harryo Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 I've just got a good deal on a Pentax 67 with TTL prism. This is my first venture into this format...I've been shooting 35mm for 20 years. My main interests with the 67 is landscape photography. What I would like to get more information on is what one lens you would recommend that would be the most usefull for me. With my 35mm outfit, 75% of the scenics are shot with wide angle ranging from 20mm - 40mm. What I am looking for is a lens which is reasonably priced. I don't want to invest too much into this system as I don't know for sure if I'll stay with the 67 format, or move into a 4x5 outfit. thanks for any feedback. harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_jamieson2 Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Hi Harry, if you check the archives here you'll find loads of useful information on all the wide angle lenses that Pentax ever produced for the Pentax 67. In your position I think there is only one lens to consider, if you are buying just one lens at this stage. and that's a late model 55mm f4 lens, which is a lens renowned for its performance. That would be equivalent to a 28mm lens in 35mm photography terms and is a very useful focal length. The 45mm lens is good too, but less usable because it is too wide for many subjects. Other than that the new 75mm f2.8 lens gets good reviews and that only leaves the ultra-wide 35mm fisheye lens which is very expensive. I had a 75mm f4.5 lens before, which I sold as I thought it a bit soft. Just remember to double the focal length of the 67 lenses, to get a good approximation of what the equivalent 35mm focal length would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Harry, your accustomed lenses range from 45 to 55 to 75mm on the 6x7... and maybe the 90mm. Up to you to say which of these you'd find most useful. It's worth pointing out that the 90 and the new 75 are a stop faster than the 45 and 55, if this matters. The older 75mm f/4.5 is very inexpensive now, with the new f/2.8 released, and is a very versatile focal length. Last October I spend some time in mountains nearby looking for Fall color shots, and used the 75mm (mostly) and 165mm exclusively; this worked out well and I'm happy with these lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_wanner Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 Harry, when I moved into the 67 format the toughest decision was between the 45mm and the 55mm lenses for landscape and travel photography. Every focal length in 67 format just feels a little longer compared to its 35mm eqivalent because of different ratios. Math says the Pentax 67 45mm equals a 22mm small format lens on the diagonal, or 24mm on the long side. But when you tend to see in 35mm terms it feels longer still and the only Pentax 67 lens that will come close to a 20mm field of view is the 45mm wide angle - the 55mm being 28mm, and the 75mm roughly 35mm+. So what is your most used focal length? Personally I've opted for the 45mm as it covers more than half of my needs in landscape photography, then I've added 75mm and 165mm. That said, if I had to chose one general purpose focal length for travel photography it would definitely be in the 55-75mm range. Please check the archives for valuable information: the newest version 55mm and the 75mm f/2.8 are both excellent performers. Best regards, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJT Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Hello Harry and allow me to complement you on your choice of the 6x7. I have both the 55mm and 45mm, and while I like them both, the 55 is the best lens I have ever had. It is the late model f/4 design that takes the 77mm filter. I shoot primarily landscapes myself and it is a dream to use. Focuses nice and close with great DOF. As mentioned above, it is about equivalent to a 28mm lens in the 35mm format. I also have the 105mm lens with the 67mm filter thread. This is a nice lens if you want to do macro work since it is easily reversed with an inexpensive adapter. It is also good for some landscape photographs, being equivalent to a 50mm normal lens. If I had to have only one lens I would get the 55mm f/4 lens. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stemked Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Hi Harry. I too like the 55mm f4 (although I have version 2), but I have likely taken almost as many landscapes with my 135mm f4 macro. If you are like me dabbling into 67 on the cheap you might find that the version 2 is going to be a good choice for you because most other 67 users are set on the version 3. I wouldn't recommend the version 1 simply because the size of the filters needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 "I too like the 55mm f4 (although I have version 2)..." There's certainly no doubt the 55mm f/4 is a great lens. I've had mine since 1981, so I suppose it's not the latest version; what's the difference? I'm aware the previous 55mm f/3.5 is a considerably different lens, as the 75mm f/4.5 is different from the current f/2.8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_walker Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Hi, Harry. I think you'll really enjoy the 6x7. The quality of photographs it can produce is truly remarkable. Unless you need movements, I suspect it will suffice. My most used lenses for landscape work are the 55mm, 75mm, and 135mm. If you assume that your 35mm work would be cropped to an 8x10 kind of aspect ratio, these lenses equate to 24mm, 33mm, and 59mm. Based on your stated preferences, both the 55mm and the 75mm would get a lot of use. Which one you start with is up to you. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar_van_der_velde Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I am also considering to buy a Pentax 67 and looking into lenses. My experience with a Bronica S2a 6x6 with 45mm and 75mm lenses help guess at how wide these would be when extended to 6x7 format. I first thought the 75mm was a standard lens, but I found it more convenient to use than the 50mm lens in 35mm, apparently because it is wider. The 6x6 45mm gives some great shots, a 6x7 55mm would be equivalent of the same width but vertically cropped, and I find that actually I could have done a lot of shots with that. The 45mm on 6x7 would be really wide, but in 35mm equivalent to a 20mm lens, but with a significantly less horizontal view. I tend to think in 35mm equivalents of vertical and horizontal view separately: 45mm lens is 20mm vertical/24mm horizontal; (a horiz. shorter 20mm) 55mm lens is 24mm vertical/28mm horizontal, (a vertically wider 28mm) 75mm lens is 35mm vertical/50mm horizontal. (just two ways of looking at it) This way of thinking makes comparing lenses easier among the formats, and also within a format. E.g. in 35mm, holding your 28mm lens in portrait orientation will cover the same vertal view as a 20mm in landscape orientation, the same with 50mm and 28mm, etc. So in 6x7, a 55mm hold in portrait orientation has vertically the same field of view as the 45mm in landscape orientation (but with larger magnification, but also less DOF). I think it would be convenient to express everything only in angles of view in two directions. Diagonal angles of view are meaningless, nobody thinks that way. I think I would start with the 55mm f/4. (and then, 75mm/2.8 200mm/4, 35mm fisheye?) Oscar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.antiquecameras.net Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I finally got a 75mm 2.8 AL and while a versatile - sharp lens - it seems to have linear distorion at the edges that bends straight lines - not very common for a semi-wide lens like this. My 45mm bends, but that is to be expectated. any other 75/2.8 users ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I got the 75 AL in Sept, so have only brief experience with it, and that's mostly for landscapes. So I have no shots with known-straight lines running near and parallel to the frame edge and have not seen any barrel distortion. I also had not consciously noticed barrel distortion with the 45mm, which I've had longer. But now in reviewing some shots which include structural elements that should be straight, I do detect slight curving. I too would be surprised to see detectable linear distortion in Pentax's latest moderate wide. I'll try to include a brick wall straight-on or something similarly exciting in my next roll! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_kirsch1 Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Interesting thread especially as I'm looking at picking up either the 75mm or 55mm myself. I've been looking at some of both -- any sense what the price range might be on those (now that more current versions are out)? I'm looking at a 75mm 4.5 in mint condition that I can get for $300 and am trying to decide if that's a decent price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Dan, you might look over the offerings at www.KEH.com as a price reference. Their prices are quite reasonable, and if anything their condition as stated is conservative. I got my 165mm f/2.8 from them, very happy with the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_kirsch1 Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Doug -- thanks for that suggestion. I'd actually tried KEH and B&H and neither have a later Pentax 75mm 4.5 listed in their used right now for comparison. I did find a couple in E- to E+ range on Adorama and their prices were $380-$390. I hate to go off of one price comparison but that seems to support what I'd found -- the guy originally hoped to get at least $400 for the lens. So perhaps this is a decent price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 $400 seems steep to me, Dan, but $300 might be reasonable in like-new condition especially if he has box, book, caps etc. I could be wrong, but there may not be a "late" 75mm f/4.5 marked "SMC Pentax". It's been discontinued after all, and I expect Pentax had been working on the new f/2.8 lens design for a while before its intro, and ignoring the f/4.5. All 5 of the currently shown 75mm f/4.5 lenses at KEH are "SMC Takumar", 4 of these "bargain" condition with two under $200. The best is "excellent" at $254. The 165mm I got from them had been offered as "excellent", and turned out to look like new to me. You might use KEH to work your seller down a bit more, unless he can show "SMC Pentax" marking and has all the stuff from the original box, etc, and will take it all back if you find within a short time that there were undisclosed defects. Hope the deal works out well for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_kirsch1 Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Hi Doug -- I guess by late I meant that it was actually a Pentax SMC rather than a Takumar, and that I could see that it had the same look as the later model lenses. I did just get it for the $300 -- this was on eBay and he had hoped to get a whole lot more for it and the reserve that he'd set was way above that amount (he'd already relisted it while he was waiting for me to respond to his second chance offer as I was the highest bidder). The condition is described as like new. It does come with the box, both caps and also the paperwork/instructions, and he's also including a B&W rubber lens hood and a Hoya FL-D for it (strange about that but I wasn't going to ask -- guess I'm thinking landscape and he was thinking something else). So all in all it seems like it's a decent deal. Hopefully all will check out when I get it -- but I've had some really great luck in picking up mint/like new lenses in the past month on eBay at really great prices (have picked up 135mm Macro, 200mm, 300mm and now this 75mm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougmiles Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 Hope your good luck holds on this item too, Dan! It should be very useful for landscapes; that's largely what I've done with my 75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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