[boriscleto]

I don't have a good idea of what any of this stuff "should" cost unless it's a lens that I've often tracked prices on.

I could see something like a Sigma 10-20 or Pentax 12-24 joining that kit 18-55 in a year. Year after that, something like a Pentax 18-135. Just have to start somewhere.

An F/2.8 zoom is the one thing my kit lacks. If I had a need for one more than once or twice a year I would probably add one...

[grispie]

18-55 DA Kit (My only Auto Focus, seems good for landscape at around 18-24?)
SMC Pentax M 50mm f1.7 (saw how its good for portrait and Stars and Bokeh)

I agree with most said about the 18-55. It is the weakest lens, yet, know its limitations and it will be fine. Shoot f5.6 onwards. Your kr can handle pretty high iso. the kr goes well with the 18-55. I'm taking the lens with me on travel next month as i know it will deliver. Especially version II is notably improved. The 18-55 that came with your kr is normally version II.. Use it. You will be surprised. Just spend time practising on things like composition.

Make sure to bring the polarizer for it. Look at the reflections in the water and the changes in the sky as you rotate it. Don't overdo the polarizing either! It's hard to go back in post, your skies might turn out to blue/dark.

the combo 28 2.8, 50 1.7 is good. You'll do fine.

Imo, the icelandic landscape can really use a telelens. get the 135mm.
Or, if you don't mind the weight and favor versatility, seek for a smc A70-210 f4. Awesome lens. But heavy..
Smc m75-150 is also an option as it is really tiny for such a zoom, but less easy to find i guess. and not that cheap.
Otherwise, just go with the 135mm.

Also,
i assume you have a tripod with you.
Maybe get a 10 stop ND filter with you (52mm (so it fits the 18-55) and conversion ring to 49mm so it can fit you 28 2.8 as well)
I haven't done it back then, but i think iceland is great for long exposures.
My 2 cents..

Happy travels

[pres589]

An F/2.8 zoom is the one thing my kit lacks. If I had a need for one more than once or twice a year I would probably add one...

There are some f2.8 zooms that I could see being quite nice. Tamron 17-50, Sigma 24-70 DG HSM, or the DFA70-200 for instance. But I still subscribe to what I think of as 'The Normhead Theorem on Lenses', which holds that a good variable aperture zoom with a few primes at key focal lengths is the smart way to go. So my 18-135 bracketed by a DA15, a good fast 50, and maybe a DA70 would be my path of choice.

[NoCo Pentaxian]

Some shots in Iceland that made a 10-20 fun: Getting Kirkjufell and Kirkjufell waterfall in the same photo; being close to Geysir and getting the full Geysir in frame; and fun inside and outside Hallgrímskirkja (the tall church in Reykjavik). Everything else I used the DA 35mm F2.4 AL -- and a nice ND filter to slow down the waterfalls. Have fun!

[abruzzi]

I find the 18-135 and the sigma 10-20 to be a great combo, but for those two lenses you'll spend over $500 even if you buy used and wait for the best price. I've seen very nice photos from the 55-300 DAL, which is very cheap on eBay--usually from $100-$150. Combined with the 18-55, you'd have a good range. Then I'd see what focal lengths you like and pick up a couple inexpensive manual primes in those focal lengths. I prefer wide, so I'd be looking at 24, 28 and similar. I'd probably look for Pentax A lenses since they allow the the camera to control aperture, making exposure a little easier/quicker.

[pepperberry farm]

for now, keep the kit 18-55mm and add a DA L 55-300mm zoom; best 300mm zoom in its price range; later on, as you start to grow beyond the 18-55, start looking at primes for the focal lengths you want to shoot at....

[grispie]

for now, keep the kit 18-55mm and add a DA L 55-300mm zoom; best 300mm zoom in its price range; later on, as you start to grow beyond the 18-55, start looking at primes for the focal lengths you want to shoot at....

agree a 100%
there are always some 2ndhand copies available of the 55-300. try to get a WR one.

[caliscouser]

for now, keep the kit 18-55mm and add a DA L 55-300mm zoom; best 300mm zoom in its price range; later on, as you start to grow beyond the 18-55, start looking at primes for the focal lengths you want to shoot at....

agree a 100%
there are always some 2ndhand copies available of the 55-300. try to get a WR one.

... +2

[pres589]

See, I'd be going wide angle before a tele-zoom if I was already sitting on an 18-55. How often are you going to want tighter than 55mm on crop on a trip to Iceland? How many times do we hear about people taking four, five plus lens kits with them on a trip and the telephoto lenses are a small percentage of shots vs. normal or wide gear?

The OP will know more when he gets home and checks how many pictures were at one end of the 18-55's zoom range vs. the other.

[gifthorse]

I'd definitely take a tripod and I'd add a remote shutter release. If you really have to add something, instead of another lens, I'd pick up an OGPS-1. I happen to like my 18-55.

smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR


smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR with the OGPS-1




smc PENTAX-F 50mm F1.7 with OGPS-1 (which shouldn't be that different from your M50 1.7)

[Rayroper]

Wow guys thanks for the information! Will reply properly tomorrow evening! I've got a tripod but it's a hama star 61 had it for afew years... What would you guys recommend? Sorry for the short reply, late night and had a busy few days with family and work. Speak soon cheers!

[pepperberry farm]

for a tripod, I bought a used Manfrotto 3021BN from a forum user here, put a good head on it and it's been a trooper ever since...

[Rayroper]

I still have the one that came with my K-r, but haven't used it in long long time, probably years. But it is good to have one zoom lens with you if you don't know exactly which primes you will want to use.
I recommend you take it with you. You can sell it one day, to make room for the alternative
The M 50mm is great, very sharp lens, definitely take it.
28mm, you can compare your 28mm lenses to the 18-55mm zoomed to 28mm. If the primes are not better than the kit lens, sell them. If they are better than the kit, take it with you.


This is a good idea. I saved up a bit before I got the Samyang 14mm (239euro new) and I am glad I did. Buying a bunch of cheap lenses wouldn't give me what it does.
I am a bit biased, I like to shoot wide and ultrawide. I do very little telephoto. You have to decide yourself what you want. DA 55-300mm might make sense if you want to take photos of wildlife. I practically never go above 100mm, so I can't say much about that.

Before buying that 135mm, check the forums here for threads about its performance.

When I travel, I have at least 3 primes with me (and no zoom). My telephoto is DFA 100mm macro. Great lens, allows true 1:1 macro. Not cheap, but I think its price is fair, because it is a top tier lens. Its good to have something telephoto for portraits, photos of inaccessible things, wildlife.. Then I have something normal, usually DA 35mm. I take lots of photos with it. DA 40mm XS, M 50mm f1.7, M 28mm are other lenses close to 'normal' and I sometimes swap the DA 35mm with one of these. Then I have the ultra wide, which is Samyang 14mm. Recently I got a DA 21mm and its a stunning lens. Slowly it is replacing the DA 35mm. It took me long to make this lineup and I was pretty careful getting what I want, at an acceptable price.
So I suggest you take an ultra wide, a normal, and a telephoto. The kit lens can replace the ultrawide if you can't get something like the mentioned Samyang or Sigma. M 50mm can be the 'normal'.

You need to decide what kind of photos you want to take One good thing you can do is search for photos of the places you will visit, and see what other photographers have used there, so you can decide what you want to do yourself

Edit: Btw, we had Iceland trip threads before. You might want to look for them but they probably don't contain much that hasn't been mentioned here

Thanks for tips, I'll be looking at some of these suggestions when I have the budget! I looked into the 135mm and its got a pretty good rating on here so I went for it, got it super cheap!

I'd recommend going with what you have - it's not a bad start. The kit lens is happiest around f/8, but the more you use it the better you'll learn its strengths and weaknesses.

If you want to do night shots you will want a proper tripod. Don't bother with a cheap one, it's a total waste of money. Better to save up for one you can actually use.

Always use hoods if you have them. They can substantially improve image quality under certain conditions and will help protect your lenses.

A polarizer can help cut down glare and reflections (off water, rocks, foliage etc) and give you deeper, richer colours, but only when you deal with directional light. Try it out when the sun is low and you'll quickly see the difference.

UV filters don't really do much on digital. Some use them to protect their lenses. I prefer not to use them as they can cause flare (expensive ones will in general be less of a problem than cheaper ones).

Enjoy your trip, have fun trying to document it, don't let photography become more important than the experience itself!

I've gone with a Kenko Pro1 CPL filter and a Slik Pro 400d Tripod which is super sturdy! which is soooo much better than my hama star, its usually £100-150 new but I got it for free!

The kit lens is fine but something wider might be good for landscape. The DA16-45 is probably the best low-cost option but you can also get third party manual focus primes that might make sense. WR lenses might also make sense but since the K-r is not water resistant they won't help much if you get caught in the rain. If you are going in July then you will not be doing any low-light photography (except perhaps indoors or in a cave) and you will not see the northern lights in July.

Hi Mate,

Not going in July, im going in September, it gets dark at around 8pm and saw the northern lights in september two years ago

Used Tamron 17-50's seem to be about the same price as the Pentax 16-45. I'd go Tamron if condition were comparable for the same price or even a bit more.

This is all kind of moot at this point; the OP doesn't have the budget for these sorts of things. My advice again; shoot the daylights out of the 18-55 that he's currently got. If he can get nice results with that lens he'll have a better idea of what it lacks that he wants. If he puts a pound note in a jar every day for a year he'll have a great budget for a lens (or two!) to take that next step upward in kit quality.

I've definately taken this on board, trying to get into using the 18-55mm atm! but my 28mm f3.5 I got for free has swayed me, especially since I've discovered Panarama Stitching!

I agree with most said about the 18-55. It is the weakest lens, yet, know its limitations and it will be fine. Shoot f5.6 onwards. Your kr can handle pretty high iso. the kr goes well with the 18-55. I'm taking the lens with me on travel next month as i know it will deliver. Especially version II is notably improved. The 18-55 that came with your kr is normally version II.. Use it. You will be surprised. Just spend time practising on things like composition.

Make sure to bring the polarizer for it. Look at the reflections in the water and the changes in the sky as you rotate it. Don't overdo the polarizing either! It's hard to go back in post, your skies might turn out to blue/dark.

the combo 28 2.8, 50 1.7 is good. You'll do fine.

Imo, the icelandic landscape can really use a telelens. get the 135mm.
Or, if you don't mind the weight and favor versatility, seek for a smc A70-210 f4. Awesome lens. But heavy..
Smc m75-150 is also an option as it is really tiny for such a zoom, but less easy to find i guess. and not that cheap.
Otherwise, just go with the 135mm.

Also,
i assume you have a tripod with you.
Maybe get a 10 stop ND filter with you (52mm (so it fits the 18-55) and conversion ring to 49mm so it can fit you 28 2.8 as well)
I haven't done it back then, but i think iceland is great for long exposures.
My 2 cents..

Happy travels

Thanks man! I've gone for a 2-3 & 6 stop ND filter, hoping it will be enough to get motion in some of the waterfalls and planning on using the 18mm for when I want one shot wide without having to stitch, also went for the 135mm.

Some shots in Iceland that made a 10-20 fun: Getting Kirkjufell and Kirkjufell waterfall in the same photo; being close to Geysir and getting the full Geysir in frame; and fun inside and outside Hallgrímskirkja (the tall church in Reykjavik). Everything else I used the DA 35mm F2.4 AL -- and a nice ND filter to slow down the waterfalls. Have fun!

Could I stitch a afew photos of Kirkjufell with my Pentax M 28mm f3.5? or would the water not stitch well if using a ND filter?

I find the 18-135 and the sigma 10-20 to be a great combo, but for those two lenses you'll spend over $500 even if you buy used and wait for the best price. I've seen very nice photos from the 55-300 DAL, which is very cheap on eBay--usually from $100-$150. Combined with the 18-55, you'd have a good range. Then I'd see what focal lengths you like and pick up a couple inexpensive manual primes in those focal lengths. I prefer wide, so I'd be looking at 24, 28 and similar. I'd probably look for Pentax A lenses since they allow the the camera to control aperture, making exposure a little easier/quicker.

Thanks man, I've ended up with afew options similiar to my original post atm and saving for something like a sigma 10-20!

I'd definitely take a tripod and I'd add a remote shutter release. If you really have to add something, instead of another lens, I'd pick up an OGPS-1. I happen to like my 18-55.

smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR


smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR with the OGPS-1




smc PENTAX-F 50mm F1.7 with OGPS-1 (which shouldn't be that different from your M50 1.7)

Amazing! I've looked into the O-gps1 and its on my ebay watch list... Cant get it before iceland but its on my wish list.

So I'm now taking:

Pentax K-R
national geographic uk ng w5070 camera bag
Slik pro 400d tripod (very sturdy)
Kenko Pro1 CPL filter
ND2, 3 & 6 filters
Remote shutter
4 Batterys
32gb Memory card
Pentax M 28mm f3.5 for day landscapes and for photos to be stitched.
Pentax M 50mm f1.7 for low light landscapes to be stitched or portrait.
18-55mm kit lens for when I want wide shots with little hassle day or night.
Pentax M 135mm for when I want close up shots from a distance or portraits.
Rocket blower & lens cleaning kit
Rain cover for the camera
Petal Hood 52mm with 49mm step down ring

Well accustomed to the 500 rule now for astrolandscape if I need to take some shots like that and I've made afew images with light painting foreground and long exposure of the sky then blending them in Photoshop and editing in Lightroom.

Or I can do a super long exposure for the foreground, follow the 500 rule for the sky and blend the layers...

Read up on DOF scales and seem happy with that...

Also aware of the rule of thumb for focal length & exposure time to get sharp photos when hand held.

How does that look?

[Rayroper]

Any feedback.. Trips this weekend!

[pres589]

Seems like a good kit to bring with. Curious how often you use the 28mm vs. leaving the 18-55 on the camera. It's small, bring it if you want.

At some point I think you owe it to yourself to buy a wide angle lens.