Digital interchangeable lens choices are not limited to the almighty and easy-to-use standard kit lens. There are many other distinctive lenses that can expand your enjoyment of photography! Among those lenses, we would especially like to recommend the following four PENTAX interchangeable lenses. We hope you will put their capabilities to good use in a diverse range of situations. (Standard kit lens = The lens which can be purchased as a set with the camera body)
Situation 01
If you want to shoot landscapes from a somewhat offbeat perspective, we recommend the DA 35mm F2.4AL.
Changing your perspective on a familiar landscape will radically change the resulting impression.
Shooting with a kit standard zoom lens from a standing perspective results in a routine angle with easy-to-perceive shadows from the sunlight filtering through the trees. However, a different kind of landscape presents itself if you shoot from a low angle just off the ground. The slight blurring of the foreground surface gives a strong feeling of depth to this image.
Shooting at an angle with the same feel as a naked-eye view produces a familiar kind of landscape. When a photographer wants to change the perspective while shooting with a zoom lens, there is a tendency to shoot from the same position while just zooming in and out. When you carry a fixed-focal-length lens, work on developing your awareness of how you can change the angle by moving your body.
Situation 02
The DA 35mm F2.4AL is a good lens for photographing the natural expressions of people.
Shooting at a “conversation distance Efacilitates the capturing of those natural expressions.
Target natural expressions while engaging in a bit of conversation. The important thing is that the two of you are relaxed with each other. This photograph was taken while peacefully sitting in the shade on a bench. The maximum aperture is bright so the person appears to stand out from the background more than would be the case with a kit standard zoom lens.
The maximum-aperture difference between this lens and the fixed-focal-length lens means that the range in focus is somewhat wider for this lens. Under these conditions, the model seems to recede into the background. In order to create an atmosphere similar to that of the fixed-focal-length lens, it is necessary to choose a position where the background is farther away.
Situation 03
For shooting flowers more vividly, we recommend the DA 35mm F2.4AL.
You can discover new angles by moving around.
The photographer was looking to capture the flower bed while also including the impression made by the background building. Shooting from eyelevel with the kit standard zoom lens made for a confused mix of subject and background. By just shooting at an upward angle after getting closer to the flowers and squatting down a bit, the photographer gave some order to the background composition while also bringing in the sky.
By lowering the shooting angle, it would be possible to shoot a photograph like the one taken with the fixed-focal-length lens. When making changes, the important thing is to be aware of the possibilities created by moving and changing angles, rather than relying excessively on zooming. Since it cannot zoom, a fixed-focal-length lens will, in use, help you naturally develop a sense of movement.
Situation 04
Try the DA 35mm F2.4AL for photographing animals at bold angles.
Matching the animal’s eyelevel with your own will enable you to capture a richer range of expression.
The cute kitten is interested in many things. By guiding the kitten’s gaze using things that draw its attention, the photographer can easily spur different expressions. When shooting indoors, conditions may be darker than expected, but you can suppress subject blurring by opening up the aperture so that a faster shutter speed is used.
When using the kit standard zoom lens, there is an unconscious tendency to shoot with a harmonious composition. Once you have developed a sense of movement by using a fixed-focal-length lens, you should have the presence of mind to creatively change angles even when using this zoom lens.
With this lens you get an angle of view close to what we see with our eyes. In contrast to a zoom lens, with a fixed-focal-length lens, it is difficult to change the image without actually moving your body. Because of its nearly human angle of view, with the standard lens there is a particularly strong tendency to end up with tame and boring compositions so you should move yourself around to change the angle. This search for the best angle should enable you to take new and different pictures.
