Candace, I'm taking the liberty of cc'ing this to the pdml mailing list that I mentioned to you. There are people there that'll correct me if I lead you astray with my advice. As usual I seem to have erred in the attempt for completeness rather than brevity.
pdml, Candace is the friend of mine that was trying to find a K2000 in Sacramento, she gave up and ordered the white two lens kit off the web. If, by some small miracle, your reply is somewhat close to the topic, and would be of use to Candace, then remember to cc her, as she hasn't joined the list. Though I did tell her about the Sacramento gathering coming up. On Thu, Mar 05, 2009 at 03:18:49PM -0800, Candace wrote: > Question about the pancake DA 40 lens... > > > What's the difference between the DA 40and the other small > lenses that are > around? I've heard people mention the DA 21 > and the like....what are the differences that would make one > choose one over the other? focal length, speed, size, macro ability, image quality... Note that with your two zooms, you'll be able to hit any of those focal lengths. What you'll want to do is find out what focal lengths you like to shoot at, which you can do by looking at the exif data on your photos. In general, I'd rather have a lens that's a little too wide because lost resolution from cropping is easier to deal with than image that just isn't there. The other thing that makes a big difference is the speed of the lens. When do you find yourself wishing that you had a faster shutter speed? What focal length are you using? People will choose a prime over a zoom for various reasons, they basically boil down to: size, speed, zoom range, cost, image quality: choose any three. The other reason that people will choose a prime over a zoom is that some people prefer the experience of taking pictures using a prime. The "standard" lens for a 35mm camera is 50mm. For decades, basically every 35mm SLR came with a 50-60mm prime, somewhere between f/1.4 and f/2. For your K2000 the equivalent to 50mm would be about 33mm. This lens: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160319286437 The FA31/1.8 limited is considered by many to be the ultimate Pentax Lens, and by quite a few to be one of the best lenses ever made. They list for something ridiculous, but can normally be found for a bit under $700. I expect that the bidding on this one will rise significantly above $250 before it sells. The lens hood is annoying, and not particularly effective, but optically and tactilly the lens is a joy to use. When I was looking for a lens to shoot dancing I was torn between the FA31/1.8 and the sigma 30/1.4. I didn't think that the 2/3 stop would make a lot of difference. It turns out that it does, and I may end up with the sigma if/when I find one for under $250 (and have $250 to spend on it). It is one of my favorite lenses to use. The PFA 50/1.4 is one of the best deals on a lens at $200 new. A dealer in Canada actually had them for a bit less than that. They never go for less than $185 on ebay. It is my understanding that it has been discontinued, the replacement a 55/1.4 is supposed to be in the FA 31 league for image quality, it's also $750. The 50/1.4 is fast, reasonably sharp, reasonably small, and usuable as a long "normal" or a short "portrait" lens. I just bought a DA 40/2.8 and love it. It is 1/4 the speed of the 50/1.4 (1/60 second at 1.4 means 1/15 at 2.8), so it isn't ideal for low light situations. But it is sharp, gives nice pictures, is fast enough for outdoors and will turn your K2000 into something that easily fits into a purse, fanny pack or coat pocket. I picked mine up for about $250. It's also faster than either of your zooms, though not much. I don't have, and haven't used, the 21 or the 43. The 43 is supposed to be amazingly sharp. The 21 would be a better length for shooting indoors, it's a bit wider. It's also a bit bigger physically than the 40, and IIRC f/3.2 rather than 2.8. The FA 77 limited is perhaps my favorite lens to use, when it's the right focal length. I find it perfect for portraits. I also often enjoy using it when a shorter lens would nominally be ideal, because it forces me to crop tighter for more interesting shots. I've seen them new for under $600. I have the D FA 50/2.8 macro. It does a great job as a macro lens, and if you can get close enough to your subject will go to 1:1 magnification. I.e. 16mmx22mm (or whatever the actual numbers are) will exactly fill the sensor. I find myself wanting the D FA 100/2.8 macro instead, both for a bit more reach as a macro, and as a 100mm prime. A photographer named Keitha who hangs out on the dpreview pentax forum, does some amazing work with that lens. People have been singing the praises lately of the DA 35/2 macro. It works out as a reasonably fast "standard" on an APS sensor, goes in tight as a macro, is reasonably fast, and quite sharp. There are some things to look at when looking at Pentax lens model designations. D (DA D-FA): means optimized for digital, will be auto focus, auto exposure F or FA: imply 35mm film, the F, FA and FA-J lenses are also autofocus. A star (*) means that there is something special about it. limited means something special DA*: are weather sealed A, or A*: means that the lens works with automatic exposure cameras and that the camera will know what aperture you are shooting at. Note that you can use manual exposure lenses, but the camera won't know what the aperture is. The FA limited primes were basically a series of lenses to show that Pentax was capable of making lenses as good as anyone else. SDM means that the lens has its own focusing motor. It makes autofocus quieter and faster. M & K lenses are a completely manual. M42 is screwmount, usuable with an adapter, but you have to manually stop it down for setting exposure and shooting. -- Every medium suffers from its own particular handicap. Photography's greatest handicap is the ease with which the medium as such can be learned. As a result, too many budding neophytes learn to speak the language too long before they have anything to say." W. Connell 1949 Larry Colen [email protected] http://www.red4est.com/lrc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
