New additional lens?

NecroticSoldier · 04-01-2010, 04:17 PM

I currently only have this set up (in my signature). I'm looking for maybe... a DA 18-250mm, Tamron 70-300mm and you get the idea. I plan to travel, and I don't really want to bring too much... as I'm afraid of it getting stolen. Any ideas? what would you bring/buy if you were me?

EDIT: also... another idea might be bringing my Kit lens + a 55-300mm?

Last edited by NecroticSoldier; 04-02-2010 at 07:31 AM. Reason: New suggestion.

tibbitts · 04-01-2010, 09:03 PM

Where are you traveling and why are you afraid of theft?

What do you plan on photographing?

I assume you are looking to travel with 1 or 2 lenses total. Is that correct?

Paul

hcc · 04-01-2010, 10:26 PM

If you want to travel light with a lens only, the DA18-250mm is the best all-rounder lens. To be fair, the Pentax DA18-250mm is a Tamron rebadged lens, nearly identical to the Tamron 18-250mm. The image quality (IQ) and built quality of the Pentax and Tamron 18-250mm are basically identical: see threads at www.Pentaxforums.com (search threads for 18-250mm). The DA18-250mm is regarded as one the leading lenses of its class.

An all-rounder lens like the DA18-250mm is ideal if you do not want to change the lens. It yields also a relatively small camera bag. For example, the DA18-250mm together with a Pentax body (K-x, K-20D, K-7) can fit nicely in a relatively small top-loader bag like the Lowepro Toploader TLZ1, together with the battery charger and a spare battery.

There are alternatives however. One consists in the the kit lenses 18-55mm WR and 55-200mm WR. The WR kit lenses are worth to consider if your camera is WR (eg K-7, K20D). Another alternative could be a few selected fast primes (eg FA20mm, FA43 mm or FA50 mm, DFA100 mm). Another option is a couple of zooms (eg 16-45mm & DA*50-135mm). There are other non-Pentax zooms that you may consider.

Personally, I travel often and I prefer to have a single lens always mounted on my Pentax. I genuinely like the wide range [18-250mm] offered by the DA18-250mm as well as it Image Quality.

Hope that the comment will help ... and Happy Easter

.

RioRico · 04-01-2010, 11:34 PM

I'll also vote for a 18-250. My original, and still most-used, kit for the K20D were the DA 10-17, DA 18-250, and FA 50/1.4, along with the AF-360 flash. Add a Raynox DCR-250 and I've got nearly every basic situation covered. If I could squeeze in a couple more, they'd be my 24/2 (if I can get it fixed) and 135/2.8, because they're two stops faster than the 18-250.

NecroticSoldier · 04-02-2010, 07:36 AM

Originally posted by tibbitts

Where are you traveling and why are you afraid of theft?

What do you plan on photographing?

I assume you are looking to travel with 1 or 2 lenses total. Is that correct?

Paul

Yes I am, the less lenses I bring, the better. I'm going to Malaysia, I know it isn't THAT bad, but there are thieves. I plan to photography flowers, animals, landscapes, people. Pretty much anything I can get away with. My first time to Malaysia. I guess too many stories on tv or news paper, made me wary of these.

Yeah I'm actually considering one of these options:

Kit Lens 18-55 + Tamron 70-300
or
Kit Lens 18-55 + DA 55-300
or
DA18-250/Tamron18-250

Yeah, so far there's been suggestions towards the 18-250, it's more pricey too.

Having 2 lenses means, I might have to change lenses there, which can be bad, because I don't want to let my guard down.

NecroticSoldier · 04-02-2010, 07:39 AM

Originally posted by hcc

If you want to travel light with a lens only, the DA18-250mm is the best all-rounder lens. To be fair, the Pentax DA18-250mm is a Tamron rebadged lens, nearly identical to the Tamron 18-250mm. The image quality (IQ) and built quality of the Pentax and Tamron 18-250mm are basically identical: see threads at www.Pentaxforums.com (search threads for 18-250mm). The DA18-250mm is regarded as one the leading lenses of its class.

An all-rounder lens like the DA18-250mm is ideal if you do not want to change the lens. It yields also a relatively small camera bag. For example, the DA18-250mm together with a Pentax body (K-x, K-20D, K-7) can fit nicely in a relatively small top-loader bag like the Lowepro Toploader TLZ1, together with the battery charger and a spare battery.

There are alternatives however. One consists in the the kit lenses 18-55mm WR and 55-200mm WR. The WR kit lenses are worth to consider if your camera is WR (eg K-7, K20D). Another alternative could be a few selected fast primes (eg FA20mm, FA43 mm or FA50 mm, DFA100 mm). Another option is a couple of zooms (eg 16-45mm & DA*50-135mm). There are other non-Pentax zooms that you may consider.

Personally, I travel often and I prefer to have a single lens always mounted on my Pentax. I genuinely like the wide range [18-250mm] offered by the DA18-250mm as well as it Image Quality.

Hope that the comment will help ... and Happy Easter

.

Thank you! Happy Easter too ;D!

Primes would probably be too much of a hassle... I'm not much of a prime person though. I don't have too much on the budget so I could only get one of those options mentioned above. I don't think I need WR...

A small camera bag would be nice, so I could carry a tripod too.

Ira · 04-02-2010, 07:40 AM

Malaysia? That's like the safest country on the planet.

I've recently found another joy of using my old manual primes:

I have a very small bag, VERY small--a Lowenpro Aventura 170. (Look it up at Best Buy.) Well, this bag comfortably holds, and I am not kidding, my camera with a 135 attached, plus seven--SEVEN--other primes.

NecroticSoldier · 04-02-2010, 07:52 AM

Originally posted by Ira

Malaysia? That's like the safest country on the planet.

I've recently found another joy of using my old manual primes:

I have a very small bag, VERY small--a Lowenpro Aventura 170. (Look it up at Best Buy.) Well, this bag comfortably holds, and I am not kidding, my camera with a 135 attached, plus seven--SEVEN--other primes.

Really...? I never knew that... is this sarcasm? (sorry I'm bad with sarcasm if it is)

All I know is Malaysia has a lot of good food, and looks pretty.

Hmm... Yeah I'm going to need a different bag than my normal Sling I use.

Ira · 04-02-2010, 08:12 AM

Originally posted by NecroticSoldier

Really...? I never knew that... is this sarcasm? (sorry I'm bad with sarcasm if it is)

All I know is Malaysia has a lot of good food, and looks pretty.

Hmm... Yeah I'm going to need a different bag than my normal Sling I use.

Not kidding at all. I worked with a lot of guys from Kuala Lumpur when I lived in New York. One told me this:

If you went to use one of those open phone booths and left your wallet sitting on the shelf there with 10,000 bucks in it, it would literally still be sitting there the next day. The Malaysian police do not screw around (similar to Singapore), and people would actually think that it was a TRAP set up by the police to catch them.

Ira · 04-02-2010, 08:14 AM

Malaysia has shrimp the size of lobsters!!!

NecroticSoldier · 04-02-2010, 08:35 AM

Originally posted by Ira

Not kidding at all. I worked with a lot of guys from Kuala Lumpur when I lived in New York. One told me this:

If you went to use one of those open phone booths and left your wallet sitting on the shelf there with 10,000 bucks in it, it would literally still be sitting there the next day. The Malaysian police do not screw around (similar to Singapore), and people would actually think that it was a TRAP set up by the police to catch them.

LOL and yay shrimps! HEHE Sounds like fun. Wow... not like our police eh?

aleonx3 · 04-02-2010, 08:46 AM

Originally posted by Ira

Malaysia? That's like the safest country on the planet.

I've recently found another joy of using my old manual primes:

I have a very small bag, VERY small--a Lowenpro Aventura 170. (Look it up at Best Buy.) Well, this bag comfortably holds, and I am not kidding, my camera with a 135 attached, plus seven--SEVEN--other primes.

Hi, Ira, I second your suggestion. I am also planning on traveling to Asia some time in May. My thoughts are similar to yours. I plan on taking a few primes with me - with one exception, may be the DA 55-300mm. Most of the primes I am going to take are wide to medium wide (24mm, 28mm or 35mm) - may be one 50mm 1.4 for low light shots. The primes are mostly old MF lenses. Should I bring my DA 12-14mm as well?

audiobomber · 04-02-2010, 08:53 AM

My kit for casual or non-photography jaunts is a DA 18-250, FA 35mm and Raynox 150 macro adapter. I use a 16-45, 55-300, 10-17 fisheye and several primes in my regular kit. I will definitely bring my regular kit for anything longer than a weekend trip, but I will also pack the 18-250. The 18-250 has great appeal as a travel lens. IQ is as good as the 18-55 II, but barrel distortion is heavier on the wide end and it's more prone to vignetting. The lens correction feature in the K-x and K-7 correct barrel distortion and CA in Pentax DA lenses but not on the Tamron 18-250.

The 55-300mm has slightly better IQ (sharper at the long end, slightly nicer colour & contrast). The biggest difference is the range, and it's not just the 50mm difference. At subject distances less than infinity, the field of view of an internal focus lens like the 18-250 decreases. My tests showed the 18-250 at full zoom and a subject distance of ten meters (30 feet) has the same fov as the 55-300 at 200mm. This makes a large difference in subject size.

Life's a compromise. You have to decide; the slightly improved performance and range of the 55-300 or the convenience and higher cost of the superzoom.

Ira · 04-02-2010, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by aleonx3

Hi, Ira, I second your suggestion. I am also planning on traveling to Asia some time in May. My thoughts are similar to yours. I plan on taking a few primes with me - with one exception, may be the DA 55-300mm. Most of the primes I am going to take are wide to medium wide (24mm, 28mm or 35mm) - may be one 50mm 1.4 for low light shots. The primes are mostly old MF lenses. Should I bring my DA 12-14mm as well?

You KNOW you're going to want that 12-14!!!

But I am really amazed by how many of these manual lenses fit in this little bag, whereas my Tamron 90 Macro hardly gets in there at all. (My seven lens count DIDN'T include this lens!)

Still have side and front pockets for batteries, cleaning supplies, a few filters, etc.

sterretje · 04-02-2010, 09:56 AM

I would not worry too much about theft. Just get decent travel insurance; it will not replace the lost photos (consider some backup system) nor compensate for emotional damage but at least you don't have to worry too much about the financial implications of theft.

Don't get me wrong, I understand your fear, but don't let it get the better of you. You will not have a life and you will definitely not enjoy your holiday.

Have a good and safe trip and show us some photos when you get back.

WimS

04-01-2010, 04:17 PM	#1
NecroticSoldier Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 488	New additional lens? I currently only have this set up (in my signature). I'm looking for maybe... a DA 18-250mm, Tamron 70-300mm and you get the idea. I plan to travel, and I don't really want to bring too much... as I'm afraid of it getting stolen. Any ideas? what would you bring/buy if you were me? EDIT: also... another idea might be bringing my Kit lens + a 55-300mm? Last edited by NecroticSoldier; 04-02-2010 at 07:31 AM. Reason: New suggestion.

04-01-2010, 10:26 PM	#3
hcc Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,001	If you want to travel light with a lens only, the DA18-250mm is the best all-rounder lens. To be fair, the Pentax DA18-250mm is a Tamron rebadged lens, nearly identical to the Tamron 18-250mm. The image quality (IQ) and built quality of the Pentax and Tamron 18-250mm are basically identical: see threads at www.Pentaxforums.com (search threads for 18-250mm). The DA18-250mm is regarded as one the leading lenses of its class. An all-rounder lens like the DA18-250mm is ideal if you do not want to change the lens. It yields also a relatively small camera bag. For example, the DA18-250mm together with a Pentax body (K-x, K-20D, K-7) can fit nicely in a relatively small top-loader bag like the Lowepro Toploader TLZ1, together with the battery charger and a spare battery. There are alternatives however. One consists in the the kit lenses 18-55mm WR and 55-200mm WR. The WR kit lenses are worth to consider if your camera is WR (eg K-7, K20D). Another alternative could be a few selected fast primes (eg FA20mm, FA43 mm or FA50 mm, DFA100 mm). Another option is a couple of zooms (eg 16-45mm & DA*50-135mm). There are other non-Pentax zooms that you may consider. Personally, I travel often and I prefer to have a single lens always mounted on my Pentax. I genuinely like the wide range [18-250mm] offered by the DA18-250mm as well as it Image Quality. Hope that the comment will help ... and Happy Easter.

04-02-2010, 07:39 AM	#6
NecroticSoldier Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 488 Original Poster	Originally posted by hcc If you want to travel light with a lens only, the DA18-250mm is the best all-rounder lens. To be fair, the Pentax DA18-250mm is a Tamron rebadged lens, nearly identical to the Tamron 18-250mm. The image quality (IQ) and built quality of the Pentax and Tamron 18-250mm are basically identical: see threads at www.Pentaxforums.com (search threads for 18-250mm). The DA18-250mm is regarded as one the leading lenses of its class. An all-rounder lens like the DA18-250mm is ideal if you do not want to change the lens. It yields also a relatively small camera bag. For example, the DA18-250mm together with a Pentax body (K-x, K-20D, K-7) can fit nicely in a relatively small top-loader bag like the Lowepro Toploader TLZ1, together with the battery charger and a spare battery. There are alternatives however. One consists in the the kit lenses 18-55mm WR and 55-200mm WR. The WR kit lenses are worth to consider if your camera is WR (eg K-7, K20D). Another alternative could be a few selected fast primes (eg FA20mm, FA43 mm or FA50 mm, DFA100 mm). Another option is a couple of zooms (eg 16-45mm & DA*50-135mm). There are other non-Pentax zooms that you may consider. Personally, I travel often and I prefer to have a single lens always mounted on my Pentax. I genuinely like the wide range [18-250mm] offered by the DA18-250mm as well as it Image Quality. Hope that the comment will help ... and Happy Easter. Thank you! Happy Easter too ;D! Primes would probably be too much of a hassle... I'm not much of a prime person though. I don't have too much on the budget so I could only get one of those options mentioned above. I don't think I need WR... A small camera bag would be nice, so I could carry a tripod too.

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04-01-2010, 09:03 PM	#2
tibbitts Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Oklahoma USA Posts: 2,193	Where are you traveling and why are you afraid of theft? What do you plan on photographing? I assume you are looking to travel with 1 or 2 lenses total. Is that correct? Paul

04-01-2010, 11:34 PM	#4
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	I'll also vote for a 18-250. My original, and still most-used, kit for the K20D were the DA 10-17, DA 18-250, and FA 50/1.4, along with the AF-360 flash. Add a Raynox DCR-250 and I've got nearly every basic situation covered. If I could squeeze in a couple more, they'd be my 24/2 (if I can get it fixed) and 135/2.8, because they're two stops faster than the 18-250.

04-02-2010, 07:36 AM	#5
NecroticSoldier Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 488 Original Poster	Originally posted by tibbitts Where are you traveling and why are you afraid of theft? What do you plan on photographing? I assume you are looking to travel with 1 or 2 lenses total. Is that correct? Paul Yes I am, the less lenses I bring, the better. I'm going to Malaysia, I know it isn't THAT bad, but there are thieves. I plan to photography flowers, animals, landscapes, people. Pretty much anything I can get away with. My first time to Malaysia. I guess too many stories on tv or news paper, made me wary of these. Yeah I'm actually considering one of these options: Kit Lens 18-55 + Tamron 70-300 or Kit Lens 18-55 + DA 55-300 or DA18-250/Tamron18-250 Yeah, so far there's been suggestions towards the 18-250, it's more pricey too. Having 2 lenses means, I might have to change lenses there, which can be bad, because I don't want to let my guard down.

04-02-2010, 07:40 AM	#7
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Malaysia? That's like the safest country on the planet. I've recently found another joy of using my old manual primes: I have a very small bag, VERY small--a Lowenpro Aventura 170. (Look it up at Best Buy.) Well, this bag comfortably holds, and I am not kidding, my camera with a 135 attached, plus seven--SEVEN--other primes.

04-02-2010, 07:52 AM	#8
NecroticSoldier Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 488 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ira Malaysia? That's like the safest country on the planet. I've recently found another joy of using my old manual primes: I have a very small bag, VERY small--a Lowenpro Aventura 170. (Look it up at Best Buy.) Well, this bag comfortably holds, and I am not kidding, my camera with a 135 attached, plus seven--SEVEN--other primes. Really...? I never knew that... is this sarcasm? (sorry I'm bad with sarcasm if it is) All I know is Malaysia has a lot of good food, and looks pretty. Hmm... Yeah I'm going to need a different bag than my normal Sling I use.

04-02-2010, 08:12 AM	#9
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Originally posted by NecroticSoldier Really...? I never knew that... is this sarcasm? (sorry I'm bad with sarcasm if it is) All I know is Malaysia has a lot of good food, and looks pretty. Hmm... Yeah I'm going to need a different bag than my normal Sling I use. Not kidding at all. I worked with a lot of guys from Kuala Lumpur when I lived in New York. One told me this: If you went to use one of those open phone booths and left your wallet sitting on the shelf there with 10,000 bucks in it, it would literally still be sitting there the next day. The Malaysian police do not screw around (similar to Singapore), and people would actually think that it was a TRAP set up by the police to catch them.

04-02-2010, 08:14 AM	#10
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Malaysia has shrimp the size of lobsters!!!

04-02-2010, 08:35 AM	#11
NecroticSoldier Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 488 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ira Not kidding at all. I worked with a lot of guys from Kuala Lumpur when I lived in New York. One told me this: If you went to use one of those open phone booths and left your wallet sitting on the shelf there with 10,000 bucks in it, it would literally still be sitting there the next day. The Malaysian police do not screw around (similar to Singapore), and people would actually think that it was a TRAP set up by the police to catch them. LOL and yay shrimps! HEHE Sounds like fun. Wow... not like our police eh?

04-02-2010, 08:46 AM	#12
aleonx3 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brampton, Ontario Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,996	Originally posted by Ira Malaysia? That's like the safest country on the planet. I've recently found another joy of using my old manual primes: I have a very small bag, VERY small--a Lowenpro Aventura 170. (Look it up at Best Buy.) Well, this bag comfortably holds, and I am not kidding, my camera with a 135 attached, plus seven--SEVEN--other primes. Hi, Ira, I second your suggestion. I am also planning on traveling to Asia some time in May. My thoughts are similar to yours. I plan on taking a few primes with me - with one exception, may be the DA 55-300mm. Most of the primes I am going to take are wide to medium wide (24mm, 28mm or 35mm) - may be one 50mm 1.4 for low light shots. The primes are mostly old MF lenses. Should I bring my DA 12-14mm as well?

04-02-2010, 08:53 AM	#13
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	My kit for casual or non-photography jaunts is a DA 18-250, FA 35mm and Raynox 150 macro adapter. I use a 16-45, 55-300, 10-17 fisheye and several primes in my regular kit. I will definitely bring my regular kit for anything longer than a weekend trip, but I will also pack the 18-250. The 18-250 has great appeal as a travel lens. IQ is as good as the 18-55 II, but barrel distortion is heavier on the wide end and it's more prone to vignetting. The lens correction feature in the K-x and K-7 correct barrel distortion and CA in Pentax DA lenses but not on the Tamron 18-250. The 55-300mm has slightly better IQ (sharper at the long end, slightly nicer colour & contrast). The biggest difference is the range, and it's not just the 50mm difference. At subject distances less than infinity, the field of view of an internal focus lens like the 18-250 decreases. My tests showed the 18-250 at full zoom and a subject distance of ten meters (30 feet) has the same fov as the 55-300 at 200mm. This makes a large difference in subject size. Life's a compromise. You have to decide; the slightly improved performance and range of the 55-300 or the convenience and higher cost of the superzoom.

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04-02-2010, 09:13 AM	#14
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Originally posted by aleonx3 Hi, Ira, I second your suggestion. I am also planning on traveling to Asia some time in May. My thoughts are similar to yours. I plan on taking a few primes with me - with one exception, may be the DA 55-300mm. Most of the primes I am going to take are wide to medium wide (24mm, 28mm or 35mm) - may be one 50mm 1.4 for low light shots. The primes are mostly old MF lenses. Should I bring my DA 12-14mm as well? You KNOW you're going to want that 12-14!!! But I am really amazed by how many of these manual lenses fit in this little bag, whereas my Tamron 90 Macro hardly gets in there at all. (My seven lens count DIDN'T include this lens!) Still have side and front pockets for batteries, cleaning supplies, a few filters, etc.

04-02-2010, 09:56 AM	#15
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	I would not worry too much about theft. Just get decent travel insurance; it will not replace the lost photos (consider some backup system) nor compensate for emotional damage but at least you don't have to worry too much about the financial implications of theft. Don't get me wrong, I understand your fear, but don't let it get the better of you. You will not have a life and you will definitely not enjoy your holiday. Have a good and safe trip and show us some photos when you get back. WimS