[normhead]

Well, I gave everyone else a chance to chirp, now I'll tell you what I think.

K-3 II
Walk around and landscape - DA 16-85. Very nice walk around lens, wider range than 20-40.
Portrait DA*50-135 - people who say bad things about this lens get their mouth washed out with soap.
Macro DA 100 with 1.4 TC
DA* 200 ƒ2.8 also great with the TC.

Your choice of DA 50 1,8 or DA* 55 1.4 depending on how much money (if any) you have left.

Th issue with these things if you ever decide to go to a K-1, the 50-135 and 16-85 are not FF lenses.

So getting realistic. You could substitute the 55-300 for the DA*200, but you lose 2.8, and at 2.8 the DA*200 can be a nice portrait lens. But if it helps you meet your budget, you gotta do what you gotta do.
You could also substitute a DA 70 for a portrait lens. Really with a 50 or 55, a 70 and a 100 there's not much you can't cover with the 1.4 TC. Definitely not as convenient as a zoom, but you can't have everything.

[tommygunn84]

Hi guys , your right I am new at this but I did do a bit of A level photography at college but that was time ago !!!
Thank you so much for you imput to this , very helpful !!!!
So do you think I can get away with just the 20-40 limited for astro, landscape, street... and get the 100mm wr macro with the 1.4 converter for macro and portrait to start off with? size and water resistance is important to me.
Danka
Also what is the best cheapest flash i should get for general use and macro?

[E-man]

I have to echo what Naural said. Get the camera and a kit lens and learn how to use those first. As you learn the capabilities of the kit lens, you'll be able to make informed decisions as to what exactly you need to add to that basic combo to accomplish your goals. It's way too easy to go overboard and sink a lot of money into gear you'll seldom, if ever use. The camera and lens reviews on this site offer a wealth of real world information to help you know exactly what you're getting.

[narual]

I wouldn't say get the kit lens, but one of the travel zooms, either the 18-135 or 16-85, would be the best starting point.

Unless you have a driving need to spend all the money up front, just get the body, one of the two lenses I just mentioned, and if you think you'll need flash but you're set on teh K3-2 with no built-in flash, the af-200 flash. It functions like the built-in flash so you don't have to add the complication of compensating for the flash to getting your photos.

Even if the money isn't an object, if someone just hands you a box with a bunch of lenses in it, it's going to make it harder to learn how and when to use them, i think.

But if you really want to just buy stuff, hey:

Rokinon 8mm Fisheye
Rokinon 14mm (astrophotography)
DA 15mm limited (SMC version with straight blades for best results with landscapes that have light sources)
DA 20-40mm limited
FA 31mm limited
DA 35mm Limited Macro (if you want wide-ish angle macro shots)
DA* 55mm
FA* 77mm limited
DFA 100mm macro
DA* 300mm
DA* 50-135
DA* 60-250
DFA 150-450
DA 560

*edit* almost forgot the HD 1.4x Teleconverter, get that, too!

Pentax AF540fgz flash
2x SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC cards in the highest storage amount available

And throw away the neck strap and get a BlackRapid sling or a Holdfast Moneymaker or some other similarly not painful camera strap

That list should cover you for every eventuality. You'll also want a nice strong tripod with a good gimbal head on it, especially for everything longer than the 135mm length.

[Scorpio71GR]

so.....all in all, would the 100mm wr macro and the DA* 50-135 f2.8 do everything i need do you think? such as , macro, portrait, lanscape, astro,

Both lenses are excellent. One thing about the DA*50-135 is that it is like focusing through sludge at times. The autofocus speed is the Achilles heel of this lens. The minimum focus distance of the 50-135 does not make it suitable for close up photography either. On the plus side the lens is sharp and there is the fantastic colors and rendering. For crop sensor is an excellent portrait lens and very portable. I love mine.

The DFA 100 Macro WR is just nothing but a joy to use. Small, compact, light weight, and a build quality on par with the best. The only con for me was not buying it sooner.

Both lenses work perfect with my Tamron 1.4TC. However you have nothing in the wide angle range. For you I would suggest the HD 16-85. Unless you need the constant f2.8 apeture of the DA*16-50. I love my 16-50 but sometimes I wish I had the 16-85. The other option is the DA 18-135 which you can get fairly cheap used. The 18-135 is my all around walkaround lens. For a non WR lens, the DA 10-17 can do really well close up shots. It is a very close minimum focus distance.

The HD 55-300 can be very underrated. As long as you are fine stopping the lens down it can take some nice shots.

[surfar]

lanscape, astro

you need something wider than those 2

[UncleVanya]

Rokinon 8mm Fisheye
Rokinon 14mm (astrophotography)
DA 15mm limited (SMC version with straight blades for best results with landscapes that have light sources)
DA 20-40mm limited
FA 31mm limited
DA 35mm Limited Macro (if you want wide-ish angle macro shots)
DA* 55mm
FA* 77mm limited
DFA 100mm macro
DA* 300mm
DA* 50-135
DA* 60-250
DFA 150-450
DA 560

Yikes. I own a lot of these.

[pakinjapan]

so.....all in all, would the 100mm wr macro and the DA* 50-135 f2.8 do everything i need do you think? such as , macro, portrait, lanscape, astro,

Do not expect a lens or two to do everything you want to do.

I like landscape, city-scape, and night light type of shooting. So I will answer only “landscapes” part of your question.
To me, best lens for landscape is the sharpest lens possible for any given focal length, and lens at any focal length can do landscape.

Out of the lenses you listed, I have 100 wr, which I use it only for landscape. I couldn’t force myself to do macro. You can of cause use it for macro and portrait. It offers sharp + nice out of focus rendering. I love the build and image quality but its auto focus is annoying me as hell.

On the wider side (not on your list), the DA15 is another good candidate for landscape, cityscape day or night.
DA21 is also a good walk around lens.

I just get a feeling that you are not really sure what you like yet? If so, go as what @UncleVanya said, “20-40 combined with 50-135”. Or I see you had 55-300wr on your list. 20-40 + 55-300 sound good to me. Both are WR lenses.

May be start with 20-40 first. I don’t have this lens but if I have to give up all of my normal to wide angle primes (which is not going to happen), 20-40 would be the only one I get. I try this lens in camera stores many time. It is a very good, sharp, nice color, well build zoom. You will not have a problem doing walk around and landscapes photo in all-weather with this one.

[Des]

So do you think I can get away with just the 20-40 limited for astro, landscape, street... and get the 100mm wr macro with the 1.4 converter for macro and portrait to start off with? size and water resistance is important to me.

Let's assume WR is not negotiable for you. A wider range zoom like the DA 18-135 or DA 16-85 or DA*16-50 (each is WR) would be a more conventional and more versatile choice, but IF AND ONLY IF size matters more than versatility and you are confident about the focal range you want, then the 20-40 could do the wide-normal job.

I have the DFA 100 Macro WR and it's just a marvellous lens. It isn't my first choice for portraits (of my lenses, that would be the FA 77 Ltd, followed by the FA 43 Ltd) because it is not flattering, but it's wonderful for flowers, insects, pets and general moderate tele use.



I would put the 1.4x TC in the "nice to have" rather than "must have now" category - use the macro without it for a while first. (Macro beyond 1:1 is a pretty specialized use.) I assume you are talking about the Pentax DA model TC because it's the only one that is WR. It's quite expensive (and hard to find second hand) - you could get a portrait lens for that kind of money (especially if you compromise on the WR requirement), e.g. a DA 70, or maybe even a second-hand DA*55.

[northcoastgreg]

I've got this one. Sunpak DX-8R reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database Sunpak DX-8R. Don't you think this one is as good? It's all manual of course but seems to work really well.

At one time, I seriously considered the Sunpak DX-8R for my macro flash needs. I don't, however, believe the Sunpak is "just as good" as the AF160FC — and not just because of the pTTL functionality of the Pentax unit, but also because the Pentax unit fits much better on the DFA 100 WR macro (it fits where the hood goes). I've also heard very good things about the quality of the light produced by the AF160FC.

[tommygunn84]

Thanks for everyone's response!!!!
I have decided to go with the k3ii with the DA100mm macro and the DA 16-85 zoom. this way I can do micro and portrait with the 100mm and with the da 16-85 zoom I can do everything else including astro. thanks for you help!

Another thing is ..do I need a remote timer for astro on a tripod so the k3ii does not wobble?
and do I really need a flash if so which one? will I need a ring flash for macro and can they be used for other general work as well?
also what is a good light and cheap tripod and what accessories shall I get such as filters, memory cards, spear batteries, filters ect....

Thanks guys!!

[normhead]

I have decided to go with the k3ii with the DA100mm macro and the DA 16-85 zoom. this way I can do micro and portrait with the 100mm and with the da 16-85 zoom I can do everything else including astro. thanks for you help!

That should be an awesome set-up.

Remote timers are nice. For a flash, start off with something cheap, just in case you need it, I wouldn't spend a lot of a flash until I know for sure flash shooting is going to be part of my repertoire. The ring flash for macro, I don't use one but my work is pretty casual, depends on how much of a keener you are. I use UV filters on most lenses just to protect them and Polarizers on my favourite landscape lenses, but there are lots anti-filter people as well. The comparison between my wife's images last night with a polarizer and mine without were night and day. She got a beautiful blue sky with white puffy clouds and a rich vibrant blue, I got washed out looking grey blue. Mine were " if you like the rest of the picture try and ignore the sky" images, even after post production.

You need two memory cards, as high speed as you can afford ( how fast the cards are makes a difference to how fast your buffer clears after a burst, but I shot a lot in burst mode, if you are a single shot guy, almost any 32 GB card will do, even the cheapest.The ones you find in the bargain bin at Staples.) The speed of the card will also make a difference to how long it takes to upload to your computer. 500 24 MB files can take a while even with a fast card.

Get at least one spare battery, two is better. but you should be OK with one.

[tommygunn84]

Would the pentax 50mm F1.8 SMC DA be better than the HD 100mm macro pentax lens because i'm about to make a purchase and the 50mm f1.8 smc da is an added deal option but do i really need it with the 100mm macro for face portraits?
Thanks

[narual]

This might help with trying to understand portrait focal lengths (and distances)
http://annawu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/focal-length-comparison.jpg

[tommygunn84]

sorry , the above post was about the better camera for portrait!