[Kerrowdown]

I'm just a sucker for a "nifty fifty".

[Sandy Hancock]

Fast fifty. You can't beat that f/1.8 speed and subject isolation.

[clackers]

John, you don't need a fast lens for your landscapes. f8-f13 on a tripod will be more likely setup for you, with edge to edge sharpness rather than interesting bokeh.

[ChristianRock]

I agree that AF is needed for a lot of things - I need it to chase my kids around, or to take pictures while holding one in one arm and the camera in another -, but not for general landscape shooting.

Like clackers was just saying, a landscape lens doesn't have to be fast, and you can use wider or longer lenses depending on what kind of landscapes you like to shoot. Having said that, you probably have your longer landscape needs met with the 55-300 which is a nice lens and gives you sharp images and very nice colors.

I don't know how your 18-55 is, but I don't like the look of the pictures I get from mine that much. I think it works ok for portraits (with a lot of light available) because for that you don't want the colors to be too rich. But for landscapes I don't ever think about using mine. Plus, mine for some reason loses a LOT of resolution 20mm and under. It's very sharp at 24mm f/8, but at 18mm it's pretty bad regardless of aperture. Maybe mine is a bit decentered, I don't know.

So what I'm trying to say is, I'd get something to use instead of the 18-55. The 35mm would work fine for a lot of things and will give you sharp images with wonderful colors. So between the 50 and the 35 I'd get the 50 - since your 55-300 will work well at 55mm, so you have that covered.

But there are other options to consider:
- Pentax 24mm f/2.8 (probably out of your price range)
- Tokina 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5. I have one and like it, and it cost me less than 100 dollars - and this one is actually an autofocus lens. I'm not a landscape photographer but I think it's a good lens for that, especially at the wide end. 19mm isn't super wide but it's not too far from the "lanscape sweet spot", I think.





Here's one with the DA 35 2.4 (again keep in mind I'm not a landscape shooter...)



Manual 28mm lenses are very common and can be had for cheap. Lots of off brand 28s are pretty good, and are made by Sigma, Tokina, Rikenon and others. This is my Rikenon 28mm f/2.8:



Fortunately, there's lots of options for Pentax shooters on a budget

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Last edited by ChristianRock; 07-07-2014 at 09:34 AM.