Newbiw Lens Questions: Where to buy, difference, etc.

[hambino]

I'm looking at getting my first prime lens and I'm looking at this website Pentax Lens Listings - Pentax Lens Review Database and I've got a few questions:

1. Why are these lenses so hard to find? I look at the "normal" places (maybe not so normal?) amazon.com, ebay, etc. and I only find a couple listings for the ones that I'm looking at.

2. Here are the ones I'm looking at:

• SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.7 Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Review Database
• SMC Pentax-F 50mm F1.7 Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Review Database
• SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F2.8 Macro Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Review Database
• SMC Pentax-F 50mm F2.8 Macro Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Review Database

Does anyone have experience with these lenses? Is there a huge difference from f/1.7 and f/2.8?

3. What's the difference between the lenses that are specifically designated "macro" and the ones that have bigger apertures?

Hmmm, think that's all I have right now. Thank you!!

[DevinCatron]

the only difference with the apertures is i heard that the 1.7 will be clearer and crisper than the 2.8 when shooting macro. and p.s when did u get your tameron 18-200 lense??

[Vagebond]

If you open one of your macro links and one of your non-macro links, you'll notice that the maximum magnification of the macro is 1.0× and the non-macro 0.15×.
This means that a macro lense can photograph an object that's as large as the camera sensor to fill the whole frame. The same object without macro will fill 0.15× -or a bit more that a seventh- of the frame. So if you like photographing really small objects macro is the way to go. For portraits, landscapes etc. you don't need macro.
See the Macro-SYS and Macro-Critique sections of the forum for examples.

As far as aperture is concerned, the lower the f-stop number the wider the aperture so more light can reach the sensor at a given shutter speed. The lower the f-stop also the less the depth of (sharpness) field at any given distance. A 1.7 lets you photograph in a little less ambient light than a 2.8 without extra light or a tripod. And some people are crazy about very shallow depth of field.
I have a 50mm F/1.8 prime lens and I don't use 1.8 very often.

I hope this helps a bit. It would be nice if a real expert would chime in, one who can explain better than I can in less than a million words.
If you have more questions just ask, see what happens.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by hambino

1. Why are these lenses so hard to find? I look at the "normal" places (maybe not so normal?) amazon.com, ebay, etc. and I only find a couple listings for the ones that I'm looking at.

"Normal places" (online) for me include: amazon, B&H, and Adorama. In addition to that, there are just times when lenses seem hard to find. We happen to be in one of those right now. And to compound the issue, Photokina is almost upon us. I don't know if Pentax does the same thing, but when Canon or Nikon are going to introduce a newer version of a lens/body, the older one sometimes goes out of stock.

Is there a huge difference from f/1.7 and f/2.8?

Depends on your definition of huge. In the f-stop scale, the difference between f/1.8 and f/2.8 is one and one third stops. So, the difference in light is 2^1.3 =~ 2.5, so it's about 2.5x the amount of light. That's the same difference between iso 100 and iso 250, or a shutter speed of 1/45s and 1/15s.

Sometimes that can be a huge difference. Sometimes, it can be negligible. Depends on what you're after.

What's the difference between the lenses that are specifically designated "macro" and the ones that have bigger apertures?

Macro lenses are specially designed to let you focus closely. The macro lens has a minimum focus distance of 7.67 inches; the 50/1.4's minimum focus distance is 18 inches. That's the closest you can get and still retain focus. Any closer, and the lens loses the ability to focus on the subject.

The reason a P&S camera has such tiny minimum focus distances is that it uses tiny sensors and tiny focal lengths. The shorter a lens is, the deeper its DoF. Most P&S cameras have lenses in the 5mm-75mm range.

[hambino]

Thank you all so much! This has been my first "newbie-seeking-answers" post since joining the forums and the responses were just what I was looking for!

Originally Posted by DevinCatron

and p.s when did u get your tameron 18-200 lense??

I got it a couple of months ago, used, at an electronics store in Akihabara, Japan (I live in Japan), total random find. I think I paid around 12,000 yen (depending on the yen rate, about $150usd). Not sure if that was a reasonable price or not but I really like it \

Again, thanks guys!

[Mr Guy]

I wanted to go ahead and add that for Pentax, it behooves you to add these to your list of "common" places:

Buy & Sell New & Used Cameras – Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Leica & More - KEH.com

and of course the market at the Pentax forums themselves: The Photographer's Marketplace - PentaxForums.com

Those particular lenses aren't all that common, primarily IMO because they are dwarfed by significantly more "fun" lenses on either side. Those are older "entry" primes, and aren't nearly as easy to find as some of their slightly better near relatives. I'm assuming you're looking at those as a mix of cost savings and full frame future?

Here are your more common options:

SMC-M 50mm 1.7 Extremely common, extremely cheap ($10 to $50 on ebay), very high quality, fully manual

D FA 50mm 2.8 Macro Getting harder to find, very high quality, $400

But you're going to have a lot more luck finding the 1.4 than the 1.7:

FA 50mm 1.4 Although it's "soft wide open", it's still going to be sharper stopped down to match a 1.7. $350

However, the real answer to why it's hard to find those cheap 50s is because of the abundance of manual 50mm that seem to have demotivated Pentax from making an "entry" level nifty fifty. What Pentax DOES have is a few spectacular and extremely popular options that are slightly different focal lengths, and from a little to a lot more expensive.

DA* 55mm 1.4 This is basically L glass for $650

SMC Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Practically a flagship lens. Pancake 40mm with excellent image quality $350


It's also not extremely uncommon for Pentax users to use the DA* 16-50mm zoom and a selection of the DA */limiteds 15/21/35/40/55/70 or FA */limiteds at 24/31/43/77/85.

[hambino]

Tons of info..love it!

Originally Posted by Mr Guy

I wanted to go ahead and add that for Pentax, it behooves you to add these to your list of "common" places:

*noted and added to list* I just registered for the Pentax forums and it asks me about a referrer..if you want to PM me your forum name I can put you down (I dunno if that gets you something special or not...)

Originally Posted by Mr Guy

I'm assuming you're looking at those as a mix of cost savings and full frame future?

full frame future?

Originally Posted by Mr Guy

...and from a little to a lot more expensive.

DA* 55mm 1.4 This is basically L glass for $650

SMC Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Practically a flagship lens. Pancake 40mm with excellent image quality $350

YIKES!

Right now my goal isn't so much a lens I'll have (or even like!) forever, I just want to start cheap so I can learn about them and then I'll have a base for buying something nicer in the future

Thank you so much for the info!

[hambino]

WHOLE.LEE.COW!! So I went to Akihabara tonight to try and find a macro lens and was so totally overwhelmed! I thought I had prepared well in doing my research but I guess I just wasn't ready to face the price tag face to face haha! There weren't a whole lot of macro lenses at ALL for Pentax, used or new, but there were plenty cheap options for Canon and Nikon On top of that, even when I did find ONE of the lenses on my list (FA 50mm 1.4) I had a "duh" moment when I realized I couldn't test it out in low-light (why I'm even buying a new lens!) b/c I'm in the stupid store!! *sigh* That lens was 39,000yen which was more than I really wanted to pay for a lens I wasn't even really sure about. I really wanted to find one before climbing mt. fuji on saturday but i will make do with what I've got. The search goes on to find something reasonable to start out with

[Mr Guy]

The trick with Pentax right now is that Pentax is struggling to define itself in the marketplace. On one hand, they put a great deal of pride into the quality of their older glass. On the other, that older glass just sits there, and acts like an anchor on plans for newer cheaper glass. It's always going to be there, distracting people who would otherwise buy new glass, and that keeps them from expanding as quickly into new lenses and budget options.

It really goes back into the big question of what you're trying to accomplish. Looks like you've got one big superzoom that "covers" you for general shooting. I asked whether you were looking forward to full frame because the lenses you listed were all 35mm film lenses. The DA line optimized for digital, but isn't going necessarily be compatible if, in the future, Pentax releases a DSLR with a larger sensor.

What lens you really want depends on what you want to do with it. I'd highly, highly, recommend picking up a Pentax SMC-M 50mm 1.7. They are fully manual, but extremely satisfying, cheap, and abundant. That recommendation, though, is based entirely on my assumption you want to learn the technical aspects of your camera, and my personal belief that the best way to learn is to force yourself to experiment manually.

But if you're going to save up 39000 yen, you should consider the 40mm limited, unless you really want that macro...

[hambino]

Originally Posted by Mr Guy

I asked whether you were looking forward to full frame because the lenses you listed were all 35mm film lenses. The DA line optimized for digital, but isn't going necessarily be compatible if, in the future, Pentax releases a DSLR with a larger sensor.

Ah, I see. I just picked those lenses b/c they seemed a bit cheaper but still had AF (time to stop being lazy?) lol

[QUOTE=Mr Guy;1059805] That recommendation, though, is based entirely on my assumption you want to learn the technical aspects of your camera, and my personal belief that the best way to learn is to force yourself to experiment manually.

Yes, yes, yes! Your assumption is dead on!

Originally Posted by Mr Guy

But if you're going to save up 39000 yen, you should consider the 40mm limited, unless you really want that macro...

I'm not going to save that up BUT my bday's in November followed by Hanukkah and Christmas (mom raised catholic + dad raised jewish = abundance of gift opportunities at the end of the year ha!) so I'm putting this on my Amazon wishlist

Mr. Guy you have been BEYOND helpful and I sincerely appreciate all of your advice!!!