mm is the one that really interests me, and I'd possibly add a FA 50mm to bridge the cap between it and my longer lenses. Already I've found my old SMC-M 50mm F1.7 getting more use that it ever did in my film camera days.

I used to travel light with just the FA* 24mm and 85mm lenses and a single MZ-5 body, or heavy with a Z1p and 28-70 and 80-200 F2.8 zooms, really heavy with a Bronica ETRS setup or super-light with a Contax G1 and 24, 45 and 90mm lenses. Of those the first system got the most use by a considerable margin (I eventually sold the Bronica and Contax systems because I wasn't using them enough) and I'd quite like to get back to something similar with digital. The 12-24 matched with 50mm and 85mm primes sounds ideal so I think I'll need to get saving for the 12-24.

Anyone know the cheapest UK supplied for the 12-24?

I got mine from Technikdirekt. €680 inc shipping. EU so there's no duty or VAT. Total was approx £465.00.

G

I rationalised the cost of this lens by reminding myself that I don't normally pay more than about £50 for a lens, so the overall average is pretty low. The occasional splurge makes little difference in the scheme of things. As long as it's definitely occasional.

G