[abacus07]

The big advantage of using primes is having a lightweight camera. it doesn't necessarily make your bag lighter and it certainly makes things more complicated. There nothing more inconvenient than being in a group and needing to change a lens because your 50 does not work at all for a wide angle scene. Or being in a light mist and needing to change a lens while hiking.

Yes, I'm a prime lover but I also want the 16-50 to complement my primes. Some days you need a zoom and some days you'll really wish you had that 50/1.4.

An ideal set for me if limited to 4 lenses
DA15
FA43
DFA 100WR macro
DA*16-50

[causey]

Let us know how the change worked for you. Have you returned the primes and bought zooms?

[sewebster]

I am not a street photographer, I primarily work in landscapes, architecture, and portraits. I use external lighting for portraits. In short, I don't really need fast lenses. I don't even need the high ISO of the K-5 most of the time. I rarely bump it up higher than 800, though I suppose it certainly doesn't hurt to have it available.

Portraits are where I most often use the wide apertures of my fast primes the most... sure fast is nice for low light, but you don't really shoot a landscape with f/1.4 you use it to get low depth of field for artistic purposes.

[drakkar]

I got a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and a Sigma 30 f/1.4 for my K-5, the latter for light weight and low light use. During winter, I find myself using the 30 mm as a walk-about lens most of the time. You lose some opportunities, but gain others.