the ins and outs of gear-swapping

A few new arrivals over the recent weekend = other departures.  

What's now in, and what's free to travel:

IN: Samsung 20mm f/2.8 pancake, this will compete with its 16mm sibling!

OUT: Samsung 20-50, tiny talented but slower than the primes.

IN: Samsung's 16mm pancake, f/2.4 and tiny.  Very convenient!

OUT: Pentax 17mm fisheye, a great lens that is less vital for wide shots.

IN: Pentax smc-A 50mm f/2.8 Macro, my 2nd copy and I've missed it.

OUT: Pentax smc 55mm f/1.8, excellent but I like at least 1:2 capability.

IN: Vivitar 35-105mm f/3.2-4, a fun PK one-touch zoom that's fairly small.

OUT: ProSpec 28mm f/2.8, because the NX 30mm pancake is really that good!

One offer pending.. *UPDATE* smc-M 100mm f/2.8 coming soon!

So the kits as they stand.. at the moment!
4 Samsung = 16, 20, 30, 50-200
6  7 Pentax = DA 18-55 and 50-200 WRs, A50/2.8 macro, M100/2.8, M135/3.5
plus Vivitar 35-105/3.2-4, Quantaray 100-300/4.5-6.7
2 random mounts: JCPenney 80-200/3.5 M42, Hanimar 400/6.3 T-mount

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13 total, plus several in the sell/donate bag..

Note that all Pentax lenses can be adapted to Samsung but the two DA zooms would have no aperture control.

old and .. much less old

I used some recent birthday funds to pick up something for each system.

For the Pentax, a Vivitar / Kobori 35-105mm f/3.2-4.  I really liked the 28-105 with serial #77---- and this is from that same firm.  This one is a bit faster, misses out on the wide end but takes 55mm filters not 72mm.  I own several 55s so that's a bonus.

That was all I planned to get .. until a Samsung 20/2.8 appeared for $100 less than its typical lowest price!  Similar to the 30/2 that I like a lot, but slightly slower and a bit thicker. Still quite small for a 20 plus it has the i-function on the lens, which can be handy for quick changes to settings.  

With this in hand soon, I can sell the 20-50mm; never thought that tiny zoom would be one of the larger lenses in my kit!  Its only real issue is its inability to easily use a polarizing filter as focus will rotate with the filter dial.

two fast breaks

Once the Great Purge of 2014 ended, I expected to take a break and reason out what to do about the reduced kit.  On the other hand fortune best strikes those prepared (or something such), and as noted in the last post my bid on a 28mm f/2 held up by a whole six dollars!  While it seems silly to buy a 28 after selling a 24 and a 30, those went for more than this Vivitar cost so on at least one level it makes a smidge of sense.  This is the Kiron 'auto wide angle' label, which users have rated decently (though less than the other two at pentaxforums).  It won't be here for a while with Labor Day stopping the mail, but hopefully it will match or outdo the old Rikenon-P that I liked so much before the 24mm stole its place.

The other surprise happened as I breezed past 'Stuff' in Portland on my way elsewhere.  They have a tiny photo section, so I stopped by.  Funny, the two zooms for Pentax are Quantaray 28-90 and Sigma 100-300, the two I already have - and a smattering of 50s.  Hmmm, a teleconverter?  Yes, a 2x Macro TC also from Vivitar, like I had before but at half the price And in like-new condition!  Many folks remove the glass and just use the adjustable tube for variable-ratio macro use - I might join them but first we'll see how the optics do.

Hopefully those two Vivitari will serve me well enough and I can stop with all the dealing - well, that's the plan.