Pentax 67 - 105mm f 2.4 or 90mm f 2.8?

[marcmarc]

Hi everyone,
I just sold my spare RZ67 body and I'm looking at picking up a Pentax 67. Which would make a better choice for a standard lens? The 105mm is cheaper (at KEH) and half a stop faster but the 90mm has leaf shutters which although I don't use flash, might make camera vibration less of a issue. From what I've read, both lenses seem to get high marks for sharpness and resolution.
Thanks for replies,
Marc

 

[marcmarc]

By the way I read that Pentax no longer services the leaf shutters on the 90mm. I'm guessing with this lens it can still be used with the focal plane shutter in the body right? Thanks again.

 

[Joachim_I]

There is also a 90mm f2.8 without leaf shutter. I chose this lens over the 105mm lens because it has a better close-focus distance.

 

[Smudger]

It really amounts to a choice between "slightly wider than normal" and "about normal". My experience is with the 105 , which is excellent. But,I have not heard of any Dogs in the whole lineup.

 

[BobD]

As Joachim_I said, there are two 90mm lenses. The non-leaf shutter 90mm is the smallest and lightest lens in the P67 lineup. So, if small size/weight is import to you, that is the lens to go with.

 

[JohnMeadows]

I just got a 6x7 last week with the 105 and am very happy with it; I got the 105 lens and love it!

 

[toro_mike]

Hi everyone,
I just sold my spare RZ67 body and I'm looking at picking up a Pentax 67. Which would make a better choice for a standard lens? The 105mm is cheaper (at KEH) and half a stop faster but the 90mm has leaf shutters which although I don't use flash, might make camera vibration less of a issue. From what I've read, both lenses seem to get high marks for sharpness and resolution.
Thanks for replies,
Marc

I have the 90mm LS and it's a great lens. I have never used the leaf shutter on the lens though, despite thinking the same thing you are (about reducing vibration). Vibration is not an issue as long as MLU is used along with a sturdy tripod and cable release for slow shutter speeds! The vibration issue is a way overstated issue... However, if you want to do double-exposures, then the LS is THE way to go!

 

[JohnMeadows]

I agree (based on my limited experience so far) that the vibration issue is over stated, at least at higher speeds; I was shooting handheld at 1/250th this past weekend and getting very sharp images.

 

[marcmarc]

Thanks for the replies. It's nice to see so many people debunk the whole vibration issue that has plagued this cameras. I shoot hand held almost all of the time, but living in LA with all the sun we get, I usually shoot Pan F+ rated 25 and still can get my shutter speed up to 1/125 and higher.

 

[bblhed]

I have a 6X7 with a 105, 135, and 200 I used to use the 105 all the time and the 200 once in a great while, now the 135 is almost all I ever use. The 135 can get you in a lot closer and allow you to fill the frame with your subject.

As for the mirror shake that you hear about, here is MHO on it, I am a lousy photographer, I take crappy crooked images and I have taken hundreds of photos with my 6x7 in both color and B&W. I have never had my 6x7 on a tripod for anything but a long exposure night shot, and I think I have done 20 of those ever. In the literary hundreds of handheld shots I have made with this camera I have had one blurred image and that was because I was shooting in low light and failed to note the shutter speed.

You might want the leaf shutter 90, but you don't really need it. As for the flash sync speed thing, I don't find it to be that huge of a problem, at least it hasn't been for me.

 

[JohnMeadows]

I wonder if someone at Pentax (or a camera dealer) started hyping the issue when the 6x7 MLU body became available, just to push sales of the new body? Nah, would ever happen