Hi everyone, I'm new - been lurking for a few days. I currently use film-based equipment (Canon A1 and Rollei compact point-and-shoot), but am considering going digital.
I shoot mostly landscapes and architecture, and prefer a wide-angle lens. With the compact I usually use the wide end (38mm) and with the Canon A1, the lens is usually 50/1.4 or 28/2. I also shoot at evening gatherings, and like the low light capability of both lenses. To be clear, the Canon A1 uses FD lenses, and I'm not willing to use adapters to get limited functionality on a DSLR body. I am prepared to buy a couple of lenses for the DSLR, but not too many - my funds are limited, not Limited :-) Logic and economics suggest a K100D with the 18-55 kit lens plus one A-series lens, the 28 or 35 f2 for a "normal" view and low-light use. My understanding as a non-Pentax user is that the A-series lens will work properly - aperture can be controlled from the body, and there is open-aperture metering. Therefore, in choosing an A-series lens and not a "modern" autofocus FA lens, I trade off only autofocus for cost savings. Please correct me if I'm wrong! There is currently no f2 ultrawide lens, so I can't "get back" my 28/2, but the 28/35 in f2 guise would give a 42/53mm normal view and be good for low-light conditions. The kit lens is already 18/3.5, so a 20/2.8 seems like overkill for a half-stop of light. Questions: 1. Cost of 28/2 and 35/2: The A-series 28/2 and 35/2 actually seem uncommon and somewhat expensive, about US$150+/- on eBay. One A35/2 recently sold for US$375! I've also searched the German and Dutch eBay sites, plus KEH. I'm clearly not alone in wanting to use them on a Pentax DSLR. Are there any other useful sources? I live in Singapore, and the local used market is mostly Canon/Nikon. 2. K/M Lenses: If I was to use a K/M lens, but only used it wide open in aperture priority mode, do I get fully automatic operation i.e. no need for the 2-step meter-shoot kludge? If so, then as a "night lens" there's no difference between the A and K/M lenses, right? 3. Focus Trap: Some posters mentioned that the shutter locks until the camera confirms focus. This is great for macrophotography, but can it be turned off? Sometimes, an out-of-focus picture beats no picture at all. I've used a Nikon D70 to cover an event before - when it couldn't focus, I had to switch to manual focus to get the shutter to trip. 4. Other general-purpose lenses: Two alternatives to the 18-55/3.5-5.6 kit lens are the 17-28/2.8-4 lenses offered by Tamron and Sigma. While a little wider and a little faster, they are full-frame lenses and so twice the size and weight of the kit lens. Are they worth the extra money and weight? Money can slowly be earned again, but I am unlikely to carry and use a lens that is too heavy, and full-frame is no advantage since I have no full-frame Pentax body. 5. Flash compatibility: I understand the K100D uses a new type of flash control, P-TTL, and will not work with normal TTL flashes. I have no idea what P-TTL is. I use a Sunpak 30DX bounce/swivel automatic flash with a Canon module for my A1. I set the desired aperture on the flash, set the A1 to shutter priority at 1/60, and get satisfactory results. If I simply purchase a Pentax module (for the LX, ME, MG, MV, MV1), can I continue to shoot in the same way i.e. the flash sensor controls the cut-off? I'm not hung up on getting TTL/P-TTL flash. Finally, Pentax and Sony are currently the only way to get antishake AND a f2 or faster lens together, as the Canon and Nikon IS/VR lenses are f2.8 at most, not to mention heavy and expensive. But Canon and Nikon have the clear edge in availability of used lenses and accessories, so I'd also like to hear from members who use gear on the Canon and Nikon platforms. Please reply off-list if you feel it's not relevant to PDML. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post, Benjamin __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
