[NicoleC]

EDIT: I just looked at your profile. I hope I'm not being harsh here, but what are you doing messing around with substandard lenses when you have a K-3? If you can't afford at least 2 very good lenses right now, you'd be better off selling the K-3 and putting the money toward better lenses for your K-x. (I normally consider the DA15 a very good lens, but clearly your copy isn't for you).

The K-x is dead. The K-3 was my replacement -- otherwise I'd agree that new glass would have been the priority over a new body.

Also, I'm curious what the "tipping point" is on how heavy a lens may be, because I noticed that the DA*50-135 - while larger than your current lenses - is only 200g heavier on a K-x than the D FA 100 on a K-3.

I don't know exactly, but that's a good question. I do know I could only handle the Sigma 70mm (527g) on the K3 for about 2 hours pain-wise, and it went over a cliff an into a river largely because I just couldn't grip it strongly enough to safely change lenses at that point. The DFA 100 (345g) hasn't been a problem at all.

With the Pentax DA 16-85mm clocking in at 488g, and the Sigma 17-70mm at 465g, perhaps I should remove it them from consideration and just think about primes.

DA L 35 and DA 50 1.8. Both the 35 and 50 are lightweight, cheap, and provide great results. Then you would have 15, 35, 50, 100. A great all around kit to carry.

(Also, if you stop down on the 15, it gets sharper)

About f/8 on mine it gets nice and sharp. And it seems to handle high contrast pretty well. I maybe need to force myself to really put it (and myself) through it's paces before deciding I don't like it.




15, 35 (DA or Ltd macro), 50 (DA or FA) and 100 does sound like a nice spread.
Or maybe 15, 20-40, 50 and 100.
I can easily blow my budget on that, but I'd rather get one good keeper lens now and a second later than two "meh" choices.


This discussion has been very helpful, thank you!

[whk1992]

Have you thought about the 16-45 F/4? You can grab a used copy for a fairly reasonable price.

[DSims]

The K-x is dead. The K-3 was my replacement -- otherwise I'd agree that new glass would have been the priority over a new body.

Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you don't have the K-x anymore.

I don't know exactly, but that's a good question. I do know I could only handle the Sigma 70mm (527g) on the K3 for about 2 hours pain-wise, and it went over a cliff an into a river largely because I just couldn't grip it strongly enough to safely change lenses at that point. The DFA 100 (345g) hasn't been a problem at all.

With the Pentax DA 16-85mm clocking in at 488g, and the Sigma 17-70mm at 465g, perhaps I should remove it them from consideration and just think about primes.

I light of this, I can't help but wonder if a non-Pentax (or at least non-DSLR) solution would be better. I'm thinking of the weight of the body, mostly. However, since Pentax has good ergonomics, perhaps that compensates for/balances the weight? BTW, do you use a battery grip? Have you tried one, and does it help? The first time I ever shot a cross country running meet, I gladly paid the price of a battery grip the next day. I took 1000-1500 photos in about two hours (no easy "machine gun" shooting either), and over 90% of them were in portrait mode. My arms simply got too tired. With the "vertical" battery grip my next meet was much easier. Some people prefer the grip for horizontal shooting as well.


If you're staying with the K-3, the FA (or F) 135/2.8 and DA70 come to mind as good choices. On the wider end I believe you'd like the DA35/2.4 or FA28.

But I have a hunch the DA70 and DA21 would be just perfect for you. You can sell or return the DA15 if you need to - don't worry, you can always find another one, and it sounds like you may have a poorer copy anyway (which is unusual, I believe). For me it's the FA*85 and FA*24 I use so much, but the DA70 and DA21 are very close in focal length - plus they're also more "precision" in their rendering than even my * lenses, I think. And you can't get any smaller or lighter than those two! I find I rarely use focal lengths around 50mm, but if you're worried about the "gap," then the DA35/2.4 is an inexpensive add-on. I like it better than the DA35 macro anyway - it's faster, it's very good wide-open, and it's much more affordable.



I've really put some thought into this - it's hard for me to imagine a better combo (based on your descriptions and needs) than the DA70 and DA21, plus a DA35/2.4. Other than the DA35/2.4 (which I got for my daughter) they aren't quite my style, but I think they're yours. And if you're really worried about gaps, the FA28 is reasonably priced, and the DA50/1.8 is extremely affordable as well. It wouldn't have to be a big hardship to get any (or all 3!) of these later. How can you lose? Every single one of these 5 lenses easily meets your criteria, IMO. Each of the more affordable ones has very nice IQ, and they're bookended by two very-high-quality mid-range lenses which I think you'll be using the most.

You don't like your DA15, so you need to get rid of it, and perhaps give it another chance some other day. Replace it with the DA21. It's not like DA15s are hard to come by - like I said, you can always get another. That's why I sold mine - I really liked it, but I had higher video-based priorities that came up, and DA15s are readily available.

Just in case you haven't seen these -

DA70:
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model

DA21:
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model

DA35/2.4:
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model

DA50/1.8:
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model

FA28:
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model

FA and F135:
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model
PENTAX : Select a PENTAX interchangeable lens camera or a lens model


Of course you do know you could improve your IQ by simply getting an F24-50/4 and an F70-210/4-5.6, don't you? The F24-50/4 is a bit harder to come by (although I found one), but the F70-210/4-5.6 is readily available under both the Pentax and Takumar brands.

[NicoleC]

DSims, thank you for the detailed suggestions.


I have considered abandoning my K-3 and picking up a mirrorless. I may yet do that, but I'm not too worried about glass I buy now losing it's value. In truth, I love the Pentax ergonomics - the K-3 even more than the K-x; it's like the buttons and wheels were made for hands exactly my size. The battery grip, however, isn't. I recently borrowed a K5iis with a grip for a while and it took about 30 seconds to decide to take it off. The weight was too much.


Here's what I did this weekend:
I don't use the old kit lenses and when I do I am disappointed. So off they go to KEH in a box with some old film gear today.
I ordered the DA35/2.4. It's crazy cheap and seems like great value for the IQ. It also appears to be FF compatible if there is ever a FF K-mount again.


Next, I'm going to spend some quality time with the 15. I want to be sure I am getting the most out that lens on my side of the camera before rejecting it. Maybe it's me. And of course I'll take the 35 out to play.


After that, I'll regroup. If I don't care for the rendering of the 35 or the 15, then perhaps I will focus on Sigma or Tamron lenses instead, or the FA lenses. If I like the 35 but not the 15, I can sell the 15 and think about another ultra wide lens. And if I am happy with both, I can consider a 50mm or 70/77mm lens.

Maybe by then Pentax will announce whatever it is they are going to announce in the spring, and if it's a FF mirrorless I will know I need to purchase FF lenses for an eventual body upgrade

[DSims]

Here's what I did this weekend:
I don't use the old kit lenses and when I do I am disappointed. So off they go to KEH in a box with some old film gear today.
I ordered the DA35/2.4. It's crazy cheap and seems like great value for the IQ. It also appears to be FF compatible if there is ever a FF K-mount again.

Sounds like a good way to move forward. Don't forget to try the DA35/2.4 both wide-open and near-wide-open, as well as stopped down. While not perfect, it's a good lens, and a big step forward from what you have. Personally I'd choose it over the DA40 or a faster Sigma in that range, though you appear to like Sigma. Admittedly, the Sigma 70 is perhaps the best lens in Sigma's lineup - at least until recently. So I wouldn't judge every Sigma by it.

In any case, I hope you find a few appropriate lenses sometime soon. I believe they're out there.

[Nicolas06]

@NicoleC

Yes it look like reasonable.

To be honest my impression is that you want good quality, lot of sharpness etc. This will not go well with 17-70 or 16-85, 18-135 and alike... Honestly.

This may go well with 17-50 at f/4+ or 50-135 (even at f/2.8) or DA20-40.

This would go better with primes. Bellow 31mm this is hard, there nothing that sharp and AF. If you don't care of auto focus and size, well Samyang 10, 14, 16 & 24mm lenses are great but maybe more prone to flare than DA15. The high quality zoom tend to be a good compromize if weight if no issue. I think of sigma 17-50 for example. Good offering, all rounder lense.

Then FA31, DA35 f/2.4, DA35 f/2.8, DA40, FA43, DA*55, DA70, FA77 are all great primes. If you like good quality, you'll love them.