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08-20-2012, 07:41 AM   #31
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Hi, here is a few thoughts..

- Concider AF or MF in the +135 tele/zoom range. What is your subject? Little birds darting around? Then certainly AF is more easy. Landscapes or portrait MF is fine.
- The SMC K 2.8/105 is a very compact, good IQ etc., short tele/portrait lens (cheap alternative to 85mm or much larger 135mm).
- DA 2.8/40 Ltd. is a great 'normal‘. So when on a budget and compact set you do not need another. It is a really magnificent lens and with the K5 you have a choice of very high ISO when needed, and a fast (expensive) fifty not really necessary.

Regards

08-20-2012, 08:30 AM   #32
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QuoteOriginally posted by msatlas Quote
Which is why I have mine listed for sale in the marketplace and why I'm planning to get a 55-300.
I think you'll like the 55-300 a lot. Sometimes it AF hunts, but optically, it's terrific. Very, very sharp all the way out to 300mm. I wouldn't part with mine.
08-20-2012, 09:18 AM   #33
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Concerning AF or MF, I mostly shoot Street, Landscape and Architecture, so MF will do fine.
I do however find it quite anoying to have too many steps to go through before I can press the shutter,
so I'd really prefer an A-Prime or an AF-Zoom, I'll take a K/M-Prime too, if there is a big difference in IQ or price.

@dms
The K200/2.5 is around 300€ on german ebay, I'd certainly buy it if I find one at a bargain price but I think the A200/4 is the better choice for me.

Here is a test comparing all the Pentax 135s and the DA55-300 (in german but with loads of test shots).
According to that the K135/2.5 and the A135/2.8 are pretty much equal, except the K has the better bokeh and the A is sharper wide open.
The A is lighter and more compact, has a shorter minimal focus distance and the same 52mm filter thread as all my current lenses.
They're both around 120€ on german ebay, so I'd probably go for the A135 for the sake of convenience.

@jt_cph_dk:
You mean this one, right? At the same price I'd probably go for the A135 but it's certainly something to look out for, thanks!

I guess I'll start looking for a A200/4 or a F70-210/4-5.6, if I find a A200/4, I'll keep looking for the A135/2.8.
I'd rather save the money for a wide angel zoom (Sigma 10-20?) than spend more on a slow AF-Zoom.


Thanks again for all the help, everyone!


-Jan



Target Lenses:
F70-210/4-5.6 for <70€
A200/4 for <100€
K200/2.5 for <100€
K200/4 for <40€
M200/4 for <30€
A135/2.8 for <100€
K135/2.5 for <80€
K105/2.8 for <80€
A100/4 Macro for <100€
M100/4 Macro for <70€
M85/2 for <100€

Last edited by Boris_Akunin; 08-20-2012 at 10:49 AM.
08-20-2012, 09:50 AM   #34
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QuoteOriginally posted by GibbyTheMole Quote
I think you'll like the 55-300 a lot. Sometimes it AF hunts, but optically, it's terrific. Very, very sharp all the way out to 300mm.
The 55-300mm is certainly a good lens for the price, but I think you're overstating the case a bit in terms of sharpness. I used to own the DA 55-300mm, and I've also owned the Pentax FA J 75-300mm, Sigma 70-300mm, 170-500m, and the 150-500mm HSM; and I currently own the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 and the 100-300mm f4, so I have a lot of experience with telephoto lenses. The 55-300mm is decently sharp, but it's not exceptional in that regard. But for the target customers, it's just about right. It's certainly more than sharp enough for a reasonably-sized print, or for anything you would post online.

My experience with the 55-300mm is reflected in Photozone's review of the lens:
The Pentax 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED is capable of producing quite respectable resolution figures throughout the focal length range. The center performance is generally on very good level with a rather typical quality penalty towards the long end of the zoom range.
Now it could be that we just have a difference in terminology here. For me, a lens that is "very, very sharp" at 300mm would normally have a four-figure price tag. But I just wanted to make sure that somebody didn't come away with unrealistic expectations for the 55-300mm. I did like that lens, and I got some wonderful photos from it. I found it to be very good for portraits in particular since it produced wonderful bokeh.

08-20-2012, 10:00 AM   #35
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QuoteOriginally posted by Boris_Akunin Quote
You mean this one, right?
Thatīs the one. Regards

..just saw one here:
http://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/SMC-Pentax-K-Series-105mm-F2-8-Prime-Compact-Tel...item5ae8cf8041

Last edited by jt_cph_dk; 08-20-2012 at 10:59 AM. Reason: added text
08-20-2012, 04:23 PM   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
Now it could be that we just have a difference in terminology here. For me, a lens that is "very, very sharp" at 300mm would normally have a four-figure price tag. But I just wanted to make sure that somebody didn't come away with unrealistic expectations for the 55-300mm.
Maybe our ideas of "very sharp" differ. Here's a 100% crop of the eyes straight out of the camera with the thumbnail of the full photo in the lower right corner. (Sucky portrait, I know.) Shot at 1/160, f8, at 100mm.:



It's a fairly new acquisition, so I couldn't locate a shot at 300mm. When I first bought it, I took a series of test shots with it on a tripod, aimed at color magazine print. The 300mm shots looked pretty much as sharp as the shots taken anywhere else.

Of course, I've never owned a 4-figure lens (and I'm sure I won't ever be lucky enough to) but it looks pretty sharp to me. :-)

I like it for portraits, too. The 55-300 & my Pentax-A 35-105 are my go-to portrait lenses.

Last edited by GibbyTheMole; 08-20-2012 at 04:28 PM.
08-20-2012, 05:18 PM   #37
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(Almost) any tele, be it a 200 or a 70-200/300, would be too large to always carry (except the DA50-200 maybe),
so I would want a compact prime between 70 and 135 anyway and I'm sure a M85/2 or a A135/2.8 would beat any (affordable) zoom, especially as far as portraits are concerned.

At the price of a used DA55-300 I can get an A200/4 and an A135/2.8. Sure, the DA55-300 would serve me fine but it isn't really a bargain compared to the alternatives.


-Jan

08-20-2012, 07:31 PM   #38
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I really like the Sigma 50-200 HSM OS lens. It's only $159 new at B&H. It has a metal mount, optical stabilizer, built in focus motor, and a 3 year warranty. Check out the reviews - they are overwhelmingly positive. Here's a wide open shot at 160mm:

08-20-2012, 08:08 PM   #39
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QuoteOriginally posted by Boris_Akunin Quote
Sure, the DA55-300 would serve me fine but it isn't really a bargain compared to the alternatives.


-Jan
You know what is not a bargain? A bunch of lenses you never use. You know what is a bargain? A really good lens you use all the time.

Your best choices are probably DA 55-300, if you want IQ and reach to 300; or DA 50-200 WR if you want WR and small size.

On the other hand, if you want an opportunity to play around with a lot of different lenses - well, you know what to do. :-)
08-20-2012, 09:00 PM   #40
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yeah. an used DA 55-300 is about 280 US dollars. DA L is even cheaper.
That is within your budget.
you should seriously consider this.
08-20-2012, 10:06 PM   #41
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QuoteOriginally posted by liukaitc Quote
yeah. an used DA 55-300 is about 280 US dollars. DA L is even cheaper.
That is within your budget.
you should seriously consider this.
QuoteOriginally posted by Nick Siebers Quote
You know what is not a bargain? A bunch of lenses you never use. You know what is a bargain? A really good lens you use all the time.
Your best choices are probably DA 55-300, if you want IQ and reach to 300; or DA 50-200 WR if you want WR and small size.
On the other hand, if you want an opportunity to play around with a lot of different lenses - well, you know what to do. :-)
For one, to use a lens all the time I need to carry it all the time and the further I need to stop it down for sharp images, the more light I need to use it, especially handheld.
The DA55-300 and A200/4 or the DA50-200 and A135/2.8 are close in terms of size and weight but the primes are sharper and faster.
The A135 would neatly fit into a small set, i.e. 24-40-(85?)-135, I could cover the DA50-200s short end by cropping from the DA40 and the long end by cropping from the 135.
If space and weight aren't an issue, I could easily take the A135 and the A200 along, I would have to crop to cover the 55-135, 135-200 and 200-300 ranges but I would gain the primes' larger apetures.

Concerning the number of lenses, I think I'll bee fine carrying 24-40-135 everywere and adding a wide angle zoom, a fast 50 or 85 and a 200 as needed.
The DA55-300 is in my budget but the more I spend to cover the tele-range, the longer I will have to wait to add a wide angle zoom

On a side note, the DA55-300 would be the odd one out with it's 58mm filter thread, all my current lenses and the A135/A200 have a 52mm thread, using a step-up ring I can cover the DA40, most of the other limiteds and a lot of other primes (i.e. the M85/2, the 50s, the 100mm macros).


So all in all I think I'll stick with the primes but thanks for your input.


-Jan
08-21-2012, 12:54 AM   #42
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QuoteOriginally posted by Boris_Akunin Quote
Concerning the number of lenses, I think I'll bee fine carrying 24-40-135 everywere and adding a wide angle zoom, a fast 50 or 85 and a 200 as needed. The DA55-300 is in my budget but the more I spend to cover the tele-range, the longer I will have to wait to add a wide angle zoom
I think you are close to a conclusion with the ‘24-40-135‘. And (as you say) with a very good IQ 135 you can crop to 200% (equal to a tele 270) without any problems. + the crop factor of the APS-C (of X1.52) will take you pretty close to things! I would say you should get that 10-20mm WA for your architecture, street and landscape shots. Regards

Here is a recent sample with a 200% crop I took with my K2.5/135 (with K7 and straight from the camera, no extra sharpening)

Last edited by jt_cph_dk; 08-21-2012 at 03:02 AM.
08-21-2012, 01:09 AM   #43
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..but then, this is not the end of your concerns. You will soon be thinking about accessories like these (when your budget fire has calmed a bit):
Pentax Battery Grip BG-4 for K-5 and K-7 reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
PENTAX Magnifier Eyecup O-ME53 reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
KATZ EYE Plus split prism with microprism collar reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
08-21-2012, 04:05 AM   #44
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QuoteOriginally posted by liukaitc Quote
yeah. an used DA 55-300 is about 280 US dollars. DA L is even cheaper.
Yep. I have the DA-L version. Bought it for $160 here on the forum. I consider it a bargain.

QuoteOriginally posted by riveredger Quote
I really like the Sigma 50-200 HSM OS lens.
Great looking shot! Looks like the lens is a keeper!

Cheers,
Bobbo :-)
08-21-2012, 07:38 AM   #45
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QuoteOriginally posted by jt_cph_dk Quote
If I find myself taking loads of handheld portraits, I'll think about the grip, but otherwise it's way down on my list (below a WA-zoom, all the limiteds and many other things).
The O-ME53 is a sure buy, I just haven't come around to get it yet.
I have no problem MFing with the 50/1.7 or the 135/2.8, so I don't think I need a split prism - and I don't want to have one in the center of my view finder when I'm using AF-lenses.

But you're right, I will probably be haemorrhaging money for years now...

-Jan
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