[anurag agnihotri]

Hi,
I just signed up here just to ask this:
You will think i'm mad...but well, i'm thinking about buying a K5 when i already have a just bought up 40D in my bag...and i've not shot a single image from that camera.
I have been shooting with a a compact camera:

Flickriver: 2069's most interesting photos

I shot with this compact for about 2 years and then i got a really really good deal
on a used 40D, so i bought it. Now the situation is that i don't have any lenses for that camera and the reason why i don't have any lenses bought for 40D, is, well, Pentax K5. I thought let me just avoid investing seriously in Canon lenses because then i'm kind of trapped into Canon gear. Mad, isn't it?

Coming to K5...i come from a country where Pentax hasn't set shop. But i will definitely figure out how i will buy this. The big question mark is the lenses. Initially i was happy and the choice was clear...but then i started reading about unpredictable quality of DA 2.8 zooms and i'm wondering what to do...because like many of you, i don't have the option to return my lenses to Pentax to fix them...so my question is...

Will you advice buying 16-50 and 50-135 to someone from non-pentax region?

I can drop 16-50 but i really want to have 50-135...what do you say?

The kit i'm thinking about:

K5
15 F4 or 12-24 or sigma 10-20
50-135

regards,
anurag

PS: Madness is fine, but eventually the better sense should prevail. So the reason i am going to buy another camera apart from 40D is because i need more resolution for printing. Soon enough, i'm going to get my work in galleries or hold an exhibition...even my compact is 10mp...

[anurag agnihotri]

Just to add to it: Should i be looking at 77 or a 70 rather than this 50-135?
For tele i can later buy something cheaper...like 55-300...
That will probably take care of all the fears concerning lens quality and service...

[bhairavp]

where are you going to take photos? Will you need the weather sealing ? What is your budget? You're going to have to import the lenses into India,which I'm sure you're aware of..

[nulla]

Welcome to the forum

I think the DA 15 is a great choice, so to your choice in the DA 55-300.. a great lens for its price.

If as you state its best to keep away fro the DA* zooms why not check out and look into the lens preview section here on the forum.

By the way.. the FA 77 is one stellar lens and when looking at your flickr site I suggest you look at the FA43 as well as it would suit your type of photgraphy... it too can produce wonderful images like no other lens

cheers

Neil

[Ash]

Anurag, let me firstly comment on your work shown in your flickriver site:
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!

Welcome here and welcome to Pentax.
The Pentax K-5 will surely impress you, but your talent speaks for itself - if you can get those results with a simple P&S camera, the sky's the limit for you.

It all depends whether you'd be happy with zooms or wouldn't mind going with primes. I suggest FA limited primes as they are of the highest build and optical quality yet will not have any questions about their longevity/durability (screwdriven focusing mechanisms).

Otherwise if you wanted weather sealed lenses, then the 16-50 and 50-135 are the way to go. If 16mm isn't wide enough for you, then I'd suggest adding in the DA 12-24. Hope this helps and look forward to your contributions here.

[geauxpez]

Anurag,

Welcome. And WOW! Brilliant photos! What focal length have you been using? That combo seems to be working quite well for you as long as you are getting what you want out of it. The kit that you have in mind sounds good, but you may be missing focal lengths that you will find of value for your street type shots (28mm, 35mm, 40/43mm, etc.).

[anurag agnihotri]

bhairavp:

yes, i'm aware of the purchase issues...weather sealing is not something i will make my decision solely upon...i will be shooting landscapes in the hills, the himalayas. And urban settings for street, portraiture work.

nulla:

i will look in the lens review section as well.
is there a comparison section as well on this site? because all reviews are mostly positive, so 70 is great and 77 is also great and you don't know what to do
43..why? this translates into 65mm...looks a bit long for one thing and a bit short for another thing
55-300: is this lens better than similar third party alternatives?

Ash:

Hey, thanks a lot for liking the pictures.
I have seen a picture out of 50-135 on this website which is just brilliant...two girls/nuns on a bus stop, one of them looking sideways at the other.

geauxpez:

Thanks.

I have been mostly, 90 percent of the time using 24 mm, the short end of Panasonic LX3. I have also used a 50 mm and 85 mm in the past.

When i said 15, i had this in mind...15 is mostly equal to 24 in 35mm sense.
Telezoom...because the last time i went to hills i missed the reach.
For me, 24mm works well as street, candids, even portraits.

[rover]

Anurag, let me firstly comment on your work shown in your flickriver site:
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!
.

Ash, my first thought too.

Anurag, you can obviously use any lens and create wonderful images. Thank you for sharing your work with us.

[Clinton]

Will you advice buying 16-50 and 50-135 to someone from non-pentax region?

I can drop 16-50 but i really want to have 50-135...what do you say?

As long as you buy new, I think you'll be fine with any 16-50 and 50-135 manufactured today.

You might also want to consider the DA* 60-250/4. It's bigger, but maybe more versatile if you're going to just use 2 or 3 lenses.

The lens review section of our forum I've found to be immensely helpful as well as Welcome to Photozone!

[Ash]

is there a comparison section as well on this site? because all reviews are mostly positive, so 70 is great and 77 is also great and you don't know what to do
43..why? this translates into 65mm...looks a bit long for one thing and a bit short for another thing
55-300: is this lens better than similar third party alternatives?


When i said 15, i had this in mind...15 is mostly equal to 24 in 35mm sense.
Telezoom...because the last time i went to hills i missed the reach.
For me, 24mm works well as street, candids, even portraits.

Anurag, as far as I know there aren't direct comparisons that can be made on the one webpage using this forum, but lots have debates have been thrown about here comparing the 70 vs 77 and 40 vs 43 and 43 vs 50 - to be honest, with you using any of these lenses, you're going to get stellar results. Really, choosing ANY of the DA limiteds or FA limiteds you can be assured of the best image quality in a very compact yet very well-built lens. So the 15 is definitely a very good choice, and there is also the 21 if you find 15 a little too wide for your street applications.

The 55-300 is unanimously considered better than Sigma and Tamron 70-300 varieties, being sharper and offering more microcontrast and better colour rendition. Of course the 50-135 and 60-250 outdo the 55-300 in every way.

[Andi Lo]

Flickriver: 2069's most interesting photos

Wow... my photos suck... Such excellent work

Anyway if you're coming to pentax I'd suggest getting the primes; Nikon and Canon are ahead of Pentax in zooms imho (and if you so want the pentax stuff, they're available via Tokina in Canonland)

[Urkeldaedalus]

Hi,
I just signed up here just to ask this:
You will think i'm mad...but well, i'm thinking about buying a K5 when i already have a just bought up 40D in my bag...and i've not shot a single image from that camera.
I have been shooting with a a compact camera:

Flickriver: 2069's most interesting photos

I shot with this compact for about 2 years and then i got a really really good deal
on a used 40D, so i bought it. Now the situation is that i don't have any lenses for that camera and the reason why i don't have any lenses bought for 40D, is, well, Pentax K5. I thought let me just avoid investing seriously in Canon lenses because then i'm kind of trapped into Canon gear. Mad, isn't it?

Coming to K5...i come from a country where Pentax hasn't set shop. But i will definitely figure out how i will buy this. The big question mark is the lenses. Initially i was happy and the choice was clear...but then i started reading about unpredictable quality of DA 2.8 zooms and i'm wondering what to do...because like many of you, i don't have the option to return my lenses to Pentax to fix them...so my question is...

Will you advice buying 16-50 and 50-135 to someone from non-pentax region?

I can drop 16-50 but i really want to have 50-135...what do you say?

The kit i'm thinking about:

K5
15 F4 or 12-24 or sigma 10-20
50-135

regards,
anurag

PS: Madness is fine, but eventually the better sense should prevail. So the reason i am going to buy another camera apart from 40D is because i need more resolution for printing. Soon enough, i'm going to get my work in galleries or hold an exhibition...even my compact is 10mp...

Here's a kit that I think will give you a little bit of everything that Pentax has to offer:

K-5

DA15 f/4 (or Pentax DA 12-24 f/4)
DA35 Macro f/2.8
DA*50-135 f/2.8

This way you'll have two small primes, a walk around 50 mm equivalent that's also a macro and a weather sealed telephoto portrait lens (probably Pentax's best zoom). Also, two of your three lenses won't be SDM so you don't have to worry about all of them failing if you have troubles. I assume since you're in Mumbai the weather sealing will actually come quite in handy but you don't necessarily need it on all your lenses. This of course is just one suggested setup, there are all sorts of alternate setups you can do, which is part of the joy (or agony) of buying SLR systems.

Note: Keep an eye out for Pentax's new weather resistant DA18-135 f/3.5-5.6. If it turns out to be a good performer, this lens could be a cheaper weather sealed alternative to the DA*16-50 and DA*50-135 combo. You can then spend the rest of your money on prime lenses.

[dnaseigel]

You deserve a big welcome and thank you for introducing your photography here. You have beautiful work. I would dearly love to know more about the assembly of The Women in Dwarkardheesh Temple. The expressions are so provocative.

Today I used the new DA 18-135mm WR DC lens. It seems a perfect match to the K5 as it is the smallest and best built lens of that range that I have seen. I work in a camera store that sells lots of lenses, so there aren't many that I could have missed. The lens focuses very quietly and much more quickly than my 16-50 and my 50-135, and with the exceptional performance of the K5 with higher ISO settings, I see this being an ideal street photography set up. The versatility of the range is just spectacular. Unfortunately the lenses arrived in the store just moments before we closed, so I have not had a chance to examine the sharpness, color, etc. However based on the impression given by the build, the speed and the look/feel of the lens I expect great things with it and the K-5.

Again welcome to pentaxforums and thanks for sharing your work.
David

Hi,
I just signed up here just to ask this:
You will think i'm mad...but well, i'm thinking about buying a K5 when i already have a just bought up 40D in my bag...and i've not shot a single image from that camera.
I have been shooting with a a compact camera:

Flickriver: 2069's most interesting photos

I shot with this compact for about 2 years and then i got a really really good deal
on a used 40D, so i bought it. Now the situation is that i don't have any lenses for that camera and the reason why i don't have any lenses bought for 40D, is, well, Pentax K5. I thought let me just avoid investing seriously in Canon lenses because then i'm kind of trapped into Canon gear. Mad, isn't it?

Coming to K5...i come from a country where Pentax hasn't set shop. But i will definitely figure out how i will buy this. The big question mark is the lenses. Initially i was happy and the choice was clear...but then i started reading about unpredictable quality of DA 2.8 zooms and i'm wondering what to do...because like many of you, i don't have the option to return my lenses to Pentax to fix them...so my question is...

Will you advice buying 16-50 and 50-135 to someone from non-pentax region?

I can drop 16-50 but i really want to have 50-135...what do you say?

The kit i'm thinking about:

K5
15 F4 or 12-24 or sigma 10-20
50-135

regards,
anurag

PS: Madness is fine, but eventually the better sense should prevail. So the reason i am going to buy another camera apart from 40D is because i need more resolution for printing. Soon enough, i'm going to get my work in galleries or hold an exhibition...even my compact is 10mp...

[G_Money]

Amazing shots, Anurag. And knowing you accomplished this with a point and shoot both inspires and discourages me. Well done!!

[anurag agnihotri]

G_Money
rover

thanks a lot.

Clinton

60-250 looks big and daunting...i am apprehansive about 50-135 also on this count, but let me take a look at it and i will immediately know weather its too big for me...have you seen canon 70-200 F4? That's the maximum i can think of carrying as far as size goes.

Ash

primes look good...lets see...how about 100 2.8...so 15, 50, 70 and 100...?

Andi Lo

thanks...
available via tokina in canonland....?

dnaseigel

thanks a lot dnaseigel...
the dwarkadheesh women image was made in dwarka, a sacred hindu town in gujarat state, india. there's a flag on the temple sturcture high above and that is changed every four hour. these women had come to offer the flag to lord krishna and while they are there, they dance and sing. they are from a nearby village.
the new lens...the problem is that i need 24 at the least at the wide end, no compromise there...most of my stuff is shot at 34.

Urkeldaedalus

sounds good

basically these 3 combinations will work probably...but deciding between them is completely wild

1) 12-24 and 50-135 (with size penalty)
2) 15 and 50-135
3) 15, 35, 55 and 100 micro

Another wild thing will be to be able to actually get all this in india...it will take some time either through some friends or when i visit abroad...

Funny that Pentax don't offer their stuff in india. Very low-key company.

best,
anurag