[northcoastgreg]

1, Five years ago I always brought with me the K 28 f2.8; later it would be the DA 15; currently it's the M 75-150 f4 and/or the HD 35 Ltd. The 75-150 comes along because I paid only $50 and I'm therefore comfortable leaving it in the car (buried under jackets and pillows) if I don't think I need it (which is often the case). The 35 Ltd comes along because I can easily carry it in a pocket and its the best lens I own.

2. The DA* 300 is the lens I most wish I had along but usually don't. It's too heavy to comfortably carry with me all the time, yet way too expensive to leave in the car, so it ends up getting left at home most times. But when I come across a photogenic critter, I do wish I had it with me.

[fstopfanatic]

I'm fairly new to the Pentax DSLR game. I've had my K200D for about a year and acquired a K-X about 3 weeks ago. My go to lens is the DA 55-300. I use the 55-300 90% of the time. I also carry with me the SMC Pentax FA 28-80 3.5 most of the time. The lens I miss at times is my SMC Pentax A 50mm 1.7.

[savoche]

Like others have said, it depends on where and when. My favourites change over time.

1) For travel the basic kit is 18-135 & 55-300. Around town it used to be the 43, but lately the DA70 has been on the camera most of the time.

2) I could say DA15, but that wouldn't be true since it's almost always with me Usually I miss a speciality lens like a fisheye or macro if I don't bring one.

[Wingincamera]

If I do not have a particular purpose that day, on the camera is usually the DA 20-40 and two other lens in the bag, but I will name the DA 70 as the second.

[Erikka]

I personally NEVER leave home without my 16-45..... it's my main daily use lens,

[BrianR]

1) dfa100mm non-WR macro easily gets top spot
2) none.

The da14mm and the 10-17mm fisheye used to vie for the 2) slot above, but since I've started packing them regularly I can't recall the last time I though "I wish I had lens X on me". It's more often "I wish I had brought one more flash," or "I wish I had that medium gorillapod".

[clackers]

1. Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 and DA*50-135mm f2.8

2. Sigma 10-20mm.

[mgvh]

Thanks for playing. This was just a quick snapshot of where we are at. Some quick observations:

• With about 32 responses, 64 (or more) different lenses were mentioned!
• As a category, the most common lenses used are wide angle zooms (starting at 16-24mm)
• There are a few lenses that do get used more than others (in order of popularity):
  • DA 15
  • DA 18-135
  • DFA 100 macro
  • Some version of the Pentax 55-300
  • DA 70
  • HD DA 20-40
  • DA 10-17 FE
• The lenses people wish they had brought tend to be ultrawide options or 90-100mm macro options.
• Pentax lenses are by far the most popular, followed by Sigma, then Tamron.

Some surprises to me:

• There weren't many users of primes in the 50-55mm range. That is covered by some of the zooms, of course. Since almost all the responses were for APS-C cameras, it just does not look like that is a popular range.
• Though this is a limited sample, I thought more people would be using the DA 16-85.
• There really were not many manual focus lenses being used.

HERE is the little spreadsheet I made which you can download and play with the data if you want.

[pathdoc]

Ask the same question again in 12 months, when there are more K-1 owners and they have had time to accumulate more lenses and experience with them.

[Moe49]

1) Pentax FA* 24mm & FA* 28-70mm
Shooting with one of my film cameras or the K-1 digital, or both, one of these two lenses is on the camera hanging from my shoulder.

2) Tamron SP 60B 300mm/2.8
I rarely take it out shooting due to it's weight & size, but when I do, WOO-EE what beautiful images it creates.
I wish I had taken it to Alaska a few weeks ago !

[Na Horuk]

1. What one or two (and no more) lenses do you almost always have with you?

Pentax DA 35mm, Pentax DFA 100mm macro (though, I usually carry a 3 lens kit, with Samyang 14mm and the previous two)

2. What is the lens you most often wish you would have brought along and didn't? (And it has to be a lens you have, not one on your wish list.)

Usually some manual lens. The above two lenses are both good and sharp, but sometimes I wish I had a 50mm or some 20-24mm lens. Not necessarily fancy lenses, but fun lenses like Industar 50-2 or Flektogon 35mm. I have a couple lenses between 28mm and 58mm, but I am missing the range between 15mm and 27mm

[edmundrt]

I'd take along the 18-135 and the DA50, if it were my K-S2. I'd end up missing the A35-105, but it's silly heavy to carry around all the time.

[jake14mw]

1) Tamron 28-75 is always with me.
2) Much tougher because I'm good about packing what I need. Probably the FA77. When I want the highest IQ, that's what I want on the cam. I do usually bring it though.

[wizofoz]

I do not qualify for this survey, as I never carry only 1-2 lenses. Like the boy scout motto 'be prepared' I carry everything I think may be useful. At the very least, I never go on a photo jaunt without the 3 amigo's.

[LensBeginner]

Thanks for playing. This was just a quick snapshot of where we are at. Some quick observations:

• With about 32 responses, 64 (or more) different lenses were mentioned!
• As a category, the most common lenses used are wide angle zooms (starting at 16-24mm)
• There are a few lenses that do get used more than others (in order of popularity):
  • DA 15
  • DA 18-135
  • DFA 100 macro
  • Some version of the Pentax 55-300
  • DA 70
  • HD DA 20-40
  • DA 10-17 FE
• The lenses people wish they had brought tend to be ultrawide options or 90-100mm macro options.
• Pentax lenses are by far the most popular, followed by Sigma, then Tamron.

Some surprises to me:

• There weren't many users of primes in the 50-55mm range. That is covered by some of the zooms, of course. Since almost all the responses were for APS-C cameras, it just does not look like that is a popular range.
• Though this is a limited sample, I thought more people would be using the DA 16-85.
• There really were not many manual focus lenses being used.

HERE is the little spreadsheet I made which you can download and play with the data if you want.

Some conclusions are wrong, at least for me...
I guess a fifty is my second most used lens... and I seldom wish I had it with me because it's almost always with me ;-)