Hello everybody!

Can anybody give advice on this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&...

What about the cheaper 31mm for sale from Canada and Honk Kong?

Cheers,

Nathan

What an amusing discussion!!!

Lilly,
I find myself in exactly the same position as you. I have a wide zoom (particularly a fisheye) and a 50mm f1.4. i also have various zooms that cover the space in between. Like you I find myself needing a "something in between" these focal lenghts (between 17/20mm and 50mm) of very good quality. I think that the real options you have are ONLY prime lenses, because otherwise you are not looking at very high standard IQ (Apart from f2.8 zoom lenses which are indeed very expensive.).
So the choice of primes in that range is this.

- Pentax smc P-FA 28mm f/2.8 AL - Good lens, similar built quality than the FA 50mm - around the focal lengh needed. (28 on film, + 1.5 crop factor on K10d) {42mm equivalent on 35mm film}

- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (Quality doesn't appear to be so good - and you might really want to wait for something more expensive and better, if IQ is what you are after) {45mm equivalent on 35mm film}

- Pentax FA-31mm f/1.8 ltd - (the best in quality for higher price - but on ebay you can get it from canada for about £470 i think... )
{46.5mm equivalent on 35mm film}

- Pentax SMCP-FA 35mm f/2.0 AL - Same build quality as 28mm and 50mm, and about the same IQ. For a very reasonable price.
{52.5mm equivalent on 35mm film}

- Pentax SMCP-FA 43mm f/1.9 ltd - Build Quality and IQ similar to the 31mm ltd, this is another "special" pentax lens".
{64.5mm equivalent on 35mm film}


By the way, the "crop factor" of digital srl's is a very confusing subject, but it really only applies if you work with both film and digital slr's using the same lenses. If you only use Digital, then you will only be restricted on the wide side of the zooms, as the widest angle will not be as wide as it was on film cameras. So the fisheye (10-17mm)under the crop factor is still a 15-25.5mm which is not exactly "extreme wide".
As Dan and Iceblinker already said, the denomination "digital lens" has only to do with the fact that the area covered by the sensor (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) is smaller than the area covered by the 35mm film. Therefore the lens needs to shorten the angle exposed to the light.

By the way, "digital" lenses produce a lot of vignetting if used on film cameras, for the same reason.
Another thing to consider is the fact that professional FULL FRAME DSLR's will also have problems in using "digital" lenses, and vignetting will be an issue. (Example of this is the new nikon D3; full frame, it has a function that allows only the central 23.5 x 15.7mm of the sensor to be used in order to function properly with "digital" lenses.) )Or at least this is what i understood from my readings... )

Hope this helps,

Cheers,
Nathan

Hello Clarky,

I am absolutely no expert on the matter, and I have only once taken semi-serious photographs at a wedding, with rather decend results, but I wasn't the main photographer so no personal advice there. I do read a lot though, and I have here this really interesting article about wedding photography by a very famous guy, Brett Harkness, you might want to check his website out, this guy is a serious pro, and makes a lot of money on the business!

So here is his guide to wedding gear. He is a C***n guy, so I'll try my best to substitute all the lenses with proper Pentax gear!

Canon:
- 15mm Fish eye (Outdoor shots of the church, group shots, before and after the ceremony - Expose for the sky -2 EV and fill in flash...)
- 17-35mm f2.8
- 24-70mm f2.8
- 70-200mm f2.8
- 50mm f1.2
- 50mm f2.5 Macro.

So this is what I think could become in Pentax gear.

- 10-17mm fisheye / 10-20mm sigma
- DA*16-50mm f2.8
- DA* 50-135mm f2.8
- FA50mm f1.4 (Performs as well as the canon f1.2... at least according to a pentaxian biased opinion!!! )
- 50mm / 100mm / 90mm Tamron macro (for detail shots of the rings, shoes, accessories, food, anything you want)

Also included in the gear:
2 bodies + possible backup
2 Flashes always attached to the 2 cameras
card reader / portable storage device (do not format the cards if you need to reuse them because they are much harder to retrieve possible lost images)
ladder
reflector
white towels (for shots in the fields around, the bride won't get dirty and they'd work as reflectors as well)
an assistant for the duration of the wedding
water (cause you'll run around like crazy!)



This is the gear that was "suggested" in the article, I think it makes quite a lot of sense, aparts from the fact that with your 2 DA* lenses you cover all the range you need. If you can't reach the 200mm telephoto, then attach the 50-135 to the K20 and crop if needed!

I would think that if you had access to them, the 3 ldt lenses would provide a whole lot of quality, and at the price of walking about a bit more, they would certainly outperform the zooms. I am currently trying to buy a 31mm, but I tried the 43 and 77 and they are both amazing.

I hope this helps, its obviously not my own advice, but if you want I can help you find a copy of the -very interesting - article.

Cheeers,

Nathan

Hi John,

I think you've misunderstood what is being said here. Mainly what Matt said!

The AF is exactly the same on K10 and K20 - and aparts from the complicated (not really - its a very simple process) explanations on how to set up spot AF rathen than auto one - there is one essential detail: It is probably your pentax DS that is not working properly with the Ltd lenses, not the opposite. So you should really look into upgrading to a newer body.

There is nothing complicated about setting the AF to spot on the K10 - or K100/K200 so really no problems there.

Then if the issue is a money one, sell the lenses and make good profit out of them. But if the decision is being made already, then what is the point of asking?

Also, nobody has suggested to get rid of the Ds, and you should definitely keep it for the Macro applications you have! Are you sure anyway that this macro flash is not usable with a newer body? Usually, they will not support TTL or P-TTL but still work in manual mode... so you really shouldn't lose much.

cheers,

Nathan

Its not fair, you've got your 31mm TODAY!

I am still fighting with the lady that says that we have to buy a new bed before i buy the 31mm....

If a 77 ltd comes this way, you should really leave it to the "new forum members"

By the way, can you please post some photos with the 31mm? I am really interested in samples..

Cheers,

dear John,

In all honesty, I think that you should seriously think about buying a new camera. As George said in a post around here, it is always worth to buy a second hand lens, but rarely a second hand camera.

The selling price of those 2 Ltd lenses is still very high, and unless you have treated them very badly, the 43 and 77mm are still incredible performers and the 35mm is great "normal" lens .

On the other hand, digital cameras are very different from the old film cousins, and unfortunatly depriciate immediately, and don't last as long as the old film slr's. It seems like after 3 and a half years, your DS simply can't cope with it anymore.

I wouldn't suggest you to move to nikon, because that will mean buying a whole lot of new equipment, and again, those 2 ltd lenses are more valuable than thousends of pounds of nikon stuff!

If you think that the K10 is too big and heavy, why don't you buy an inexpensive K100 super, or the new K200. They are both smaller than the K10/K20, very similar to the Ds, work perfectly fine with all K-mount pentax lenses, and will provide you with a new body and an incredible set of lenses to work with. All for under £350 (for the newest k200).

Hope this helps, if you still want to sell the 43mm and the 77mm, I would definitely be interested in buying!

Cheers,

Nathan

thank you for the advice...

Now, have you got any ideas on how to make £600 in less than 4 months??? Should I sell a liver?

Cheers

I really want one too

I just bought the second K10 body, and I can't wait to have some cash on the side for a 31mm. I was also looking at the ones from Hong kong, because they seem to have very interesting prices.

I would also be happy to forget all the other lenses... By the way, George, do you have any images taken with the 31mm? I would love to see some!

Cheers,

Nathan

Hi Amber,

I am no expert in this forum, but I do own the AF360...

Just to clarify, It does have wireless off camera (infrared) facility, so in this aspect it doesn't differ the Af 540. This wireless is set off by the on camera flash, and it works brilliantly if that is the type of photography you need. Otherwise, you can buy a small radio trigger (ebay £10/15 +/- ) and only use the off camera flash.

I am honestly not sure what the exact differences between the 2 (360 vs. 540) are, but I can tell you that I recently bought a second flash (jessops 300) and this little (quite useless) flash is in another world compared to the Af 360.
If, as you say, you are a beginner, I see no need for the pentax AF540 which - apart from the higher guide number - provides more or less the same features as the AF360 (and tiltable head) and looks seriously complicated. Already the 360 is a whole new experience to a flash novice, and will give you many many days of studying before you're able to not use it in full auto (P-TTL).

Hope this helps,

Cheers,
Nathan

Hello there,

As a rather new forum member, I also completely agree with Clarky, in that this is indeed a very friendly forum, and this particular thread simply took 1 wrong turn.

I have always received very useful advice, but I have to admit that there is some strong criticism at times. This is due to the fact that members here actually know what they are talking about, and will not talk unless they have a real proper answer (at least in most cases). This resuts in a very professional forum, where simple questions like the price of an 18-55 are dealt with emotionless responses and acknoledged information.
As simple as that; if you come up with a question that doesn't have a straight answer and an open debate begins, then you will see much more cautious responses and (seemingly) more polite wording.

Just to let you know, I recently sold the same 18-55mm on ebay ( used but in perfect condition, with original packing, starting without reserve, from £ 0 ) - for £ 34. And I was incredibly happy with this. I have to say that I sold it just before the new Mark II came out, because I realised that it wasn't going to happen after it did. Anyway, I suggest you start from very very low, and hope to make some profit on it, in the end, if they came in as presents, its all profit anyway!

Hope this helps,

Cheers,
Nathan