Which prime for general use?

Interesting personal review & comparison with the FA352 / DA35ltd: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/118765-da-35mm-2-4...

I had been dithering about whether to get the FA35mm or 35mm ltd, so when the 35mm f2.4 came along, and looked so close to the FA in terms of lens design and results, at half the price, getting it was a no-brainer for me!

I suffer from the horrible condition of not liking the35mm focal length on APS-C... too "inbetweeny". Since Pentax has a profusion of lenses at this point this predilection at least manages to narrow my lens purchase decisions.

I did owned the DA35 Macro for some time. Amazing lens and no doubt about it.

I suppose inbetweeny it is, being pretty much equivalent to a 50mm standard lens on film. Neither wide angle nor telephoto, but at least offering natural perspective.

When I think about it, Pentax have quite a few lenses hovering around the 35mm mark.

Yeah, it's true, I never liked 50mm on film either.

And let's not open up the "natural perspective" can of worms. As we know, 50mm was a hold-over from cine lenses and only chosen for ease of manufacturing at the time. (Or so says several histories I have read, including Leica docs.)

It was indeed a convenient lens (a) because 2 inch lenses already existed and (b) it was relatively easy to make them good enough for small formats.

This doesn't change the observation though that something around 50mm on film is about right to record the world as we see it. 43mm technically is standard, in practice anything from 40mm to 58mm was used.

My preference was for the 55mm standard lens, so the 35mm (53.5mm equivalent) comes tolerably close for me. It is a matter of taste and photographic style though.

I have the DA 35 2.4, the DA LTD 40mm and the Pentax F 50mm f1.7, I pretty much use them equally despite them appearing to be quite close in focal length. The 35 is my walkabout lens, the 40 is my discrete sreet lens and the 50 is for portraits.

They are all equally high performers but the 35 wins hands down as value for money alone.

They are all usable on 35mm bodies that can cope with the lack of aperture ring, too.

Ahhhhhh!.....the 31 Ltd!

Yes - has to be the FA 31 Ltd or if you also want macro, then the DA 35

I quite liked the 40mm M lens for my film camera as a general purpose lens. It was a frequent focal length choice for many of its contemporary compact cameras too before they started to acquire zooms (eg the Olympus 35RC that I had.)

Therefore my ideal DA prime lens for the APS-C sensor would have to be a 28mm, but it doesn't exist! I have a 28mm A lens which is great with the digital bodies and an FA version is available too but they are only f2.8.

I have a DA35 macro and that is a truly outstanding lens.

I know what you mean about the 28mm. Perfect focal length, but if the Sigma F1.8(which would be a nice aperture) is anything to go by, a big lens.

However I do like my DA35 F2.4. Cheap, plastic, and yet so sharp with great Bokeh. Its a great compromise focal length lens.

I have to admit that my walkaround primes vary between my af Sigma 50mm F2.8 EX DG Macro and my mf Vivitar 28mm F2.8.

Both are great in their own ways - I pick which one dependong on mood or coin flip

My currently most-used prime: Vivitar (Komine) 28/2 MC Close Focus Wide Angle (CFWA) which is fast, sharp, smooth, and small. MF, perfect FL on my K20D, no distortion, excellent for CIF. Mine cost US$18 a few months ago. Don't leave home without it.

My other fave walkaround primes, depending on where I'm walking: Lentar (Tokina) 21/3.8 -- Vivitar (Kiron) 24/2 -- Isco Westron 35/2.8 -- Pentax K50/1.2 or FA50/1.4 -- Enna Tele-Sandmar 100/4.5. That last is great for grabbing faces on small streets, because it's so tiny (half the size of a Tak 55/2) that it doesn't look like a tele.

But that 28/2 CFWA is my single most general-purpose prime.

The FA28/2.8AL hasn't been mentioned here and yet with its compact size and 35mm equivalent of 42mm, is a lovely lens. I managed to pick up a secondhand one and the image quality is very good. It goes well with the 55mm1.4[82mm] and I think a DA15 would complete a usable set.

An expensive lens that is, especially for a 50something one.

I think the 55mm f1.4 needs to be looked at as a replacement in digital terms for an 85mm f1.4 portrait lens. These were never cheap, and in this context the price looks about right.