Inet Shopper wrote: > 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 :-)
You can probably afford the 40 limited. It's very cheap (About 2/3rds the cost of a new FA 35/2 here in Canada) > > 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! Your understanding is correct. > > 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. Sigma 20/1.8. Massive, soft wide open, and expensive. > > 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. You may want to look for the FA or F 35/2 it should go for similar money as the A. The Kiron/Vivitar 28/2 is also a good option (although it is more difficult to focus than the SMC version). > > 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? Yes, as long as you shoot wide open, you will get full AE in Av mode. I use this regularly at night. > > 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. Yes, either by setting the camera to MF or AF-C (The latter only applies to AF lenses). > > 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. The Sigma's not worth the money. The Tamron is, but the SMC-DA 16-45 f4 goes for similar (or less) cost and is a better option IMHO. The 18-55 is actually decent (unlike the mediocre kit lenses from Canon and Nikon). > > 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. Yes, Auto flash works just fine, however the Pentax module is for TTL use (Your Canon doesn't do TTL at all, just Auto Aperture flash). The flash would need to have an Auto Thyristor mode with a non-dedicated shoe. It also needs to be low voltage trigger (sub-12v). > > 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. I shoot Nikon and Pentax film kit, and Pentax digital. While Nikon does make an excellent body for use with MF lenses (the D200), Pentax offers Anti-Shake and far lower cost (Given the choice between the D200 and K10D, I chose the latter, it's half the cost and that pays for the new lenses, and I get anti-dust and anti-shake as an added bonus). You have to hunt a little more to get the Pentax lenses, but unless you're addicted to 85's (Rare in K mount) finding a basic kit isn't hard. The wider availability of Canon/Nikon lenses tends to be more examples of the same lenses than anything else in my experience. The truly interesting stuff is rare in any mount. > > Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post, > Benjamin > -Adam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
