On 11-01-31 5:36 PM, Glen Berry wrote:
I'm considering spending some money on a new macro lens. I used to
have an older Pentax 50mm f2.8 autofocus lens that was built like a
tank, and took very sharp photos. I bought it used at a local shop for
only about $100, which was a huge bargain! Unfortunately, that lens
got stolen along with the camera it was mounted on at the time. God,
how I wish the thieves had stolen my inexpensive kit lens instead! :)
Anyway, I'm currently shooting with a K100D, and I'm trying to decide
between getting one of these new macro lenses:
Pentax smc P-D FA 50mm f/2.8
Pentax SMCP-DA 35mm f/2.8
I have the DA35 and I love it. It's seen a lot of use, starting on my
K100Ds. You can see a collection of my shots with it here ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce_m_walker/tags/smcpda35mmf28/
You'll see that I use it for street and live music as well as macro.
Are either of these lenses noticeably sharper than the other?
I have no experience with the 50. The 35 is extremely sharp. If you need
more convincing of that, Mike Johnston gushes about it here ...
http://photo.net/columns/mjohnston/pentax-35mm-lens/optical-discussion/
Which would you buy, especially if this were going to be your only
macro lens?
I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again, but if I shot bugs or other small
stuff I need to be further from, I'd probably want something up in the
100mm range. I wouldn't bother going with the 50mm; for me that's
neither wide enough nor long enough (eg bugs), and I already have 50-ish
mm covered for general purpose glass.
Are there any other macro lenses I should consider?
My wish-list has the D FA 100mm F2.8 WR on it.
-bmw
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
PDML@pdml.net
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
