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tkj365 · 10-12-2011, 04:00 AM

Okay, so let me start by first saying...argh....!!! So many lenses to choose from. For digital, I have:

K200D - Yeah, not so new but I like it.
Kit 18-55 - Not Bad; Me Thinks.
Quantaray 70-300mm F4-5.6 LD Macro 1:2 - Pretty good for the price tag.

Now for what I want:

1xWide Angle Lens
1xMacro Lens
1xFisheye Lens

I have been holding off for a long time to get these. I am pretty strapped for cash and am looking for glass about as good as the Quantaray above for the best price. I have no idea where to begin poking around... any thoughts?

chalion · 10-12-2011, 04:39 AM

K200D is a good, solid camera. I've taken some good wildlife pictures with mine and the kit lens.

For the lenses you want/wish to have; on a budget, i'd suggest looking at either M42 mount lenses or full manual K-mount. These are all relatively cheap glass and have great optics.

If you could afford it, the DA-L 35mm f 2.4 is a good walk around lens for the price. It's certainly not as expensive as the FA limited lenses these days.

elho_cid · 10-12-2011, 04:45 AM

How much are you prepared to invest?

Regarding wide angle, cheapest option is the Samyang 14mm. Bulky and without AF, but not bad. You can also choose to first get fisheye and defish in PP later when you want rectilinear image. I personally have had only the FE zoom 10-17 for few years before I got myself rectilinear wideangle. DA10-17 is very verstaile and fun lens. And quite small, not larger than the kit lens.

In macro territory, if you don't mind manual exposure, M50/4 can be had very chap and it's great optics.

abacus07 · 10-12-2011, 08:05 AM

wide, cheap and better than the kit lens probably isn't happening. Same for the fisheye. the cheapest good ones are probably the Samyang 14mm and the Zenitar 16mm.

But macro has a lot of options available. the M50 and M100 are both good along with a vivitar 55mm. I kind of wished I would have held out for the M100/4 but I'm impulsive on Ebay. And once you hit about $200 there are a lot of excellent 90-105mm 1:1 lenses available. You just need to decide how close you want to be and how much magnification you want.

RioRico · 10-12-2011, 10:43 AM

For macro, see https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/152336-cheap-macro-b...lose-work.html

For ultrawide (UWA) and fisheye (FE) the options are mostly separated by price. The most flexible lenses are the great DA10-17 FE (the lens that drove me to Pentax) and one of the UWA beasts: Sigma 8-16 or 10-20's, Pentax 12-24, Tamron 10-24. I own and love the Tamron, which is also the least expensive of those. Still, none of those are exactly cheap.

For less flexibility (and cash outlay) the Zenitar 16/2.8 FE is just mildly fishy, and defishes nicely (where it's effectively 12mm), and is fast and pretty sharp, and can be had for under US$200 shipped. For situations where I want more speed and need less flexibility than my DA10-17 and Tamron 10-24 offer, the Zenitar works damn well.

Avoid UWA and FE 'adapters' if you care at all about image quality. Such cheap strap-ons are OK with video, and if you don't need images that look 'photographic', like posterizations, solarizations, etc. For reality-based photography, get the real thing.

**Ex Finn.** · 10-12-2011, 04:56 PM

There is always that limiting factor, the budget. Without it, I would go for:
DA 12-24,
DA 100 WR,
DA 10-17,
What a fun bunch to shoot with.
I know, not much help.

10-12-2011, 04:00 AM	#1
tkj365 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Chandler, AZ Posts: 142	What to Get? Okay, so let me start by first saying...argh....!!! So many lenses to choose from. For digital, I have: K200D - Yeah, not so new but I like it. Kit 18-55 - Not Bad; Me Thinks. Quantaray 70-300mm F4-5.6 LD Macro 1:2 - Pretty good for the price tag. Now for what I want: 1xWide Angle Lens 1xMacro Lens 1xFisheye Lens I have been holding off for a long time to get these. I am pretty strapped for cash and am looking for glass about as good as the Quantaray above for the best price. I have no idea where to begin poking around... any thoughts?

10-12-2011, 04:39 AM	#2
chalion Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: SE Pennsylvania Photos: Albums Posts: 628	K200D is a good, solid camera. I've taken some good wildlife pictures with mine and the kit lens. For the lenses you want/wish to have; on a budget, i'd suggest looking at either M42 mount lenses or full manual K-mount. These are all relatively cheap glass and have great optics. If you could afford it, the DA-L 35mm f 2.4 is a good walk around lens for the price. It's certainly not as expensive as the FA limited lenses these days.

10-12-2011, 04:45 AM	#3
elho_cid Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Prague Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,199	How much are you prepared to invest? Regarding wide angle, cheapest option is the Samyang 14mm. Bulky and without AF, but not bad. You can also choose to first get fisheye and defish in PP later when you want rectilinear image. I personally have had only the FE zoom 10-17 for few years before I got myself rectilinear wideangle. DA10-17 is very verstaile and fun lens. And quite small, not larger than the kit lens. In macro territory, if you don't mind manual exposure, M50/4 can be had very chap and it's great optics.

10-12-2011, 08:05 AM	#4
abacus07 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Taiwan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,075	wide, cheap and better than the kit lens probably isn't happening. Same for the fisheye. the cheapest good ones are probably the Samyang 14mm and the Zenitar 16mm. But macro has a lot of options available. the M50 and M100 are both good along with a vivitar 55mm. I kind of wished I would have held out for the M100/4 but I'm impulsive on Ebay. And once you hit about $200 there are a lot of excellent 90-105mm 1:1 lenses available. You just need to decide how close you want to be and how much magnification you want.

10-12-2011, 10:43 AM	#5
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	For macro, see https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/152336-cheap-macro-b...lose-work.html For ultrawide (UWA) and fisheye (FE) the options are mostly separated by price. The most flexible lenses are the great DA10-17 FE (the lens that drove me to Pentax) and one of the UWA beasts: Sigma 8-16 or 10-20's, Pentax 12-24, Tamron 10-24. I own and love the Tamron, which is also the least expensive of those. Still, none of those are exactly cheap. For less flexibility (and cash outlay) the Zenitar 16/2.8 FE is just mildly fishy, and defishes nicely (where it's effectively 12mm), and is fast and pretty sharp, and can be had for under US$200 shipped. For situations where I want more speed and need less flexibility than my DA10-17 and Tamron 10-24 offer, the Zenitar works damn well. Avoid UWA and FE 'adapters' if you care at all about image quality. Such cheap strap-ons are OK with video, and if you don't need images that look 'photographic', like posterizations, solarizations, etc. For reality-based photography, get the real thing.

10-12-2011, 04:56 PM	#6
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	There is always that limiting factor, the budget. Without it, I would go for: DA 12-24, DA 100 WR, DA 10-17, What a fun bunch to shoot with. I know, not much help.

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