[intoblue]

Hi, I recently purchased a K-5 after much research on dslr's and it's highly rated price/value ratio. Very happy so far. I also purchased a sigma 17-70 as a starter lens and now want to get into primes and a good telephoto lens.

Any recommendations and experiences with would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Na Horuk]

Hey, welcome! Good choice!
Pentax is known for some great primes, you can start off with the more price conscious DA 35mm f2.4, DA 50mm f1.8, DA 40mm XS. These are great, optically, have fast AF, and are very compact/light. You won't regret a purchase, they can be found under $220. Then there are the Limited series lenses, which are generally primes with outstanding quality and good build. DA 70mm might be interesting, as it is a tele prime.
The DFA 100mm WR is also an amazing tele prime and it allows 1:1 macro! Stunningly sharp, great rendering, but AF is not as fast as non-macro lenses (as is expected with a macro lens)

But Pentax also allows the use of older legacy lenses, all the way from the 70s. Any K mount lens can be mounted on your camera and take photos! Just be wary of the infamous Ricoh pin, but that is a rarity. You can use even older m42 screwmount lenses with a simple adapter. Lots of threads about these lenses and how to use them on your Pentax DSLR. Lots of people buy the Pentax M 50mm f1.7 as their first Pentax legacy prime. Great IQ and value!

[jjdgti]

I agree with Na Horuk . Those are the new line of Pentax APC primes (with plastic mount).

You can also take a look at the F or FA line (Full frame) 28mm 2.8 $230+ (Wide), 35mm 2.0 $300+ or the 50mm 1.4 or 1.7 $175+

If you have no problem using manual lenses I recomend the Pentax A line of 28, 35, and 50mm lenses. Those are usually go from $50 and up.

Let us know what you decided.


BTW, Welcome to Pentax and the Pentax Forum.

[intoblue]

Thank you for the welcome and reply. I have been prime hunting for a while and have looked at 43mm and 77mm ltd's but too pricey for my extent of use. I am keeenly interested in the FA 50mm 1.7 from what i read and saw in image quality/price. The big puzzle is telephoto. Sigma 70-250 2.8 seems interesting but jt's just not grabbing and shaking me.

[jatrax]

For telephoto start with Pentax 55-300. Good IQ, reasonable price. If you find later you want better or faster you can sell it and move up. Alternatives would be the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 or the Pentax 60-250 f/4 both of which will be much heavier and much more expensive.

[DSims]

Some people prefer the Tamron 70-200/2.8 to the Sigma, and it's less expensive.

I prefer Pentax glass in most cases.

A used copy of the DA*50-135 is where to go if IQ is what grabs you. Best overall zoom lens for Pentax. Only downside is AF speed is only moderately fast (meaning fine for all but fast-moving sports).


If you can go without AF for now, the K200/2.5 is great. Otherwise the *200 and *300 lenses are very nice. Prices for the AF versions are in the range of the FA77, but it seems more natural to accept a higher price for a high quality bigger/longer lens. F and FA135 are great lenses - small and discreet, fast-focusing, very nice IQ. Price is decent too. A budget MF alternative to these with IQ as good or better is the M or A 100/2.8. These 100mm lenses may change the way you look at photography if you haven't used a lens like this before (great subject isolation and beautiful background blur).


For normal and wider primes, the FA*24/2 is my favorite if you can only chose one. It's the one I usually have with me. Other top choices are the DA35/2.4, DA50/1.8 (both of which are well worth the price), FA28, K28/3.5, A50/1.7, A24/2.8, DA15, and the (useful but not prime) DA10-17 variable fisheye.

[calicojack]

lets not forget the DA 21 Ltd.