[mikesbike]

I've had the the K-5 IIs for quite some time, bought new at a great closeout price. I have since acquired first the K-S2, also in a great deal, and earlier this year the KP. Each model has its advantages. Even with the newer advancements, I still find the K-5 IIs to be a great camera.

I think your lens lineup is very fine. Hard to beat the DA 18-135mm for very good to excellent quality and versatility. Its AF is also among the fastest and most sure of all for Pentax cameras. It is also amazingly compact for its range. If you are interested in macro, Sandy's advice is very good. Or get a macro lens of longer FL. Other than that, for times when you want to go about for general scenic shooting, and go as compact as possible, the DA 21mm Limited is an excellent walk-around lens for many scenes, since it is wide angle without being overly wide, and the DA 15mm LTD is so small it is easy to pack along also. Same with your 50mm f/1.8 but the 21mm is so versatile you might find you'll not need to change lenses very often.

[aslyfox]

if interested in macro photography, there are plenty of specific " macro " threads containing a lot of useful info

one basic thing to remember about macro photography, if I understand it correctly, is that the shorter the focal length of the macro lens, the closer you are to your target when using it as a 1:1 lens.

in other words, if you use a 35 mm macro ( Min. Focus 14 cm ), your target is closer to the lens than if you are using a 50 mm macro ( Min. Focus 20 cm ) or a 100 mm macro ( Min. Focus 30 cm ) or a 200 mm macro ( Min. Focus 51 cm )

that can be a problem if you are attempting macro photography of a live subject such as an insect or other animal " in the field " as opposed to an inanimate object such as a coin

in additional, there is other options for macro other than a true macro lens, close up add on lenses or the use of tubes etc. etc, etc. and so forth and so on

[Jeff]

Covering the various ranges--super wide through telephoto has been my separate prime and zoom plan--coverage! On the viewing platform at Niagara Falls or Empire State Building or where ever, primes require lens change to get proper angle...better have the needed lens angles...i.e. better have the range...

You have a 15 now...so (as it becomes realistic) add the 21, 31, 43, 77 and 100 macro and you have all the non-critter angles covered with pro capable glass. Done...all primes and no gaps, 21-100. I add a 200* macro and 300* tele to fill it out and for publication/sales because I do more with critters than the average person. OK, I have a 600/4 too, but that's an outlier in regards to sanity!

Now do the same with zooms and you've got it all.

I run all FA's 20-35, 28-70*, 80-200* and you are covered from 20-200! Ran the 250-600* for a decade when wildlife was my main game. Had 20-600 covered in just four lenses. Took that kit to Northwest Territories and Alaska lots of times.

If professional quality work is not the goal then don't overthink it...buy a few cheap zooms and have fun! But you mentioned primes which suggests you want quality. Don't even consider cheapo's if you are after quality...real world, I've sold dozens of images that were shot through old FA plastic zooms that sell for about $20 on the used market nowadays. But it's not work that I'm happy with or proud of...checks were nice but I do this for me! Sounds like you do too.

Thanks for your thoughts,and yes, I do it for me!

---------- Post added 12-24-17 at 01:31 PM ----------

Your current lens collection is brilliant - logical steps between focal lengths, versatile, and great image quality for the price. If simplicity is one of your guiding principles you are already there. Selling the plastic fantastics won't raise much capital, so unless you're prepared to spend quite a bit I wouldn't touch it.

HOWEVER.... you lack a macro. If you really want to get rid of a plastic lens, swapping the 35/2.4 for the 35/2.8 macro limited would give you bling, quick shift and serious sharpness and close focus ability. It is still very compact, only marginally slower, and has a nifty built-in hood.

Swapping the 50/1.8 for the 55/1.4 might make sense if speed, weather resistance, quick shift, a great hood, silent focus and stunning resolution make the significant cost worth contemplating.

Something longer than 200 (and more compact than the Tamron) might be nice. One of the WR 55-300 variants could replace your 18-135 if you plugged the gap between 15 and 35 with something like the 21 limited.

I had a 40 limited for a while, but for me it was a weird field of view on crop. The same applies to my FA43.

It might not surprise you that my minimalist crop kit is 15, 21, 35, 55-300

Thanks Sandy. The 35 swap might be something to contemplate. Appreciate your response.

[Des]

I sense what you are looking for is more "wow". Sandy's suggestion for a macro is a good one. I've got the FA 50 f2.8 macro and the DFA 100 f2.8 macro WR. Both extremely sharp, and both very good for landscapes as well as macro/close focus. I used to have the DA 50 f1.8 and the A 50 f1.7 - they all have their virtues and all quite different, but I think the FA 50 macro is the best of the three for landscapes, although I'd say the DA 50 was more flattering for portraits. But the DFA 100 is in another class from any of these. It's just a wonderful lens. Beautifully built, lovely rendering, extremely sharp, very pleasant bokeh - it's really up there with the 43 and the 77 as a "wow" lens.

[gm4life]

Seasons greeting fellow Pentaxians,

So, in the New Year I aim to S&S&B (Simplify and Sell and Buy!)

I have a K5iis that I really love. My currents lenses are:

Lenses: 15mm DA L

Tamron 70-200 f2.8

35mm f2.4 (plastic)

50mm f1.8 (plastic)

18-135mm WR

I'm wanting to move into prime territory: the 15mm and the Tamron 70-200 are great but I want to get rid of the plastics. I'm also not sure about the 18-135 (it is WR though).

Season greetings and happy holidays as well!

I think you have a pretty good kit to start. Seriously however if you have the scratch I do have a couple suggestions especially if you want a upgrade over the plastic fantastics...

The 35mm I would swap for a 35mm DA HD Limited Macro at F2.8 it is only marginally slower than the DA 35 F2.4. Great handling lens, great rending, nice Macro ability for flowers etc. The build quality is out of this world just like the 15 plus it has a nice built in lens hood too.

The 50mm would be a great trade to a 55mm DA * SMC F1.4. Sharp as hell wide open and great a F1.4 for portraits. Great for telephoto work too. Can’t go wrong.

I wouldn’t dump the 70-200 unless you are going to the awesome Pentax D-FA * HD 70-200, this baby is a gem wide open at F2.8 but is hardly an inexpensive piece of glass.

The 18-135 should not be dumped unless you are getting a 16-85 if not keep it. Great all-around in fact just gave my dad one for the holidays as I have the 16-85 and he always wants extra reach. The only thing you are missing is a nice big telephoto, the 300mm DA * SMC F4 is highly regarded as well.

That would get you a very close copy of my kit. Which I love! But I am waiting for the 11-18 DA * next year too.

[Jeff]

I sense what you are looking for is more "wow". Sandy's suggestion for a macro is a good one. I've got the FA 50 f2.8 macro and the DFA 100 f2.8 macro WR. Both extremely sharp, and both very good for landscapes as well as macro/close focus. I used to have the DA 50 f1.8 and the A 50 f1.7 - they all have their virtues and all quite different, but I think the FA 50 macro is the best of the three for landscapes, although I'd say the DA 50 was more flattering for portraits. But the DFA 100 is in another class from any of these. It's just a wonderful lens. Beautifully built, lovely rendering, extremely sharp, very pleasant bokeh - it's really up there with the 43 and the 77 as a "wow" lens.

Thanks for your reply and seasons greetings too! I'm looking seriously at the 35mm DA HD Limited Macro at F2.8 and have been trawling the DA Limited club posts... I will update when the deed is done!

---------- Post added 12-26-17 at 11:05 AM ----------

I sense what you are looking for is more "wow". Sandy's suggestion for a macro is a good one. I've got the FA 50 f2.8 macro and the DFA 100 f2.8 macro WR. Both extremely sharp, and both very good for landscapes as well as macro/close focus. I used to have the DA 50 f1.8 and the A 50 f1.7 - they all have their virtues and all quite different, but I think the FA 50 macro is the best of the three for landscapes, although I'd say the DA 50 was more flattering for portraits. But the DFA 100 is in another class from any of these. It's just a wonderful lens. Beautifully built, lovely rendering, extremely sharp, very pleasant bokeh - it's really up there with the 43 and the 77 as a "wow" lens.

Thanks Des... Yes, I am looking for more wow as Sandy said. The 35mm DA HD Limited Macro F2.8 might just have that wow that I'm looking for.

---------- Post added 12-26-17 at 11:16 AM ----------

Season greetings and happy holidays as well!

I think you have a pretty good kit to start. Seriously however if you have the scratch I do have a couple suggestions especially if you want a upgrade over the plastic fantastics...

The 35mm I would swap for a 35mm DA HD Limited Macro at F2.8 it is only marginally slower than the DA 35 F2.4. Great handling lens, great rending, nice Macro ability for flowers etc. The build quality is out of this world just like the 15 plus it has a nice built in lens hood too.

The 50mm would be a great trade to a 55mm DA * SMC F1.4. Sharp as hell wide open and great a F1.4 for portraits. Great for telephoto work too. Can’t go wrong.

I wouldn’t dump the 70-200 unless you are going to the awesome Pentax D-FA * HD 70-200, this baby is a gem wide open at F2.8 but is hardly an inexpensive piece of glass.

The 18-135 should not be dumped unless you are getting a 16-85 if not keep it. Great all-around in fact just gave my dad one for the holidays as I have the 16-85 and he always wants extra reach. The only thing you are missing is a nice big telephoto, the 300mm DA * SMC F4 is highly regarded as well.

That would get you a very close copy of my kit. Which I love! But I am waiting for the 11-18 DA * next year too.

I'm not intending to get rid of the Tammy - it's so bright a lovely piece of glass, and I'll keep the 18-15 as it too is lovely. I think it will be a 35 Macro and perhaps a DA70. I would love the holy trinity of the FA31,43 and 77 but my skill level (and my wallet) is not up to them, but at the moment there are some amazing deals on both the 35 Macro and the DA70 to be had. I think that may scratch the itch for a while! Thanks for your input!

[aslyfox]

Thanks for your reply and seasons greetings too! I'm looking seriously at the 35mm DA HD Limited Macro at F2.8 and have been trawling the DA Limited club posts... I will update when the deed is done!

---------- Post added 12-26-17 at 11:05 AM ----------


Thanks Des... Yes, I am looking for more wow as Sandy said. The 35mm DA HD Limited Macro F2.8 might just have that wow that I'm looking for. . . .

I was just looking at the DA 35mm " In Depth Review " and found this:

. . . the DA 35mm lens includes a reproduction ratio alongside the meter and feet distance scale. According to the manual, you set the reproduction ratio in the manual focus mode and adjust focus by moving the camera closer or further from the subject. The reproduction ratio starts at 1/10 and ends with 1/1. In field tests at 1/1, the lens focuses at about 1 inch from the front element. At times, the focus is a little too close for inanimate objects. . . . "

Read more at: Pentax-DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Review - Macro Capabilities | PentaxForums.com Reviews

there is no question that the DA 35mm is good but for 1:1 macro ??

your choice but for me one of the reason I chose the D FA 100mm F2.8 ( non WR ) was the fact that I didn't have to be that close to get 1:1 reproduction

[Des]

your choice but for me one of the reason I chose the D FA 100mm F2.8 ( non WR ) was the fact that I didn't have to be that close to get 1:1 reproduction

Yes I agree with this. But people who have the 35 macro seem to love it for close focus, and for flowers and landscapes and general use - my impression is that it doesn't get used for true 1:1 macro as much as macro lenses around 100mm. The DFA 100 does all that too - it just depends on which focal length works better for you. It took me a while to warm to 100mm as a length for general use - but once I got my eye in, so to speak, I like it more than I like 35mm. I tend to go wider or longer. But that's just me.

Some samples taken with the DFA 100.

I would love the holy trinity of the FA31,43 and 77 but my skill level (and my wallet) is not up to them, but at the moment there are some amazing deals on both the 35 Macro and the DA70 to be had. I think that may scratch the itch for a while!

I've got the FA 43 and FA 77, but I've only got one DA Limited, the 20-40 zoom. I don't think the DA Limiteds are poor cousins of the FA Limiteds - they are just different. They are all capable of producing breath-taking images.

[aslyfox]

Yes I agree with this. But people who have the 35 macro seem to love it for close focus, and for flowers and landscapes and general use - my impression is that it doesn't get used for true 1:1 macro as much as macro lenses around 100mm. The DFA 100 does all that too - it just depends on which focal length works better for you. It took me a while to warm to 100mm as a length for general use - but once I got my eye in, so to speak, I like it more than I like 35mm. I tend to go wider or longer. But that's just me.

true enough

the best camera and/or lens is the one that the owner likes

all the rest is another person's opinion

many factors can determine what is favored by the owner

[dbs]

G'Day Jeff

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Lenses , something different 10 - 17 fisheye zoom can do macro (sort of), landscape, and fun portraits
change the 35 to the 35 macro
add fa77 ltd
done

Dave

[Gimbeley]

Yes I agree with this. But people who have the 35 macro seem to love it for close focus, and for flowers and landscapes and general use - my impression is that it doesn't get used for true 1:1 macro as much as macro lenses around 100mm. The DFA 100 does all that too - it just depends on which focal length works better for you. It took me a while to warm to 100mm as a length for general use - but once I got my eye in, so to speak, I like it more than I like 35mm. I tend to go wider or longer. But that's just me.

Some samples taken with the DFA 100.

I've got the FA 43 and FA 77, but I've only got one DA Limited, the 20-40 zoom. I don't think the DA Limiteds are poor cousins of the FA Limiteds - they are just different. They are all capable of producing breath-taking images.

I used to have a 100mm macro for my Canon 5DII, which I really liked, but I find that I have to get a little more creative to use a 100mm prime on a crop sensor. It's definitely useful for non-macro photography, but the focal length makes it a little more niche on my K-3 than if it were a 70mm macro, imo.

[Merv-O]

You've got one WR rated lens there, the 18-135. For that reason, the general image quality, and versatility of the thing would have me keeping it. Plus there's the idea that you cover all bases with a decent zoom then hit key focal lengths (to your own favor) with primes. It's really all what you like to shoot with. I have a number of the same lenses and I shoot with a K-5 II. Here's what I would keep out of your lens collection

DA 15 (I own a copy and love it)
DA 18-135 (I don't know that I love it but it's just so good and useful to me that I can't imagine selling it)
DA 50 (I own a copy and quite like it. Portraits, low light, it's very good for those things and is so small and light).

That's it. I rarely feel like wanting a lens with more reach than the 18-135 offers. I have a DA 35 2.4 and it's... okay, but not exciting, not artistic. If it offered a faster max f-stop, like an f1.8... The 18-135 isn't real fast in this range, but it's very sharp and contrasty from about 20mm out to about 70mm. Perhaps the other way to roll this kit would be the 15, the 18-135, and the 70-200. If you wanted to trade around, something like the Tamron 17-50 or 28-75 f2.8 zooms could replace the 18-135 in your kit.

I get wanting primes but I can't really imaging only having a 15 and a 40 and then straight to telephoto. Lately my bag has a Sigma 28 f1.8 and either the DA 15 or DA 50 with it. It's like the 43 on full frame, just as fast, but about 5 times the size and probably 3 times the weight.

I have a mixed bag of lens--I guess I'm a hoarder...but I have FF and DA (APS-c) models as follows:

For my KP and K-S2:

40mm f2.8 XS pancake lens
18-50mm Retractable WR
SIGMA 28 f.2.8 (manual focus)
18-135mm WR
50-200WR
16-46mm WR
50mm f1.8 (manual focus)

K-1 ii:

IRIX 15mm
35mm f2
50mm f1.4
28-105mm
TAMRON 28-75mm f2.8
SIGMA 70-300mm macro/tele DG

I think I have my needs fairly well covered in both formats..sometimes it's fun to crop down with the K-1ii and use a DA lens also for added focal length. Using the K-1ii at 15.2 mp is like having a K-5ii with better focusing and IQ at your command...one camera many Lenses. The KP is really fast and I enjoy using the peak focusing feature on the manual lenses. Cheers