what is your best budget autofocus 50mm lens for pentax

[pewpewpew]

M50 f1.7 for <100???

where u get it from? i bot mine for $150 here

after 7 month, after my first pentax question on the forum, I found I like more on the cheap manual lens,
and I didnt get a FA 50 f1.4,

I got a cheap M50 f1.7 under 100 SGD, later sold and got a M50mm f1.4 under my 150 SGD budget,

and then

imagine, how much canonikon pay for the 50mm f1.4, and my choice on pentax become a smart choice, with built-in support for good cheap manual lens.

 

[creampuff]

...
imagine, how much canonikon pay for the 50mm f1.4, and my choice on pentax become a smart choice, with built-in support for good cheap manual lens.

Wah, like that I must be crazy to go to other extreme to get my DA*55mm f/1.4... :what:
Anyway I used to own three FA 50mm f/1.4 and had a love/hate relationship with them in the past, also had the Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4, a great lens but I needed AF...
With the DA*55, got to say I'm really impressed with it because I can "see" the angle of view of the lens even before I put my eye to the viewfinder plus the image quality, contrast and color rendition is really amazing. :thumbsup:

A quick black and white test shot of my black and white dog at night (K-5, 1/50 sec, f/2 at ISO3200). The silent SDM motor certainly didn't catch much attention from his big ears.

 

[detritus]

Wah, like that I must be crazy to go to other extreme to get my DA*55mm f/1.4... :what:
Anyway I used to own three FA 50mm f/1.4 and had a love/hate relationship with them in the past, also had the Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4, a great lens but I needed AF...
With the DA*55, got to say I'm really impressed with it because I can "see" the angle of view of the lens even before I put my eye to the viewfinder plus the image quality, contrast and color rendition is really amazing. :thumbsup:

A quick black and white test shot of my black and white dog at night (K-5, 1/50 sec, f/2 at ISO3200). The silent SDM motor certainly didn't catch much attention from his big ears.

nice dog

i think its fair to say that not all 50mm are created equal... ultimately, we get what we pay for.

 

[sunnycamera]

M50 f1.7 for <100???

where u get it from? i bot mine for $150 here

I sold my M50 f1.7 at 95 SGD on the forum, I think you missed it. if you want a 28mm f2.8, I have one to let go as well cheaply as well, in Pentax BnS. check now before u miss it again.

nice dog

i think its fair to say that not all 50mm are created equal... ultimately, we get what we pay for.

I also got a happy cat from my sub-100 dollar before it sold.

M50 f1.7, already a line thin of depth of field. (will auto focus lens hunting in the dark night??)

 

[kneonx]

Using AF lens for manual work is such a pain in the arse One thing dedicated manual lenses have that AF lenses rarely have is a precise and smooth focus throw that makes you wet just by focusing (or at least the good copies are, dont buy some dodgy industar and expect it to be smooth like baby butt). As mentioned CIF compliments this smooth focus throw and usually gets you results your AF might take some time and actuations to achieve.

Anyway Evilbay has many hidden gems that are priced nicely, my 50 super taks are below $150 sgd, easily on par if not better than the M/K 50 1.7's imo. Just dont get conned by dishonest sellers who sell you flawed pieces (rear mount already hit a sensor and got scratched)

 

[detritus]

I also got a happy cat from my sub-100 dollar before it so

M50 f1.7, already a line thin of depth of field. (will auto focus lens hunting in the dark night??)

Let me clarify what i mean when i say "you get what you pay for".

for M lenses, no A setting. which means no pttl, no multi segmented metering, cannot control aperture on body, and you need to use green button to meter and its not always accurate.

In terms of functionality, A lenses are more flexible.

MF lenses have their uses. i only use mf for my macro work. Its simply faster at thin dof, high magnification.

but there are times when i happily pay for AF. Portraits, animals, sports, events, all benefit from having AF.

and i would get the DA*55 if i had the budget right now and sell my FA50. its a very good lens, its wr and it has a generous focusing ring, if you need it.

 

[creampuff]

Using AF lens for manual work is such a pain in the arse One thing dedicated manual lenses have that AF lenses rarely have is a precise and smooth focus throw that makes you wet just by focusing (or at least the good copies are, dont buy some dodgy industar and expect it to be smooth like baby butt). As mentioned CIF compliments this smooth focus throw and usually gets you results your AF might take some time and actuations to achieve...

Too sweeping a statement, there are quite a number of AF lenses that focus very nicely manually... FA Limiteds, DFA 100mm Macro WR just to name a few.

 

[neon2]

Once I got split focusing screen, I never touch catch-in-focus anymore :bsmilie:

Me too! Split focusing screen beats catch-in focus hands down and saves you many shutter counts.

 

[Rinaldo Akbar]

M50 f1.7 for <100???

where u get it from? i bot mine for $150 here

I got my Pentax-M f.17 for about 50 sgd (equivalent) just last month, in Jakarta. It's in perfect condition, and I took nice pictures with it. I guess the seller is just blur blur abt Pentax, and maybe not many ppl looking for pentax also. What a steal for me

 

[timo]

i've never been a big fan of catch-in-focus bec cos i find it hard to hold the camera steady whilst turning the MF ring and holding the shutter button/gripping camera at same time. maybe my hands are too small/weak.

do you guys have a way to make sure you hold it steady?

I use it a lot, but I find a bigger frustration is the fact that with it only works with the centre focusing point. This is really limiting composition-wise.

You have to concentrate on holding the camera steady and turning the focusing ring slowly and steadily rather than snatching at it. Also get it nearly nearly focused before pressing the shutter. To begin with I was turning the focusing ring through a much bigger range of movement than is necessary, which makes it difficult to keep the camera stable.