[jules99]

Hi everyone. I'm a new photographer and have inherited a K100D from my husband who has gone to a compact. I am using the kit lens and also have a Sigma 70 - 300 lens. They are fine for my needs as a novice but the Sigma is cumbersome. I am considering buying something to fill the gap - possibly a Pentax smc DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED WR Zoom Lens. I want to achieve as much as possible with my purchase. However, I obviously don't have much of a clue and would welcome any comments. I don't want to spend a fortune at the moment as the K100D may not be my preferred camera of the future. I don't know enough to have an opinion and am at the bottom of the learning curve. So if you can give me some advice even if it is a big NO.... I will be very pleased to read your comments. Thank you for reading this and I await a response...

[Adam]

Hi everyone. I'm a new photographer and have inherited a K100D from my husband who has gone to a compact. I am using the kit lens and also have a Sigma 70 - 300 lens. They are fine for my needs as a novice but the Sigma is cumbersome. I am considering buying something to fill the gap - possibly a Pentax smc DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED WR Zoom Lens. I want to achieve as much as possible with my purchase. However, I obviously don't have much of a clue and would welcome any comments. I don't want to spend a fortune at the moment as the K100D may not be my preferred camera of the future. I don't know enough to have an opinion and am at the bottom of the learning curve. So if you can give me some advice even if it is a big NO.... I will be very pleased to read your comments. Thank you for reading this and I await a response...

Well, if you have the 18-55 and a 70-300mm, you're pretty much covered. There's no reason to really get a 50-200mm as it's not that great optically, and doesn't give you as much reach as the Sigma.

What I'd recommend is getting your first prime lens, such as the Da 35mm F2.4 or DA 50mm F1.8.

If you want to upgrade the body, there's a great deal on the K-500 currently: just $399 (w/ a mark II kit lens). That would give you a pretty big improvement in image quality as the sensor in that camera is great.
Pentax K-500 Now Just $399 - Pentax Deals - PentaxForums.com

[c.a.m]

Hi jules99,

Welcome to photography and Pentax Forums! Great to have you here.

Before getting into a discussion on options for lenses, I wonder if you might give us an idea as to what types of photography you are thinking of and your likely subjects and environments. For example - Indoor? Outdoor? Children/pets? Action or portraits? Nature? Travel? etc. That sort of information will help guide the responses.

Thanks.

- Craig

[Na Horuk]

Hey, welcome! The answer to your question really depends on whether you want high image quality or practicality?
If you want high image quality, then I agree with Adam, think about buying a lens with a fixed focal length, like the DA 35mm f2.4 or DA 50mm f1.8. It forces you to think about composition more, has much better low light performance than your current lenses, and will deliver crisp, vibrant photos with good contrast. The mentioned lenses are fairly cheap, very light and compact, but they have no zoom. The field of view is fixed. They have fast autofocus, though.
If you want flexibility more than image quality, look at zoom lenses. Zoom lenses have improved a lot in the last few years, but they haven't quite caught up with fixed focal length lenses (aka prime lenses). Some slightly better (but not too expensive) replacements for your lineup would be the Tamron 17-50mm (should be optically much better than the 18-55mm). Or the Pentax DA 17-70mm, since it has a longer zoom range. About the Sigma 70-300mm.. I am not sure which version you have. Sigma released a couple lenses in that zoom range, with very different characteristics over the years. Maybe you can write its full name? (is it "macro"?) Either way, the Pentax DA 50-200mm might be more compact and lighter. But its not a lens often recommended. The problem with tele zoom lenses is that there is quite a selection, but many are pretty bad, all are relatively big. Before upgrading here, I would suggest just learning more about tele photography. For example, to make sure the shutter speed is fast enough to avoid handshake blur and things like that. Once you know your tele needs you will also have an easier time to look for a lens that suits you best. Do you really need 200mm, 300mm? Do you really need a macro zoom? At what point weight/size an issue? and so on