[Edouard]

Hi everyone,

I am a beginner in photography and joined this forum to gain more knowledge in the field! I own a K5iis with a DA 18-55 lens. Looking forward to upgrade it soon!

Cheers,
Ed

[MarkJerling]

Welcome to the forum, Ed.

[aacjr]

Welcome aboard Ed. I also live in the bay area. When you say you are looking forward to upgrading soon are you talking about the camera or the lens? The k5iis is a really nice camera to learn with, (I shoot with a k5 and it serves me well). I am looking forward to seeing some of your work soon.

Al

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy all that you find here.

[Unregistered User 8]

Hi Ed. Welcome to the Pentax forums. Hope to see some of your photographs soon.

[Edouard]

Thanks guys!

@Al: I was talking about the lens. I am mostly interested in landscape and wildlife photography, so I feel somehow limited by the DA 18-55 f3.5-5.6. I guess I still have to learn a lot before I completely master the K5iis!

[C_Jones]

Welcome to the forums. I have a K-5IIS also. I also had an 18-55 AL II. I now have a Pentax 16-85 which is really nice. When I did have the 18-55, I was able to take some very nice pictures. The 16-85 gives me more range and the images are excellent. Happy shooting.

[robgski]

I was talking about the lens.

Don't sell the kit lens short, the image quality is very good, and since it's weather resistant, you can play in the rain or weather conditions which hinder other photographers.

If you like landscape many people love the 14mm or 15mm for it's wide but nearly distortion free images which crop into rectilinear photos very nicely. I have an old 17mm which is fantastic. The 21mm "pancake" is also a marvel.

On the zoom lens side, many like the 12-24mm, or the above mentioned 16-85. I have a soft spot for the 10-17mm, which is a fisheye at the 10mm end, but more of an ultra wide angle at the 17mm end, and produces fantastic sharp images throughout its range. You may have noticed the Marketplace here, there are usually some very good deals on any of these lenses.

I look forward to seeing you pictures, San Francisco is a beautiful city with no end of subjects to capture. Consider joining the groups in my signature below, there are many friendly, experienced and knowledgeable people there who can assist you as you learn.

[Edouard]

Thanks for your reply!

I am satisfied with the DA 18-55mm for normal day light condition, but I find it lacks sharpness for low-light conditions (beginner ignorance?).

Thank you for all the lenses you mentioned, I will definitely look into that. My big question prior to invest in more expensive lenses is how transferable they are if I change my K5 camera body for (let's say) a Pentax full-frame body couple years from now?

[MarkJerling]

Thanks for your reply!

I am satisfied with the DA 18-55mm for normal day light condition, but I find it lacks sharpness for low-light conditions (beginner ignorance?).

Thank you for all the lenses you mentioned, I will definitely look into that. My big question prior to invest in more expensive lenses is how transferable they are if I change my K5 camera body for (let's say) a Pentax full-frame body couple years from now?

See this post: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/169-pentax-full-frame/313830-current-pent...w-picture.html
And this post: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/54-pentax-lens-articles/31629-da-lenses-f...ts-thread.html

[robgski]

ut I find it lacks sharpness for low-light conditions

IMO, Low light puts many lenses to the test, because there are multiple factors that are not there in daylight shooting. For example, shooting wide open at f2.8 is rarely sharper than with a narrow aperture, but with a narrow aperture you either need longer shutter opening, which risks blurring unless you stabilize the camera, or higher ISO, which can lead to grain/noise especially if you crop.

I think it's true that many great low light shots are actually fairly well lit, but under exposed in PP to give a darker impression. In any case, patiently experimenting with the lens you have in all conditions will give you a better idea of whether it's a problem of technique, camera, or the lens. That's why something line the Single In challenge, using the same lens every day for a month, is a great idea. It gives members a little impetus to shoot every day, in what ever condition they find themselves in. I have really benefitted from doing this with most of my lenses, and I have learned a lot about each one of them.

As for transitioning to FF, the K-1 will recognize an APS-C lens and adapt accordingly, unless you manually override it. Also, I use borrowlenses.com to try out lenses I am interested in before buying them. realistically, owning a lens doesn't mean I'll use it every day, so renting is worthwhile to me, and forces me to try out that lens as much as possible during the rental period. Doing this made me really appreciate the 10-17mm and the 21mm.

[Edouard]

Thanks Mark for the links!

Thanks Rob for sharing your experience. I will follow your advice. Regarding the Pentax 10-17mm, does it present significant distortion at the 14-15mm level?

[robgski]

Regarding the Pentax 10-17mm, does it present significant distortion at the 14-15mm level?

I didn't think so. Here are samples of what I used it for. but I tended to use it as a fisheye.

[debakarma]

Welcome to the forum!