Sounds like you are running an odd resolution. Find out what the native resolution is (ie max setting allowed by monitor) & set your display properties to suit.

No need to apologise Tim, different sources give different conclusions. I fear some people mistake shallow DOF with softness however so I always try & get opinions with accompanying photographs.
It may not be stellar sharp at wide apertures compared to some manufacturers own primes but it cost me 1/8 of the price & has probably 3/4 of the performance so it's all about balance.

Tim, alot of my photos are taken with the 20mm. It's one lens I never leave at home. I can't post photos here as they aren't shot on Pentax, but search "20mm" on my photostream & I should have tagged most of them.

This one at f2 is sharp enough for me, the dof is pretty shallow though of course link
I tend to stop down to f2.0 as a matter of course, I should probably stop down further as I usually don't get enough dof.


Even if you don't shoot a fast prime wide open it reaps benefits. You get a brighter viewfinder to compose with, the AF gets more light & so has a better chance of locking on indoors & if stopped down to f2.8 will be sharper than a f2.8 zoom wide open.

There are also Sigma 20mm, 24mm, & 28mm's all AF & all f1.8 - You may be able to find an early 28mm quite cheaply (comparitively speaking) it won't quite match the 35mm f2 for colours & sharpness & the bokeh isn't as buttery smooth as the Sigma 30mm but if budget is a big concern, that may well be the cheapest AF option.

AF will be handy if trying to get candids of the kids, of course if they are posed, you'll have time to get a bit of bounce flash in the equation.

I had the HSM Sigma & it's a nice lens but is indeed a little soft at the long end & wide open. Not majorly so but the whole point of compromising with all that extra size & weight is to shoot at 200mm & f2.8 isn't it ?

I've also had the Tamron & it's very sharp indeed but the focus speed is dire (lots of hunting, even on a D700).

There is also some colour shift which is emphasising the effect (red fringe on right of ball & green/blue fringe on left) - also evident on the balustrade to the right. It can be a common occurence at telephoto lengths on lower end lenses or those with a great range in focal length.

As an afterthought, if this AF system is useable in lower light conditions then Pentax would do well to get into bed with a leading EVF manufacturer & get a mirrorless K-mount system to market a.s.a.p.

An even smaller system coupled to the da ltd's would be an attractive proposition to everyone, not just existing K-mount users.

I'm not suggesting Pentax go mirrorless completely as Oly are threatening to do, but getting a mirrorless system to market now whilst many are still on the fence over current options could prove profitable if the performance & ergonomics are spot-on.

Apologies if this has been posted already...

This video of the K-5 performing AF in liveview is very impressive. Ok, granted here's lots of light on the subject, but the extremely adjustable af target point & speed of the contrst detect system is very promising indeed.

LINK

Lensbabies do not have a mechanical aperture, the aperture is physically removed/replaced by hand, so an aperture linkage of any sort will be of no consequence whatsoever.

Don't forget that Ai lenses have no electrical contacts & many older lenses can be inexpensively converted to Ai spec also.

This would be the equivalent of getting metering & body controlled aperture on the Pentax M series, rather than using the aperture ring & resorting to (often inaccurate) stop down metering.

I should imagine it isn't included on every body due to manufacturing cost & to avoid models stepping on each others toes, all the manufacturers "cripple" bodies to certain extents with regards to the target user base.