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Opinions on the DA 50

paulcliff
Posted 03/02/2017 - 19:53 Link
Recently I've been itching for a prime lens, the only one I own is the M50/f1.7.

Great lens, a little soft wide open and manual focus with toddlers is a trial.

I've had my eye on the DA50 which currently sells for £80-90 new, seems like a bargain.

I do also own the Sigma 17-50/f2.8 which is my day to day lens. So my question is, if I get the DA50 am I going to disappointed by how it performs compared to the Sigma at 50mm?

Should I be looking at a more expensive 50mm if I'm after something instead of the Sigma for portraits and the like?

Something else I considered was getting a prime in the 70mm range instead, but I can't find anything I would consider affordable at the moment (£300 range)
HarisF1
Posted 03/02/2017 - 20:10 Link
The DA50 is an excellent lens with great sharpness and bokeh. It's very much worth the £70 odd that it will cost if you use it enough.

If you'd like a 70mm prime then you can look for a DA70 Ltd for around £230. It's brilliant.

Or get both for £300!
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JAK
paulcliff
Posted 03/02/2017 - 20:23 Link
HarisF1 wrote:
The DA50 is an excellent lens with great sharpness and bokeh. It's very much worth the £70 odd that it will cost if you use it enough.

If you'd like a 70mm prime then you can look for a DA70 Ltd for around £230. It's brilliant.

Or get both for £300!

Where's the 70 for £230? They're £469 on SRS.
paulcliff
Posted 03/02/2017 - 20:24 Link

Thanks that looks great, I'll have a look for some more images online.
HarisF1
Posted 03/02/2017 - 20:25 - Helpful Comment Link
Check out eBay for the DA70 or DA50. They'll usually be in good condition.
All the gear with no idea
AndrewA
Posted 03/02/2017 - 21:11 Link
I use the Sigma f1.4 50mm, it is more expensive and a much larger lens but is an exceptional lens.
I had a DA 50mm and it Is a fine lens too.
Andrew

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davidstorm
Posted 03/02/2017 - 22:27 Link
The DA50 is superb for the money. I cannot fault it in any way.

Regards
David
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ronniemac
Posted 04/02/2017 - 13:41 - Helpful Comment Link
The DA50 is a good lens for what it costs, the DA 70 is lovely for portraits; both have been recommended above, but if you're photographing toddlers you might want to consider fast focusing speed and a wider aperture. With this in mind, you might pick up a nice used DA*55mm F1.4 SDM for £300, I did and really like it. Focusing is fast, silent, and accurate, build is top quality and of course, like all DA* lenses, it is WR which can be useful. Pentax specifically designed it for portraits on an APS-C camera like your K-3 ii. It's really good (for Pentax) with moving subjects on AF-C.

I wasn't put off by SDM failure on some lenses - this doesn't seem to be a problem on the DA* 55 (actually it has not been in my experience of 7 SDM lenses).

Added bonus with all of these lenses is that they work really well on FF, especially the DA* 55. On the K-1 it becomes a standard focal length prime lens.
Edited by ronniemac: 04/02/2017 - 13:42
paulcliff
Posted 04/02/2017 - 18:19 Link
Thanks for all the feedback, it's really useful.

I think I'm more inclined to drop a larger amount of money on the DA*55 so I'll keep an eye out for one.

I might just grab a DA 50 anyway from Amazon and see how I get on with it, it's a relatively small amount of money and it's very easy to just return an item you don't like with Amazon.

I'm going to be photographing my new born nephew soon, and probably his older brother and sister so I'll have a chance to give the M50 a run out (on the new born, if he's asleep ) and see how the Sigma gets on without any real pressure.
HarisF1
Posted 08/02/2017 - 12:22 Link
Paul, there is a DA70 going for £200 in the classified ads section on here. Snap it up if you're looking for a top quality portrait lens.
All the gear with no idea
paulcliff
Posted 13/02/2017 - 09:50 Link
I've purchased a DA50 f/1.8 from the classifieds, I'll let you know how I get on with it!

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