John Graves wrote:
I am enjoying (learning) what can be done with my Ds. But even though I
own the FA20-35, I find myself missing something. My next lens up is
the FA28-90, although I have taken some nice pictures with my screw
mount 85 f/1.9 as well. I am looking both for a Wide angle as well as
Longer lens for portraits.
So, For those that have them, does the DA16-45 yield a wider enough
view to supplant my 20-35. Certainly, it has a slightly longer image at
the top end. Will I get fair results with the lens long and wide
open?? I keep looking for the A 85 f1.9 but I think it is the Pentax
equivalent to the Holy Grail.
The 16-45 is a great lens. It is quite sharp wide open -- better than
you would expect. It's actually designed to be used at fairly open
apertures.
Its field of view runs from 83 degrees (roughly the same FOV as a 24mm
lens on a 35mm film SLR). That ain't bad, as they say. And at the long
end its field of view is 35 degrees, which is about the same FOV as a
69mm lens mounted on a film SLR, which is approaching adequate for
portraits. I find that when I have this lens mounted on my *ist-DS, I
may go all day without feeling the need to switch to something else.
For a dedicated portrait lens, it's really hard to beat a good old FA50
f/1.4 lens. Maybe you need something a little tighter, in which case
you might be more interested in the 77, 85, or 135. I have found that
when I carry a 50 and a 135 I don't really miss the "in between".
And for wide angle, well... you've become accustomed to that nice 20-35
on a film SLR, right? I feel for you. I was in the same boat; so
hooked on the 20-35, and somewhat let down to discover that on the
*ist-DS it wasn't a superwide anymore. Many people here use the 20-35
on an *ist-D/DS/DL/DS2 as their standard working zoom, filling a similar
need as the 16-45 but in a more compact package. It's another great
choice for that purpose, but as you've found, it isn't super-wide
anymore. ...more like moderate wide to the high side of normal.
This is where I've found the 16-45 to be a decent alternative. But as I
mentioned earlier, it's wide but not superwide. If you are really
hooked on super wide angle photography, save your pennies for the 12-24.
It features an angle of view from 99 degrees to 61 degrees. That's a
little wider than the 20-35 on film (the 20-35 mounted on a film camera
gives you an AOV range from 94 degrees to 64 degrees).
Or go the prime route with the 14mm f/2.8. ...if only it were smaller!
My own camera bag is still a little lacking at the wide end:
DA16-45 (my general purpose lens)
FA28mm f/2.8 (my newest lens; fun for simple shooting)
FA50mm f/1.4 (my wife's favorite lens, and a good choice
for portraits)
FA135mm f/2.8 (My telephoto. Another great lens)
FA80-320 f/4.5-5.6 (Seldom used now)
