[dmort]

Hello all - I've been turning over my lenses like crazy!

Over the course of a month, I've gone from owning: DA 18-135, DA 21mm LTD, FA 43mm LTD, DA 55-300mm, and Tamron 90mm Macro to the lenses listed in the title: DA*55mm, DA* 50-135, and the Sigma 100-300mm F4.

I'm really pleased with my new set of lenses and while I sometimes miss the compactness to quality ration of the limiteds, I'm overall, very happy with my kit.

But I have a gaping hole in the wide - standard sort of range!

Funds are short after these new purchases (many things have hit ebay to cover the differences in price! Let me know if you live in the bronx and want to buy a mountain bike...) so I'm looking to get something that will serve as a wide-angle option as well as a walk around option. Additionally, this new lens will have to serve something of a stop gap. I know I'd like the DA* 16-50 or perhaps whatever the new DA* 16-85ish sort of lens will be, but I just can't afford it.

So here's the question: What should I get, for around $300, to compliment my current set of lenses?

As far as I can tell, my choices are (buying used of course): DA 16-45, DA 17-70, Tamron 17-50, or the Sigma 17-70 macro.

Currently, I'm leaning towards the Sigma 17-70 or the 16-45. My only dislike on the 16-45 is that i expect I would be changing lenses a lot to go from that wide angle zoom length to a portrait sort of length and that I don't like how much the 16-45 actually extends while zoominng (fully extended at the wide end, as I understand).

Any other suggestions or thoughts on the above lenses?

[Na Horuk]

My only dislike on the 16-45 is that i expect I would be changing lenses a lot to go from that wide angle zoom length to a portrait sort of length and that I don't like how much the 16-45 actually extends while zoominng (fully extended at the wide end, as I understand).

45mm is okay for portraits on a crop sensor, I wouldn't worry about that. And you can just replace it with your 55mm, which is basically made for portraits

[dmort]

Yes, yes, agreed! I have two small children though and sometimes the opportunity for that smiling face is much much shorter than the time it takes to change lenses. If the goal is portraits, the 55mm would be on the lens, I only mention the option for convenience sake.

[Adam]

The Sigma 17-70mm sounds like a good way to go. We have a comparative review on the homepage! Since you already have a lot of fast glass, I don't think you'll miss having F2.8 at the long end anyway.

Pentax 17-70mm Lens Comparison - Introduction - PentaxForums.com

Adam
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[DSims]

I had the DA17-70, and have the DA*16-50 now. I was very happy with the DA17-70's performance at f/4.5 with the constant aperture (I just don't like variable aperture much, and such lenses tend to have lower IQ as well). The 70mm end was useful for those family shots as well. The DA*16-50 is better, but the DA17-70 is good.

I've seen nice results from the DA16-45 also, and almost got one quite a while back.

[dmort]

The Sigma 17-70mm sounds like a good way to go

This is the way I was leaning - I figure it covers the most bases and requires the least investment. But the wallet might win out if I find a very cheap copy of another lens. For this purchase, price is king.

[dmort]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how the 16-45 compares to the sigma 17-70 macro in usage? More missed focus with one than the other? It is hard to tell from looking through flickr (etc) as people tend to post their good photos, not their bad. I know both lenses are potentially very good, but which is the better general purpose, use it for whatever is happening now, lens?

[ballgofar]

General purpose? The Sigma, because it has a bigger range. I mean, you knew that. All I can tell you that you didn't already know is that I have the DA and I love it. And don't forget, you have a K-5; cropping to make up for a lack of range is no tragedy when you have 16 MP with which to work.

[dmort]

Argh - against my better judgement I just put in an offer on a used DA* 16-50mm on ebay. We'll see what happens. The internet is trouble. Boy is it trouble.

[dmort]

Well my offer was accepted at 600 Canadian. So now i own a da*16-50.

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[Na Horuk]

Well my offer was accepted at 600 Canadian. So now i own a da*16-50.

Haha, well thats an interesting turn of events. I hope you get a good copy

[dmort]

Yes yes. Oh well. I figured it would hapoen eventually and that id the price was a little lower than normal, it could happen now.

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[stormtech]

Congrats on the DA* 16-50 purchase! In my opinion that lens will be the best to compliment your kit.

I was going to comment on the DA 16-45, but it is kind of a moot point now.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Congrats on the lens, but if you were going to stay within your original budget then the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 would have been a good candidate since it goes for $250-$300 US used. And there's also a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 that goes for $150-$175, but I don't know much about that lens.

My lens collection is not too dissimilar to yours on the long end, but my solution for the wide and standard range was the Sigma 10-20mm and Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. I'm very happy with that setup. Although a lot of people swear by their 16-50/17-50mm lenses, I've always felt like the wide end wasn't wide enough, and the long end not long enough. That's why I prefer the combo of the 10-20mm and 28-75mm.

[DSims]

Well my offer was accepted at 600 Canadian. So now i own a da*16-50.

You made a good choice, as long as it's a good copy.

Don't expect it to be as spectacular as your other 2 DA* lenses, but it's still very good. In the last couple of months I've come to appreciate mine more and more, even though I've owned it about 2 years. If you have realistic expectations I think you'll appreciate how it gives a good blend of performance and convenience (compared to primes).