Wide Angles & mind control

In the dSLR lens world I have tried many superwide variants.  Tamron's 14mm SP came first and showed me the possibilities with my SonyAlpha.  Once in the Pentax world the DA16-45 suited me well for wide views but felt a bit cramped at the long end.  I went in other directions but later picked up the SMC 17mm Fish-Eye for extra width - and liked it a lot.  Most recently it was the DA10-17 fish-eye, which has intrigued me for a while but 10mm is really wider than I'd ever need.  Yes that's a dangerous thing to say, but for now I believe it!

In the meantime, the Pentaxforum fanatics couldn't say enough about the DA15 for wide-view needs. Their "the DA15 controls my mind.. club" says plenty about general feelings about this lens!   I liked the idea but never found a copy at 'my' price.  I nearly acquired a DA14 recently; the price was right but it had some damage that restricted focusing.  Set to five feet and f/8 and who needs to focus? -- but it was taken before I could claim it.

image from pentaxforums.com

And now by a surprise trade the DA15 is coming my way.  It should set itself somewhat apart from the 16-45 in both width and talent.  Pentax makes smaller primes but this is still easy to carry pretty much anywhere.  I'm thinking it will find ways to come along despite the very wide field of view.  I suspect that's where the mind control kicks in - you find ways to make use of it even when logically it might not be deemed the typically ideal lens for a shot.

A copy of the DA40 Limited is coming too and that's great because I've missed it.  When it comes to size and great images the DA40 (Limited or XS) is tough to match.   The lens practically disappears on most bodies and takes excellent images from f/2.8 up.  Several 'wow' images came from my previous copy.  Welcome back!

These did cost my first and only DA* to acquire - but right now I'm quite all right with that.

wonders and mini-miracles

My most recent post strongly implied two things:

1. I'm done buying camera lenses/gear for the next several months
2. I'm not quite satisfied with the setup I have - but it'll do just fine

So what comes up online but a trade option: DA Limited lenses for DA* zooms.  There's the Answer!

Don't get me wrong, the DA* 50-135 is quite excellent and among the best lenses I've owned.  Also on that list are the DA 40 and 70mm Limiteds.  I had been seeking a DA15 (or 14mm) to go wider than my K24, but settled on the 10-17 fisheye instead.  I also admitted that I'd prefer the 40 and 70 Limiteds to my 50mm f/2.  I cannot take all four DA primes for my 50-135 so I settled for an offer of the 15 and 40..and it seems to have done the job.

What does this adjustment mean?  Plenty:

• the 55-300 takes over as my sole telezoom.. the DA* was being left behind anyway so I'll be OK
• the prime set just became 15-24-40 (..135..400), a well-spaced & fun setup (esp. with the 55-300)
• the 10-17 fish-eye just became expendable if the 15 joins my bag.  Money back, yay!

So my kit is more satisfactory and I didn't violate the no-buying-lenses promise.  I can even pay a bill or two with the departure of the 10-17.  It would be great fun to keep, but really the 15mm is wider than I ever expect to need and saves some grams and cubic centimeters.

Slightly more complicated is the DA17-70.  It came into my life for two-plus reasons: it was insanely on sale, it filled the wide-midrange nicely and its filter size matched the 50-135.  Reason three is gone, and the primes look so much better now.. and the 18-55wr is really not that bad of a zoom option (and is far less bulky).  Hmmm.. I believe that two zooms just reached the boarding platform!

The one loss is weather sealing, which for now doesn't matter much since the K-r body has no protection.  The 18-55WR is still here in any case, so I won't weep long.  Bad idea anyway, weeping on non-WR gear..

So here is kit #42a, my Best Kit Ever*

DA15 - SMC24 - DA40 - DAL 55-300

backups: DA18-55wr, smcA50, smcM135, Vivitar 35-105, Hanimar 400mm

*I'm either lying or am myself misled; such a thing is entirely mythical!  Still, it's a mighty good kit..

Power Team

My LLfaW arrived today¹ - the DA10-17 Fish-Eye.  First tests look nice, and this will get some wide use as a nearly-normal lens.  Really though it's a specialty item for creative imaging.  I was seeking a nice 14-16mm prime to round things out, but the price on this was quite nice.

The zoom combo of 10-17fe, 17-70, 50-135 and 55-300 make a fine collection, and one that I cannot afford to improve even if I wanted to.  And if I wanted to.. what would change?  The 17-70 is the weak spot only for complaints about its AF (SDM motor issues and some complaints on accuracy above 50mm) and lack of full weather seals, and so far my copy is doing fine.  Although filter size is not a strong reason to keep a lens, it's nice that the 17-70 and 50-135 take the same filters for simplicity's sake.  While I'd like more range than the 55-300 offers, I will manage by cropping.

I've tried many lenses in all these ranges: xx-300, fisheye primes, nearly every wide-normal not sized 17-50 and the Sigma 50-150.  Given what I've learned from all my dealing I am very satisfied with these!  When WR below 50mm is vital I still have my 18-55wr, so I'm set with 18-135mm in the rain (though on a K-r) and 10-300mm for fair-weather zooming.  The 17-70 has a single seal-like ring on the mount, so it may die in wet weather but the body might be safe -- I hope never to test that!!

As for primes - I have 24 50 and 135mm, similar to the classic film trio -  plus a 400mm f/6.3 preset.  One more below 24mm would be ideal, but only a few Samyang models and the DA14/15 are enough different from the 24.  Something in the 200-250mm range would be cool, and some day I'll find a bargain 300-400mm f/5.6 catadioptric mirror lens for compact entertainment.  I admit that I'd prefer 40+70 to replace the humble 50/2.  However: none of this dreaming will result in new lenses in the immediate future - hence the LLfaW tag on the DA10-17!



¹ Last Lens for a While

shooting star

DA* 50-135mm f/2.8

DA-star, that is.  My first star has arrived - likely my only one for some time, though times change.

The * lenses are Pentax' headline, pro-caliber lenses; DA* for aps-c sensors while FA* is for 36×24 types.  The 50-135mm f/2.8 arrived yesterday, but it came to the house while were were away - so I've just picked it up today.  I parked across the street from the Post Office at the central Longview city park for a few tests against the 55-300mm set at 55 and 100mm and f/4.  I have not compared the images yet, but images from the DA* have an oh-my factor that cannot be ignored.  Images do indeed look 'primal' even if just on the K-r rear screen at moderate zoom.  The DAL 55-300 is no slouch optically so side-by-side checks will be fun.

As to mass, the 50-135 is a fairly bulky lens, similar in length to the 55-300 but considerably thicker and more dense.  Larger and more pieces of glass will do that.  It's not so bad that it will stay behind on hikes, but it does have that 55-300 to compete with!  The lack of WR on my copy of the latter does suggest that the DA* is a fine choice for outdoor travels despite the extra 350 grams.

The real DA* benefit comes from this lens taking over the duties of all primes in the 50-135mm range, which is why the M85/2, M100/2.8, A100/4 macro and M150/3.5 have left the building (or will soon).  The A50/2 and M135/3.5 have no resale value (they go for $20-30 on most sites) so they will keep the K24/2.8 company in the classic-prime box.  One from each generation, how nice!

I'm contemplating a future where a 1.5x teleconverter makes this a longer f/4 lens; probably not the worst idea I've had.  Not yet though!!

stop dreaming by the computer!!

At the end of my previous post I spoke of my dream Pentax lens set: 14 or 15mm prime, 20-40wr Limited, DA* 50-135, and 55-300. I recently bought the 55-300 and hoped to stop for a while and buy the rest later - starting no sooner than Christmas 2015.

Well, today I bought one of the big ones.  Ooops!
Dreams run on their own schedule.

 My sanity would be less in question from my reader were I to simply erase the entire "simplify" blog entry! In truth though, the price I just paid a working DA* 50-135 may never go lower (it might of course, but not by much).  I can sell or return a few recent acquisitions for nearly an even swap, so it's not a financial pain.

It's quite embarrassing that I allowed this deal to catch my attention though, right after saying "Time Out! Simplify!" to the world - but I'll forgive myself this once.  It makes me wonder, though - how long before I sheepishly announce that I've acquired an HD 20-40 or DA 14/15 prime••, and forgive myself again?

This lens has pestered me (and many Pentaxians) for years.  At f2.8 through its range, it is the 70-200mm equivalent for DA users.  Bulky yes, at 765 grams it's not my ideal - but it replaces many other lenses in a useful range and is weather sealed.  And when compared to a true 70-200mm f2.8 lens it's quite small!

I owned its cousin (Sigma's 50-150) for a brief time and quickly learned to tolerate the extra bulk in return for hi-IQ results, so I expect I to like this lens a lot!  It may even be the One Lens to Rule the kit, which would diminish any efforts to tweak what's in the bag.  That would be quite excellent since my efforts truly need to diminish!

The one concern for DA* lenses is the SDM motor, which has been deemed unreliable by many - especially if the lens isn't exercised regularly.  The seller pointed out that this copy had been sluggish recently, an ominous sign; given the discounted price I shall cross my fingers and I expect that we'll get along fine.  Pentax claims its repair rate is comparable to other brands, so it could be the owners of malfunctioning DA*s are just really good at spreading the word.

This definitely changes plans for my collection of classic teleprimes and also the 18-200 for kit simplification.  It was a great idea but trumped by poor timing.

My Updated updated set will be:

• K24, A50 and M135 primes
• 18-55wr, 50-135 and 55-300 zooms
• 400mm prime and manual 80-200/3.5 (in the closet)

The new macro plan is to rummage around for my old 49mm diopter set and attach it to the 50 or 135.. for now, that'll do.  The mini kit is now the NX300, 16+30 pancakes and the K adapter.

•• It's possible that I have acquired three of the dream foursome already; I will hear from Adorama soon about whether they have set aside their used, slightly-damaged DA14 that I sought to acquire in trade!  I never heard back from them but it vanished from their website.  Again an amazing deal - yet again, why am I looking in places where these deals can snare me?!?