Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Gear diary

In: Pentax SMC D-FA 50/2.8 macro

I've been thinking of this lens for quite some time. Galia tends to like close up shooting while I am thinking that 50 mm could be a useful lens to shoot with for her learning process. Thus this lens was acquired few months ago. Our copy is a good one, no issues whatsoever - accurate focus, good sharpness across the frame. It is just that this lens has dual cam barrel made of plastic which does not inspire confidence. But then again it is light and Galia is making good pictures with it.

Out: Pentax SMC FA 24-90/3.5-4.5 IF AL

It is a good lens, but:
  • It has weak construction.
  • Sigma 24-60/2.8 EX DG is faster and sharper.
Out: Tamron SP 28-75/2.8 IF and more letters

It is also a very good lens, but:
  • Sigma 24-60/2.8 EX DG is wider and has an OOF rendering that is more pleasing to my eye.
  • As a result Tamron hasn't been seeing as much use to warrant a place on our photo gear shelf.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

When I used the Konica Minolta, I really, really wanted the Tamron 28-75mm - but I simply couldn't find it anywhere (for a reasonable price). It was all for the best though: instead of the 28-75mm, I ended up buying a used 17-35mm.

I prefer wider lenses, and that's why I bought a Tamron 17-50mm when I switched to Canon.

Boris Liberman said...

Yes, I think we even talked about that in person. It seems to me that Tamron 28-75/2.8 was marketed under a different logo (I'm not sure whether it was Minolta or Konika-Minolta or Sony) as a standard fast zoom of the system.

Presently I am cautiously considering Pentax 16-50/2.8 which has its basket of advantages and a share of problems, so to say.