prime lenses

Chris, if you do get the 35mm, let us know what it is like, as I might be interested myself as my 50mm can be a bit long at times.

I never even thought of Samsung when I imported my Pentax version from the USA, and ended up paying all the associated fees.

A great subject matter.
Greytop, the sample images on the "link" show the quality of the lens.

How does the Sigma 30 compare in the IQ stakes?
Regards

Chris

Couldn't agree more,it just isn't wide enough sometimes.If I get one I will post.

Thanks for all the input-much appreciated-so much to learn

Regards

Chris

You're very welcome, glad to be of help.

In the meantime, might be worth searching in flickr with the lens you are looking at, to see what a lens is capable of. I do it all the time

I forgot one more thing. according to WEX the Samsung is £294, not bad a price currently.

However, have you thought of the Pentax 35mm F2.8 Limited Macro?
Not as fast (F2.8 as opposed to F2) and more expensive (£474 on SRS, mathers in bolton at £319 if you hurry), but you do get full 1:1 macro with the lens, and I have heard that it is still a great "normal" lens too (some Macros are not so good as a normal lens). The downside of the Limited is that it will not work with Film bodies, but if you don't have any film bodies, then this is not an issue. It is however a Limited after all, so it will have the best optics that Pentax provide.

Hope this does not make things more confusing....

Absolutely, I have just downloaded a couple of examples and I agree the quality is quite stunning.

Offertonhatter - From my experience the 35 f2 is simply superb in every respect - quality, colour, sharp, size which is modest but not tiny, weight. I can't praise it enough on my K10D. I was lucky to pay £235 new from SRS some time ago.

I also have he Sigma 30 1.4 which is a fine lens but on my K10D slightly front focusses so it's not a fair comparison but it looks like it is every bit as sharp as the 35 f2, gives lovely colours and superb bokeh and it is f1.4. That said it's bigger and heavier. It sits on the K10D well I just wish its focus was spot on. So it will wait until I get a K20D or K7 then I'll decide it it usurps the 35 f2..


I like primes but at extreme wide angle zooms are handy a a small change in focal length has a very big impact.

Mike

Chris I refer you to link for the 21 ltd.

I would stick with pentax lenses. Their prime lense are the best and stand out from the rest in my experience. I personally shoot regularly with the Fa 35mm f 2. It's a fantastic all rounder for that eye angle look, but that all depends on your style. You should firstly think about what you like to shoot and what you want to achieve. If you are looking for a lense that will shoot under any condition and you like the feel of approaching your scene from various artistic angles, then this is the lense for you. You can still find around on ebay international the Fa for under £200.

If it's any help I have a 50 (albeit an older f1.7) and then bought the 35 f2.

It's the 35 that stays on the camera when not using a tele zoom.

For my purposes I can take a shot with the 35 and crop it down to what the 50 would have taken (I know this isn't axactly the same but for most of the stuff we do it works well enough.) The quality of the 35 is so fantastic there is no image degredation that I can see when doing this.

So, if I'd have had the 35 first I would never have bought the 50 - but the other way round I'm glad I bought the 35.

It's always difficult not knowing peoples uses and tastes but based on my expierence I'd say buy the 35. If you then find you don't use the 50 you could even sell it for a profit (considering you paid only £180) the way prices right now!

Good advice Matt.

On another subject... and not wanting to be too pedantic but singular the spelling is 'lens'

thanks for the english lesson. Might have something to do with 7 years residency in Italy, and no expats to chat with.

No problem

I guess it comes down to what focal length you enjoy most.

I'd say my most used prime was the da 14mm as I like to get up close & emphasise perspective. I've just picked up a 20mm for use on full frame which should do the same job.
For others it may be the da* 300mm, it's very much down to the individual.