[Avishekm1983]

Hello all members. I have a Pentax K30 and the following lens:

1) SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
2) DA L 50-200mm f/4.0-5.6 ED
3) DA 50mm f1.8
4) Sears 135mm 1:2.8

I am now looking for a lens that can be used in portrait and marriage photography - Typically a 70-200 F/2.8.

Anybody have any suggestion? I could not find 70-200 lens from Pentax website. Is there any TP lens for this?

[xabolcs]

Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD Macro Lens Reviews - Tamron Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

[VisualDarkness]

Pentax Da 50-135 or any 70-200 from Sigma or Tamron, Pentax or Sigma if you want silent focusing.

[Docrwm]

I own the Tamron and its a great lens. Its best sale price new is $769 - which is $300 off list. There are also several Sigma 70-200 lenses but none are currently in production.
Fast Sports Zooms: A Comparison - Previews and Reviews | PentaxForums.com
There are rumors of a new Pentax zoom in the 70-200 range from the roadmap.
"Tamron's older 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD Macro is now the only 70-200mm F2.8 K-mount lens currently in production. Interestingly, though, a similar zoom lens appread on the genuine Pentax lens roadmap in February. Could Pentax be collaborating with Tamron to release the newer stabilized version of their 70-200mm in the K-mount?"

[Billk]

Sigma 85mm F1.4 gets close to the Pentax 77mm F1,8 for image quality but has faster and quieter focus.

Either of these lenses would be the bomb for outdoor wedding photos and all round portrait photography.

[DSims]

The DA*50-135 is the lens to have for portraits.

Of course the FA77 and FA*85 are great lenses, but the DA*50-135 is pretty hard to beat for your stated purpose. Considering the rest of your lens lineup, I'd get it first. Tamron 70-200 is pretty good, but the 50-135 has better IQ, and you don't need the extra reach for typical portrait use. If I need longer, I go to my *300 (and skip 200 altogether).

You can usually save a substantial amount by buying it used. I did.

[climit]

the 50 doesn't do the job? I would go even wider at 35mm.

[bladerunner6]

Hello all members. I have a Pentax K30 and the following lens:

1) SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
2) DA L 50-200mm f/4.0-5.6 ED
3) DA 50mm f1.8
4) Sears 135mm 1:2.8

I am now looking for a lens that can be used in portrait and marriage photography - Typically a 70-200 F/2.8.

Anybody have any suggestion? I could not find 70-200 lens from Pentax website. Is there any TP lens for this?

Do you have a particular budget?

Thanks.

[NeilGratton]

If you're looking at (professional) wedding photography, you need equipment redundancy, and would want a second camera body in case one fails - and, ideally, a body with twin card slots (only the K-3 in Pentax DSLR) in case of memory card failure.

Your 18-55 may not be sharp enough to keep detail in all the faces in group shots - particular with larger groups, so in your shoes I'd be looking for an alternative - Pentax's 16-50mm, or Tamron or Sigma's 17-50mm would do the job; the Sigma or Pentax 17-70mm should suffice too. I own the Sigma 17-70mm and also appreciate its close-focusing ability; for weddings this is great for getting detail shots of the rings, decorations etc.

For portraits (including in a wedding) and wedding ceremony shots, the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 or Pentax 50-135mm are both great options. The Tamron is on the heavy side though; a factor to consider if you're holding it all day. However, the sample shots I've seen from it sell it very well.

The most standard wedding toolkit would be an f/2.8 wide/standard zoom, an f/2.8 medium telephoto zoom, and a fast prime (for when the light gets low - such as in a dark church or evening venue). The most common fourth and fifth lenses would be a macro (for capturing detail shots) and an ultrawide (some people prefer a fisheye) for seeing the whole interior of a venue etc. However, photographers vary a lot in style; there are still those who would shoot most of a wedding on a single 50mm lens (on full frame), and do a great job of it.

For non-wedding portraits, you could probably put the 50-135mm on your camera and only change it when you had to shoot group portraits. Your 50mm and 135mm are also strong lenses that are already adequate for this. Equipment redundancy is not so important as for weddings, as you'll likely have more time to correct any equipment issues or in the worst case reschedule the shoot.

Also, do you have any off-camera flash potential yet?

It's worth bearing in mind that, for intermittent use, remember you can hire equipment rather than buy. If it's anything quite different to what you're used to, make sure you allow time to familiarise yourself with it before doing an important shoot. And, of course, hiring gives you the chance to try gear properly before you buy it too.

[cbope]

I'll second the DA* 50-135. It doesn't have the fastest AF in the world, but for portraits and weddings that should not be an issue. It has a rendering I really like and it's sharp, even wide open.

Don't forget, if you are thinking 70-200 on a film or FF body, that is exactly what the 50-135 is on any Pentax APS-C body (more precisely, it's equivalent in magnification to 75-200 on FF).

[Avishekm1983]

Do you have a particular budget?

Thanks.

I am looking for a lens within $1000

[Avishekm1983]

Thanks a lot to everyone for your response.

Here are some facts:
1. I am not a professional photographer and its a hobby for me
2. For our wedding (Hindu wedding), most of the ceremony will be in front of fire, and from my previous experience I need to manage my WB.
3. My budget right now is upto USD 1000

Depending on suggestions I see that Tamaron 70-200 or Pentax 50-135 would be the one that I need. I found a lot of negative review (lens not auto focusing etc) in Amazon for the Tamaron one. Based on that may be I will zero down to Pentax 50-135.

I do not have the budget or plan right now to buy another body. May be after a couple of years I would go for K3 and sell my K30.

Once more, thanks for the reply and your expert opinion.

[whk1992]

Thanks a lot to everyone for your response.

Here are some facts:
1. I am not a professional photographer and its a hobby for me
2. For our wedding (Hindu wedding), most of the ceremony will be in front of fire, and from my previous experience I need to manage my WB.
3. My budget right now is upto USD 1000

Depending on suggestions I see that Tamaron 70-200 or Pentax 50-135 would be the one that I need. I found a lot of negative review (lens not auto focusing etc) in Amazon for the Tamaron one. Based on that may be I will zero down to Pentax 50-135.

I do not have the budget or plan right now to buy another body. May be after a couple of years I would go for K3 and sell my K30.

Once more, thanks for the reply and your expert opinion.

White Balance is probably your lesat concern. Take photos in RAW format and you're good to go.

[DSims]

I do not have the budget or plan right now to buy another body. May be after a couple of years I would go for K3 and sell my K30.

The K-30 is an excellent camera, worthy of any of the best Pentax lenses. The DA*50-135 is going to give you better IQ for your money than any other lens I can think of. Even if you could afford many lenses, you should still get one. Buy it, and get a used DA*16-50 (or Tamron 17-50/2.8) if you can manage to later. And if you need a second body, just get another K-30 or K-50. Don't waste your money on a more expensive body which will barely make any difference in the quality of your photos.