Dave Since I got the *ist D 8 months ago, my 20mm has become my most used prime. I have noticed that photo jounalists very often uses a wide angle (24mm), then go very close to the subject. At f8 almost no focussing is needed. Everything will be sharp. My first choise prime would definitly be a wide angle, wider than 35mm.
Then I'd shop for a fast telephoto lens. I seem to use my 105mm a lot lately. Like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladt/12431751/ Regards Jens Lens options for the *ist-DS David Oswald Tue, 03 May 2005 08:50:36 -0700 Setting aside the distinctions between DA, D-FA, FA, F, A, M, and basic K lenses, I wanted to discuss focal lengths for the *ist-DS. I've got my zoom kit pretty much where I want it for now: SMC Pentax-DA 16-45mm f/4 ED AL SMC Pentax-FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 IF AL SMC Pentax-FA 80-320mm f/4.5-5.6 Now I'm working on building my fixed focal length kit. Currently it consists only of the SMC Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4. I love that lens; its focal length is great as a mild telephoto, very nice for portraits. And its so small, yields a bright viewfinder, and offers fast optics. Imagine buying an f/1.4 telephoto lens this size for a 35mm camera! That leaves me with some holes though: Wide, Standard, and longer telephoto. I think I've settled on what to work on accumulating: a 35mm f/2, a 135mm f/2.8, and a 20mm f/2.8. This still leaves me with a gap between 50mm and 135mm, but currently there's just nothing in the Pentax assortment I can afford at, say, around 85mm, unless I go for an M lens, and even those are not cheap... so I'll live with the gap for now. But then along comes the SMC Pentax-DA 40mm f/2.8 Ltd. This looks like an interesting lens. Its pros are: Compactness, great image quality, great bokeh, solid construction. Its cons are: wide open is only f/2.8, and it doesn't seem to fit into any particular suite of lenses. Is this a lens worth owning instead of my 50mm f/1.4? Or is it an "instead of the 35mm f/2"? I don't see its niche. Dave
