[Maxashh]

Appreciate all the replies and advice everyone, this forum is great!
I went ahead and purchased a K5II bundled with the 18-135mm lens over the weekend and should be expecting to have it in about a weeks time. Although the K5 classic would have been more than enough for what i needed i though as this is my first serious camera i will not be upgrading it for a long time and i may as well splurge and get the newer model for the extra $$. I read somewhere it gets more shots per battery cycle as well which is always a good thing, and if i ever take photography more seriously the better low light performance might be useful.
It did stretch the budget more than i would have liked but instead of purchasing extra lenses straight away i will wait a little and get one after christmas.

Its probably better for you to buy the 18-135 then and start taking pics and when indoor see what focal length you are using the most and then buy a prime lens based on that.

I think for me to pick the correct lens i will need to follow this advice as im not sure what focal length will suit me the best. Knowing this forum exists to help out when im uncertain is very reassuring. Again, thanks for all the help and advice.
Max

[normhead]

To me, getting the Tamron 17-50 is like getting the 18-135 without the additional zoom. My philosophy has always been cover your range with zooms, fill specialty areas with primes. The 18-135 can do bokeh if you're close enough to the subject... it's not its strength but it can do it. I thought I might like the Tamron 17-50 2.8 but realistically it doesn't give me much more than the 18-135. Which if you have one lens is really a no brainer. I can't imagine starting off my camera life with nothing to reach past 50mm. The 18-135 is quite comfortable being the only zoom you own.

(P.S. ha ha, I found the Tamron 17-50 on line, new for $389 and ordered it. I'm looking forward to it's across the board sharpness, especially at 17 mm, where I don't really have a good lens. I still would get the 18-135 first though.)





And adding a relatively cheap plastic fantastic 35mm 2.4 and getting started on your prime collection would be the way I'd go. I recently made a similar decision... deciding to go with a K-5 and a new lens, in my case the Sigma 8-16 instead of a K-5 II.

35 2.4 and bokeh.

[Graylion]

In the olden days, when I were a lad and Dinosaurs roamed the Earth (1962 actually!), I first took up 35mm photography 'seriously'. As serious as a 16-year old can get anyway! I started with a Halina 35X, lever wind, viewfinder camera (no rangefinder!). I can't remember what aperture the fixed lens had but I also bought (new) the supreme Weston Master V to assist my exposure (!!). It proved to be brilliant ,as my choice of film for quite a few years was the unforgiving Kodachrome II, 25 ASA colour reversal! (Well, I didn't know!). I was rewarded with superb slides and only ever had a maximum of one dud one on any roll.
Many year later I bought a Zenit 'B' SLR with its standard 58mm Helios f2 lens (I still have it). Now my point! f2 was considered the smallest aperture lens you should buy. An f2 was only if, like me, you were poor. Much more preferable was f1.8 or - The Holy Grail - f1.4, which is what I bought with my Pentax KX in 1977. This lens is still unsurpassed and I have used it at music gigs in very low light - stage lighting only and its light gathering properties are obvious. So for low light situations you need a fast, large aperture lens. To my mind the low light capabilities of the camera are less important. It may be old-fashioned (OK - it IS!) but I still work on the prinicipal that the quality of the lens is more important than that of the camera.

Go for a cheaper body with the best lens(s) you can possibly afford. Even better - if you can still remember how to set an all-manual lens, buy a good secondhand one and use it with your DSLR. I have the K5 which, of course has the stabilisation built into the camera so all my old manual lenses benefit from it. Simples!

[TomB_tx]

In the olden days, when I were a lad and Dinosaurs roamed the Earth (1962 actually!) Go for a cheaper body with the best lens(s) you can possibly afford. Even better - if you can still remember how to set an all-manual lens, buy a good secondhand one and use it with your DSLR. I have the K5 which, of course has the stabilisation built into the camera so all my old manual lenses benefit from it. Simples!

I'm from the same era - but in '62 used a "Stereo Realist" 35mm "3-D" slide camera where Kodachrome 25 was the only choice. A few years later in college moved to Pentax H1a with the 55 f2.0. Likewise later moved on to fancier cameras and faster lenses. But my standard through the years was my Leica M4 (meterless) with 35 & 50mm f2.0 Summicrons. I found f2.0 is fine for low light once your technique is steady.
Today I primarily use a Leica M9 digital rangefinder, but still mainly with the f2.0 Summicrons. People trash the M9 for its "poor" low light capabilities, but when you are used to film at 100 to 400 ISO, the M9 even at 1200 is amazing, and on tripod at 160 ISO can do spectacular night shots. One main reason is the ability to focus accurately in dim light, where autofocus hunts around.
Remember: 1/15 second is your friend!

[Maxashh]

Hi all, the camera has finally arrived!
Unfortunately i am at work and can't really open and play with it until later tonight but im sure it will be getting a heap of use over the next few weeks until i learn how to use it properly.

I am planning on buying a few accessories for it now so that im ready for action next time we are out. A camera bag, and some SD memory cards are the items that i need but i just wanted to know if i should be purchasing anything else at the same time? Do i need to worry about lens filters or UV protection etc. I don't think i am ready to lug around a tripod just yet but i read a guide just now about essential items for a dslr camera and a lens filter was high up there.

Can one of you seasoned veterans give me some advice in this regards please as i am going to make a purchase soon and don't want to forget anything as shipping is expensive.

Thanks
Max

[Graylion]

I would always recommend a UV/haze filter; to protect the lens more than anything else. I have one on all my lenses, some over 30 years old! More lenses could be good - it depends what you've got but bear in mind that an SLR's advantage is also its disadvantage! Changing lenses! Never do it literally in the field! No SLRs like dust or moisture; DSLRs are even more sensitive to it and as it rains every single day in the UK you want to go out with ONE lens fitted! OK if you're a "twitcher" and have a bird hide I suppose. If you are likely to go out for a whole day it might be a good idea to buy a battery grip (D-BG4). They are only around £30 from China (quite safe to buy from there in spite of the rumours!) but even quicker is from Wales where I bought mine (through fleabay of course) It only cost me £34.54 with free postage. The only way to buy one if you want it before Christmas. They are a nice piece of kit and carry up to 6 x AA batteries or 1 x D-LI90.
For outdoor work (see above!) you'll need a good water-resistant, padded bag - preferably with a rain hood for when it gets tropical! One that floats might be a good idea :-)
I always remove my SD cards from my cameras and upload/download them via a card reader, BUT FIRST always set the switch to "Lock"! After a Norwegian cruise earlier this year one card got trashed just reading and copying from it! I managed to recover all the stills but no video clips. I hadn't bothered with the switch before but always will from now on!
For studio work you'll get the best quality with "prime" lenses but for field work you'll sacrifice a little quality for versatility with a zoom lens - as 'fast' as you can afford. I've still got some of my manual, fixed focal length telephoto lenses too and they are fine with my K5. One is a 135mm f2.8 - nice! Even old auto-focus lenses go cheaply now - I've been collecting a few over the last month or so. It was the reason I stuck with Pentax K-mount for my first DSLR.
The focal length multiplier on the K5 (and most DSLRs ) is 1.5 so an old 50mm lens will be the equivalent of 75mm - a good portrait lens. A 200mm will be 300mm and so on. My longest lens is a Sigma 70-300mm f4 macro so it's equivalent to 450mm on maximum zoom - or 1350mm using my 3 x Vivitar converter! (£11.50). I bought them because A) I thought it might be a good idea B) they were quite cheap! (always a good reason to buy anything!)
Cheers, Lionel

[psychdoc]

Do i need to worry about lens filters or UV protection etc.

--Get a UV filter-to protect the lens!
--Get a lens-cleaning microfiber cloth. Google it, its pretty cheap. But all kinds of stuff can get on the front of your lens.
--If you are new to photography get this book:
Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition): Bryan Peterson: 9780817463007: Amazon.com: Books

Then just start shooting.

[cpho]

In the olden days, when I were a lad and Dinosaurs roamed the Earth (1962 actually!), I first took up 35mm photography 'seriously'. As serious as a 16-year old can get anyway! I started with a Halina 35X, lever wind, viewfinder camera (no rangefinder!). I can't remember what aperture the fixed lens had but I also bought (new) the supreme Weston Master V to assist my exposure (!!). It proved to be brilliant ,as my choice of film for quite a few years was the unforgiving Kodachrome II, 25 ASA colour reversal! (Well, I didn't know!). I was rewarded with superb slides and only ever had a maximum of one dud one on any roll.
Many year later I bought a Zenit 'B' SLR with its standard 58mm Helios f2 lens (I still have it). Now my point! f2 was considered the smallest aperture lens you should buy. An f2 was only if, like me, you were poor. Much more preferable was f1.8 or - The Holy Grail - f1.4, which is what I bought with my Pentax KX in 1977. This lens is still unsurpassed and I have used it at music gigs in very low light - stage lighting only and its light gathering properties are obvious. So for low light situations you need a fast, large aperture lens. To my mind the low light capabilities of the camera are less important. It may be old-fashioned (OK - it IS!) but I still work on the prinicipal that the quality of the lens is more important than that of the camera.

Go for a cheaper body with the best lens(s) you can possibly afford. Even better - if you can still remember how to set an all-manual lens, buy a good secondhand one and use it with your DSLR. I have the K5 which, of course has the stabilisation built into the camera so all my old manual lenses benefit from it. Simples!

Flogging a dead post, but I'm in the same position as Max, and this thread really helped my decision. Max, do you mind giving some comments about your new k-5ii?
I think I'm going to take the splurge for the k-5 ii as well

[Khashoggi]

Hi all, the camera has finally arrived!
Unfortunately i am at work and can't really open and play with it until later tonight but im sure it will be getting a heap of use over the next few weeks until i learn how to use it properly.

I am planning on buying a few accessories for it now so that im ready for action next time we are out. A camera bag, and some SD memory cards are the items that i need but i just wanted to know if i should be purchasing anything else at the same time? Do i need to worry about lens filters or UV protection etc. I don't think i am ready to lug around a tripod just yet but i read a guide just now about essential items for a dslr camera and a lens filter was high up there.

Can one of you seasoned veterans give me some advice in this regards please as i am going to make a purchase soon and don't want to forget anything as shipping is expensive.

Thanks
Max

Try to look for a protection filter for your LCD screen. Not everyone is a fan of it but if you don't want to have any scratches on your LCD screen from (baby) nails or from anything else it helps. Just a quick look on ebay gives you this: screen protector Pentax K5 II | eBay.