zx50 with sigma(4.5) af 28-105 et 100-200m -why no clarity?

are the 2 sigma lenses above good quality and/or are they too slow? once again my wife's $50 point and shoot gets crystal clear pictures which the zx doesn't. i really would like to know that the camera and lenses will give clear pictures so that i can concentrate on photography. I have seen nikons in the same price range, the n55, n75, n80. do nikons result in nice clear pictures or is it the $1200 lenses which must be acquired? or am i crazy? i am on a strict budget-if my wife knew i was even thinking about buying lenses she would divorce me. My problem is that i can't seem to get past the clarity problem. I have tried tripods etc. nothing seems to work. maybe i should go back to heavy drugs and booze and forget spending money trying to take what is not possible. i look at those crystal clear shots in the photo mags and i eat my heart out. is it a conspiracy or can you get clear shots with much less expensive equipment? nobody can afford to tell you that because they wouldn't make huge profits on the hasselbads, leicas etc. Btw if anyone has a gun i'd love to borrow it just for a second.

Hi,
I think there are a couple of points to think about. First of all, nearly every photo that is published has been retouched to some degree. However beyond that, you don't need a Leica or Nikon to get clear photos. I remember many of the reviews in AP and other mags in the days of the K and M lenses in which the Pentax glass came out as being better performers. Have you tried prime lenses? A prime lens or a shorter range zoom will tend to always out perform a long range zoom. Also the independents such as Sigma produce lenses with "variable" quality. The Sigma EX range of lenses are very good but I wouldn't use their budget ranges. If you are looking for VFM, I would try the 28-70/F4 AL Pentax Zoom which is a fantastic performer and one of the cheapest Pentax AF zooms on the S/H market. I would also think about a 50/1.7 A lens. You can pick them up for about £20- £25 and again give wonderful results albeit with manual focus. (It must be the A version with the ZX50).

If all of you results are unclear with all lenses, you might want to get the camera checked. It could be that it is not focussing corectly and the film plane focus is different from the finder one.

Kim

The problem that many people find with SLRs and certain compacts is that the level of control given often exceeds what is required, whereas the limited scope of compact cameras allows for simple scenes to be well rendered well as the camera is set to offer only 'sensible' values in terms of shutter speed etc. The much wider range of settings possible with SLRs can give rise to a situation where 'unsuitable' values are selected.

It's perhaps best to illustrate this with an example. With a compact set to its landscape mode (if it has one), the camera will use a slightly reduced aperture to increase depth of field (the amount of the scene that's in focus) whilst still maintaining a sensible shutter speed. With the SLR it is possible to select a tiny aperture, for ultimate depth of field, but then have a completely unsuitable shutter speed. In this respect, the SLR allows you to go too far, whereas the tighter constraints of the compact keep you within acceptable bounds, at the expense of flexibility. The compact just 'hedges bets' and will render average scenes well but, as a flipside to this, will fail on most other difficult scenes (unless it's a good compact). The SLR has potential to take good photos under all conditions, as it is much more flexible, but the potential for messing up the average scene is always there.

I hope this doesn't come across as too simplistic, or make too many assumptions about how experienced a photographer you are. It took me a while to figure out what camera settings would give acceptable results, once you crack it then you'll never use a cheap compact in preference to an SLR again, but it takes a while. I took my MZ-50, my first SLR, to Oz and got some photos of the harbour bridge in sydney. All horribly unsharp and lifeless, so I know what you're going through, but stick with it, it really is worth it.

Matt

Humble John,

Your post would be far easier to read if you would press the carriage return key occasionally to create what is known as a paragraph.

Also, the normal conventions regarding capitalisation and punctuation are worth observing. It's about making life easier for the people you hope will give up their time to help you.

Lecture over.

There are three possible reasons for your poor results:

First: your technique (as others have suggested), in which case all you can do is read up on the subject and practise.

Second: a faulty camera; though this is unlikely.

Third: some older Sigma lenses do not work properly with newer Pentax cameras. This is allegedly because Sigma refuse to pay Pentax a royalty to discover how the computer in the camera communicates with the lens. As a result, the camera may be using inappropriate shutter speeds or not focussing properly.

In any event, cheap Sigma lenses are usually of poor quality, and will not satisfy you once you get more experienced and demanding.

Take JR's advice and buy a couple of decent SMC Pentax lenses. You can safely buy any SMC Pentax lens with the suffix -A, -F, -FA or -FAJ. Even if the problem is your technique, in time you'll be glad to have good lenses.

Second-hand SMC Pentax 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 135mm lenses are all good and relatively cheap (except for the large aperture versions).

Another good zoom, to complement the one JR recommends, is an SMC Pentax 70-210mm. There are two versions: -A and -F; different optically, but both very good.

If you buy a 28-70, check it carefully because in a few cases there have been element separation problems. Buy this lens from a dealer so that you get a guarantee. In the States, B&H, Adorama and KEH are all reliable. For any other lens, Ebay is probably the best bet.

Good luck.

PS: You might find these helpful:

http://stans-photography.info/

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/

Hi Goerge,
On the subject of lectures, I assume you were refering to my post when you were talking about advice on buying some SMC lenses. If so my initials are KC. I haven't seen John reply on this topic (yet )

Regards
Kim

i want to thank all for their "right on comments". I am afraid of the answer but I looked at my sigma lenses and 28-105mm has "UC" on the lens,whilst the 100-300mm has "DL" on the lens. I bought these lenses in the hope that they would work well.
All are right-i am a rank amateur and unclear pictures are probably a combination of lack of knowledge and cheap lenses. when i saw the prices on the "fast" lenses i went into shock. When i went into a very reputable camera store i was afraid to show them what i was using-mainly because i didn't buy the stuff there, and they would say, "hey thats a great beginners camera".
One of my problems is depth of field. as soon i go greater than f8 everything in a landscape picture is in focus. i have taken so many "great looking" shots only to find that my subject was lost in the maze. I need to be able to isolate. to isolate a subject you need a very fast, and therefore, very expensive lense.
i also have an mx which is a dream but old and starting to fall apart-winder, meter switch etc. is it possible to get prime lenses that will fit both? I would want to use manual mode on the zx50.I am not sure if a tripod will help the zx50 but i will try that too.
another idea. rent a good camera with a very good lense and see what happens.

HJ,

Any -A, -F, and -FA lens will work with both your cameras.

However, the best bargains are the -M lenses, which won't work on the ZX50.

One possibility would be to ditch the ZX50 and buy any other Pentax camera other than the *ist (film version), ZX30, and ZX60. Then you will be able to use -M and K lenses (K lenses are Pentax lenses without a suffix, like -A, -M, etc.), as well as those mentioned above, on both cameras.

You can probably buy a K1000, Super A, or ME Super on Ebay for less than you could sell the 50 for. However, these are old. A cheap and good
alternative is the sturdy old SF1, which is the Volvo of the Pentax camera line. Many of those on sale have had very little use, and are sold for peanuts.

If you plan to shoot a lot of film, rob a bank and buy a *ist DS. It'll work out cheaper.

Kim,

Yes, indeed, I meant you. Since JR's advice is invariably excellent, you will, I hope, take it as a compliment that I confused you with him.

G

george: thanks for post. i know this is going to sound strange but
where can i find out the difference between these kinds of lenses? i don't want to get ripped off for lense features i don't need. i have a zx 50 and would use it in "m" setting and an mx. are there and if so which lenses will work with both:

af, al, f, fa, faj and af(same as af?). i know that "m" manual focus

i need to find out exactly what each is designed to do so i can match it with what i want. is there a site that would help me here. thanks.

HJ,

See the second link on my earlier post for full details of which lenses work with what.

You are confusing AF and AL with Pentax lens suffixes, which appear after the words "SMC Pentax" on all good Pentax K mount lenses.

Manual focus lenses have the following suffixes:

None (but called "K" lenses - aperture must be set manually)
-M (functionally the same as K)
-A (aperture can be set manually or by the camera)

Autofocus lenses:

-F (aperture as for -A)
-FA (same as -F)
-FAJ (aperture can NOT be set manually - so K and M lenses don't work)
-DA (as -F and -FA, but smaller image, so only suitable for digital cameras although it will work on all others, leaving some of the image area blank)
-D FA (works properly on all cameras, but "optimised" for digital)

I think this summary is correct; no doubt others will point out any errors.

G

In my last post, when talking about FAJ lenses, I said they won't work with K and M lenses. I meant, of course, Kand M cameras.

Hi,
Just to complete what George said, The AL suffix was used with the lenses that have an aspherical element in them. This doesn't ghange the functionality but is supposed to improve performance. Just to complete the "set", the other suffix's you will see is "ED". This was only used on the very high performance (and high priced) long telephoto lenses which had low dispersion elements. The last one if "IF" which means that the lens focuses internally and doesn't change length when doing so.

Kim