50mm f/1.4 - should I?

[MouseFaninQueue]

I just bought a Pentax K200D and I have a 18-250mm lens. I've been reading and thinking about getting the lens mentioned in the title to use for dark rides and nightshots.

But I was wondering if it is really worth it right now? The pocketbook is a little lighter with the new purchase, but I have found a pretty good price for the lens ($189.99 CDN) and I have heard it is a rare lens, so I'm thinking I might just jump on this while I see it is available.

To justify it to my wife however, I need to know if it would be a worthwhile lens on our next trip to WDW/Cruise/DL in May.

Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[Master Mason]

I would say yes, as it will give you a fast lens which will let you take pictures on the dark rides, of spectro etc. I don't know what your current range on your 18-250, but I would be suprised if it is faster than f/3.5 at the wide end and will quickly get to f/5.6, which is not going to be fast enough for no flash low light shots.

 

[ukcatfan]

The Pentax 18-250mm is the Tamron lens re-badged with Pentax and SMC added to the front element. It would not be the lens to go for in low light.

I have the SMC-FA 50mm f/1.4 and can say that it is a great lens. Have you considered used? I bought a used MF SMC-A 50mm f/2 and lived with that for about a year before upgrading. It is just collecting dust now, but I feel like I got my $40 worth out of it. Pentax lens demand is a little higher now than when I got mine, but you might find a decent used one for ~$75. On a different note, you might want to snatch up the FA 50mm, because it will likely be discontinued fairly soon. The new DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM is coming out before too long and I doubt they will want their own lens competing against it. It is going to be somewhat more expensive though, so who knows.

Kevin

 

[MouseFaninQueue]

thnx for the info, it's been great at solidifiying what I think is my best bet.

I tried going used first, but my marketplace doesn't have much in the way of camera shops and when I went to Ebay I found one but it was going for $15. I figured at that price I might as well pay the extra $30+ and get a new one.

I've looked at the MF as well as they are quite a bit cheaper, but considering I'm still new to the dSLR field thought the AF might be a bit nicer - especially considering the scope of this trip.

 

[rtphokie]

Everybody should have a fast 50mm lens. They are very very useful. Dark rides and nighttime parades as someone mentioned but also you can take shots indoors without a flash often.

1.4 is great but is there a 1.8 or 2.X option at a better price? You may not need such a low f-stop and might be able to save a few bucks.

 

[velvetelvis]

like rtphokie said you can get 1.8 50mm lens for ALOT cheaper!! unless you are really looking for some serious professional quality photos i would go with the 1.8. i have the canon 50mm 1.8 and i love it! it cost me 70 bucks used and it takes amazing pics!! especially indoor photos with no flash on!

one thing to consider about a fixed lenght lens is that it is just that, fixed! you wont have the option to zoom in or out so if your distance isnt good for the composition of the photo at 50mm unless you can walk closer or further to the object you are stuck!


EDIT! i am a canon guy so im not sure if there are cheaper 50mm lenses that fit a pentax as i have no idea what mount it has. when it comes to canons the 50mm 1.8 brand new is around 90 bucks!

 

[Groucho]

There's no Pentax 50mm F1.8 lens. There are older manual-focus F1.7 lenses.

But the good news is that the Pentax F1.4 is about $200, vs $285, $310, and $325 for the Nikon, Canon, and Sony versions (and usually beats them in quality in comparisons.) But there's no under-$100 one.

ukcatfan, I'm sure the DA* 55mm F1.4 will be priced very differently... it's a "Star" lens so will likely be weathersealed as well as having SDM. Furthermore, I don't think it's intended to replace it. Pentax's process seems to be to phase out the full-frame film lenses with ones that have equivalent focal lengths... hence, they selling 16-50mm F2.8 and 50-135mm F2.8 lenses, which are the same as the old 28-70mm and 70-200mm lenses they had. Their new 35mm macro is basically a replacement for the 50mm macro.

What is probably the "true" replacement for the 50mm is the DA* 30mm that's on the roadmap, but there's no speed listed for it yet. But it would seem strange to keep production of a 50mm F1.4 and a 55mm F1.4, and I doubt they're going to be able to improve much on the quality of the current lens. And the DA* 30mm... what will that mean for the 31mm F1.8 limited or the 35mm F2.0?

I'm not complaining, though - when it comes to lenses; the more, the merrier!

 

[Pooh_Girl]

As most have said, you can't go wrong with a good 50mm lens. My DH purchased the 18-55mm kit lens with his K100D, and at the exact same time bought the 50mm 1.4/f prime lens at the same time. (Partly because of the rebate with buying the two, but also because it's a GREAT lens!) As far as uses, I think the 50mm has a LOT more uses than most, but that's depending on what you want to do with it. For example, DH uses his for indoor/no flash photography, dark rides at Disney, but another biggie is that the DOF that it creates gives you some INCREDIBLE artistic shots! Just our input, though!

 

[ukcatfan]

EDIT! i am a canon guy so im not sure if there are cheaper 50mm lenses that fit a pentax as i have no idea what mount it has. when it comes to canons the 50mm 1.8 brand new is around 90 bucks!

Pentax cameras have a... Pentax mount. Not that the Canon 50mm f/1.8 is a bad lens, but I was happy to pay ~$75-100 more to get a lens with better build quality and image quality. It was part of the reason I went with Pentax.

I keep that one on in my bag. Many of the quick grab shots are in the house, so having that wide aperture is convenient. I am not a big fan of flash shots. Maybe if I had an external flash that I could bounce, I would like that more.

Kevin

 

[MouseFaninQueue]

Great info everyone! I really appreciate the assistance. Not one single negative can be listed to purchasing this lens.

So based on these points you all have given me, I went ahead and bit the bullet and ordered it. Should be in my hot little hands on April 1.

Now to make sure I have enough practice with the camera so the results of the new lens can be justified to my wife!

 

[DVC Jen]

I guess i am going to go against the grain here (rebel that I am ).

I have the 50mm f/1.8 and rarely use it. I used it a few times at WDW - mostly for the dark rides and spectro - otherwise - it sits in my camera bag. I have several zoom lenses - but not one that is really fast yet - other than my sigma 28-70 f/2.8 - so a really fast good zoom is on my *i want* list.

Primes so far have frustrated me - left me wishing I could zoom in or out. BUT - that is just me and my personality. You could be totally happy with it. Just wanted to give you a different perspective.

 

[MouseFaninQueue]

I guess i am going to go against the grain here (rebel that I am ).

I have the 50mm f/1.8 and rarely use it. I used it a few times at WDW - mostly for the dark rides and spectro - otherwise - it sits in my camera bag. I have several zoom lenses - but not one that is really fast yet - other than my sigma 28-70 f/2.8 - so a really fast good zoom is on my *i want* list.

Primes so far have frustrated me - left me wishing I could zoom in or out. BUT - that is just me and my personality. You could be totally happy with it. Just wanted to give you a different perspective.

I think I would agree with you. I woudl love to have a really fast zoom lens too. But having JUST bought the camera, my budget won't allow me to spend that kind of money on a lens. So I figure the $200 for the fast prime is the compromise. Particularly for this trip. If I were not going on this trip so soon (May) I probably would save up for a fast zoom instead. At the very least, I'll get some shots that I can crop out the extras to get a "zoom" feel.

 

[ukcatfan]

A f/2.8 zoom is not fast enough on the dark rides at WDW. Even at f/1.4 and ISO 1600, you can be pushing it on rides like HM, POTC, and SE.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

Here is a map of my focal length usage on my last WDW trip, where I took ~2,500 photos. (And I was sick the first 3-4 days!)

This was not long after I'd gotten the 50mm F1.4, in fact it was almost a last-minute thing. Obviously I was able to find it pretty useful.

I should map out my Disneyland trip usage, where I had more lenses with me, including the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8, and see how the usage was there.

 

[DVC Jen]

A f/2.8 zoom is not fast enough on the dark rides at WDW. Even at f/1.4 and ISO 1600, you can be pushing it on rides like HM, POTC, and SE.

Kevin

I agree Kevin - that is why I used my 50mm f/1.8 - but that is really the ONLY time I ever use it. I am glad I have it - but I personally wouldn't spend more $ on a prime lens than I did on that one. I have no doubts there are many many people who love their primes - and that is perfectly fine. I am just not one of them.

Having a super fast lens that I would only use a rare few times a year is not worth spending more than that 75.00 I did.

For the price it is a great lens - no doubts - I just rarely use it.

 

[ukcatfan]

While it does have its limitations, I rely on my foot zoom a lot

Kevin

 

[Zoesmama03]

YES!!! I just bought a Nikon D80 with the 50mm f/1.8 and I absolutely LOVE this lens. I kinda want the f/1.4 now. HEHE And of course a telephoto lens. I ended up getting the kit probably let the guy talk me into it though I really wish now I would have added in the $200 for it and not got the kit.

 

[DVC Jen]

While it does have its limitations, I rely on my foot zoom a lot

Kevin

THAT'S my problem! I am not using my foot zoom.

 

[ukcatfan]

THAT'S my problem! I am not using my foot zoom.

The way I see it, you are already walking some 15,000 miles on each vacation to WDW , so what are a few more steps to get the shot you want.

Kevin

 

[Zoesmama03]

Yeah foot zoom works in a lot of situations. But I was struggling with that at the zoo last weekend. I had to pull out the kit lens to get some better shots of animals.