[GeneV]

The 21, 40 and the 70 are so small that they make a big difference in candid shooting at a party or cafe. People hardly take your camera seriously with these tiny pancakes. I don't own the 50-135, but even the smaller 17-70 catches the eye of the subject much more than the primes.

[wildboar]

I have the 40 and the 70... and I also have the Tamron 28-75. I'll never get rid of any of them, but if my intent was for family shots I think the 28-75 is the winner over any lens I have used for that purpose. It is a very nice range for people/activity shots, and even thought the body isn't built as well as a high-end zoom, the optics are razor sharp. You should still get the 40 and 70 someday though

[johnmflores]

DA*50-135 is for hunting. It's serious.
DA 40/70 is for play. They are like cute bunnies.

I've got all three. Where I in your situation, I might go with the DA21/DA70 combination. The DA21 is great for indoors and up close and the DA70 is great for portraits and outdoors. 40mm or 50mm as your widest is not very wide for indoors.

[psychdoc]

I have the DA 70, DA* 50-135 and the Tamron 28-75.

I didn't buy them all at the same time. When I first wanted a portrait lens, I researched it endlessly. I decided that I would try a prime lens, since a small combo is one of the reasons to stick with Pentax in the first place. So it boiled down to the DA 40 vs DA 70. I settled on the DA 70 for one major reason: the shooting distance. Its a heck of a lot easier to get semi-candid or candid shots of the family with the DA 70. The kids especially either frowned or gave a fake look when I used shorter lenses. With the DA 70, this was not a problem.

After using the DA 70 for a while, the kids got into perfromances like dance and into sports. I needed something more versatile. The 50-135 is a heck of a lot smaller than a 70-200. I got it for sports and events shooting. But I quickly found out that it was even better for portraits. Its probably my most used lens currently.

Of the three, I got the tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens last. The other two were a little too long for indoor shooting. Even this lens can sometimes be a little long but I could live with it. Well, what can I say, I usually stick with the tamron as my walkaround lens when I know I know I will be doing both indoor and outdoor shots or if I dont want to carry something large. Its almost as good as the 50-135.

I think these lenses fit different scenarios. If I had to chooose one lens all over again. I would choose the tamron as it is the most versatile. But once you use the 50-135 its hard to shoot with anything else. That the lens I personally try to use whenever I can. I think the DA 70 is my least used lens currently...The zooms are more convenient....

[freewheelin25]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think I am going to order the 70mm limited and the 21mm limited after months of consideration. My wife will have to get use to moving, but we will carry the camera everywhere instead of special occasions. I hope I'm making the right decision?

[gda13]

Hard to go wrong in either scenario. I'm sure your decision is the right one for you. You will love the limited lenses I know I do, but I also love my 50-135mm for different situations. Who knows maybe you'll end up digging this photography thing and find yourself with a variety of lenses later on.

[halfpasthuman]

Hey freewheelin25,

You won't be disappointed, I can guarantee that, at least for the DA 21 (never tried the DA 70). From the moment I got it, it was glued to my camera, even surpassed my DA 35 macro, when I was just running out of the house.

Take care,
HPH

[Free Soul]

Good choice of 70/2.4. I love it. You'll never be disappointed of it.

Will find samples of photos in my previous posts.