Since I fancy myself an available-light shooter, naturally my lens arsenal
consists almost entirely of fast primes. I own but one zoom: the Pentax
70-210A f/4. But increasingly I find that when I'm exercise-walking or
pleasure-walking with a single lens, I am overcome by "prime" anxiety:
"What if this focal length won't do justice to the subject I wish to shoot,
or won't allow me to shoot it from the desired perspective?"
Two user comments got me wishing for a wide-angle zoom:
>From the Nikon discussion list:
"I would suggest a 24-50mm f3.3-f4.5 (instead of a selection of wide
primes) as my travel lens, as I have not seen a better 'utility infielder'
than this lens. I keep the 24-50mm on one body as my 'normal' lens, and the
other body wears the 105mm f2.5 most of the time, with a quick switch to a
Tokina 70-210 when circumstances dictate. I find though, that I use the
telephoto lenses less often that I did in my 'salad days', and use the
'short-wide' more often. I wish I had the 24-50mm Nikkor when I was
shooting for the paper. The flexibility of that lens for photojournalism is
enormous."
John Mustarde, from the Pentax discussion list:
"I am very happy with the 24-50[A]. It is sharp and colorful at f/8. The
best shots were of people: It’s easy to get close to the subject and crop
with zoom for a nice candid portraits. This lens seems to want a permanent
spot on my camera. It’s soooo nice to have 24, 28, 35, and 50mm all rolled
into one. Size and wide angle leaves my 28-105 in the dust"
These two comments, more than any others, have got me seriously thinking
about acquiring a wide-angle zoom.
For the record, my bodies are all manual-focus--two Super Programs, and
perhaps soon an MZ-M.
As I see it, the candidates are as follows:
Pentax 24-35M f/3.5 (one of which is currently available for $230)
Pentax 24-50A f/4
Pentax 20-50F f/4
Pentax 20-35FA f/4, used (ouch! the price!)
Ricoh 24-48 f/2.8
Vivitar Series 1 24-48 f/3.8 (the earlier model--the version preferred by a
Series 1 enthusiast on our list)
Vivitar Series 1 24-48 f/3.5 (the later model)
Tamron and Tokina make interesting models that begin at 20mm: The Tarmon is
a 20-40, f/2.7-3.5; the Tokina, a 20-35 f/3.5-4.5. But with a 77mm filter
size, neither is the lightweight companion I'm after. And I'm not
interested in a Sigma.
I should point out that I own no truly nice lens wider thatn 24mm (except
for my Zenitar fisheye), so if any of the 20-xx zooms are great at the 20mm
end, perhaps I could sratch a Pentax 20/2.8A or 18/3.5 SMC off my wish
list. (Uh-huh.)
While the 24-35 seems more "limited," it also gives me an excuse to carry a
fast 50 or 55 in case I unexpectedly go indoors.
Suggestions?
Paul Franklin Stregevsky
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
W: (703) 834-4648
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