[CaLay]

Hi Folks,
I'm one photo shoot away from purchasing a Pentax K5IIs
If I can only purchase one lens for this camera, what would be a good one to get? I love doing family photo shoots, indoors and out.....love out door photography, landscapes....would love your input, thanks!

Carrie

[GDRoth]

The DA 18-135 is very versatile and light weight for an everyday lens.

[gbc1211]

along a` similar vein......just purchased a k-5 and am thinking about adding either 28mm wide angle or a 50mm macro.....any advice on the pros and cons of either..........I tend to use the camera most for trips and vacations

[Adam]

along a` similar vein......just purchased a k-5 and am thinking about adding either 28mm wide angle or a 50mm macro.....any advice on the pros and cons of either..........I tend to use the camera most for trips and vacations

Why not get the 50mm? It'll deliver the best IQ and at least you'll be different from everyone else (i.e. those who shoot with zooms)

Adam
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[Docrwm]

FA43 - take advantage of the power of the IIs.

[kenafein]

My favorite lens on the K-5 was the DA 100WR Macro. You could pick up a DA35/2.4 for landscapes. The combined expense wouldn't be too high, and you'd be able to take advantage of all that resolution.

[oxidized]

if you are buying only one lens, i suggest you go with something versatile. how about tamron 17-50 f2.8. pretty amazing bang for the buck, it is wide enough and somewhat telephoto. it is fast enough to capture good portraits in shallow depth of field and it is much sharper than the kit lens. the best part you dont have to change lens the only downside is that it is not weather sealed, but the price premium for that is too high IMO.

[Canada_Rockies]

If you are looking for maximum sharpness, the 35 macro is one I would look at first. Normal focal length on APS-C together with pretty darn sharp optics. My signature suggests that I go more for flexibility, and that is true.

[littledrawe]

How does the current DA* 60-250mm compare to the FA* 80-200mm of yesteryear I would like to see samples if anyone has them. I'm not sure why but the 60-250mm comes to mind when reading the OP.

[msatlas]

Do you have a price range in mind? Prefer new or used? There's so many lenses at so many different price points it's hard to narrow down to just one without a little more information.

Speaking very generally I'd get either a zoom that goes out to at least 18mm on the wide end, or a prime somewhere in the 24-35mm range.

[jasonwarth]

Pentax 100mm macro is the king of my castle. I have limiteds, DA*s, fisheye, etc—and nothing beats the 100. The images are just awesome—every time, whether macro or mid-distance portraits. It may not be an "everyday" lens—but it is definitely my recommendation for your first "non-everyday-lens."

[tibbitts]

You probably have an idea based on what lenses you use now.

Based on my limited experience, your competition uses various 70-200s almost exclusively - but on full-frame, of course. Based on that, maybe the Pentax 50-135? I'm surprised nobody has suggested that given your application. I"m assuming that, as with most photographers, you might do landscapes, etc. for amusement, but the portraits pay the bills.

Paul

[Livanz]

Hi , the Pentax K5IIs sensor delivers such high resolution that any zoom will be easily outperformed ( buy a cheap new K 5 or K5II to match if you consider zoom ) something like Sigma EX 70mm F2,8 Macro ( annexed tests taken with this lens ) or Pentax FA 35mm F2 AL , excellent image quality , more suitable for family shots , low-light , works similar to a "normal" lens on 24x36mm format . Good luck .

Just Posted: Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs studio test images: Digital Photography Review

[civiletti]

Discussing the Nikon D800 duo, commenter's often claim that only the highest resolution lenses are worth using on such cameras. With a smaller piece of the same sensor, though, lens quality is even more critical with the K-5 family, since magnification will be higher to achieve the same image size. Except for the sharpest zooms with 3:1 zoom ratio or less, I would use single focal length lenses - that is, if you want the image quality the cameras are capable of producing.