17 April 2010

A Few From The Botanic Gardens

Took timeout to do a mini outing and shoot some plant macro at the Botanic Gardens.
These were shot using a FA 135mm lens with a Kenko auto extension tube on the K-7.



12 April 2010

A Rare Gem: A 35mm f/2

Recently I managed to acquire the hard to find Pentax A 35mm f/2 from my friend Fengwei. I have to say it isn't the prettiest of lenses looking from the front with the prominent front element, but you quickly forget about it when you turn the well damped focusing ring and everything snaps into sharp focus. The 35mm focal length is perfect for those looking for a prime lens with an all in one versatility. The wider angle of view compared to the 50mm and the closer minimum focusing distance of 0.3 meters makes shooting a lot of subjects a snap. The fast lens speed of f/2 makes ideal for available light shooting.


By way of comparison, this lens has a different lens construction compared to the more modern and well regarded FA 35mm f/2. The A version has 7 elements in 7 groups while the FA version has 6 elements in 5 groups. Both lenses are almost identical in size and weight and both have 6 aperture blades. Took this shot of a small stream during one of my trips to the Botanic Gardens with the K-7 on a tripod. Shot converted to B&W in Photoshop CS4.