Must have Pentax lenses
also very impressed with my A 135 f2.8
pentax da*50-135 pentax da*60-250 sigma af 400mm pentax 1.7 af adapter
Pentax af aw 1.4 rear converter and a flash
DA15 limited - Always in my camera bag. Small, light, portable and has the elusive 'pixie dust'
DA10-17 - I didn't think I'd like a fish-eye, but in many ways I prefer the rendering to rectilinear ultra-wides.
M85/2 - Great for people shots, small, comparatively light and with really nice IQ.
K135/2.5 - Had mine stolen recently, but a gem. Beautifully built, a pleasure to use and really good image quality. I'm be looking for another one.
Going slighty off-piste:
Tamron Adaptall SP 90mm/2.5 macro - Pretty good as both a macro and a portrait lens.
Helios 44 - Good IQ and very different rendering, plus serves as a reminder how beautifully engineered Pentax lenses of the same era are.
Tamron 17-50 - Excellent and a worthy upgrade from the kit lens; If I had to have just one lens, this would probably be it (for entirely practical reasons, though - it's technically very good but lacks the character and soul of the limiteds or older Pentax lenses...)
A 50/1.2 @ f/1.2 -- Can't be beaten for character and depth.
DA 10-17 -- Wide angle perspective LSD. love it. great for panos too
DA* 50-135 -- covers the boring focal length ranges in the most superb of quality and at 2.8
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
best standard lens ever made, although I prefer to use
the A Series 50mm f/1.7 which handles just about any
job I throw at it superbly. I rarely use my 43mm.
Lately I've been going back to the A Series 50mm f/2.8
Macro because of it's very clear image at f/2.8....
not really any need to stop it down and the
fact that it focuses accurately like a micrometer at close
distances of around 1M.
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Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff
Algi
So far unrealized dreams! Compensation "I find" the Sigma.:
Velimir
The FA*85 f1.4 is probably the last lens I would part with, the F*300 f4.5 is my favourite telephoto, the F100 f2.8 macro has recently become my favoured macro (even over the DA100 WR), I always keep an F50 f1.7, and at the wide end I don't have a "special" lens (i've just sold my DA Ltd 21 f3.2 - which I think I may soon regret).
But ask me again next week and it could be different - "The Joy of Pentax"
K135/2.5 - a bit bigger but also sharp with lovely bokeh.
DA35/2.4 - sharp, super smooth bokeh, classy IQ for a bargain price.
As it's been disqualified I will go for the DA*16-50 and DA*60-250 - since they've come back from JPS with new SDM motors the cameras deliver better quality than my D3 and Nikkors.
Assorted Pentax/Nikon/Mamiya stuff
I would regard the DA 35 ltd as the over-all best-performing lens. It produces really beautiful shots with a clarity that nothing else I've tried comes close to.
Beyond that, I'd say the venerable M 50mm f/1.7 is a must-have as it's so common, cheap and produces excellent results.
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses
The M 50mm 1.7 has a special place in heart too.
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1172 posts
15 years
UK
For me, it would be the following:-
DA*50-135mm F2.8. The most expensive, but it is a stunner! Plust you can get them new.
55mm F1.8 - A must! does not matter which version (any Tak, or the K-55), any pentaxian has to have one to realise the sheer delight of a small well made sharp prime.
35mm F3.5 - A takumar, which proves fast does not mean perfect! This IS perfect.
50mm F1.7 - Sweeter than the F1.4 and cheaper too. Welcome to the world of the "nifty"
28mm F2.8 - again any flavour. I have the SMC-F one. ugly but sharp and stunning!
135mm F3.5 - I don't have one, but anyone who does say it is the sweetest 135mm Pentax made, either M42 or K-mount.
DA-40mm F2.8 Limited - Cheapest Limited and a proper Pancake. Sharp as anything and intro to the world of Limiteds. So small that it is a talking point too.
Your turn.