Pentax IstD Users, Name Your Lens

leon · #1 21-05-2006, 11:05 AM

Hi all,

For ages i have been hunting for the right lens for my Pentax IstD, which i use for wide field images.
To be honest i'm very tempted to go back to film.
Anyway i have had the oppertunity to try and buy many Lenses from my mate at the Camera House, which luckiely i dont have to pay for if i don't like it. so that's a good thing.
Thr bad thing is, that i have not yet found anything that really works that well.
To make a long story short, i just tested the brand new 40mm F 2.8 limited from Pentax direct, and after setting all the correct functions, and shooting all night, i find that it was actually shooting at F8.0, and of coarse i found this out when i had finished and loaded them to the computer.
So another night goes begging, and we don't get many good ones at that.

Could other user of the Pentax IstD please let me know what they use for wide field, it would be much appreaciated.
Or do i turff out the Pentax and get something else.

Thanks Leon

P.S. I have no trouble with film, but it's more time consuming.

Jonathan · #2 28-05-2006, 04:13 PM

I haven't used Pentax gear for quite a while, but I understand any of the 35mm film camera lenses made recently (last 15 years??) will fit your camera. My brother uses a 50mm F/1.4 for normal photography and he says it's very sharp, so it might be worth trying one of them. They are also pretty cheap at around US$220 + postage. There's also a Pentax 35mm F/2.0 lens for US$300 that would be worth looking at.
Did you try setting the 40mm at F/2.8 and having another go? It may be OK, but at F/2.8 it's not a particuarly fast lens for it's focal length and you may be better off with a 35mm F/2 or 50mm F/1.4 lens.

leon · #3 28-05-2006, 04:26 PM

Thanks Johnathan.

After i posted that thread i realised i had made the mistake myself, and had not set the camera at F2.8. Since then it has worked a treat..

I have some faster Pentax Lenses, which work ok, but with the sensor issues they produce a fair bit of Aberration and Flare.

Thanks for your comments...Leon

Jonathan · #4 28-05-2006, 04:38 PM

Good to hear you've got it sorted out now!