On Sep 5, 2005, at 10:57 AM, Fred wrote:
I am curious to ask, for those who have had a lot of experience
using your
favorite ol' 35mm film lenses on APS digital bodies (D & DS), which
specific lenses seem to be "just as good" (or perhaps "even
better") in
digital use? And, conversely, which lenses seem to be "not as
good" in
digital use? Please note that I am asking primarily about ~optical~
differences, although some of you might have other characteristics to
mention, too. (And, obviously, there are across-the-board
differences in
"apparent FL" due to the APS "cropping", and differences in metering,
especially for K and M lenses, etc.) ...
I never worked with Pentax lenses with their film cameras before so I
can only comment on what I see from the perspective of having
purchased a bunch of both old and new Pentax lenses in the past six
months, used exclusively on the DS body.
1) They all seem to work pretty darn well.
2) It's useful to get your head oriented into the smaller format
digital sensor by reciting the mantra:
"35 is Normal!"
Become one with the format. That way you can forget about crop
factors and other such things. ;-)
3) Of the new lenses I bought and sold (DA16-45 and FA31), the
primary reason for selling them was that I found them too bulky and
heavy, clumsy in use, for my taste. There was nothing wrong with
their optical performance.
4) Of the used lenses I acquired, the A50/1.4, M85/2 and A24/2.8 are
my favored manual focus lenses, the F50/1.7 and F35-70/3.5-4.5 are
favorites in the AF range.
5) I'm buying "new replacements", one at a time. Some notes:
- The FA20-35 and FA35/2 pretty much supplant the need for the A24.
- I see no sensible replacement in new glass for the M85/2 other
than the FA77/1.8 Limited,
which I'm a little reluctant to spend the money on. This focal
length range is a bit on the
long side for my photography, in general.
- I will replace the A50/1.4 and F50/1.7 with an FA50/1.4 if I can
discover that the
FA50/1.4 is a better focusing lens on AF than the F50/1.7 is.
- The FA28-105/3.2-4.5 AL is a good replacement for the F35-70,
but I like the latter's
close focusing capability too.
- The A50/2.8 Macro works very well and is all I need in dedicated
macro lens stuff. I've
used it along with both the M85 and FA135 on extension tubes
too, with excellent results.
- The F100-300 is longer than I usually use, is quite soft wide-
open, and is somewhat
bulky. I might consider a DA50-200 replacement, and it will
most likely be a better
performer. But I use that long a lens pretty rarely. The
FA135/2.8 IF is usually as long
as I need, and I can always fit the Rear Converter 2x-S for a
bit more reach on those
rare occasions when I'm wanting more.
I'm extremely pleased with the Pentax DS and lenses I've acquired
this year. It replaces the Nikon FM/FE2/F3-T and the dozen or so
Nikkor AI-S lenses i used for two decades, a difficult accomplishment
as those bodies and lenses were truly excellent in every way, fit me
so well.
Godfrey
