With the exception of Godfrey, who sounds like he has achieved gear nirvana and sounds like he has all the gear he needs for the photos he takes, I think that most of us often run up against the limitations of what our skill can do with the gear that we have. And if we're honest with ourselves, skill is usually the limiting factor, sometimes it's the gear, and sometimes a certain piece of kit can compensate for our own personal limitations. For example, last night I was pushing the envelope of what I could do with the K-x photographing backlit musicians in an otherwise nearly dark room. I was sorely missing the improved sensor, focus assist light, and focus indicators of the K-r.
I expect that most of us have gear wishlists that would make Bill Gates credit cards cringe in terror, we also probably have "short lists" of gear that we are planning on buying in the near future. Generally gear that fills particular needs, and which would make a noticeable difference in photos that we regularly shoot, or which would allow us to get photos that we simply can't get with the gear we have. What items are on your short list, and why? At the top of my shortlist is the K-5. I often find myself in situations where even 2/3 stop of performance makes a big difference in the photos that I can take. Likewise, there are times when improved autofocus would also help. It would also be a lot more convenient for me to have all the features that I need for different scenarios, in the same camera, rather than being split between two cameras. My K-x could go back to wearing the DA40 and living in my fannypack as my "pocket camera", and the K-5 could be my primary camera, and stay in my big bag, rather than aways carrying both in the big bag. I've found that when shooting action, where people are moving around, a zoom lens can make a huge difference. When I'm photographing aikido, I find that I need wider lenses when people are defending themselves against multiple attackers, and the action covers a large portion of the mat, and moves around a lot. But when only two people are practicing, and they aren't moving around a lot, my 50mm isn't quite long enough. I suspect that a 28-105/2.8 would pretty much cover what I need, but since I don't know of one of those the 28-75/2.8 is probably the closest to what I need. Alternatively, if I were shooting with two cameras, I could get the 50-135 on one body, and the 16-50 on another. I think that the 50-135 would do also do well with the band photography I've been doing, considering how often I'm using my 77 or 135 for closeups. The runner ups for my short list are: DA35 macro : I love my DA40 for its size and sharpness, but when I carry it as a walk around lens, especially on hikes in the woods, I often find myself wishing it were a bit wider, and focused a bit closer. Samyang 85/1.4 : I'm still hurting over the A* 85/1.4 that the guys wife sold at work while I was waiting for him to get home from running his errands. I keep needing that little bit extra shutter speed. I'd love a modern f/1.4 lens in the 75-90mm range, but I doubt that I'd be able to afford it before sensors got so fast that I no longer needed that speed. Sigma 30/1.4 : My FA31/1.8 may be a better lens, but again, I often find myself wishing I had that extra 2/3 of a stop of speed, so that I could bump my shutter speed up from 1/10 to 1/15 second. Something wider than 16mm. -- Larry Colen [email protected] sent from i4est -- 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.
