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10-21-2011, 05:32 AM   #1
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K-5: To buy or not to buy?

Faced with the recent demise of my K-x I have sold off most of my kit in order to buy a K-5. Now left with a single new lens and funds being limited I am faced with a number of options

1 - Rob a bank and keep my (brand new) DA 35mm Limited and buy a K-5 with 18-55mm WR kit
2 - Buy the K-5 body only and keep my DA 35mm
3 - Sell the DA 35mm and buy the K-5 with 18-55 WR

I guess what I am asking is will I be very dissapointed with the 18-55mm compared to my DA 35mm? Also could I get by with only at 35mm? As I havent had a chance to use the 35mm I dont know how I would manage.

ps. I'm currently attempting to sell my DA 35mm in the marketplace.

10-21-2011, 05:39 AM   #2
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Personally I would keep the DA35 and get the K-5. The kit lens can always be replaced cheaply and the 35 will give you nicer shots anyways.

I moved from zooms to primes and now I just use primes. I find it gives me more creativity. You can always buy another kits lens, zoom or prime later.

But 35mm is approximately the the perspective of your eye's point of view, so its quite a nice focal length to walk around with
10-21-2011, 05:49 AM   #3
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I would second the recommendation from Deimos. I retired a number of full frame single focal length lenses when I converted from film to digital, and I regret not having almost every one. Zooms are really useful for traveling light, but single length lenses almost always have an edge in image quality. If you let that 35mm lens go, you'll probably want it back some day. Go with the K-5 & 35 for now, then add a zoom later when you have the $$.

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10-21-2011, 06:07 AM   #4
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The other side of the coin while the there is no doubt on the quality of the 35 what type of shooting do you like to do ? 35 is a little wide for landscapes for exanple. If you like to do street shooting or even people travel / shots the 35 will hold up well. But you can probably get the kit lens in the market place pretty cheaply so yeah maybe keep the 35.

10-21-2011, 06:07 AM   #5
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Add me to the list to use primes instead of zooms. I love the narrow DOF a big aperture gives, something you cannot get with most zooms.
10-21-2011, 06:10 AM   #6
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You should be able to get along for a while with 35mm. Plenty of people have started with only 50mm or 55mm on film and a number of them even never bought another lens.

I shoot over 95% with the FA31Ltd on a K5; kit lens maybe 1%. Rest is mostly DFA100WR. I usually don't even carry the kit lens around.

So with the right mindset, you should be a happy chappy

On a side note:
Not a lowlight monster but have you considered a K7?
10-21-2011, 06:16 AM   #7
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This is your opportunity to explore other brands. I say you sell your 35 ltd.

10-21-2011, 06:51 AM   #8
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Get the K5 body and go with the 35LTD for 6 months and see where you go from there.....................watch the marketplace along the way and prolly get a kit 18-55 for under $150..................
10-21-2011, 07:10 AM   #9
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thought the consensus might be to keep the 35mm. Now I have to try and find the cash that would have raised elsewhere

thanks all
10-21-2011, 08:38 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by daacon Quote
The other side of the coin while the there is no doubt on the quality of the 35 what type of shooting do you like to do ? 35 is a little wide for landscapes for exanple. If you like to do street shooting or even people travel / shots the 35 will hold up well. But you can probably get the kit lens in the market place pretty cheaply so yeah maybe keep the 35.
I love people saying that this lens or that lens it best for landscapes. I've made many beautiful landscape photos with wide, normal and long. I agree to keep the 35 and buy the K5 for now. The 35 is a great lens to start with and you will be able to do most things with it. Sure it isn't wide, it isn't long, but sometimes limiting yourself to one lens can really develop your photographic eye.

Your next lens purchase should be something like a 17-50 or 16-45 (or 20 prime), a 50-300 (or a 105 Macro). It all depends on what you feel you are missing to photograph what you like to photograph.

Last edited by jeverettfine; 10-21-2011 at 08:42 AM. Reason: addition
10-21-2011, 01:53 PM   #11
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it doesn't make much sense to me to buy a top camera and use it with a weak lens. So omitt the 18-55 kit lens, just buy K5 body and use it with your DA35. That focal lenght is pretty universal to me on dslr...
10-21-2011, 01:55 PM   #12
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To buy- at $1199 or less some places, the K-5 is a steal right now!

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10-21-2011, 02:40 PM   #13
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Pull the 35 off the marketplace until you make a decision.
The budget is obviously a concern, (which is as it should be - we all need to balance wants/needs/budget).
Were you happy with the Kx? Did it do all that you wanted it to do? What was missing that you would get on the K5 (that you want/need)?
I came within an inch of buying the Kr and probably would have been happy if I had.
WR was attractive but I've just been through (southern hemisphere) winter and it didn't get wet at all anyway.
Have a look at Kr and if it will make you happy, keep the 35, and you will have a couple of notes available to get you back into the marketplace on the buying side.
10-21-2011, 04:02 PM   #14
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Keep the 35, there's an 18-55 in the MP now for $60 or so (not the WR version)...if you want one later, they're not tough to find, nor for reasonable $. I expect to be replacing mine in the not distant future, but likely hanging onto it just to make sure i have at least one 'bad weather lens' on hand.
You can always pick up a few other lower cost MF primes after the purchase, keep the 35 if it makes you happy, and just add the kit lens when you have the $ and one pops up for $100 or less in the future, or whatever other lenses make you happy/meet your needs.
10-21-2011, 04:13 PM   #15
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Keep the DA 35mm and get the K-5 with a kit lens.
My reasoning is since you're tight financially, the decent enough kit lens offers a cheap wide angle and zoom option that will tide you over until you can get better lenses in the future.
The DA 35mm is a great lens so keep it, but the kit lens gives you more options.
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