Hi Doe aka Marnie, I hanker after of those really fast 50s everyone talks about, but for now I'm *really* happy with my 50mm f2 (M). I bought mine for $AU35. As a sample of what it can do, see http://pug.komkon.org/02nov/yabi.html (and bare in mind that the print is much sharper that the 300dpi scan I made, and I'm not a good photographer)
So, did you get a bad lens? NO! Cheers, Simon PS I also think you should use a support for every shot that you physically can (unless it means losing "the moment"). It doesn't have to be a tripod, a stack of books or a chair is more often than not as good as a $1800 Manfrotto. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, 20 November 2002 12:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Pentax Upgrade Follow-Up & Q I posted a while back (a week and a half?) that I was debating upgrading from my K-100 and also said that my pictures didn't seem as sharp as some other peoples pictures (in the class I just finished). I also complained about manual film load. Well, I've bought a ZX-5N (not arrived yet). It was recommended to me that I try a prime Pentax lens, 50mm, instead of my off-brand (and not so off-brand) zooms. Try it for more picture clarity and also try it for the discipline of shooting with just a 50mm. I took that to heart and bid on a 50mm 1.4 on ebay. And got out bid. To cut a long story short -- I bid on and got outbid on several 50mm 1.4, M or A (because everyone raved about it at Stan's) And when that wasn't working I switched to bidding on 50mm 1.7, M or A. I lost count on how many I got outbid on. Because I had just bought the new (used) camera, I wanted to keep my expenses down. I finally ended up paying $20 for a Pentax 50mm f2 (M). The only review I could find at Stan's was for a 50mm f2 (A). I hoped the two were very similiar. But, I mean, it was cheap. Is this a good enough 50mm prime for now? For me to see if I see a difference in picture sharpness? (I plan to shoot several subjects with my Alibnar zoom at 50mm and the new 50mm at the same aperture and shutter speed). Also, to try out discipline? My zooms only go as low as 3.5 (or as high as, still confused about that) now. So f2 is still an improvement. Or did I get a bad lens? I won't hate you if you tell me it is -- no big loss, it was cheap. Doe aka Marnie :-)
