Originally posted by Bui I have the DA Ltds for travelling, they are very nice and compact. But I have been also looking for an all-around zoom lens, for family event, school event, wedding or birthday party, where it's not very convenient to constantly change the lens. Recently I got a 16-50, for a very cheap price due to failed SDM. The screw drive conversion made it worked super fine again, and generally it's good enough for me.
However, I'm still toying with the idea of selling it and find a 16-85, because:
- The 16-50 is big and heavy. Having used mostly the DA Ltds, it is really big and heavy. Granted, the 16-85 is nearly as big and heavy, so I don't know it it makes any real difference in real-world use, and carrying?
- I gain extra 50-85mm, in exchange of f2.8 for variable 3.5-5.6. The f2.8 of the DA* is not spectacular, so perhaps it's worth the trade-off? Being able to zoom from 16 to 85 is nice, as I take a lot of portraits and zooming-in objects.
- DC motor is of course more attractive than screw drive.
However, since I also take a lot of portraits, I'm not sure if scarifying speed is a good idea.
Any of you who did the same switch, or in other direction? What are your thought?
Let me start out by saying I have no experience with the DA16-50mm/f2.8 but I did own a Tamron 17-50mm/f2.8 which developed a mechanical failure in the zoom ring. Like you I thought long and hard about replacing it with another f2.8 standard lens but eventually went for the 16-85mm because of the increased versatility in range. I was not disappointed, the 16-85mm is noticeably sharper than the DA18-135mm with the added 2mm on the wide end which make quite a big difference.
In the beginning I did miss having f2.8 across the whole range but switching from my K-5 IIs to a K-70 meant I could up the ISO to account for the difference in low-light performance. The bokeh advantage never was much of an argument as I have other lenses that produce superior bokeh to that of the 17-50mm anyway.
All in all, I did have reservations against buying a variable-aperture zoom at first but the 16-85mm spends a lot of time on the K-70, more than the 17-50mm ever did. Edge and corner sharpness are pretty much in balance and the lens is worth consideration.