Oh boy! Pentax M 50mm F/1.4 !

I just can't help it; I have to tell everyone how satisfied I am with my "new" Pentax-M 50mm F/1.4 ! I just got it on an auction here in Portugal for about 40 Euro, and I really think that the seller had little idea of what he was selling!

My DS seems quite happy with it; the viewfinder is wonderfully bright, focusing is easy-peasy, and boy do the pictures look amazing! This lens is FAST! I mean, I shot some pics at night during our traditional festivities and I was amazed with the results! Ok, manual mode only, but hey, the quality makes up for it. A bit soft and luminous wide open, but it generates such a beautiful picture... a couple of stops down and it is very sharp.

I love the flexibility of my kit's 18-55, but this is just beautifull! This is the forst Pentax lens I get my hands on; I'm searching for a good condition Pentax FA 80-320 F/4.5-5.6 as my long telezoom. I've heard wonders of this lens on the DS.

After I get the 80-320, what next lens would you guys recommend? Is all Pentax glass as good as my M 50mm?

Thanks!
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Oscar Sarabando
Complaisant Spark is at http://flink.formula9.net

I can understand your enthusiasm - Pentax lenses are superb optics. There are lots of them out there for you to discover!

Almost all SMC Pentax lenses are excellent, especially the primes.

The latest zooms are very good indeed, but for the highest quality and large maximum apertures, go for primes.

The best advice is here:

http://stans-photography.info/

Good luck. I own over twenty Pentax lenses, and am still buying! Ebay is generally the best, but not the only, source.

George

I would recomend also getting an M-series wide angle lens, either a 24mm or 28mm. These are almost always available on e-bay at give away prices and will allow you to take excellent pictures in much lower light than will be possible with a zoom.

No such think as an M series 24mm lens - only K or A series and both are quite pricey as they are relatively scarce. Plenty of 28mm lenses though - many reckon the 28/3.5 to be the sharpest - and it is also usually cheapest because of the relatively slow speed.

The SMC Pentax 24mm f2.8 is a superb lens.

I agree - I myself have the SMC 24 2.8. Though it is rare(ish) I happened to notice it in the window of the local LCE a few years back for a vaguely sensible price. Tend to use it on manual bodies (currently reduced to an MX) and have not really used many of the manual lenses on the digital body. Just lazy I guess.

Another lens worth keeping an eye out for is the SMC M 35 2.0 - effectively a fairly fast standard lens on the digital bodies. going rate second hand is around £120.

Well...

I just bought a second hand 80-320 zoom, wich I expect to receive in a few days. Having played around with a (Hamamya?) 200mm F3.5 prime on my Zenit EM, I believe the 80-320 will more than cover my need for a telezoom.

The 50mm is an absolutely superb lens, and fills that special focal range I used on my Zenit+Helios 58mm for so long (I kind of grown with it). If I can, I will grab an A version in the future to be able to use all metering and shooting modes with it.

Then I have the "standard" 18-55mm that came with the kit. It's actually good and flexible.

I'd like to go for a nice wide angle now, but it seems to be impossible to find very low focal range lens. The 1.5 sensor factor is probably the culprit, since a 24 was already quite wide in 35mm but transforms itself into a "normal" in digital...

Now I know why everyone is lusting for the 12-24! Will it reach the $1000 the Nikon version sells for?

Thanks for your opinions!
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Oscar Sarabando
http://flink.formula9.net

I have had that lens since I bought it new years ago for my MX (which is still in use). It now makes a superb portrait lens on my *st D.

You are lucky to get your hands on one of these, they're great lenses!