FS Friday FA 24/2 AL
https://www.flickr.com/gp/mostlypentax/p6e660 this link connects to the album for whoever has it. If you have a problem let me know. I think most members are familiar with the lens. Not the best photos but I can summarize. Glass is perfect, hood, barrel and edges show scuffing, soft case is in great shape. Should have kept the lens in it. KEH says $468 w caps. I'll say $425 w caps, hood, soft case. If you buy it and find something non functional (you won't) I'll take it back. I'll consider an offer too. Thanks, Mark S -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
On 22/08/06, Bruce Dayton [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello Shel, That describes the experience I had. Great on film, not so hot on digital. I've owned two different samples over time. The first I only tried on film. If it were me, I'd stick with your K 24. I agree, though I never did scrutinize its performance on film very carefully. FA24/2 is the only Pentax lens option if you need fast however from my experience the FA is only really exceptional when stopped to middle apertures and above. My semi-formal testing showed that it exhibited far more prevalent CA than my A24/2.8 and that it only matched the sharpness of my A24/2.8 wide open when stopped down to about f4 and then the edges were still softer. I've had the benefit of owning two of the FA lenses concurrently so I don't expect that I'm dealing with lens QC issues as both FA lenses behaved similarly. -- Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~distudio//publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Have a look at the lens test I did a few months ago: http://www.robertstech.com/temp/lenstest.htm The four lenses tested at 24mm were: FA*24/2.0 F24-50/4 FA24-90/3.5-4.5 Tamron 17-35/2.8-4 All tripod-mounted, manual exposure and white balance. Aperture at f/11 The test conditions were chosen, by the way, because they represent how I shoot in the real world when I'm doing critical work. -- Mark Roberts Photography Multimedia www.robertstech.com 412-687-2835 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Recently I've been using the K24/2.8 quite a bit, and have found the focal length to be very useful. While I'm not ready to buy the FA* 24/2.0 right now, it may be worthwhile to consider adding to my personal road map, so I've some questions: Is the lens only available in silver, or can it be had in black as well? More important, how is it optically? I seem to recall some people saying that it wasn't very good - although I don't recall any specifics. Boz's site mentions an AF/MF clutch. What is that? Does that mean the lens can be used in auto focus mode and then adjusted manually without having to take the camera out of AF mode, like some of the new DA lenses? Thanks in advance for any and all comments. Shel -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
On Aug 21, 2006, at 10:58 AM, Shel Belinkoff wrote: More important, how is it optically? I seem to recall some people saying that it wasn't very good - although I don't recall any specifics. I've only used it on film, and it was spectacular. Made my Sigma Super Wide II 24mm f2.8 look like dogfood. Boz's site mentions an AF/MF clutch. What is that? Does that mean the lens can be used in auto focus mode and then adjusted manually without having to take the camera out of AF mode, like some of the new DA lenses? Yes, except you have to snap the focus ring backwards to do it, if I recall correctly. -Aaron -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Boz's site only shows a silver version so I'd go with that. I've heard it's a very fine lens. Well beyond my price range right now. Shel Belinkoff wrote: Recently I've been using the K24/2.8 quite a bit, and have found the focal length to be very useful. While I'm not ready to buy the FA* 24/2.0 right now, it may be worthwhile to consider adding to my personal road map, so I've some questions: Is the lens only available in silver, or can it be had in black as well? More important, how is it optically? I seem to recall some people saying that it wasn't very good - although I don't recall any specifics. Boz's site mentions an AF/MF clutch. What is that? Does that mean the lens can be used in auto focus mode and then adjusted manually without having to take the camera out of AF mode, like some of the new DA lenses? Thanks in advance for any and all comments. Shel -- When you're worried or in doubt, Run in circles, (scream and shout). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Far as I'm aware, the FA*24/2.0 is/was only available in silver. It does not have QuickShift, it has a clutch on the focusing ring. Slip the ring on the lens and the AF coupling is disengaged regardless of what the setting on the body is. This nets the ability to focus manually while the camera is in AF mode, but is not as handy as just being able to turn the focusing ring for a fine focus adjustment. The camera will also disable the shutter release if the focus point is not sensed to be locked in properly with the green indicator. My reservations about the 24/2 stem from the wide disparity of comments I've heard about its optical performance. It seems most people who have used it with film love it, but most people who've used it with the DSLR bodies find too much chromatic aberration and poor sharpness wide open. I think Rob Studdert posted some comparisons showing the A24/2.8 and FA*24/2 performance, using the *ist D body, and the A24/2.8 was a substantially better performer. 24mm is an excellent focal length on the 16x24 format, however, and it's well worth getting a lens to cover it. I had the A24/2.8 and did a lot of work with it. I only sold it after I'd been using the FA20-35/4 a lot and realized that the latter was easier to focus with manually due to better wide open contrast. The A24 is likely a little better performer at the limits than the zoom, but the option of AF, the better manual focus contrast, and the flexibility of having 24-28mm focal length available on the camera appealed to me more. Godfrey On Aug 21, 2006, at 7:58 AM, Shel Belinkoff wrote: Recently I've been using the K24/2.8 quite a bit, and have found the focal length to be very useful. While I'm not ready to buy the FA* 24/2.0 right now, it may be worthwhile to consider adding to my personal road map, so I've some questions: Is the lens only available in silver, or can it be had in black as well? More important, how is it optically? I seem to recall some people saying that it wasn't very good - although I don't recall any specifics. Boz's site mentions an AF/MF clutch. What is that? Does that mean the lens can be used in auto focus mode and then adjusted manually without having to take the camera out of AF mode, like some of the new DA lenses? -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Ahhh thanks for jogging my memory. Shel [Original Message] From: Godfrey DiGiorgi My reservations about the 24/2 stem from the wide disparity of comments I've heard about its optical performance. It seems most people who have used it with film love it, but most people who've used it with the DSLR bodies find too much chromatic aberration and poor sharpness wide open. I think Rob Studdert posted some comparisons showing the A24/2.8 and FA*24/2 performance, using the *ist D body, and the A24/2.8 was a substantially better performer. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
[Original Message] From: Godfrey DiGiorgi My reservations about the 24/2 stem from the wide disparity of comments I've heard about its optical performance. It seems most people who have used it with film love it, but most people who've used it with the DSLR bodies find too much chromatic aberration and poor sharpness wide open. I think Rob Studdert posted some comparisons showing the A24/2.8 and FA*24/2 performance, using the *ist D body, and the A24/2.8 was a substantially better performer. - The FA* 24 F2 is one of those controversial lenses. Some people love it, some hate it. I had one and sold it on in favor of the FA 20 F2.8. I didn't like it's wide-open performance, and I had bought it for use in low light. That said, I have seen stunning images made with it on a DSLR, stopped down. But it is out of production. Reports are that the CA problem can be corrected in software. I can't attest to this. If you don't need speed, the DA 21 F3.2 is an alternative. Or, as Godfrey mentioned, the FA 20-35 F4 is very nice. Joe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
On Aug 21, 2006, at 9:21 AM, Joseph Tainter wrote: The FA* 24 F2 is one of those controversial lenses. ... I had bought it for use in low light. ... The FA35/2 and FA50/1.4 are my low-light lenses at present. Would be nice to have a 24-28 f/2 lens, but I'm too leery of the FA*24 to be interested. Reports are that the CA problem can be corrected in software. I can't attest to this. Most Red-Green and Yellow-Blue CA can be corrected with Camera Raw pretty easily. The necessity of having to do it is a bit of a pain, and correction is never perfect. If you don't need speed, the DA 21 F3.2 is an alternative. Or, as Godfrey mentioned, the FA 20-35 F4 is very nice. The DA21 is one of the few lenses now living on my wanted list, for its small size and excellent performance. I'll probably buy it with the 10Mpixel body when that comes available. Please, Pentax: a DA28/2 lens that is compact and high quality. I promise I'll buy one. :-) Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
It is an excellent lens, both with film and digital. Only made in silver, but the lens body is metal, not plastic. Someone has just explained how the AF/MF clutch works, so I will not comment on it again. In some high contrast situations, such as the typical dark branches against a bright sky, it may or may not show CA, more noticeable when shooting digital. It can be corrected in post processing, though. I thought of selling it but in the end I decided to keep it because it is quite useful both on the film bodies and the DS. Carlos -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Shel, Godfrey is right. Rob was the one to note chromatic aberration as a digital problem. I've used the lens and absolutely love it on film and have found no problems on digital. (maybe I'm not critical enough?) It is really terrific to have a fast, wide prime on the DS. It will remind you of the 35mm f2. And it balances OK for a big lens. Regards, Bob S. On 8/21/06, Shel Belinkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ahhh thanks for jogging my memory. Shel [Original Message] From: Godfrey DiGiorgi My reservations about the 24/2 stem from the wide disparity of comments I've heard about its optical performance. It seems most people who have used it with film love it, but most people who've used it with the DSLR bodies find too much chromatic aberration and poor sharpness wide open. I think Rob Studdert posted some comparisons showing the A24/2.8 and FA*24/2 performance, using the *ist D body, and the A24/2.8 was a substantially better performer. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
RE: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Mine is silver - or more like grey, really. Not good? It's absolutely excellent! The clotch: You can push the focusrig back and forth to switch between AF and MF. About adjusting: Not really. In AF mood the ring doesn't work. You must choose AF or MF. But you can choose by using the ring only. Pulling it back means the camera is in MF mode - that's why they call it a clutch. These were done with this lens: http://www.jensbladt.dk/Rhodos-2006/Rhodos-oldtown.html Regards Jens Bladt http://www.jensbladt.dk +45 56 63 77 11 +45 23 43 85 77 Skype: jensbladt248 -Oprindelig meddelelse- Fra: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] vegne af Shel Belinkoff Sendt: 21. august 2006 16:58 Til: PDML Emne: FA* 24/2 AL [IF] Recently I've been using the K24/2.8 quite a bit, and have found the focal length to be very useful. While I'm not ready to buy the FA* 24/2.0 right now, it may be worthwhile to consider adding to my personal road map, so I've some questions: Is the lens only available in silver, or can it be had in black as well? More important, how is it optically? I seem to recall some people saying that it wasn't very good - although I don't recall any specifics. Boz's site mentions an AF/MF clutch. What is that? Does that mean the lens can be used in auto focus mode and then adjusted manually without having to take the camera out of AF mode, like some of the new DA lenses? Thanks in advance for any and all comments. Shel -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.4/424 - Release Date: 08/21/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.4/424 - Release Date: 08/21/2006 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
It is one of my favourite lenses, the other being 77 Limited. I use it only on film bodies, so don't know how it works on a DSLR. I love it for for it's many qualities, being able to produce very pleasing images overall, very good flare resistance and for its speed. I can see it as a great combo on K10OD or fure K10D for example. Fast 35mm equivalent together with SR should be able to do a lot. I'd love to see DA equivalent 16/2 for 1,5x crop on DSLR. This certainly would cut my cake. There certainly is a disparity about its sharpness. Yoshihiko's tests at http://www.takinami.com/yoshihiko/photo/lens_test/pentax_superwide.htm l shows it as the best of the 24 Pentax lenses, also photodo 's results vwere very good: http://www.photodo.com/product_93_p4.html OTOH, as Godfrey says, many don't get such results. My take is - highly speculative - that maybe it is due to it's plastic-moulded aspheric element (which is the cheapest, however not the best way to produce an quality aspheric element) which might result in worse performance if it is not perfect. Or it is simply the matter of users different personal expectations. My 0.02, Matjaz From: Godfrey DiGiorgi [EMAIL PROTECTED] My reservations about the 24/2 stem from the wide disparity of comments I've heard about its optical performance. It seems most people who have used it with film love it, but most people who've used it with the DSLR bodies find too much chromatic aberration and poor sharpness wide open. I think Rob Studdert posted some comparisons showing the A24/2.8 and FA*24/2 performance, using the *ist D body, and the A24/2.8 was a substantially better performer. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
RE: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
I forgot to say, that I got mine used in July. Since then it has become my most used lens. It has taught me to go closer to the subject: www.jensbladt.dk/Rhodos-2006/Images/Portraits-3555-web.jpg Regards Jens Bladt http://www.jensbladt.dk -Oprindelig meddelelse- Fra: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] vegne af Jens Bladt Sendt: 21. august 2006 19:31 Til: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Emne: RE: FA* 24/2 AL [IF] Mine is silver - or more like grey, really. Not good? It's absolutely excellent! The clotch: You can push the focusrig back and forth to switch between AF and MF. About adjusting: Not really. In AF mood the ring doesn't work. You must choose AF or MF. But you can choose by using the ring only. Pulling it back means the camera is in MF mode - that's why they call it a clutch. These were done with this lens: http://www.jensbladt.dk/Rhodos-2006/Rhodos-oldtown.html Regards Jens Bladt http://www.jensbladt.dk +45 56 63 77 11 +45 23 43 85 77 Skype: jensbladt248 -Oprindelig meddelelse- Fra: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] vegne af Shel Belinkoff Sendt: 21. august 2006 16:58 Til: PDML Emne: FA* 24/2 AL [IF] Recently I've been using the K24/2.8 quite a bit, and have found the focal length to be very useful. While I'm not ready to buy the FA* 24/2.0 right now, it may be worthwhile to consider adding to my personal road map, so I've some questions: Is the lens only available in silver, or can it be had in black as well? More important, how is it optically? I seem to recall some people saying that it wasn't very good - although I don't recall any specifics. Boz's site mentions an AF/MF clutch. What is that? Does that mean the lens can be used in auto focus mode and then adjusted manually without having to take the camera out of AF mode, like some of the new DA lenses? Thanks in advance for any and all comments. Shel -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.4/424 - Release Date: 08/21/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.4/424 - Release Date: 08/21/2006 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.4/424 - Release Date: 08/21/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.4/424 - Release Date: 08/21/2006 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: FA* 24/2 AL [IF]
Hello Shel, That describes the experience I had. Great on film, not so hot on digital. I've owned two different samples over time. The first I only tried on film. If it were me, I'd stick with your K 24. -- Bruce Monday, August 21, 2006, 8:31:01 AM, you wrote: SB Ahhh thanks for jogging my memory. SB Shel [Original Message] From: Godfrey DiGiorgi My reservations about the 24/2 stem from the wide disparity of comments I've heard about its optical performance. It seems most people who have used it with film love it, but most people who've used it with the DSLR bodies find too much chromatic aberration and poor sharpness wide open. I think Rob Studdert posted some comparisons showing the A24/2.8 and FA*24/2 performance, using the *ist D body, and the A24/2.8 was a substantially better performer. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
