How in the world do I choose? 35, 40, 43, 50

I moved to the Pentax system from Canon a couple of weeks ago. Part of the reason was that I much prefer primes to zooms and Pentax is one of the few (only?) manufacturer that seems dedicated to producing new digital-only primes.

Now I'm in the strange situation of having to choose between 4 excellent lenses. I ordered them all from B&H and I'm very impressed with each of them... which unfortunately means I'm having an extremely difficult time choosing. One of these lenses will be paired with either the 70/2.4 (which I've tried and I love) or the 77/1.8. Later I will add a SWA, either the Sigma 10-20 or Pentax 14/2.8.

I did a "quick & dirty" single shot comparison, completely unscientific and proving nothing, just to see if I could discern a subjective difference between them. Here are the results:

35/2:



40/2.8 (shot with 1600 ISO, so ignore the noise):



43/1.8:



50/1.4:



The purpose of this lens will be general walk-around and indoor portraits primarily. The 77/1.8 or 70/2.4 will also be for portraits, but that's okay since probably 75% of what I shoot are portraits.

I've been very curious about the "3D look" I hear so much about. Am I imagining it, or does the 43 shot above exhibit this effect more than the others? I'd be curious to hear any general subjective opinions about these lenses, which you chose and why, and which of these images if any stands out to you.

Thanks.

Well, based on the four shots you posted here, I'd say the FA43 has the most 3D effect to my eyes. But your focusing point and frames are slightly different ...

It is a wonderful lens, small and sharp (especially when stop down abit), very well built. I'd keep it and dump the rest if I were you

Cheers!
--
Frank
GMT+8hours

Given that list, I'd chose the 43. I did chose the 43, actually.

You bought them all, 4 of them ?!!! Geeeeez... what a way to start

I find it difficult enough to decide on two let alone four. Still not sure if I should keep both 43/1.9 + 35/2, can someone offer some compelling reasons please?

I would pick the 43 as the best of the lot, although it is a bit unfair to the 40, being the only one shot at ISO 1600, such a high ISO would not show off the best bokeh from any lens.

--



Kristian Farren

That's true about the 1600 ISO. I would re-shoot, but it's dark now and the light is totally different so it would be an even less fair comparison.

I bought all four lenses, but they are still within the return window. Tomorrow it ends, and I have to decide which one to keep and which three to send back. Of course no decision is final... I can always sell one and buy another later, but I'd like to get it right the first time if possible. And yes, I only want one lens in this focal range at this time, even though it is a wide range and I could conceivably see owning the 35/2 and 50/1.4 together.

I like to keep things simple with my lens collection. Ultimately I want just three primes: a super-wide (might go with the Sigma 10-20 here, since there isn't a 10mm prime); a "normal-ish"; and a medium tele-portrait lens.

chriskresser said:

And yes, I only want one lens in this
focal range at this time, even though it is a wide range and I could
conceivably see owning the 35/2 and 50/1.4 together.

Click to expand...

If you're going to cover the WA range separately I think it's better overall to keep the 43mm instead of 35 + 50 ... you won't regret.

I own all four too... acquired the 50 then the 35... 40 and lastly the 43.

I'm selling my 40 for sure.. im still torn about the others... I love the 35 and 50 too. My justification for keeping both the 35 and 50 are they serve different purposes. The 35 is my widest prime as of right now, so i don't want to place myself in a situation where i need something just a bit wider than my 43. And the 50... wow this lens is just something else. (it was my first prime too)
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loafer/

I believe the best 3-lens kit with the currently available lenses are:

• DA 21mm LTD
• FA 43mm LTD
• DA 70mm LTD

They are almost exactly the same in physical size. Small with great IQ.

Of the three, I like the 43LTD the best. IMO, it is "THE" lens to have in the Pentax/K mount.

K10D+43mmLTD



And a few more here:
http://www.shadzee.com/photoblog/index.php?x=browse&category=7
--
.Sam.

Life: http://www.shadzee.com/ - Photos: http://www.shadzee.com/photoblog/

I have the 40 43 and 31

my far and away favorite is the 43

The 40 only comes out when it is very very bright, and I want a simple plain images (it has less CA, more consistent bokeh).

The 31 hardly ever gets used. I am tempted to try the 35mm though.

I do want to add that the framing is FAR different on your 43mm test. You really should re-shoot it from the same angle as the other shots.

SloPhoto said:

The 31 hardly ever gets used. I am tempted to try the 35mm though.

Click to expand...

I can use your 31 and you can use my 35 ... want to arrange a try-out? )

Just curious, why are you selling your 40 "for sure" ?

loafair said:

I own all four too... acquired the 50 then the 35... 40 and lastly
the 43.

I'm selling my 40 for sure.. im still torn about the others... I love
the 35 and 50 too. My justification for keeping both the 35 and 50
are they serve different purposes. The 35 is my widest prime as of
right now, so i don't want to place myself in a situation where i
need something just a bit wider than my 43. And the 50... wow this
lens is just something else. (it was my first prime too)
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loafer/

Click to expand...

--



Kristian Farren

Of these 4 I have shot with 35, 43 and 50. I would keep 43. It is very close to both 35 and 50 in focal length so I doubt you would miss these much.

After that take a look at DA-21.

I still have my 35 and 50 and should probably sell them but dragging my feet, although I haven't used them since I got 43.

--
Cheers,

Igelfeld

For me, I'll start with the FA 50 F1.4. I just ordered one.

I might be wrong but I guess this is the most common and well acknowledged prime lens in this forum for its performance and price.

Then I’ll go wide with a DA 21mm or DA14mm together with the DA*50-135 for the long one.

Good luck with your choice.

--
reygon
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p238/reygonz/
----------------------------------------------------------------

Take nothing but photos... Kill nothing but time... Leave nothing but footprints...

I don't know how you will choose, but I chose by using the 50/1.4, 35/2, 21/3.2, 28/2.8, 43/1.9, 77/1.8, 70/2.4, and 31/1.8 extensively, and picking that which I liked the most. My winners are:

DA21 Limited
FA43 Limited
DA70 Limited

Although I have other lenses, many of which I've also used extensively, these three are virtually all I use with the K10D at present..

Godfrey
http://www.gdgphoto.com

Buying to just try and return adds costs to Pentax and therefore to all Pentax users. In this case, Pentax and other buyers did nothing wrong to deserve this. Other people’s review can serve the purpose. Just imagine all buyers do their own comparisons.
BTW, I have 35, 43, and 50

chriskresser said:

I've been very curious about the "3D look" I hear so much about. Am
I imagining it, or does the 43 shot above exhibit this effect more
than the others?

Click to expand...

Your 43mm image is focussed on the front edge of the leaf while the other three photos are focussed on the center of the leaf. That makes a big difference in the composition of the image.

I own all of these but the 43. The 35 gets the most use, the 40/2.8 I regret purchasing, and the 50/1.4 and 50/1.7 lenses (I have both) are nice if I need a little more reach than what the 70 provides.

My 4 lens kit is ending up as:
14/2.8 or 10-17 fisheye, 21/3.2, 35/2, 70/2.4

The 50 is too small of a focal length change to really fit in there. The 21/3.2 is what stays on the camera almost all the time, it is the perfect focal length.

I regret purchasing the 40/2.8. It's too slow and not that much smaller (packed in it's bag) than the 35/2. The lens cap is fiddly. It has a nice rendering, but so does the 35/2.

alex

First of all it is a little unethical to buy 4 lenses just to keep one IMO. Things like this increase cost as items must be restocked, etc.

Me - I'd get the 50/1.4 and pair it with the FA35 - not much more expensive than having the FA43 alone and IMO you get more kit and more versatility like this. If you really only want one lens only - just choose based on focal lenght - they are all really good lenses - don't get influenced by words like Limited and mythical 3D look, etc. when the lens you may be thinking of may not be the focal lenght you prefer. Quite a few on this forum regard the FA50 a better lens than the 43 (and the vice versa is also true for many others too - so this just goes to show how people's opinions can differ) so don't get swayed by others opinions but decide on a more objective level.

Lastly for the mythical 3D look in the FA43 - it all has to do with focus point and the angle - the FA43 shot due to the focus point choses and the angle and positioning of the camera is leaning into the leaf more so it seems to create more depth - shoot the others with the same aperture from the same point using a tripod and the results should be similar. In fact I don't believe in this mythical pentax lens mystique (as tapir so eloquently puts it) such as Ltd's have 3D look - they have nice bokeh, good contrast and sharpness (basically they are excellent lenses in all aspects) but many other lenses from many other brands also exhibit this quality - in fact all high quality primes and even many high quality zooms do - but people love to coin the 3D phrase for the DA & FA Limited's like it is exclusive to them.

--
Sinan
Check out my galleries @ http://sinantarlan.zenfolio.com/

I certainly didn't buy just to "try and return". I bought the lenses, one at a time, and used for quite a while, then sold to other Pentax users.

I read other people's reviews and the reviews in the press, but nothing tells you how a lens performs as well as using it yourself on the intended subject matter.

Godfrey

normansun said:

Buying to just try and return adds costs to Pentax and therefore to
all Pentax users. In this case, Pentax and other buyers did nothing
wrong to deserve this. Other people’s review can serve the purpose.
Just imagine all buyers do their own comparisons.
BTW, I have 35, 43, and 50

Click to expand...

I've narrowed it down to a choice between the 35 & 43. If I go with the 35, I could still see myself getting the 50 in the future because that is a focal length I find very useful for portraits.

The 43 seems like a wonderful lens as you have all mentioned, and I am getting used to the "unusual" focal length. The one thing I really don't like about it compared to the 35 is its longer minimum focus distance. I like working in close and taking detail oriented shots, and the 35 is much better in this regard.

However, the 43 has a better build, is smaller, and just produces images with a different "feel". I realize the test I did wasn't "accurate" or fair, for many reasons which some of you have pointed out. But I have taken many other shots with both.

Thanks for pointing out how buying and returning lenses can put a strain on Pentax. I feel bad that I didn't think of that before. Perhaps I'll just keep these for a while and keep trying them until I make my decision, and then sell them.