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07-04-2015, 09:43 PM   #1
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Undecided Nikon User

Good evening,

As stated on the title I have been a Nikon user for many years and I currently own a Nikon D90 and a D3100, as well as a few lenses and Flash units; but since the beginning of the year I have been toying with the idea of updating my D90 to the D7100 or even the D7000.

Everything was going fine until I started to read the great reviews on the K-3 and how good the images where, all the features this camera has (very impressive indeed), the quality and ruggedness of the body, etc. So I started to investigate more and more which brings me to this point in time.

From all the investigating and reading that I have done on the D7100, I came to the conclusion that the once famous Nikon quality is not what it used to be since a lot of the new Nikon cameras have had some problem (D7000, D71000 and D600) thus my trust in Nikon has diminished somewhat and that is when I decided to evaluate another alternative to Nikon.

Currently the Pentax k-3 seems to be the best alternative to the D7100 for the type of photography that I like to do (mostly landscapes, sunsets and sunrise, city at night and of course.. having photography as a hobby, I got promoted to the official family photographer thus I cover all family events both indoors and outdoors).

So as you can see my needs are somewhat simple, I would trade a blazing fast auto-focus for a more precise auto-focus, I don't have a need for a complex flash system since bounce flash is the most complex thing that I do, but good high ISO performance is important to me since I take a lot of low light shots. Also, because of my bad eye-sight, it is important to have a clear and good view finder.

Now jumping ship is not easy specially after you have made an investment in a brand, so please don't judge me to harsh if I may appear somewhat undecided and unsure but deep down I would like to go with the K-3.

My biggest problem is my budget, the wife, being the kind generous and lovely person that she is, has allowed me to upgrade (don't laugh) my camera but since I was only planning to buy a Nikon body she set a budget of US$ 896.00 (the price of a new Nikon D7100 in Amazon).

So with a budget of $ 896.00 I figured I could get the K-3 which is currently at US$ 696.00 and either the Pentax 21987 DA 35mm f/2.4 at US$ 122.00 or the Pentax DA 50mm f1.8 lens that is currently at US$ 106.00. I do prefer the 35mm since I believe that it can be more versatile as an everyday lens than the 50mm.

I know these lenses are not up to par with the K-3 but at least they will allow me to start using the camera and learn to use all the features it has until I can start to buy a more suited lens arsenal.

I'm also planning on keeping my Nikon platform for all the photography needs that can't be covered with he K-3 setup that I will have, at least for the time being-.

Any advise you guys can give me in regards to my decision would be greatly appreciated.

JJ

07-04-2015, 10:07 PM   #2
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Your plan sounds pretty well thought out! I use a DA 50mm 1.8 and for $106 it is an absolute bargain of a lens! The DA 35mm 2.4 is rated just as well, but I never bought it because it's maximum aperture is a whole stop slower, which was a deal breaker for me. I also have an eye on the K3 but I have not been able to convince myself to upgrade since my K30 can still do everything I need it to. What Nikon lenses do you have?
07-04-2015, 11:04 PM   #3
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Good Evening and Welcome to the Forum!!!

Your initial post outlined an excellent plan, and you will have a lot of responses. There are quite a few folks here that have come to Pentax from Nikon, as well as many who have gone the other way (and stayed on the forum) and transitioned to Nikon - primarily for the full frame bodies, D8x0, D750 and D6x0. There are also some who have made the round trip. You will get a lot of honest comments, in terms of what you will find, along with items that may frustrate you to a degree. You will find this forum like no other - folks are actually civil here and help each other out.

The K3 is an excellent choice, with a fantastic price - currently. Folks have found that with the additional resolution, it does put some additional pressure on the lens quality. That said, the two lenses you have identified should provide excellent results. For their price, they offer probably the greatest bang for the money. Plus, they offer a glimpse into Pentax's strong suit - their primes.

Late last year, I decided to upgrade - however, I went with the K5IIs, primarily because of landscapes/cityscapes in ambient low light. It has the wonderful ISO 80, just a tad less noise at ISO 3200 (for astro) than the K3, and at that time a drop dead low price. In the back of my mind has always been the question - did I make the right selection. I still don't know - but it really does not matter. The die has been cast and I am very happy. The K3, right now is in the best price position and its images are every bit as good, plus you get a number of capability upgrades to boot. You mentioned the AF (which is improved). You also get focus peaking (in live view) that will really help when up on a tripod. Pentax also offers focus notification with manual focus lenses, and catch in focus (which will fire when it detects something in focus). So, there are some additional features that you might come to depend on.

Lenses are going to be a bit different than with Nikon. You will not find a rich and broad selection like Nikon offers. With Pentax you get in body stabilization - which cuts the need for the number of lenses in half with Nikon lenses (who has both stabilized and non-stabilized). Probably, the largest area of difference is going to be the fast apertures. Nikon has a lot, Pentax has a few. Sigma and Tamron help out in this area, but it is what it is. Wide angle becomes a mixture of both Pentax and Sigma. The other area will be specialty lenses - tilt/shift, macro, teleconverters - and very long telephoto. Sigma helps out here a lot, but again - it is what it is. Pentax does not have a duplicate/competitor for the Nikon high quality 14-28 wide angle. I do think that they are capable, but its not there yet - but a new wide angle is on the road map.

Others with much more experience with Nikon, I suspect will be along shortly. You will get a wide range of heartfelt comments.


Last edited by interested_observer; 07-04-2015 at 11:11 PM.
07-04-2015, 11:05 PM   #4
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I believe you would be very happy with the K3 and 35mm combo. K3 is cheaper everyday.. 639.99! Get the 50mm and the 35mm!
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/94-pentax-price-watch/298935-pentax-k-3-b...-639-99-a.html

07-04-2015, 11:28 PM   #5
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And if you beat the budget with K-3 plus DA35, take the extra cash to goodwill/thrift shops, where $50 could bring another half dozen excellent primes
07-05-2015, 12:47 AM   #6
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The DA 35mm and DA 50mm lenses are excellent! They are sharp, focus well, and render images spectacularly. Don't let the low price trick you. The designs are actually based on older film era lenses that work well on digital sensors so there is little R&D to do to make them fully digital. I believe the DA 35mm is an updated FA 35mm f/2.0 and the DA 50mm is an updated FA 50mm f/1.7. Online image samples showing tack sharp rendering of fine details are plentiful. However, these lenses may feel a little limiting to you. 35mm is usually considered to be a normal lenses and the 50mm is considered to be a mild telephoto - all due to the 1.5x crop factor. Would you be able to get the K-3 body with the DA 18-135mm zoom? You may be able to swing it if you purchase them separately. There are many DA 18-135mm lenses on eBay and Amazon especially if you allow yourself to purchase used gear. After that you can think about picking up some Plastic Fantastic lenses.
07-05-2015, 12:48 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by stillshot2 Quote
Your plan sounds pretty well thought out! I use a DA 50mm 1.8 and for $106 it is an absolute bargain of a lens! The DA 35mm 2.4 is rated just as well, but I never bought it because it's maximum aperture is a whole stop slower, which was a deal breaker for me. I also have an eye on the K3 but I have not been able to convince myself to upgrade since my K30 can still do everything I need it to. What Nikon lenses do you have?
Thank you for taking the time to reply Stillshot, I actually thought about the aperture being in favor of the 50, but in this case and being that I will only have one lens I think 35mm is a better focal length for this role.

You and I think a like, never wanted to upgrade my D90 since it did everything I wanted it to and I was always satisfied with the results, that is why I waited 3 generations before I decided to upgrade.

I currently own 6 Nikon lenses :

1- Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX (Love it, this and my Nikon 16-85 are the lenses that I use 99 % of the time)
2-Nikon 16-85 (love it, have it on my D90 most of the time)-Hope I can find something similar in Pentax since the focal length is very practical and useful as a walk-around.
3-Nikon 18-70 (Not as sharp as the 16-85 but it does ok, I use it on my D3100)
4-Nikon 55-300vr (It is a good budget lens, but then again I don't use this focal length very often so spending almost double on the Nikon 70-300 Vr, which has faster focus and some say it is sharper, was not worth the investment.)
5-Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S (Inexpensive prime but sharp very sharp)
6-Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW (excellent lens, but 2 plus x more expensive than the 35mm 1.8G)

This is the same setup that I would like to have with Pentax, since with these lenses I have everything covered.

Again, thank you for your input my friend.

JJL



3- Nikon

07-05-2015, 01:55 AM   #8
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QuoteQuote:
Good Evening and Welcome to the Forum!!!

Your initial post outlined an excellent plan, and you will have a lot of responses. There are quite a few folks here that have come to Pentax from Nikon, as well as many who have gone the other way (and stayed on the forum) and transitioned to Nikon - primarily for the full frame bodies, D8x0, D750 and D6x0. There are also some who have made the round trip. You will get a lot of honest comments, in terms of what you will find, along with items that may frustrate you to a degree. You will find this forum like no other - folks are actually civil here and help each other out.
Thank you for your welcome interested_observer, much appreciated. hummmmmm I actually might be one of those doing a round trip..lol, I used to have a Pentax k1000 back in the old film camera days when it used to be Asahi Pentax. Loved that camera, it was fully manual and was built like a tank.

During my investigation I visited various forums and websites gathering all the information so I could make an informed decision and you are correct when you say that this forum is like no other, people here are actually nice and don't get inflamed when you say something negative about the brand instead they give you a respectful reply based on fact instead of emotions;plus add to that the most of the members seem to really care about helping others. So I really must congratulate the forum and its members , simply awesome.

QuoteQuote:
The K3 is an excellent choice, with a fantastic price - currently. Folks have found that with the additional resolution, it does put some additional pressure on the lens quality. That said, the two lenses you have identified should provide excellent results. For their price, they offer probably the greatest bang for the money. Plus, they offer a glimpse into Pentax's strong suit - their primes.
I totally agree with you, in order to get the most of these high resolution sensors you need to get really good glass since the increase in resolution really stresses out the less ...as well as your budget..lol. In my case I would be just fine with the 16 MP camera thus that is why I was also looking at the D7000 and at one point I was also looking into the K-5II and IIs but the price of the K-3 has gone down so much that the difference in price between those 2 Pentax cameras in less than US$ 75.00.

The two Pentax primes that I chose reminds me of the Nikon 35mm 1.8G, it is a very inexpensive lens (less than US$ 200) but the results are impressive. Sometimes when I'm comparing pictures taken with my more expensive Nikon 50mm prime lens it is hard to tell what pic was taken with what lens.

QuoteQuote:
Late last year, I decided to upgrade - however, I went with the K5IIs, primarily because of landscapes/cityscapes in ambient low light. It has the wonderful ISO 80, just a tad less noise at ISO 3200 (for astro) than the K3, and at that time a drop dead low price. In the back of my mind has always been the question - did I make the right selection. I still don't know - but it really does not matter. The die has been cast and I am very happy. The K3, right now is in the best price position and its images are every bit as good, plus you get a number of capability upgrades to boot. You mentioned the AF (which is improved). You also get focus peaking (in live view) that will really help when up on a tripod. Pentax also offers focus notification with manual focus lenses, and catch in focus (which will fire when it detects something in focus). So, there are some additional features that you might come to depend on.
Actually as long as you are happy with the results that you are getting with the K5IIs that is all that really matters, in my case I would have been just fine with the K-5II or IIs because as you mentioned, the higher resolution puts a lot of strain on the glass thus forcing you to use higher end lenses in order to get the best resolution out of the sensor plus the higher MP sensors not only puts more strain on the lens but also on the shooter since you need to have a good technique in order to get good pictures with a 24 MP camera.

Catch focus ? I have a feeling I'm going to need a good book in order to learn and completely understand all the features of the K-3, do you know if there are any for the K-3?

QuoteQuote:
Lenses are going to be a bit different than with Nikon. You will not find a rich and broad selection like Nikon offers. With Pentax you get in body stabilization - which cuts the need for the number of lenses in half with Nikon lenses (who has both stabilized and non-stabilized). Probably, the largest area of difference is going to be the fast apertures. Nikon has a lot, Pentax has a few. Sigma and Tamron help out in this area, but it is what it is. Wide angle becomes a mixture of both Pentax and Sigma. The other area will be specialty lenses - tilt/shift, macro, teleconverters - and very long telephoto. Sigma helps out here a lot, but again - it is what it is. Pentax does not have a duplicate/competitor for the Nikon high quality 14-28 wide angle. I do think that they are capable, but its not there yet - but a new wide angle is on the road map.
Regarding lenses my needs are somewhat simple, as long as I can get a wide angle zoom (currently have the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 and I love it), a midrange zoom (currently using the Nikon 16-85) and a zoom in the range of 50 or 75 mm to 300mm (rarely use it but it has its uses) I would be fine; also need some primes.

QuoteQuote:
Others with much more experience with Nikon, I suspect will be along shortly. You will get a wide range of heartfelt comments.
One thing I forgot to ask is if the mirror flap issue has been solved, seems some people say that is has via firmware updates while others say that you must send in you K-3 to Pentax to replace something.

Again thank you for your valuable and informative input as well as for taking the time to reply,

Kind regards,

JJ

---------- Post added 07-05-15 at 02:10 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Kevwaly Quote
I believe you would be very happy with the K3 and 35mm combo. K3 is cheaper everyday.. 639.99! Get the 50mm and the 35mm!
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/94-pentax-price-watch/298935-pentax-k-3-b...-639-99-a.html
Thank you for your reply, makes me feel more confident about the buying decision also thanks for the eBay link, that is certainly the best price I have seen on the K-3. Maybe I can swing it and get both primes..lol.

Regards,

JJ

---------- Post added 07-05-15 at 02:18 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by jimr-pdx Quote
And if you beat the budget with K-3 plus DA35, take the extra cash to goodwill/thrift shops, where $50 could bring another half dozen excellent primes
LOL..I wish, unfortunately I live in the Caribbean and there are no goodwill or thrift shops no where to be found; heck, there are only a handful of camera stores here and while doing my research I visited a few of them to see if they had the Nikon D7100 and the Pentax K-3 so I could check them out in person...the closest I got to a D7100 was a used Nikon D70..lol..not even gonna tell you about the Pentax..lol. In my case I will have to do all my buying from eBay and Amazon.

By the way, is there any place in the forums where I can find useful information regarding those primes you mentioned? maybe I can get some on eBay.

Cheers,

JJ
07-05-2015, 02:40 AM   #9
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Sure you need the K3? I have one and my wife has a K5-IIs. I'm hard pressed to tell a difference between our pics once we downsampled them to print resolution. If you can get the K5-II or K5-IIs for less, you can invest in better glass or an additional zoom along with your prime - you will at some point upgrade the body anyways (maybe even to Pentax FF).
K5-IIs also has better low ISO than K3 (at the expense of resolution).

The 35 2.4 and 50 1.8 are both excellent, but the 50mm has issues with autofocus. I would recommend the 35 since you're into landscape. What you really need to get in the long run is the 20-40mm limited, though.
Please also keep in mind that most of the cheaper pentax lenses are "screwdrive", this may be annoying at first for a Nikon user. The more expensive ones have SDM (good) or DC (even better).
07-05-2015, 03:12 AM   #10
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QuoteQuote:
The DA 35mm and DA 50mm lenses are excellent! They are sharp, focus well, and render images spectacularly. Don't let the low price trick you. The designs are actually based on older film era lenses that work well on digital sensors so there is little R&D to do to make them fully digital. I believe the DA 35mm is an updated FA 35mm f/2.0 and the DA 50mm is an updated FA 50mm f/1.7. Online image samples showing tack sharp rendering of fine details are plentiful.
Thank you for the input 6BQ5, I already have had a great experience with a budget Nikon 35mm lens which is a great lens, I was so surprised at the results I was getting with this lens that I could not believe that a lens that cost less than US$ 200.00 could give such results; I imagine that the Pentax primes will be the same.

QuoteQuote:
However, these lenses may feel a little limiting to you. 35mm is usually considered to be a normal lenses and the 50mm is considered to be a mild telephoto - all due to the 1.5x crop factor. Would you be able to get the K-3 body with the DA 18-135mm zoom? You may be able to swing it if you purchase them separately. There are many DA 18-135mm lenses on eBay and Amazon especially if you allow yourself to purchase used gear. After that you can think about picking up some Plastic Fantastic lenses.
Unfortunately the K-3 with the 18-135mm would take me out of my budget, since the price for both is close to 1k; while I did not mention it on my original post, I live in the Caribbean so I will have to pay customs once the camera arrives so that is something that I have taken into account and it is also the reason why I have the US$ 896.00 or US$ 900.00 budget only for the camera.

While you are correct about the focal limitations of the 35 and 50mm lenses, I have been using similar primes and have learned to make use of them so I would not be a stranger to these focal lengths and know what to expect and how to make them work for me. Actually buying them would be a price advantage at this moment, first I would only have to pay duty tax for the camera and since there is a tax exemption of up to US$ 200.00 per package, I can make 2 separate purchases via amazon and not have to pay any customs or duty taxes once they arrive since each lens is less than US$200.00.

I have no problem buying used lenses, but I did a quick search the other day and the price of a used 18-135mm lens is over US$ 250.00, actually the best price for this lens used was US$ 257.00 and it was from KEH (very reputable); KEH also has a Pentax refurbished K-5II with the 18-135mm lens for US$ 698.00.

Kind regards,

JJ

---------- Post added 07-05-15 at 03:47 AM ----------

QuoteQuote:
Sure you need the K3? I have one and my wife has a K5-IIs. I'm hard pressed to tell a difference between our pics once we downsampled them to print resolution. If you can get the K5-II or K5-IIs for less, you can invest in better glass or an additional zoom along with your prime - you will at some point upgrade the body anyways (maybe even to Pentax FF).
K5-IIs also has better low ISO than K3 (at the expense of resolution).
Good morning Romay, as I mentioned to interested_observer in my post ..I would be perfectly fine with the K-5IIs (maybe even the K-5II, really not sure if there is a big difference between the II and the IIs regarding image quality) and up to a point I would prefer a 16MP sensor over the 24MP but the price difference between the K-3 and the K-5IIs is about US$ 80.00 so it makes it kind of hard to decide on the K-5IIs, perhaps I'm wrong in my assessment and if I am please let me know.

QuoteQuote:
The 35 2.4 and 50 1.8 are both excellent, but the 50mm has issues with autofocus. I would recommend the 35 since you're into landscape. What you really need to get in the long run is the 20-40mm limited, though.
Please also keep in mind that most of the cheaper pentax lenses are "screwdrive", this may be annoying at first for a Nikon user. The more expensive ones have SDM (good) or DC (even better).
Wow thank you for the heads up regarding the 50mm, was actually thinking of ordering both the 35mm and the 50mm. In regards to the 20-40mm and while it is an excellent lens by all standards, I would prefer a bit wider something in the 10-20mm range or close to it, if there is such a thing in the Pentax lens lineup, since I take a lot of photos in the 12-18 mm focal range and then I would add a mid range zoom (currently use a Nikon 16-85 mm). I have been using the the Sigma 10-20mm f 3.5 on my D90 and I love it, the focal length is perfect for me.

Man I need to learn these new terminology SDM and DC ahh also WR , in regards to the lens mount I should always search for K mount lenses?


Excellent info Romay, thank you so much.

JJL
07-05-2015, 05:02 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by romay Quote
The 35 2.4 and 50 1.8 are both excellent, but the 50mm has issues with autofocus

What issues are you referring to? Reviews here rate AF at an 8.4.... SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8 Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
07-05-2015, 05:30 AM   #12
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I ran into a couple of deals a couple of years ago that I couldn't turn down. I ended up with a couple of Nikon cameras an a few lenses. I ended up purchasing an adapter to put a couple of the lenses on my Pentax bodies.
The thing I found odd was that the D70 would not meter some of the lenses but my Pentax will. enjoy the K-3 if you choose it.
07-05-2015, 08:00 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by MasMax Quote
I have been using the the Sigma 10-20mm f 3.5 on my D90 and I love it, the focal length is perfect for me.
In this case, this lens is also available for pentax, so good news for you. Another possibility would be the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II or the SMC Pentax-DA 12-24mm F4 ED AL.
There are good In-depth reviews and a lot of user-reviews on this site which may help you decide.

QuoteOriginally posted by MasMax Quote
Man I need to learn these new terminology SDM and DC ahh also WR , in regards to the lens mount I should always search for K mount lenses?
SDM...Supersonic Drive Motor and DC...Direct Current are the two silent AF systems Pentax benefits. The SDM system is reported to be not as reliable as the newer DC AF system but I don't have any first-hand experience, because I don't own any of those lenses.
The K-3 (K-5, K-5II,...) is only Weather-Resistant (WR) when used with a WR or AW lens (primarily zoom lenses, except for DA* lenses)
All K mount lenses will work, but SMC Pentax-A, F, FA, or DA lenses are more convenient because with Pentax-K and -M lenses you can't control the aperture from the camera.
07-05-2015, 08:09 AM   #14
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If you are not fussy about auto-focus.... you can go a cheaper route with manual focus lenses (some nice legacy lenses) using the catch-in-focus feature on the k-3. For example, I have a Topcor 58f1.4 converted to m42 mount and it works just great (close to 100%). With the low light focusing capability and high pixel count, you will be able to nail focus and room for cropping (help with the composition).
07-05-2015, 09:11 AM   #15
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Good Morning,

I love the Caribbean, the crystal clear blue water, the sailing and everything else. You might consider looking for the lenses on the Forum's Marketplace. The 35/f2.4 when its on sale (during the holidays) goes for $111 new. I have also seen very good prices here on the 50 as well.

The difference between the K5II and the K5IIs is only the lack of an AA filter on the IIs. Otherwise, the two are identical.

As far as a book, I would suggest Yvon's K3 book. The manual explains the operation/functionality of the camera - but does not explain to you as to why it's there or why (what situations) you might be interested in using it. You can buy/download it on line, and keep it on your desktop. He offers a free sample for you to take a look at....
QuoteQuote:
One thing I forgot to ask is if the mirror flap issue has been solved, seems some people say that is has via firmware updates while others say that you must send in you K-3 to Pentax to replace something.
To tell you the truth, I have not seen a lot of posts about it in the last year or so. There may be some instances. One lady who was doing time lapse imaging (professionally), taking several thousand frames a day (and wearing out several bodies in the process), was one of the main folks affected. She worked closely with Pentax in finding a solution, testing out fixes, etc. She has moved on to a Sony mirrorless. That is somewhat of a non answer - but without a K3 and with plans to essentially leapfrog it, that's what I remember.

You are essentially doing what I discovered a number of years ago. Buying one model behind the current - saves a tremendous amount of money, gets you a body that is well known/understood and mature with all the bugs worked out. It is an acquisition approach that worked very well for me over the last 8 years or so.

QuoteQuote:
Regarding lenses my needs are somewhat simple, as long as I can get a wide angle zoom (currently have the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 and I love it), a midrange zoom (currently using the Nikon 16-85) and a zoom in the range of 50 or 75 mm to 300mm (rarely use it but it has its uses) I would be fine; also need some primes.
You can get the same Sigma WA lens. I have their 8-16 along with the 18-35 (for astro). I also have the Pentax 10-17 Fisheye and the 12-24. They are all wonderful.

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