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My thoughts on a 'bargain' Pentax lens kit
#1
In case anyone is interested, I wrote an article for PentaxForums about building a lasting kit with reasonably-priced lenses.

 

Of course, since I rely on PZ for some of my impressions, I thought a few here might be interested.

 

(My prefered kit would be the prime one: DA 15mm f/4 Limited; DA 35/2.4; DA 50/1.8; and either the Sigma 70mm macro or Pentax DA 70/2.4 Limited. There are zoom recommendations in the article!)

 

http://www.pentaxforums.com/articles/gea...s-kit.html

 

--Sean

#2
 Hi,

     I did read your article and indeed the the two limiteds will no doubt last a lifetime and are good lenses,  I'm not so sure that the plastic fantastics complete with plastic bayonet will do the same, however they are inexpensive and are decently sharp.

#3
Your definition of bargain is different than mine.  

#4
Quote:Your definition of bargain is different than mine.  
 

Of course, if you buy used the prices are a fraction of what they're listed in the article.

 

I also had to limit the manual focus lenses because I wanted to recommend ones that were relatively easy to buy. Without going to auction sites, Pentax options can be somewhat limiting.

 

I have a kit of awesome old M42 lenses, but they're not for everyone.
#5
Well even excluding used or legacy lenses, the DA18-55 WR + DA50/1.8 will cover 90% of your proposal for 1/4 the price.

#6
Quote:Well even excluding used or legacy lenses, the DA18-55 WR + DA50/1.8 will cover 90% of your proposal for 1/4 the price.
 

It will cover a lot, that's for sure. I'm assuming that most of the target audience already owns the 18-55 or 18-135.

 

For me, 18mm isn't wide enough. For some, even my 15mm isn't wide enough. I'd also like something longer, where the Sigma 17-70 works fine, the 70mm macro offers something (1:1) that is important for those who need it.

 

What lenses are you using? I don't see the EXIF on your zenfolio site.
#7
I'm assuming that they are coming from the DAL18-55...

 

I'm biased to the wide angles myself and have both the DA15 Ltd and DA18-55II.  I prefer the angle of view, size and construction of the DA15 for sure, but the reality is the DA18-55's @ 18mm can do 90% of what the DA15 can.    24~25mm (135 equivalent) is my ideal focal length, but I can squeeze by with 28mm (equivalent) (I've thought about ditching everything for a Ricoh GR...).

 

The 18-55's are really good from 18-35mm (I show this here).  That eliminates the DA15 and DA35/2.4 for me.  (The DA18-55 is f/4.0 up to 32mm.  The extra 1.5 stops of the DA35/2.4 are arguable as an advantage, but for the price it can also be included in the bargain kit, sure.)

 

The 18-55's @55mm are weak wide-open at 'normal' distances...but they do 1:3 macro @55mm and are totally serviceable as a pseudo macro instead of the Sigma 70mm.   Since the 18-55 @55mm is pretty much useless at normal distances except for bright days, the DA50/1.8 totally complements the 18-55mm.

 

For me, the extra speed of the DA50/1.8 is a better value add than the extra reach of the DA70/2.4.  They are close enough in FL that a bit of cropping evens them out.

 

The DA18-55, either II or WR has a some big advantages over the cheaper DAL version: includes a very nice hood, quickshift manual focus and a metal mount.  The WR version adds the weather sealing of course.

 

So there you go:  DA18-55II, DA35/2.4, DA50/1.8.   I could certainly shoot most of what I shoot with that kit if I had to.  ~$500 USD and compared to $1300, leaves lots of options to add a specialty lens (super WA, macro, tele, etc).

 

The Zenfolio site shows the EXIF data in the tab on the right-side titled "Info" beside the "Thumbnails" tab.

 

This is the (Pentax mostly) gear that I've owned:

<p style="margin-left:40px;"> 


<div style="margin-left:40px;">....:: Current Gear ::...
Pentax: K-01, Super-Program, AF-360FGZ
Metz: Mecablitz 58 AF-1
 
Pentax: DA15/4 Ltd, A28/2.8, DFA50/2.8 Macro, DA18-55 AL II, DA 18-135WR
Voigtländer: 58/1.4 SLII
Zeiss: Distagon T* 25mm f/2.8 ZK 
 
Canon: Canonet GL-III QL
Sony: TX-5
 
...:: Past Gear ::...
Pentax: PZ-1p, K-m, K-x / Ricoh: GX08
Pentax: AF200T, AF280T / Panasonic: PE-20S
 
Pentax: DA14/2.8, M20/4, K24/2.8, DA35/2.8 Ltd, A50/1.4, FA50/1.4, DFA100/2.8, F*300/4.5, A1.4X-S, DA10-17FE, DAL18-55, A35-105/3.5
Sigma: 28/1.8 II Asph MF, 28/1.8 II Asph AF
Tokina: AT-X28-70/2.6-2.8, AT-X400/5.6
Tamron:  DiII 17-50/2.8, 103A 80-210/3.8-4
Voigtländer: 40/2 SLII, 90/3.5 SL
Zenitar 16/2.8 Fisheye
</div>
  


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