[mikeodial]

I am a little confused at present. I just purchased, tried and now am returning a 18-55 Pentax WR, which I purchased as a "don't have to change, walkabout lens". Didn't like the quality. I am finding I am addicted to the higher quality of my primes, 35mm DA 2.4, 50mm DA 1.8, 100mm f.4 Macro, 200mm M and K series.


I have purchased a used manual Tokina, which I don't think is much worse than the Pentax Kit lens, 28-70mm and cost almost nothing on eBay.


So to my point, I am looking to buy a good wide angle, looking at the Rokinon 14mm for sure, but also would like to have a good walk about zoom.


All the zoom options seem to require a big drop in quality, so I am wondering if I might be better to get a smaller second body (Sony A6000) and have a second prime with me. (Have not discussed this with my wife!).


I have become a little paranoid about dust recently, and changing lenses in the field (literally sometimes) seems to encourage it a lot.


For most situations, I think I could have a couple of lens in place and avoid the lens changing.


Am I being paranoid, or will enough money spent get me the zoom of my dreams, without losing much quality. (Would really like a 18-135 range to avoid the lens changing issue.)


Any thoughts or other solutions would be most welcome.

[TER-OR]

There are a lot of zooms better than the kit lens. They're all compromises, though.

Perhaps look for one of the 17- 50 range or 17-70 lenses. Depending on your budget there's also the 16-50.
The 18-135 is a convenient lens, and the motor makes it a very quick focus, plus it's WR. I pretty much replaced the 16-45 as a general short lens with the 18-135, and while the 16-45 is definitely better on the short end, the WR has so many advantages.

There are options, but not for 18-55mm money...
Look for used lenses, if you don't like it just resell it, the value doesn't really drop once it's in the used market.

[Andi Lo]

If wide aperture is not a concern, try the 16-45mm, it's a great zoom.

If you want wide aperture then try the Tamron 17-50 (cheap) or Pentax 16-50 (much more money)

I have five bodies and I usually only carry one unless I'm doing a paid job. It's really up to you.

[peterjcb]

It's not a bad idea to have a second body but you will find yourself using your best camera most of the time.

As far as lenses, I have a lot of zooms but have gravitated to using primes and limiteds pretty much simply because of size, speed and IQ.
The DA12-24 is an excellent lens which will rival any prime in it's range but rather big especially with the front hood on so I tend to use my DA15 a LOT more.
The same goes for most zooms. It depends on what you prefer....

[Kozlok]

Who says you can't use a prime and not change lenses? Those of us in the "single in..." Group pretty much just use one lens all month. For me it is usually a prime. It's kind of fun the limitation that gets put on you by limiting yourself to one prime lens. Try it!

[JimmyDranox]

If you want to buy a second body, why a Sony A 6000. It will not work with Pentax lenses.

Yes, it is not pleasant to change lenses all the time, but is somehow unavoidable. Yesterday I was on a trip, with my K-5IIs, and 3 lenses. A Sigma 10-20mm F3.5, a Tamron 17-50mm f2,8, and a Sigma 70-200mm F2,8, all very good lenses. I have changed lenses a lot. And even if I had a second body with me, I still have to changed them, because the very wide range of subject, from 10mm to 200mm. And I miss my 1,7x converter, which I forgotten at home. Need to tell you that I miss a Pentax 10-17mm fisheye?

So, if you want very good IQ, you need to change lenses. Anyway, sensors can be cleaned, easy, with proper tools, and a litlle care.

[Virginia Bill]

In the distant past, before zoom lenses, we would use multiple bodies carrying complementary focal lengths to shoot dynamic subjects and/or b&w and color at the same time. I remember an image of Eugene Smith (I think) carrying six cameras at once. The second body should be identical to your first so all controls are the same (though I did have one black, one silver so I could tell them apart for b&w/color). It was convenient, but I soon realized that carrying the extra weight made a lot of difference. Nowadays, since we no longer must choose between b&w/color at the moment of exposure, zoom lenses are a better solution. I love my primes use them most of the time, but I'd rather use a zoom or change lenses in the field than carry two bodies.

[jrpower10]

I have two bodies. I will take the 2nd if I'm travelling specifically for photography, but only in case the first body craps out (which, BTW, hasn't happened to me yet), and the 2nd body typically stays in the hotel room. I never carry two bodies around unless I'm in wet conditions (rain, whale watching, maybe the beach, etc) where getting water in the camera could happen during lens changing. Water; bad. Dust; not a big issue.

[6BQ5]

Another vote for the DA 18-135! Don't forget about the FA 28-105 f/3.2 and the FA 28-200. Both are great options and also offer great rendering.

[SpecialK]

The 12-24 is the one I always recommend to take. Doesn't matter where you are going...

It also does not duplicate what you have.

[clackers]

Am I being paranoid, or will enough money spent get me the zoom of my dreams, without losing much quality. (Would really like a 18-135 range to avoid the lens changing issue.)

Two zooms instead of one will get you closer to the quality of the primes you're used to.

[audiobomber]

All the zoom options seem to require a big drop in quality, so I am wondering if I might be better to get a smaller second body (Sony A6000) and have a second prime with me. (Have not discussed this with my wife!).

I have become a little paranoid about dust recently, and changing lenses in the field (literally sometimes) seems to encourage it a lot. For most situations, I think I could have a couple of lens in place and avoid the lens changing.

Am I being paranoid, or will enough money spent get me the zoom of my dreams, without losing much quality. (Would really like a 18-135 range to avoid the lens changing issue.)

I often carry two bodies. I recently bought an a6000 and it has become the preferred second body because it's so much lighter than my K20D, and image quality matches my K-3. I quite often carry a small kit instead of a DSLR, a6000 with 16-50 instead of a compact, or a6000 with the very fine Zeiss Touit lenses. I will not be giving up my K-3 however. No MILC can match it for telephoto or action.

There's no need to be paranoid about lens changes, just use good technique to minimize the occurrence of dust. The camera's dust removal system works very well if you do have an issue, and worse case scenario, sensor cleaning is not that difficult. I change lenses a lot and I've not had to clean my K-3 since I got it in November. Most of my bodies have needed intrusive sensor cleaning about once a year.

An 18-135mm is a nice lens to have in the bag, for its range, quiet AF and weather resistance. IQ is good, if you need pristine IQ, use a prime.

If you want to buy a second body, why a Sony A 6000. It will not work with Pentax lenses.

Any Pentax lens can be mounted on an a6000 with a suitable adapter. Metering is automatic, and you can use P-mode, S-mode and even M-mode with auto ISO. Aperture is controlled on the adapter or lens. There are also adapters that let you mount full-frame lenses and have FF equivalent coverage. No auto-focus with any adapters.

Two zooms instead of one will get you closer to the quality of the primes you're used to.

Not if the zooms are kit zooms, but if you mean better zooms like DA*, then I agree.

[davek]

I have 2 K5ii bodies that I use for event shooting (weddings etc), and I've started carrying them both around to reduce lens changes (seems I always have the wrong lens on).
I use a spyder holster (2 camera setup) so the additional weight of the second camera doesn't affect me much, but a body with a DA21 on one side, and one with a DA70 on the other isn't that heavy.

[David T]

Have you considered the newer Sigma 18-250 DC macro HSM lens? I use two camera bodies when doing serious shooting, the K-5iis and K-5, and I really appreciate the Sigma 18-250 on one of the cameras for versatility. On the other camera I use higher quality lenses, both prime and zoom. The newer Sigma 18-250 does a surprisingly good job, especially outdoors.

[mikeodial]

So this week I swapped out my 18-55mm DA Pentax and added some cash to get the Rokinon 14mm for landscape. I am still thinking that maybe the K-01 as a second body is the solution, as it seems I will have to shell out a lot more money for the 18-135mm to get a significantly better zoom than the kit lens.


The reports I see on the Sigma 18-250 mm (a great price at present), don't seem to have the image quality of the Pentax 18-135.


Thank you all of the ideas, I am still working on them.