Which 85mm would be as good (or better) than this?

I've been playing with an 85mm f1.7 Minolta Rokkor mounted on the K5 via an adapter. I'm planning on selling the lens, and I want to get one that is designed for the Pentax mount.

The Rokkor seems to me to be a very good lens, so the candidates for replacement are the Sigma 85mm f1.4, the Pentax 77mm f1.8, and the Samyang 85mm f1.4 (manual focus). Or potentially a 100mm, but I'd want the wide aperture.

The pictures below were taken on the Rokkor. I love the bokeh and narrow DOF. I would like suggestions as to what I could replace it with and keep those attributes.

Picture 1 - the kitchen tap (always handy) at f1.7, focus point is the groove above the third ring up, the one with my reflection:




Picture 2 - 100% crop of the above:




Picture 3 - same thing at f2.8:




Picture 4 - 100% crop of above:




Why don't I keep the Rokkor? Due to the difference in registration distance it won't focus beyond a few feet on the Pentax.




One that isn't in the kitchen, also at f1.7:




So, given that I'm a fan of very restricted DOF for effect, and I want something sharp wide-open and sharp enough to cut yourself stopped down by one, which lens currently available is likely to make me happy?

Opinions please!

If you're prepared to go a little shorter, why not also consider the FA 50 1.4? It's sharp as, and very thin Dof. link (Focus is on the strands of spider web)

The Tamron 90 2.8 macro is another you might think about - excellent for close up photography but not limited to that, again pin sharp, and a very thin DoF as well. link

I have the Samyang, and one of my biggest gripes with it is that you need to be at least a meter away from your subject.

I was really annoyed at it for not being able to focus closer (almost to the point of selling the lens here), but then I learned to work around it and have a newfound love for the lens.

Oh and another thing, I learned how to actively work with manual focusing on an 85mm (should I say 128mm?) lens. That's something I can use and would not have had the time to experience if I was using AF.

I bought the Samyang from SRS for £189.

No you shouldn't, it is a 85mm lens.

All of the Pentax 85mm lenses are very good. If you really want thin depth of field then the A*85/1.4 or the FA*85/1.4 would be excellent but very expensive. Even the M42 85mm lenses are pretty pricey. The Samyang will easily be the cheapest option. I guess a thin extension tube would improve its close focusing ability.

K.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Some thoughts...

I've got the FA 35mm f2, so maybe a 50 would be a little too close in length. Although the 50/1.4 is a good price.

For abrupt OOF effects longer is probably better unless very close, so I'll definitely have a look at the Tamron 90 2.8, the macro side of that would be a bonus. The Pentax/Samsung 100mm 2.8 macro is probably a contender, giving very good versatility. I saw some very good prices on those a while back, so I'd be loath to pay 500 quid now... I'd also lose a stop, not worried about that in terms of speed but in terms of DOF effects.

I find the idea of the Samyang attractive, it is probably very similar in use to the Rokkor I've been experimenting with. Thank you for the warning that it doesn't go very close - maybe I keep the Rokkor for short distances and get the Samyang for longer ones lol. I'd get the Samyang today if it was 189 quid from SRS, but they don't have any. The current ebay price seems to be 250 from Mike's Photo.

I'm happy with manual focusing for the sort of uses I have in mind, but an AF lens would be nice - the 77mm Limited is on offer at SRS for 779, while the Sigma 85mm 1.4 is at 673. Depending on what I get for the Rokkor (and I'm hoping for 200 quid) then those are still harder to justify for me.

I'm still pondering. Jules on here has a 200mm f2.8 for sale, but that's probably too long. Or is it?

£199 delivered link

Thanks!

It seems that for Nikon there is now a new chipped version of the Samyang 85mm with full aperture control via the camera, and it sells for the same price as the unchipped one. So maybe in the future there will be a Pentax-fit chipped version. Or maybe I can't wait

The Samyang is a PKA mount lens, so it already has aperture control from the camera.

Also I presume you have seen this? Interesting comparison photos of shots from the Samyang, the 77 Ltd, the A* 85 and the FA* 85.

I can confirm the Samyang has the PKA mount. It behaves exactly like a Pentax-A lens on a DSLR, you do have to dial the focal length for shake reduction but after that all exposure modes work.

go for the samyang if you can live with manual focus, its an awsome lens and i have seen reviews against the nikon 85mm and the samyang looks better and the bokah is so smoth
http://forum.nikoniarze.pl/showthread.php?t=107640

Another vote for the Samyang/Opteka, focus closer with #1 extension tube.
I love mine, very nice focus action too, slightly lower contrast than Pentax lenses but easily fixed in PP. It really is a bargain.

I'm particularly impressed with the internal focus design of the Samyang. This should reduce dust take-up as parts of the lens aren't moving in and out.

I don't have anything as impressive as those flowers, but here's one of my early efforts after unwrapping the lens. Shot at minimum focus distance and then cropped, the model is around 6-7cm long:

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/Marklin/IMGP4747.jpg[/IMG]

Model trains actually make surprisingly good lens test subjects thanks to the fine detail and lettering!

Err- buy a decent Sony body and keep the lens.

Lenses are better than bodies so why sell it?

Best regards

Too late! I've ordered the Samyang and the Rokkor goes on ebay this evening. I don't think I want a Sony... and even if I did I think it would still need an adapter and have less function than the Samyang on a Pentax.

I've put a set of Samyang 85mm pictures up in the 'Your Photos' section. Thanks to all who recommended it!