[dancel]

Saving up for this summer for sure, a lot things will be happening but what should I grab? im scratching my head with this one it sounds stupid but tell me what you think.

looking at a $1500 budget.

1) Buy the K20D (I do have the k10d i got on sept 2007 & the k100D)

2) Get 2 Lenses But which one? i want the 55mm SDM but i know that wont be ready by summer.
so 16-50 & 50-135.

3) i need to cover this areas and i hope you guys can give me some ideas and recommendations.
Wide,Portrait,Zoom. I only have the kit lens 18-55mm a 50mm manual f2 and a 70-300 sigma 35mm lens.

any help with the lens would surely help.

Thanks

[rvannatta]

Saving up for this summer for sure, a lot things will be happening but what should I grab? im scratching my head with this one it sounds stupid but tell me what you think.

looking at a $1500 budget.

1) Buy the K20D (I do have the k10d i got on sept 2007 & the k100D)

2) Get 2 Lenses But which one? i want the 55mm SDM but i know that wont be ready by summer.
so 16-50 & 50-135.

3) i need to cover this areas and i hope you guys can give me some ideas and recommendations.
Wide,Portrait,Zoom. I only have the kit lens 18-55mm a 50mm manual f2 and a 70-300 sigma 35mm lens.

any help with the lens would surely help.

Thanks

If you are in a hurry for a a portrait---consider the F or FA 50. They show up regularly on the used market at affordable levels.

Since you already own the Kit lens, overlaying that with the DA*16-50 doesn't get you much.
I'd contemplate what width you most commonly use and contemplate a Prime.
The DA* 16-50 doesn't perform all that well in low light c onditions anyway (or at least some of them don't). I've been comparing the FA*24 F2 with the DA*16-50 to sort of see what I thought---and while I don't have solid conclusions yet, be assured that the FA*24 is NOT for sale.

I think a strategy of cheap zooms, augmented by Primes at focal lengths that you actually
use is a good plan. The zooms will do the job when there is plenty of light, and when the going gets tough the primes will bail you out.

[wiyum]

It seems to me that getting the DA* 16-50 and 50-135 is just outside of your price range, but if you can swing it, that's the buy to make. Fund the rest by selling your kit and sigma lenses if you have to.

You could buy camera after camera, but you only have 1 lens of any particular quality, and depending on which 50/2.0 you have, maybe not even that. If you buy a k50D in three years, those two lenses (the 16-50 and 50-135) are still going to be top lenses (assuming you make certain you get a fully functional sample of the 16-50). If you buy a k20d but keep the kit lens, the quality difference you're going to see won't be anywhere near as pronounced. Those DA* zooms should sing on your k10D, enabling you to sit out a round or two (at least) of camera upgrading.

New cameras come and go, but top quality lenses, if cared for, last forever, and will continue to return on their investment for far longer.

Plus, you have nothing that grabs those two millimeters on the wide end, two millimeters that are, for me at least, pretty crucial.

Will

[Lowell Goudge]

I have not voted yet for one reason, there should be another option either none of the above, or one really expensive lens.

Maybe I am somewhat outside the typical here, as I have shot pentax for so long that I have a rather substantial collection already.

7 primes and 7 zooms plus a 1000mm telescope. While I have a short list of fast primes that I would want, including an 85 F1.8, and the short list might win out in my vote, what I would really like is an autofocus 300mmF2.8 or a fast 500mm af lens (i.e. f4.5 or so). In writhing this, I have decided, unless someone offers either of the affore mentioned lenses for 1500, the budget isn't big enough, Ill go for the 3 lenses.

I would take either of these over the K20, at this time, as I am quite pleased with both my *istD and K10D.

My view is lenses first, as bodies will come and go as technology advances but lenses pretty much stay and have value.

Edit note, since I didn't cover the OP's question, I'll go through this now.

if 1500 is the budget, I would go for an ultra wide zoom (sigma 10-20 or Pentax 12-24) plus a fast mid range zoom, either sigma 24-70 or 24-60, or tamron 28-75, this leaves about $500 for something else,

Maybe look on the used market for a fast 50mm and a fast wide angle, or put the extra towards a very fast tele zoom (tamron or sigma 70-200 f2.8 when they become available), ot a Bigma if you want the reach. problem is these last 2 will bust the budget by about 500.

If the short end is not important you could drop the ultra wide, but I wouldn't, I use mine about 20% of the time. enough to really miss it

---

Last edited by Lowell Goudge; 02-15-2008 at 06:24 AM.

[dancel]

i appreciate all the replies.. and has been really helpful, the $1500 dollars is what i have now, i should have been more clear, i would prolly have more so the 2 sdm wont be a problem its the fact of availabilty, like i am really really waiting for the 55mm sdm 1.4 to come out like thats a for sure buy, but i know it wont be a while, but basically i think it really comes down to 2 lenses i guess the wide and zoom and of course i want both to be fast .

[DJey]

For me, I'd buy all the necessary thing I need before anything else.. A good flash..
1.) DA* 16-50 f2.8 - US$700
2.) AF 540FGZ or Metz 58 AF-1 - US$375

I still have US$425 to buy other things I need..

[NaClH2O]

Saving up for this summer for sure, a lot things will be happening but what should I grab? im scratching my head with this one it sounds stupid but tell me what you think.

looking at a $1500 budget.

1) Buy the K20D (I do have the k10d i got on sept 2007 & the k100D)

2) Get 2 Lenses But which one? i want the 55mm SDM but i know that wont be ready by summer.
so 16-50 & 50-135.

3) i need to cover this areas and i hope you guys can give me some ideas and recommendations.
Wide,Portrait,Zoom. I only have the kit lens 18-55mm a 50mm manual f2 and a 70-300 sigma 35mm lens.

any help with the lens would surely help.

Thanks

It so depends on what and how you like to shoot. If you find yourself shooting in inclement weather, I'd get the two weather sealed lenses. If you don't like going out in the wet/snow, I'd go with some non sealed lenses, simply because they are so much cheaper.
I don't know prices too well but I'd get: (these are all lenses I own and use frequently)
Pentax DA 12-24 F4---excellent wide rectilinear zoom
Tamron 28-75 F2.8 zoom---wonderful "walk around" zoom. Really good IQ and moderately fast
Pentax 77mm F1.8 ltd.--- one of the legendary original Limiteds. One of the best portrait lenses you can buy for Pentax mount period.

If you have any money left over get the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro. Excellent macro, decent portrait, and excellent short/mid tele.

NaCl(that's my story and I'm sticking to it)H2O

[-=JoN=-]

lenses I think playe a bigger part in the outcome of the photograph, rather than the body.

i'd go for the glass first then the body.....


put it this way.....even if you have the k20, paired up w/ a really bad lens....
regardless of how good the k20 is..the pic will still come out bad...

[dancel]

Well i have narrow it down to 2 choices.

the k20d is out of my head.. maybe the the k30D when it comes out.

the fact hat 55mm 1.4 will not be out anytime soon. i think i will be going with the 50-135 SDM and a wide lens or maybe fisheye.. and if i can find some limiteds i would grab some. here is another question which is a better lens for sharper and better color. does anyone know if the sigma 30mm 1.4 is a good lens?

[roentarre]

Simple. I would get the Da* lenses since k20d would eventually depreciate to nothing. The lenses are something you could always end up using in the future on any other camera bodies.

[SpecialK]

I did not vote because it did not fit the choices.

Since you have bodies, you need lenses.

The 12-24 and the 50-135 would be a good start and take all your budget. Or substitute the 10-17 fisheye and Sigma 18-50 f2.8 (older version) for the 12-24, givng you 3 good lenses.

[dancel]

Looks like its about the same price at a camera store around where I live. which one would you choose?

[amateur6]

I think I'll speak for the "silent 22" and say -- heck yes, I voted for "get the k20d"! But then, I NEED the high ISO (and I WANT the megapix).

31mm Limited or Weather sealed 16-50 SDM? Looks like its about the same price at a camera store around where I live. which one would you choose?

I tend towards primes myself, but it's really down to personal choice: do you want a prime or a zoom? Weather-sealed or not?

For the record, I bought the 16-50 at the end of last year, and just had a fun shoot with it and my new (used) AF-500FTZ and a VERY homemade diffuser). But I needed a zoom AND didn't have ANY coverage on the low end (no kit lens), so...

[BTW, regarding the shot -- yes, it's pretty flat: the site it's ultimately intended for is called Cadaver Girls (N-so-SFW and a tad gruesome; this was the "vanilla" shot) so warm, lively flesh tones was NOT the object... I actually had a full CT Blue sheet over the diffuser. Client (subject) was very pleased.]

[mattdm]

If I already had the K10D (which I do), I'd go for the lenses. The K20D looks like a nice improvement, but, not being made of money and not making money from my hobby, I can't upgrade to every new model. So I'll sit this one out, and probably get the K30D in a year and a half.

I'm tempted by the 50-135, but I think the two SDM lenses I'd get first are the upcoming 30 and 55mm ★ primes.

[heatherslightbox]

I agree with the other folks who say that camera bodies come and go, but lenses last.

Let's see--for $1500, you could get:
Sigma 10-20 for $500
Tamron 17-50 for $450
*50-135 for $749
That would go over your budget by $100, but would give you a variety of lengths to work with.

--or--

DA 12-24- $719.95 ($689 for the Sigma version)
Tamron 28-75- $349.95--there are very few, if any complaints about this one
Tamron 70-200/2.8 $699 (not weathersealed, but more reach than the 50-135)

This one also goes over $1500, but if you say you're going to have more later on, this this would be do-able.

I like spending other peoples' money

HTH,
Heather