OK, I'm really late to this topic... > FA* 24 f2.0 (I would like to exchange this for a DA 20 f1.8 or 2.0.)
OK, if Pentax makes such a lens I will buy it and a DSLR to fit it. If Canon makes such a lens I will buy it and a DSLR to fit it. Both seem unlikely. Nobody makes primes anymore except at the extremes of focal lengths, and 20 isn't extreme on a DSLR. Only Sigma and Olympus have made such a lens. Neither is well regarded from what I can tell. Perhaps the DA compromise would allow one to be made small, affordable, and of reasonable quality. > To further help my back, I have retired my old, standard style carrying > bag. I realized that it distributes the weight outward, which pulls on > my lower back. I now use one of the narrow but deep bags (Tamrac Pro 5), OK, my standard Pentax kit is a spotmaticII with 20/4.5, 28/3.5, 50/1.4, 105/2.8, and 200/4.0 lenses in a bag I made up from a military-surplus satchel bag. It's sort of half a Domke in size and carrying capacity. The camera and a handheld meter can tuck into the ends of the bag. My kick-around Nikon kit is the same focal lengths, but (believe it or not) the M-size versions of the lenses so it fits in one of those little "field and stream" bags that is about the size of a CD wallet. I normally wear the bag clipped around my waist. The camera (Nikkormat EL) does not fit, of course, nor does the 50mm. I'm still casting about a bit for a K-mount kit. I can muster M28/3.5, M50/2, and M135/3.5 with an ME super if I want to minimize size. I can put together K30, M50/1.4, and M150/4 (I'd rather have the K versions of both...) with a KX if I'm looking for a little more quality. Both rigs leave me feeling a little weak on the long and short ends, plus I view the 135 or 150 as a compromise and would be happier with 105 and 200 but that I can't justify either lens financially right now. If I were really serious about a K-mount kit, I'd duplicate the Nikon kit with Pentax M lenses and pack it in the same little bag--assuming I could FIND the appropriate M lenses! In all these kits, it's the 20mm end that is the weakest. SMC-T 20/4.5 isnt' great, and it's big. 20/3.5 Nikkor isn't great, but at least it's small. 20/4 M is impossible to find and more expensive than the other 20s. All the 28s, 50s, 105s, and 200s are really nice lenses--among the best primes made by Pentax and Nikon. On the job, its three zooms (17-35,35-70,70-200) and a 14, and yes it does rip my shoulder off! DJE
