Your next lens purchase

I guess nearly all of us in this forum have devised some kind of lens roadmap for

future purchases, so, as the title states, what is your next lens purchase?

 

For me it's a decision between the FA 77mm Limited or the DA* 50-135mm.

It would be nice to have all the FA limiteds and 77mm on both digital and film

would be a great focal lenght for me. Then again I tried the DA* and it was freakin'

incredible, so silent and sharp. Then again the 77mm will work on film. Agony of

choice I guess.

 

Maybe both :-)

 

Hmm, perhaps Ishould just buy a ski-mask and hunt Javier down at the duck-

pond. Use one of his own blunt objects against him :-)

 

BTW. I object to the term LBA. Like it's a disease. I much prefer LAD, Lens

Acquisition Desire. That way, I can be a good lad once in a while, and won't feel

like I'm 12 steps behind wherever I want to be.

 

All in good fun of course.

 

So. What's your next lens purchase?

 

Cheers

 

Fredrik

I am thinking about aa 80-200 manual focus zoom. The older lenses are inexpensive and quite good.

I've got an order in for the Sigma APO 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG. I expect that will replace the Sigma 24-60mm f2.8EX as the default lens on the k10d. After that (or before--depending on when it becomes available), the 21mm f/3.2 AL Limited--the Sigma 10-20mm is a nice and useful lens (and I'll keep it for local stuff) but it's but just too big & heavy for traveling & hiking.

I am trying to not do it but i think i want a 12-24 or something like that in wide end.. I just got my 77ltd, great lens.

"77ltd, great lens." I agree! It's not necessarily my most used but it's certainly my favorite.

DA* 300mm f4 - I want to buy it from Adorama for the price and free shipping but, they're out of stock. Oh and, I have a $100 gift card there too. Waiting..

In Pentax mount:

 

Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 due out "August 2008", but hitt'n streets "next" year.

 

And a K20D to see whats up with antishake and 14mp versus 6mp and no antishake and Cmos versus CCD sensor imaging.

 

In Eos Land, likely 400mm f5.6L and possibly their 1.4x II to see how it does with my 70-200mm 2.8L IS.

 

I may spring for a second full frame 5D before the instant cash off $300 deal ends in 50 days depending on how real the rumors seem concerning its replacement and more importantly its launch price. Or I could be insanely happy with what i've got and just add a drive and cable release for $270 to round out the 5D body.

 

I'm at the point where I could just as easily buy nothing for or from pentax and nothing from Canon thru end of year.

 

And after all this ,still haunting me is the crazy little Pentax W30 WATERPROOF Pont and shoot. Thats something I don't have:

 

A submergeable camera.

 

Lindy

Sigma 24mm f/1.8.After that, it's the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8.

 

Of course, there might be some interesting eBay find somewhere in there, just for fun, but the above are the ones I really want.

Oh, Les, I have a M 80-200 zoom, and I love it. It's a bit bulky so I don't carry it around much, but when I take it out with a purpose it works great.

 

As for my next lens... I think I am done for a while, until/unless I find another great thrift store bargain. I do have an old Vivitar T mount lens on the way from ebay, for which I have high hopes (85mm, f1.8). I'll let you know how that works out.

 

Fredrik, I love the idea of all the FA limiteds, I hope they work out for you!

A good 1:1 macro (or two) is next and I'll be very close to done with my Pentax kit; My only other real gap would be some longer / faster 300mm-ish glass, which I really can't cost justify for my shooting style.

 

I might swap my DA*50-135 for a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. And the K20d is really starting to tempt me. I need to sell off some unused equipment, which might just pay for a k20d. I'd also like to swap out my back-up af-360 for a second af-540.... Who am I kidding, I'll never be done with this, but I'm down to trying, tuning, and refining my kit to what fits me best. I have no more real "needs", just wants.

 

I'm not sure which macro yet: Have looked at all of them from 50mm to 105mm and don't think you can really go wrong with any of them. My first choice is the Sigma 70mm, but with a FA 77 in my bag it sort of makes sense to go for a longer macro. I'm going to try some extension tubes first, but I know I'll get a real 1:1 macro soon.

 

/Roger

Roger, Unless you want AF, the Vivitar Series 1 105mm f2.5 is a dreamy lens.. It is s h a r p! And the bokeh is super smooth..

Another vote for 105mm 2.5 Viv Series 1 Macro.

 

Not only is it likely the best macro made for pentax mount, but as a normal 105mm 2.5 lens its simply fantastic.

 

I'd never consider selling mine or the wife's samples. I did let go of my 3rd new in the box spare recently.

 

A small hoard of unsold original ones from 1994 hit ebay a year+ ago. The fellow cleared out about 180 of these for Vivitar Corp. Odd they never sold out in the film era? I inquired concerning other mounts, like Nikon Ai or AiS and Olympus OM and Vivitar had sold those out a decade earlier.

 

I posted the pentax mount version availablility on this forum a few times back then and some here luckily bought them.

 

In my mind it should sell for what a 100mm 2.8 PKA pentax sells for used: $600ish. if you're lucky you may get a chance to buy one second hand from a buyer last year. Don't be surprise to see them new in the box since that "Vein of Imaging Gold" was daylight'd some 15 months ago.

 

Lindy

I really don't know, I'm pretty happy with my kit for the most part and already somewhat overwhelmed by choices when it comes to 'filling the quiver' for the day--none of these are very urgent. The roadmapped DA15 limited sounds highly attractive on paper though details are pretty much non-existent right now. Could be a DA 55-300, DA* 60-250, or DA* 50-135. The DA 17-70 f/4 SDM holds a certain attraction too. I've seen some good stuff from DA* 200 too. I also wouldn't mind trying out an A 24-50 f/4; I've been enjoying playing around with a A35-70 f/4 lately. At this point I'm enjoying trying many different lenses, perhaps at some point I'll take a good hard look at which ones I really use most, like best, and are the best samples.

I am really quite torn between 2 lenses, and will most likely end up with them both.

 

Pentax FA 31mm f1.8 limited. superb lens.

 

And really anything in the new carl zeiss line up, as I quite enjoy manual focus and german engineering.

 

But the main candidate is the new Distagon T* 28mm f2

M42 50mm 1.4. My 55/1.8 is lost and I really need a 50mm to go with the ESII, Spotmatic F and K2.

My next purchase?

 

Vivitar Series 1 105mm 2.5 Macro

 

My dream lens!!!

i have the 90mm series one it's great

Lindy - I was one of those lucky persons who bought the New In Box Vivitar Series 1 105mm f2.5 last year.. I happily forked over $250 for it.. I would have happily forked over more money for it. It is/was what I consider a must have lens.

 

And you are right, it is a fast long prime that produces stunning results, nevermind the 1:1 macro shots it produces..

Frederik, I would highly recommend getting the 77mm Limited ASAP because there is no telling when it might be discontinued. Pentax tends to have a product listed even after it is no longer produced, and stock has run out.

 

Fast 80-85mm primes, which the Pentax 77mm qualifies to be, are becoming a more rare breed as additional digital models emerge. Also, none of these in other brands have such a unique compact design, and only very few, like a Zeiss model, are in the same league of build quality. The 77mm Limited is somewhat expensive, but not so considering this factor.

 

This is a truly outstanding lens. I often carry it and find it has many uses. It is so compact, just 1.9" long, carrying it along with other lenses is easy. The 21mm, 43mm, 77mm with a DSLR is a wonderful carrying combo. I also put my FA 28mm in combo as well for film or digital. I'd subsitute the 31mm Limited if I had one.

 

The 77mm Limited is great for people shots, as well as other moderate tele uses. Outstanding imaging for both film and DSLR use. I am sure you will enjoy it very much, and find it to be a beautifully functional and useful addition to your Limited combo.

 

The FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited could be gone at any time, but the DA 50-135mm f/2.8 is new and will still be around for years to come.

 

Here's a quick shot with the 77mm Limited on my K100D from last year, which I have handy. Shot in JPEG, in AV mode, no post process.<div></div>

BTW, nothing wrong, in fact, very common to have both fast primes and high-quality zoom lenses. When you need the flexibility of a zoom, there is nothing like a zoom.

 

When you need ultra compact carrying, with ultra-quality, and faster aperture, nothing like the Limiteds!!

 

I have been agonizing over getting the DA*50-135mm myself. It is indeed such a fine zoom lens. But like you, I still very often shoot film. Tamron will offer a new 70-200mm f/2.8 at a very reasonable price later this year, which I find to be of interest. It will be fully optimized for both film and digital. And I do like the idea of getting out to 200mm at f/2.8!!

DA 10-17mm. My children are small and capturing images of them and their surroundings with that piece of glass could be a whole lot of fun! I openly admit that I'll probably spend more time looking through the fisheye than actually using it, but then again the best toys are the frivolous ones. Cheers.

That bokeh is to kill for

85mm f1.4 Zeiss Planar T* ZK

I have way many lens in my head -- DA 35, Tamron 17-50, DA 21, DA 70, Sigma 10-20, and Tamron 90 Macro. Money always get into the ugly side of things and all seems to be wanted more than needed. I want them all but I can't afford all.

 

And I wish I can find a way to pay for the hobby. Someone please hire me to test these lens for you.

I'm in that sad situation called "done." Not much interested in zooms, have 28 PK type lenses including a few PKA and 10 PKAF. The three FA Limiteds, the DA21, the FA24, FA35, FA50... I should just concentrate on squeezing better photos out of the lenses I have.