Hi, IIRC somebody was interested if Pentax has primes which are both fast and sharp at wider apertures for purpose of tripod-less travel shooting on slow film (Kodachrome 64), a thing I am interested in too.
I think there are several options here: FA 2/24mm - which is reputed to be quite sharp by f/4 onward; also good built quality, but bulky. FA 2/35mm - reputed to be very very sharp 35mm lens, among the best; IMHO worse build quality, cheap feel M,F,FA 1.4/50 - is there a 50mm which isn't sharp? K 85/1.8 - I have no direct comparison, but I have and use heavily a Carl Zeiss Jena 80/1.8, to which the Pentax is similar (IMHO all fast 85mm lenses are double-gaussian planar derivatives, very similar in design). If I were to judge the Pentax by my CZJ, the CZJ is sharp conrer-corner already at f/4 and 5.6, and very usable at 2.8, while usable at 1.8 So, from this, three lenses are available either new or used frequently and used at good prices, while the fourth is hard to find, and all of them should be excellent performers at close to wide open apertures (f/4-5.6, which is IMHO most used for handheld travel shooting on slow film). If you want any wider than that, you would be better with rangefinder wides, as they don't have the compromises needed for retrofocus design. Only the FA 24 is bulky from the four lenses. Which is ofset by the small size of the MX you considered. Good light, Frantisek Vlcek - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
