[freewheelin25]

My K5 is on the way and need help deciding which lenses to choose. The lens that I choose will be used for taking pictures of my children and wife. I have my eye on three lenses. The DA* 50-135mm or the 70mm prime and the 40mm limited lenses. I want the 70mm and 40mm because of their sizes and the fact that my wife will find it easier to handle or should I go with the DA* 50-135 because it will give me more versatility? I will be happy with either decision, but I wanted the communities opinion before I pull the trigger on the lens or lenses. Thank you in advance!

[TOUGEFC]

The zoom does offer versatily and weather sealing, the only things those DA Limited primes offer is smaller size, they are slow (aperture wise) for prime lenses too, but there are pancake so they cant be that fast, either way all lenses you are looking at are great and you would be happy with any of them.

I think its a decison really only you can make, size vs versatility & weather sealing.
Gold luck!

[Mohawk]

You'll find quite a few forum members, like me, have all three.

For family snaps 90% of my shots are with the 50-135. It's the first lens I bought after ditching the kit lens.

Fantastic piece of kit, beautiful colours. I use it with the 16-50/2.8 for event work, and when the elements are an issue.

The 40 and 70 have similar IQ, if a little sharper. I use these two with the 12-24/4 as my 'street' kit.

Er, that really doesn't help much, does it?

[Macario]

the only question here is, to zoom or not to zoom.
If you want to zoom, go with the 50-135, if you do not want to zoom go with the ltd's

I guess this doesn't help either

(on the otherhand, I am a prime lens lover, but with young kids, a zoom is a hell lot easier cause the little buggers never seem to sit still. and when you have finally framed them, they decide to move forward or backward 10cm)

[freewheelin25]

I've been going back and forth for a month and still haven't made up my mind. I need help! My main use for these lenses will be family portraits.

[causey]

DA 40 + DA 70 --- 230grams
DA* 50-135 -------- 760grams
AF is faster with the primes.
The zoom is more versatile.

[yygomez]

The Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 AF Di-II is a good option and will save you some $$

[GeneV]

DA 40 + DA 70 --- 230grams
DA* 50-135 -------- 760grams
AF is faster with the primes.
The zoom is more versatile.

I'd agree that those are the main points. Size is the main benefit for the primes, especially size while shooting. You could probably throw an older ~100mm prime in there and still come out with less weight.

[Sperdynamite]

In my opinion the realy benefit of the Pentax system is the primes. I have the 50-135 2.8 but I don't necessarily recommend it over the fixed lenses.

Go Limited all the way and you will have the best Pentax has to offer.

[elho_cid]

I compared the DA70 and DA*50-135 shooting the same scene from tripod mounted K-7 and found that the lenses are quite different in their character. Depends what image you prefer. Both are plenty sharp, but DA70 has more contrast and the image is snappier. But it also suffers from some more bokeh aberations than 50-135. Bokeh qualities are very different too. Limited prime is more likely to produce wonderful bokeh with pronounced circles when you choose the backgroud carefully, but with ugly background the bokeh of DA70 may get distracting. The 50-135 provides very smooth bokeh with no edges, very neutral and even a bit dull at times.
I can imagine having both in my kit.

[SpecialK]

Tamron 28-75 goes for about $325 used. A good zoom, and your wife can handle it, too.

[RonHendriks1966]

Well the 40mm also offers a wider field of view. It is very fast in focussing and sharp. Your wife will be able too handle that very easily.

I never handled the 70mm for a real time, but that should be a great lens also.

The 50-135mm is a great lens, small for what it offers, but big next to the Limited primes. Giving also a very different look and feel in your pictures.

If you can stretch the budget I would buy 50-135 and 40mm. The big lens for going to a park or family outing and the small lens for home pictures.

On the otherhand if you can find a cheap FA50mm/f1.4 you will have a good lens for low light. But the DA40mm is sharp at f2.8 so you can use that good for familypictures in and around your house.

[sterretje]

One issue for your wife might be lens swapping. If she does not want to swap lenses, a zoom would definitely be preferred (I guess your only option).

I do not really understand ( or let's say: find it surprising) the choice of the 50-135 compared to the 40 and 70. Slightly wider zoom and shorter like the Tamron 28-75 or Sigma 24-70 would be a more logical choice (I don't own them so can vouch for their qualities). But OK, that's up to you

[tstaires]

Why not rent these lenses first to see what works best for you? I'll be doing this soon to see if I want to invest in the 50-135.

[Turtle]

The 50-135 has been my only lense. I recently started using an F 28/2.8 and the size difference has more of an impact on the handling and my perception of shooting than I thought it would.
I'm more likely to pick up the 28 and play with it, where the 50-135 is gorgeous, but seems too massive for cafe shooting, and too long for indoors.
The images from any of the mentioned lenses will superb, so choose the option that will be used most often by the most people. I'm also realising now that 15MP is heaps of res and cropping is a very usable way to zoom.
I may suggest getting the 40, and seeing how you feel about the focal length after some shooting. I'm imagining that the 50-135 won't be far around the corner.
T