[selar]

BTW there's a nice pentax af360 in the marketplace. Gives wireless off camera flash capability with newer bodies

[dylan73]

Thanks for the posts, folks!

Just to make it clear:
what my wife has (for a k-m body) is the kit lens DA-L 50-200.
Is that on par with the standard DA 50-200?

Thanks for the tip about investing in lighting...
We already have a Metz 32 Z2 flash.

[selar]

what my wife has (for a k-m body) is the kit lens DA-L 50-200.
Is that on par with the standard DA 50-200?

DAL 50-200

[boriscleto]

Thanks for the posts, folks!

Just to make it clear:
what my wife has (for a k-m body) is the kit lens DA-L 50-200.
Is that on par with the standard DA 50-200?

Thanks for the tip about investing in lighting...
We already have a Metz 32 Z2 flash.

Optically there are no differences between the DA L and the DA / DA WR.

The DA L has a plastic mount, no quick shift, no DOF scale on the lens, and doesn't come with a lens hood.

SMC Pentax-DA 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Reviews & Pentax Lens Database

SMC Pentax-DA 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED WR Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Reviews & Pentax Lens Database

SMC Pentax-DA L 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Reviews & Pentax Lens Database

[RioRico]

Thanks for the tip about investing in lighting...
We already have a Metz 32 Z2 flash.

There's more to light than just a single flash. Studio / controlled lighting can get rather complex. There's a joke that amateurs worry about gear, pros worry about money, and artists worry about light. Well, anyone doing any serious shooting should worry about light. Vast volumes have been written about light placement, quality, etc. Many manuals exist, filled with lighting and pose layouts for portraiture. Painters have worked this area for centuries. There's an established body of knowledge that expands constantly. Photographing without knowing light, is just pissing in the wind.

[paperbag846]

Hey something else...

the F 70-210 is a phenomenal zoom, even wide open. I can strongly recommend it for portraiture.

Might even be less expensive than the 50-200 if you are lucky. I found mine for under 100.

[dylan73]

Concerning lights...

Naturally it is most important

As we are VERY low on budget, my wife has to find a way about lights.

This now means to find place where natural light comes
in a way that can be used at a certain timeframe of the day...
in room with window, in gardens with good beckground, etc...

We have book about use of light,
but I will look for more sources of knowledge

[dylan73]

the F 70-210 is a phenomenal zoom, even wide open. I can strongly recommend it for portraiture.

Great tip, thanks!

[m42man]

I wouldn't want to use my DA50-200 for portraits - it's at its worst at 50-55mm, which is where I'd want to be using it most of the time (for best perspective for a tightly-framed head-and-shoulders shot).

By all accounts, the DA55-300 will be much better at this focal length, and is a good all-purpose zoom lens as well. Not only that, but it's now available in DA-L version, making it more affordable.

So, disregarding the fact that portrait lenses don't normally need such an extreme zoom range, I would definitely plump for the DA-L 55-300 as being the "best budget autofocus zoom for portraits"...

[Chex]

Maybe give up the zoom and try prying someones FA 77mm ltd from their cold dead hands, or maybe a DA 70mm Ltd? Yeah they are on the close up side of portraits, but they produce very nice images. My 43mm Ltd is nice, but you do have more leg work getting that close up shot.. but if needed you can crop a lot out of a 16MP image! If your set on a zoom, I would agree with the Tamron 28-75mm or maybe the Sigma 17-70mm.
My local photography store has a bunch of old pentax glass and I was eying up a 55mm f1.2, sure it manual focus, but I'm pretty intent on buying a katzeye focusing screen soon to help a bit more with manual focusing.

[Rondec]

Get a used 50mm -- f1.4 if you can afford it, f1.7 or 2 if you can't. That will give the option for narrow depth of field photography that zooms, etc don't really offer. The DA 55-300 is OK for a zoom, but it is a little soft on the long end in my experience and tough to shoot without a tripod/monopod due to its length.

As to lighting, buy old flashes off of e bay and use them off camera. You would be amazed how cheaply you can get some strobes. If you feel really wealthy someday, you could even buy a Cactus trigger set up.

[nanoamps]

I won't discount all of the great advice here. One definitely needs a full compliment of focal lengths in glassware to permit the most creativity.

But Dylan I'm not here to talk you into a different lens choice. That's up to you.
If you want to see how my brand new DA 55 - 300 did on its first weekend, here's a few picasa links to some of my selected pictures.
Camera = K200D [There are only 2 photos in the bunch shot with a different lens (for wider fov).]


https://picasaweb.google.com/nanoamps/Mar062011PioneersPark?authkey=Gv1sRgCI...eat=directlink


https://picasaweb.google.com/nanoamps/Mar052011BranchedOakLake?authkey=Gv1sR...eat=directlink

[Lowell Goudge]

if you really want budget, forget new lenses and look into the past. Portraits in todays world go from slightly wide to slightly long. I picked up an FA-28-80 F3.5-4.5 for $10 all because the power zoom mode switch was missing on an otherwise functional lens. it covers the right range, is reasonably fast, and certainly cheap

[Coeurdechene]

I second the light opinion
For a lens really consider the Tamron 28-75..it is sharp, versatile, cheap and fast (plus it's close focus..i don't use that feature much since i have a 1:1 macro, but it's nice to have it.).
But if she is thinking to start seriously getting into portraiture you can get continuous studio lights for that price...you can assemble a decent kit with a pair of umbrellas cheap tripods and lights for 200$, a bit more to get a back screen (the thing you unroll behind your subject..don't know it's name in english)..
I would go that way

[dylan73]

Hi!

I just want to report that I purchased a K 85/1.8 lens for portraiture...
Yes, manual, but I believe it will do nice... (it was not that "budget", I admit, ca. 250 USD)

Thanks for all tips, though, I will take care of lighting...