[Krusty Surfer]

hey everyone newb to this site
i recently acquired a Pentax K-3 Kit -comes with plastico fantastico 50-f1.8...throw away but it does have decent optics according to DXO(12mpix rez) middle ground
so i am about to set up my lens collection from fisheyes to zooms to telephoto
i shoot mostly adventure sports and astro pics some lifestyle stuff but most involves Surfing & fairly bright light and Dark starry lit skies-being in the midwest the lighting is dim in winter but can be quite dramatic
[1] Image Quality is #1
[2] Manual Lens are fine
[3] Color contrast sharpness#1 ... i dont care about ease of use... that's why i am a photog
[4] faster the better

some background info: self taught on a stolen/borrowed (brothers)K-1000 in 1988 east of cabo... then living on the beach in Mexico in 94-dont know how my film survived in that heat...actually
but the pics are classic...long live Pentax Bodies and silver emulsion Film!
i tried Nikon digital in the 90's and was disappointed -00's i was in Olympus (nice optics) but way too slow 2011 i got back on the Nikon platform with some decent inexpensive glass which have yielded great results BUT I NEED MORE SPEED alas i am owned by my K-3 (you all know i left Nikon to come over here right?) and hope to stoke out people with what my peepers gets to see sometimes when all the elements line up...im just there to snap the shutter...God did the rest!(this is not a religious discussion thread please no remarks)

so Fellow Pentaxians Fire AWAY!!!
lets hear what you have to say!
weigh in!
I wanna know so does the world why you choose to shoot with what you do.
Aloha Timothy

what i do...

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Last edited by Krusty Surfer; 11-14-2014 at 02:52 PM. Reason: inserting picture

[kooks]

If you want fast lenses you can check out Sigmas, many pentax glasses are awsome but, many of them are kind of mmm slow. In my case what i will love to get and slowly working to get is:

( order by my priority )


1- Sigma 18 - 35mm f1.8 art
2- Sigma fisheye 10mm f2.8 or the 15mm, depends if im expecting the FF ( 1/5 step faster than the pentax 10-17, sharper and with better AF )
3- Sigma 70mm f1.4
4- Tamron 70-200 f2.8
5- Sigma 17-50 f2.8
6- Sigma 35mm F1.4 art ( i have the 30mm f1.4 art that is almost the same but not FF ready and is a great lens )
7- Sigma 50-500


Then.. i can be entirely happy!!

[PJ1]

Nothing wrong with the 50/f1.8. The Pentax f1.8 and f1.7 lenses have been legendary as far back as Pentax goes. But, if you want the best for the K-3 most would recommend the Limited lenses Check out the K-3 review because it has a recommended lens list. I don't use/have Limiteds myself. I have some AF lenses (FA 50/f1.4, FA 135/f2.8) and some AF Pentax and Sigma zooms. But if I am taking photographs for fun I prefer to work with older manual lenses - Pentax M and K, Zeiss zebras. Some of those handle beautifully (eg the Zeiss Sonnar 135/f3.5) and have just the right colour and contrast for my taste.

[UncleVanya]

Do you have a budget in mind? You can spend like a drunken sailor and get just about anything you want if I understand your criteria. For example Pentax once made a 135 f/1.8 - it's around $2500 or more the last time I saw one for sale it went unsold on Ebay for $2700 for a while. There are 50mm 1.2's to be had... the sky is the limit if you are willing to use manual focus lenses which you say you are.

Maybe if you dig through some of the reviews on the lens database you could pick some candidates and get feedback on those lenses?

[TER-OR]

I have a Sigma 28mm f1.8 macro which is very nice. Great FL for general use - it gives a great 'eye view' of a scene and works very close.

don't discount the limited primes though, even if they're not super fast the quality is there, and the aperture is plenty wide with modern sensors. I like the 21mm I have, it shows loads of detail and it nice for landscape and scenery.

[VoiceOfReason]

Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, Sigma 24-70 f/2.8, and Tamron 70-200 f/2.8. Throw in the Sigma 8-16 and Sigma 150-500 and you have your long and wide ends covered. TBH those and the DA18-135 are all I really need, along with a TC or two.

[UncleVanya]

There are different types of limited lenses - the FA Limited series and the DA limited series. The FA limiteds are faster (31 f/1.8, 43 f/1.9, 77 f/1.8), slightly larger, offer film camera full frame coverage. The DA series has more members, (15mm f/4, 21mm f/3.2, 35mm f/2.8 Macro, 40mm f/2.8, 70mm f/2.4; 20-40mm f/2.8-4)

[TER-OR]

Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, Sigma 24-70 f/2.8, and Tamron 70-200 f/2.8. Throw in the Sigma 8-16 and Sigma 150-500 and you have your long and wide ends covered. TBH those and the DA18-135 are all I really need, along with a TC or two.

That 8-16 is a special lens, for sure.

[Rimfiredude]

I have 2 Sigmas and they are fine. Have the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 and it is fine, but the other Tamrons I had, notice I said had, were not that sharp, especially the 28-200. I love Tokinas, but Pentax has them locked up. Seems if you shoot something besides Pentax, you can buy a Tokina for it.

NEVER HAD A BAD SIGMA.

[mamethot]

[1] Image Quality is #1
[2] Manual Lens are fine
[3] Color contrast sharpness#1 ... i dont care about ease of use... that's why i am a photog
[4] faster the better

Can you have 2 #1s ?

Which of the 2 #1 comes first? ;-)

[mikeSF]

definitely look into the FA 77 Limited, it is a favorite around here.

as for surfing, i recommend the Tamron 70-200/2.8 coupled to a 1.4x TC for a little extra length. a great bargain new and used. wonderful color.

and scan the lens reviews for plenty of info on all sorts of lenses. we even have lens club threads where people can gush and share images from their favorite pieces of glass.

[normhead]

Best non-Pentax lenses-

I'm with other who have suggested the Tamron 70-200, and add the tamron 90 macro and Tamron 17-50, all great bargains.
From Sigma, the 18-35 looks good, but it's not as good as the 31 ltd at 31mm..

For fast glass you're looking at the wrong system.
Sigma makes the 30 1.4, 35, 1.4, 50 1.4 and 85 1.4, but if I were you and thinking you want 1.4 glass, you can have access to all those and Nikon and Canon 1.4 glass as well, where as there's only the 55 ƒ1.4 currently available from Pentax. Pentax goes for high quality lightweight lenses, but you can get better corrected lenses. The highly corrected Pentax lenses tend to be ƒ4. Of course the heavily corrected 1.4 glass from other manufacturers is really big and heavy.. but if that's not a concern, you might be barking up the wrong tree. You buy equipment for what it does.

Pentax have the 31, 43 and 77 all 1.8, the 55 1.4 and some 2.8 pro glass. It's a you can "make do with this" collection, not a comprehensive, "you can do everything with this" system for people with unlimited funds. The thing for most of us is, we can't afford what they have, so discussing what they don't have is moot.

[Krusty Surfer]

Can you have 2 #1s ?

Which of the 2 #1 comes first? ;-)

ultimately Image quality i can work around everything else...did i say shoestring budget??? i just did

---------- Post added 11-14-14 at 02:44 PM ----------

If you want fast lenses you can check out Sigmas, many pentax glasses are awsome but, many of them are kind of mmm slow. In my case what i will love to get and slowly working to get is:

( order by my priority )


1- Sigma 18 - 35mm f1.8 art
2- Sigma fisheye 10mm f2.8 or the 15mm, depends if im expecting the FF ( 1/5 step faster than the pentax 10-17, sharper and with better AF )
3- Sigma 70mm f1.4
4- Tamron 70-200 f2.8
5- Sigma 17-50 f2.8
6- Sigma 35mm F1.4 art ( i have the 30mm f1.4 art that is almost the same but not FF ready and is a great lens )
7- Sigma 50-500


Then.. i can be entirely happy!!

and i called Sigma and then Adorama today.
the Lens i Ordered (18-300 sports) will not be shipped for a few months still major bummer-because things got real expensive quickly trying to fill my new kit.
i decided on the 150-500mm 4.5-6.3 DG -i know i will love the extra reach and i wont need a TC
and the 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC HSM macro because it supposedly the lens to have besides the art lens series...pulled the trigger so to speak (ughhh that was expensive)


i will probably add a 8-mm to 14mm (somewhere in that range) Roki/sam/vivi for my wide stuff ...undecided ultimately my K-3 and Fishy will be in a dedicated water housing...any more advice on those lenses? parameter once again is Image Quality is #1 and in that range everything is in focus real easily ...even on manual lenses- the least amount of distortion the better - Aspherical Lens might yield better results for what i am into (dont want to do too much post processing) it will be the lens i am swimming with
thanks for all the Advice Pentaxians
Aloha Timothy

[Des]

... plastico fantastico 50-f1.8...throw away but it does have decent optics ...

Throw away?

If you are going to throw away your DA 50 f1.8, plenty of bridesmaids here willing to catch the bouquet.

[Krusty Surfer]

Nothing wrong with the 50/f1.8. The Pentax f1.8 and f1.7 lenses have been legendary as far back as Pentax goes.

my 50mm f1.8 is plastic mount not metal...in a beach environment with sand it might not have much life expectancy...but i will overcome
Aloha