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08-01-2010, 05:03 PM   #1
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LBA: What to get next (to replace kit 18-55)?

Hey all, I think LBA is starting to set in (not good when I'm jobless! ), cause now I can't stop thinking about what I want to get next. Well I do know what I want - a replacement for the kit lens. There are, however, so many choices and I don't know where to start - beginning with whether to get a prime or zoom, though most likely I want a zoom that covers a similar focal length to the kit lens.

Ever since I bought the pentax 100mm f2.8 WR macro, I can hardly use the kit lens without seeing all the shortcomings that come with it - colors are bland, don't contrast very well, etc. And so now I'm looking for a replacement for it. This also comes from the fact that I want to get into street photography a lot more, but I'm not the greatest at it with a 100mm lens - while I'm actually pretty decent at hip-aiming candids, I think after a while people will catch on that I'm not actually checking my pictures or fiddling with the settings and so I'm looking for something wide.

And I'm thinking zoom cause, probably, in an urban environment, I'd likely find myself changing focal lengths all over the place, and sometimes having a prime, while useful, may be less practical (also say in a party/indoor environment and the like - shoot a pseudo candid with at ~55mm and then zoom out and get the crowd ?)

But I don't know much about street photography, so correct me if I'm horribly wrong and am speaking blasphemy.

Anyways, yeah, I'm looking for a relatively low cost (~$3-400 Canadian), fasterishhh (<f4 constant ?), and good IQ lens. Though the only thing I can think of in this price range is the 16-45mm, and the CA results from review websites (ie, photozone) are quite intimidating.

08-01-2010, 05:31 PM   #2
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16-45 is a great midrange upgrade to the 18-55 kit kens. I don't know what CA issues you've read about, but the lens is really great. It's my favorite lens.

The next upgrade from there would be the DA* 16-50. When I have spare money (and I'm making money from photography) it will be my next major upgrade.
08-01-2010, 05:35 PM   #3
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It seems to be sold out everywhere but Sigma has a 18-50 with a constant 2.8 (maybe HSM, can't remember) for $419 USD, for the price it seems like a too good to be true lens and a natural step up from the kit when you can't afford the DA* 16-50

I'm guessing that's the reason it's sold out. I use my kit lens so much that I'm returning that Sigma in my signature and investing in a DA 15 LTD + DA 40 LTD combo specifically as a replacement for it.
08-01-2010, 05:42 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by alohadave Quote
16-45 is a great midrange upgrade to the 18-55 kit kens. I don't know what CA issues you've read about, but the lens is really great. It's my favorite lens.

The next upgrade from there would be the DA* 16-50. When I have spare money (and I'm making money from photography) it will be my next major upgrade.
Pentax SMC-DA 16-45mm f/4 ED AL - Review / Test Report - Analysis

Their CA tests report pretty high CA, compared to other lenses.

Haha, I got all excited about the Sigma 18-50 until you mentioned that it was sold out everywhere

08-01-2010, 05:48 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by jaieger Quote
Pentax SMC-DA 16-45mm f/4 ED AL - Review / Test Report - Analysis

Their CA tests report pretty high CA, compared to other lenses.

Haha, I got all excited about the Sigma 18-50 until you mentioned that it was sold out everywhere
don't worry about that CA. once you used it, you'll dismiss about the CA reports as merely gossip.
08-01-2010, 05:50 PM   #6
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I don't think you should rule out primes for street stuff. Apart from IQ (good zooms have good IQ too), they often give you small size (overall and small front elements), speed, and fast AF - which is good for street. The 21mm limited is a great street lens, but 'only' f/3.2, and there are other good prime options. I had the 21mm, and am looking at the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 as an option. There's also the FA primes and DA 40mm limited.

For zooms, I don't know how much they are where you buy from, but apart from the Pentax 16-50 and 16-45 f/4, there's Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. Various 24-70mm options. An absolute bargain is the discontinued Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8 if that's wide enough for you.
08-01-2010, 05:51 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by jaieger Quote
Pentax SMC-DA 16-45mm f/4 ED AL - Review / Test Report - Analysis

Their CA tests report pretty high CA, compared to other lenses.

Haha, I got all excited about the Sigma 18-50 until you mentioned that it was sold out everywhere
Well like always, there is a Tamron with the same specs: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di-II LD Aspherical [IF] AF016P-700 -

I think it slipped my mind initially because for some reason I'm on the Sigma side of the camp for the time being

08-01-2010, 05:51 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pentaxor Quote
don't worry about that CA. once you used it, you'll dismiss about the CA reports as merely gossip.
Butbutbut the pentax reviews agree! Well, not all....But still! I think this is more my wallet protesting than anything...Is this the best choice for me then, dyou all think?
08-01-2010, 05:56 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by jaieger Quote
Pentax SMC-DA 16-45mm f/4 ED AL - Review / Test Report - Analysis

Their CA tests report pretty high CA, compared to other lenses.

Haha, I got all excited about the Sigma 18-50 until you mentioned that it was sold out everywhere
The CA tests are optimized to find CA. You won't see it in normal shooting. Hell, you only see it in the example shot with the branches in the upper right corner.
08-01-2010, 06:03 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by alohadave Quote
The CA tests are optimized to find CA. You won't see it in normal shooting. Hell, you only see it in the example shot with the branches in the upper right corner.
...Good point. My wallet has accepted its impending doom.
08-01-2010, 06:26 PM   #11
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DA 17-70mm f/4 SDM makes for a good lens to replace the kit lens. Very versatile range of focal lengths.
08-01-2010, 07:20 PM   #12
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The DA18-55 doesn't need to be replaced, just supplemented. My original K20D lens set was the DA10-17, DA18-250, and FA50/1.4. After later buying a few dozen cheap primes, I got a DA18-55 (cheap!) and I find it quite satisfactory, both on its own, and as a platform for mounting various odd filters etc. Stopped down, you'll have a hard time differentiating it from primes in its range. What it aint: fast, wide, long. If you need any of those qualities, get the appropriate lenses. Ask yourself: What do I want to do that I can't do with what I have? Maybe you'll want a fisheye, or a f/1.2, or a 1000mm mirror, or whatever. But you don't need to sh!tcan the 18-55.
08-01-2010, 07:26 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
Stopped down, you'll have a hard time differentiating it from primes in its range.
I had the mark I version of the 18-55 and it was not as above. II version is meant to be noticeably better, but the I version still had mushy corners with CA at f/8. Around 30mm it was OK, but the wide end was not good. I think the above statement is a stretch.
08-01-2010, 09:42 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by jaieger Quote
Hey all, I think LBA is starting to set in (not good when I'm jobless! ), cause now I can't stop thinking about what I want to get next. Well I do know what I want - a replacement for the kit lens. There are, however, so many choices and I don't know where to start - beginning with whether to get a prime or zoom, though most likely I want a zoom that covers a similar focal length to the kit lens.

Ever since I bought the pentax 100mm f2.8 WR macro, I can hardly use the kit lens without seeing all the shortcomings that come with it - colors are bland, don't contrast very well, etc. And so now I'm looking for a replacement for it.
The kit lens is capable of surprisingly good results. Unless there is something seriously wrong with your kit lens, or it's really dirty, the colour and contrast differences from the 100 macro are insignificant. (The macro should be slightly to significantly sharper than the kit lens, depending on aperture, but that's another issue.)

Speaking as a long-time professional with experience on many camera types, I've been satisfied with both the colour rendition and contrast of the kit lens. So what if they are different from the 100macro?

Colour and contrast can be adjusted very easily in a basic image editor. What's the point in shooting digital unless you make use of the opportunities for maximizing image quality afforded by software such as Photoshop? If you don't learn to edit images properly you'll produce a lot of crap no matter what lens or camera you're using.

Possibly you could turn this into a learning experience by working on your kit lens images in an image editor to define how they differ from your macro lens ideal, to determine methods for correcting the images to your desired standard if possible, and to decide whether the perceived deficits of the kit lens are in fact fatal or simply minor differences in lens character.

Do some careful shooting (on a tripod) with the kit lens through the full aperture range and at five spots in the zoom range, and see for yourself whether the lens meets your needs for the situations you are most likely to encounter. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to produce results that are acceptable for the situation and for the intended use of the images.

Then you can decide whether you really need to replace (at a loss) a lens that you have already paid for with another lens in the same focal length range, or whether you can instead go for a lens with different capabilites that complement what you already have. Think like a professional rather than a brainwashed consumer!
08-01-2010, 09:56 PM   #15
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After running pictures taken with my K20D and the 18-55 al through the free month of DxO I don't know how you can get much better. I was amazed at how they came out.
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