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best prime lens below $100?

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chemdumb

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I'm interested in buying some prime lens for my new *ist DL camera. After surfing through this fantastic forum, I have bought the SMC-M 50/f1.7 prime on ebay. I'm also checking on the M135/f3.5 and M200/f4 on ebay.

So, my question is: could anyone recommend some other nice prime lens other than those three that I should buy? Since I'm on a budget, I can only buy good prime lens under $100. Thanks!
 
chemdumb said:
I'm interested in buying some prime lens for my new *ist DL camera.
After surfing through this fantastic forum, I have bought the SMC-M
50/f1.7 prime on ebay. I'm also checking on the M135/f3.5 and
M200/f4 on ebay.
So, my question is: could anyone recommend some other nice prime
lens other than those three that I should buy? Since I'm on a
budget, I can only buy good prime lens under $100. Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
I here the Zenitar 16 recommended a lot, I think thats slightly more than $100... Check out wides and normals, I have an M 28mm and that would be a normal lens on the *ist D series. I think I bought it from keh.com in ugly condition for $40(it doesnt look ugly to me, just a couple of scratches on the side), check KEH... you might actually find better deals there than on ebay(I did), and a "bargain" lens from keh is like what somebody on ebay would call good or excellent.
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I bought an A50/2.0 for $25 two months ago, new in box, on eBay. I prefer it to the M series because it will work in Av mode. The seller still has some left at that price. Item 190000356823. Granted, you already have a 50, but that's a good price and it adds functionality over your M lens at the cost of half a stop.

The 135/2.5 can be found for under $100. I'm very happy with it, even though it's full manual. It's very bright, easy to handle, and the images are tack sharp.

Or, consider the Zenitar 16mm fisheye. It has a loyal cult following among DPR members. It can be had for new for $105+$20 shipping if you buy it from Victor, whose eBay name is 'zenitar'. I show he has them in stock now, but sometime you have to wait a week or more for him to get them in stock.

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Pentax 28mm lenses make for an excellent wide-normal on the *ist DL camera.
KEH.com has several at or below $100.

Godfrey
 
chemdumb said:
I'm interested in buying some prime lens for my new *ist DL camera.
After surfing through this fantastic forum, I have bought the SMC-M
50/f1.7 prime on ebay. I'm also checking on the M135/f3.5 and
M200/f4 on ebay.
So, my question is: could anyone recommend some other nice prime
lens other than those three that I should buy? Since I'm on a
budget, I can only buy good prime lens under $100. Thanks!
Click to expand...
What you have mentioned there is a very good start. A Zenitar (if you don't mind de-fishing) and a 28 and you'll pretty much have it covered.

(Although for convenience + quality on the cheap there is a great deal to be said for the 18-55 kit + 55-200 ... but you are talking about primes so ... )

--
tim
 
Thanks! I heard the DA 55-200 is not quite as good as primes. That's why I'm aiming at primes. I've bought the kit len, but don't know how bad it is comparing to the 50/1.7 I bought on ebay. Both of them are on the way. :)
 
Personally I would probably go for the M28/3.5. I have got A28/2.8 and M28/3.5 but I actually prefer the images coming out from M28/3.5.

Kenny
 
chemdumb said:
I'm interested in buying some prime lens for my new *ist DL camera.
After surfing through this fantastic forum, I have bought the SMC-M
50/f1.7 prime on ebay. I'm also checking on the M135/f3.5 and
M200/f4 on ebay.
So, my question is: could anyone recommend some other nice prime
lens other than those three that I should buy? Since I'm on a
budget, I can only buy good prime lens under $100. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I flinch at spending over $100 per lens myself. It depends on how much time you want to devote to eBay. I am basing my prices on my experiences over the last three months, and a lot of time invested. Also I don't know anything about non-Pentax alternatives, and autofocus primes rarely sell for less than $100 so I'll skip those.

You should be able to find a K, M or A 28mm, with the M28/f2.8 being the most common and cheapest. I think you can get that one for $40 or less. I'd look for that one first.

There are not many K-mount 35mm lenses listed; the M or K 35mm/f2.8 will probably fit in your budget but the 35mm/f2 will likely go for more. The M40/f2.8 will sometimes go for less than $100, and you should be able to find a K55/f1.8 for less than $50. But the infrequent appearance of these three will sometimes drive the price up with bidders who "need" to have them.

You already have a 50mm. If you didn't, I think the best value in this range is the A50mm/f1.7. The f1.7 lenses are often overlooked by people holding out for more speed.

You may see an M100mm/f2.8 fall within your price range. The 120mm and 150mm have that rarity issue as above. You already mentioned the other candidates, and above 200mm lenses usually go for more than $100 or have good reasons why they don't.

You may be able to find some M42 screw-mount lenses to fill out your collection, at the cost of some convenience. I'm sure there are some good 3rd party lenses out there as well.
 
chemdumb said:
Thanks! I heard the DA 55-200 is not quite as good as primes.
That's why I'm aiming at primes. I've bought the kit len, but don't
know how bad it is comparing to the 50/1.7 I bought on ebay. Both
of them are on the way. :)
Click to expand...
'not quite as good as primes' is a big compliment for a zoom with that range, cost and size. The 50/1.7 is great, as is the 28/2.8 (even though I often wish it were slightly wider). The advantage of the 50-200 is the usefulness of it's range and the ease with which it can be carried (compared to the 4-6 primes it would take to replace it completely).

When I'm walking my camera usually has the A28/2.8 or the 50-200 attached. I no longer carry my A50/1.7 unless I'm specifically going somewhere indoors or I know there'll be little light available. I'm looking into the Sigma 24mm/2.8 mini-wide II MF lens, which I've heard a lot of good things about, as a replacement for my A28.

Pete

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