[-JW-]

My collection is getting a bit out of hand, pretty much all of them I would consider "wanted", certainly not needed.
I have a K1-II and a K3-II (+hardly used MX and Z-1P) and mainly shoot street/travel
Pretty much all lenses were bought second hand.

Though I'm not sure If I want to part with any of these lenses, I was wondering:
- What would be your "essential" collection out of this list
- (what you would keep for sure, even if not essential)

Perhaps your input could make it easier to consider slimming down.

The list
DA 15 ltd SMC
DA 21 ltd SMC
DA 35 ltd SMC
DA 40 ltd SMC
DA 70 ltd SMC
DA 20-40 ltd
DA 55-300 WR PLM
DA* 55
DA* 200
DA* 300
DA* 16-50
DA* 50-135
DA TC 1.4x
DFA 100 macro
DFA 24-70
DFA 28-105
FA 20 2.8
FA 28 2.8
FA 35 2.0 (non HD)
FA 50 1.7
FA 135 2.8
FA* 24
FA* 28-70
FA* 80-200
FA ltd 31
FA ltd 43
FA ltd 77
F 28 2.8
F 50 1.7
M 28 2.8
M 50 1.7
M 135 3.5

If you think anything is missing, I'm curious as well!
(from a collection point of view I would say the FA*85, DA*11-18, DA*60-250 and any missing current DFA lenses, I'm not really interested in tele stuff)

---

Last edited by -JW-; 10-18-2020 at 02:38 PM.

[Pål Jensen]

I hope you are not taking all of them with you while travelling....

[photocles]

My $0.02 worth on your list:


It's too hard to choose. Just keep 'em all.


(Yes, I know - not helpful.)

[UncleVanya]

My collection is getting a bit out of hand, pretty much all of them I would consider "wanted", certainly not needed.
I have a K1-II and a K3-II (+hardly used MX and Z-1P) and mainly shoot street/travel
Pretty much all lenses were bought second hand.


The list
DA 15 (apsc essential)
DA 21 (ditto)
DA 35 (which one? If macro, ditto above)
DA 40 (fun, but not essential if keeping 35)
DA 70 (HD or SMC? If HD, I'd keep, the 77 might struggle with some lighting that the 70 will handle due to coating and narrower aperture. )
DA 20-40 (if keeping the da21 this is on the fence, it's a great zoom, and WR, but it might be possible to say goodbye to, on the other hand it's a good walk about lens for travel)
DA 55-300 WR PLM (do you travel with apsc? If so essential)
DA* 55 (apsc essential, and nearly ff in a pinch, lighter and more travel friendly than the DFA 50)
DA* 200 (good lens, versatile length on both formats, how often do you use it with travel and street photography?)
DA* 300 (see above, less versatile, more specialized, same questions on use.)
DA* 16-50 (unless shooting a lot of low light with apsc, it's a luxury, but not essential)
DA* 50-135 (hard not to keep, best zoom lens for apsc portraits and versatile short telephoto, but not a great travel or street lens)
DA TC 1.4x (luxury, unless you are shooting extreme telephoto there's no reason to keep)
DFA 100 macro (keep, ff and apsc macro, but this didn't appear to be your focus.)
DFA 24-70 (essential only if low light is a concern, but superb)
DFA 28-105 (must keep if not keeping 24-70)
FA 20 (ff da 15, must keep)
FA 28 (not essential, fa 31 is close enough)
FA 35 (lovely and compact, less obtrusive than the fa31... Tough call, the HD version might be essential...)
FA 50 (which one? Keep either f or fa for lightweight compact travel or street use)
FA 135 (nice lens, but if telephoto isn't a focus...)
FA* 24 (I don't recall shooting this lens but comments are mixed, how often do you shoot this wide with a prime?)
FA* 28-70 (see DFA 24-70, definitely keep only one of these)
FA* 80-200 (fine lens, nearly essential on ff, but the 70-210 DFA is smaller and more travel friendly ..)
FA ltd 31(essential)
FA ltd 43 (if keeping, dunno the f and fa 50?)
FA ltd 77 (essential)
F 28 (nope)
F 50 (see fa 50 and 43)
M 28 2.8 (only if the mx is going to get used)
M 50 1.7 (see above)
M 135 3.5 (see above)

If you think anything is missing, I'm curious as well!
(from a collection point of view I would say the FA*85, DA*11-18, DA*60-250 and any missing current DFA lenses, I'm not really interested in tele stuff)

My comments are above inline.

---

Last edited by UncleVanya; 01-20-2021 at 09:16 PM.

[ProfessorBuzz]

Sell the K3-II and all the DA's and never look back.

[beholder3]

- What would be your "essential" collection out of this list
- (what you would keep for sure, even if not essential)

Sell all lenses you BOTH:
a) did not use for more than 30 shots in the last 12 months AND
b) is not one of 1-3 lenses you just love, because [whatever].

a) leaves what you need.
b) ensures you keep things on the shelf that you are really, really attached to.

[baro-nite]

What a high-quality collection!

I recently sold my DA* 200. Loved the lens, but decided that on the occasions I used it, I would rather have a zoom. Since you have the FA* 80~200, I'm wondering how often you use the DA* 200. Of course its compact size is an asset.

[aslyfox]

does the OP need telephoto lenses over 300mm ?

what about DA lenses which do not play well with full frame ?

Full Frame Coverage of DA Lenses: Comprehensive Test
Which DA lenses cover the full 24x36 mm frame?

Read more at: Full Frame Coverage of DA Lenses: Comprehensive Test - Gear Guides | PentaxForums.com

[pepperberry farm]

My collection is getting a bit out of hand, pretty much all of them I would consider "wanted", certainly not needed.
I have a K1-II and a K3-II (+hardly used MX and Z-1P) and mainly shoot street/travel
Pretty much all lenses were bought second hand.

Though I'm not sure If I want to part with any of these lenses, I was wondering:
- What would be your "essential" collection out of this list
- (what you would keep for sure, even if not essential)

Perhaps your input could make it easier to consider slimming down.


If you think anything is missing, I'm curious as well!
(from a collection point of view I would say the FA*85, DA*11-18, DA*60-250 and any missing current DFA lenses, I'm not really interested in tele stuff)

why sell? you say your collection is getting out of hand - by what measure?

not enough storage space?
need money from possible sales?
external (normally spousal) pressure?

have you tried determining which lenses you would be sorry to lose?

have you tried using them in the Single In Challenge - an entire month with a lens usually will tell you how much you really want to keep a lens.....

[jatrax]

- What would be your "essential" collection out of this list

"Collection" is the key word here. Are these lenses you need and use on a regular basis or lenses that make you happy that you own. If the former get rid of what you do not use regularly, if the latter get rid of any that make you sad .

I have a nearly full collection of S-M-C Takumars. I certainly do not use them enough to justify keeping them but they make me happy, I had great fun researching, buying, testing and maintaining them. So I keep them. And use them occasionally. But for serious work these days I am mostly limited to DFA zooms and a few primes that I seem to reach for.

If you really want to pare down your 'collection' sell the F28 and the F 50 and all the 'M's. They are duplicated in other series. Then you will not be tempted to try and fill out those series as well

[normhead]

I don't see anything I'd sell myself.
But I do see quite few I'd buy given a good price.

[BigMackCam]

I've been through your list a few times, and find it rather difficult to choose what to sell

I started off thinking you'd be best served by glass you could use on both crop and full frame, selling off dedicated APS-C lenses that aren't full-frame capable... but many of those you own - especially the DA Limited, DA* and DA 55-300 PLM - are just too good to let go; so, back to square one.

I can see a number of options for minimising your collection whilst still covering most use cases on both formats, but they all involve ditching some pretty amazing lenses... and since it doesn't seem like you're in a desperate fund-raising situation, it goes against my nature to recommend them

The FA*24 and FA*28-70 focal lengths are covered by your D FA24-70, but size and weight of the latter might be an issue in some situations.

The DA20-40 and DA*16-50 aren't strictly necessary given you have all the DA Limited primes - but, they're weather resistant, and zoom lenses are both versatile and convenient. Of course, if you keep the zooms you could sell some DA Limited primes instead - the 21, 35 and 40; perhaps even the 15 at a stretch... but would you really want to?

The DA40 and DA70 are surplus, arguably, since you own the FA43 and FA77 - but, again, do you really want to break up your fine DA Limited set?

All I'm left with is the suggestion that you might sell your manual M lenses, since you've autofocus F / FA models that supersede and outperform them (although the manual focus action and aperture rings aren't as nice). Furthermore, you could de-duplicate the F or FA 28 and 50. Much as I like the F primes, I'd probably keep the FA models if I was you, since you have a nice matching set of those. [EDIT: I see @jatrax already made these same suggestions, so we might be onto something here... ]

When you consider the relatively small balance of funds you'd get for the M glass and a couple of F or FA lenses, you might be better off just keeping them

I think you miss the A* 85mm F1.4.

I would expand with the DA* 11-18 and DA 16-85, keep the 20-40 Ltd and not sure about the 55-300 PLM because of differtent build quality. I think the first three because your not interested in tele stuff.

[-JW-]

*updated the list to clarify what variation I have of certain lenses

Interesting replies so far! I was deliberately not giving away too much, to not influence the responses.

A bit more context for now though:
- I have used the DA55-300 and DA300 + TC for a trip with a lot of wildlife and haven't used them since, doesn't make sense to sell them and buy them again when they're needed for the same occasion somewhere in the future.
- There is no pressure to sell whatsoever, just the question if I'm pointlessly hanging on to stuff for the sake of collecting it. Selling things only makes sense if I'm not tempted to buy it back later.
- I use both FF (if weight and size is not an issue) and APS-C (longer periods of time, travel with public transport, non-photocentric days etc.)
- I prefer to use primes, so absolute no go's for me are the DA ltd series and the FA ltd series (though I could part with the ltd 40 and the ltd 35)
- Next to the primes a DA and a DFA lighter weight weather sealed zoom I consider essential (20-40 and 28-105)
- a DA and DFA wide aperture zoom are a nice to have though in reality I hardly use them or any of the other zooms. (seems to be the basic set of zooms though)

The whole thing started out with what I needed, or thought I needed, before it being replaced.
But well...once you get the DA ltd 15, 21, 70, and come across the 40, you might as well add the 35 to complete the set right?
It is also why a lot of it is bought second hand, not needed but nice to have for the right price. Double focal length coverage started to appear after a while.

I'm wondering if there is anyone with the same experience here that eventually decided to sell anything not used?
How did that turn out? What was the reasoning? Any regrets?

Thanks for the input so far!

[Sir Nameless]

Hmm...interesting discussion. You said essential. Essential to me means exactly what you need to accomplish what you set out to accomplish, and no more.

Checking out your flickr album, I saw lots of really great travel photos there; a wide range of interesting subject matter. I didn't look at any image data. Going just from the images, I think your essential lens is the DFA 28-105. A bit big for travel maybe (or maybe not, according to your preferences), but it gives a decent focal length range for travel, is WR, and would work with both your full frame and crop body.

For a second lens, add the 15-30. Also WR. Maybe you'd put this in the essential category if you need that range. It would help with wide end coverage on your K3-II especially. I don't think you have this one already, but you could easily fund it with the proceeds of selling other stuff if that were a consideration.

Now, if I wanted to keep some primes around too, I'd add the three amigos and the 100 mm macro to the list of lenses I'd want to keep.

Disclaimer: I'm going by specs and reputation with these choices--I haven't had the pleasure of shooting with any of the six lenses I mentioned. Incidentally, or maybe not so incidentally, I have something like the junior version of the kit I just recommended for you.

Edit: Sorry @-JW-: I was writing while you posted your latest reply...