Decisions, decisions... finally got some $$$ to spend.

sqrrl · 03-17-2019, 06:41 PM

If you are happy with the k50 then you'll be happy with the k70 as an upgrade, it's a very good camera for the price, I personally didn't really like the k50 after using the k10 for years, I went to the kp instead and am very happy with it.

There's not much point in changing out your lenses, maybe consider the 100mm f4 macro manual lens if you are happy with manual focus for macro work, I have one and really like it (but then I don't use auto focus or auto exposure for macro). They can be had for less than a couple of hundred dollars from Japan in very good condition. The M-100mm f4 is 1:2 without extensions, not 1:1, I've never been bothered by that on apsc. I got one with the intent of upgrading later and now can't really be bothered upgrading.

I have a similar setup to you with the exceptions that for zooms I have an 18-125 sigma, an older 70-200 (which has quite nice image quality despite only costing me about $20) and a 300/5.6 for the longer stuff. I also have the 18-55, but that's only for the WR.

The Rokinon 16mm f2 is reportedly a very good lens for astro and landscape, and quite cheap, it's on my to do list for those purposes (again manual focus).

**ramseybuckeye** · 03-17-2019, 07:26 PM

I have been shooting with Pentax for about Ten years, starting with a K20D , then K-30; and then K-50. About a year and a half agoI bought a used Sony a6000, I was curious about mirrorless, and the a6000 was supposed to have the worlds fastest autofocus when it was introduced. I got an 18-55 lens with it and bought a new Sony 20mm lens shortly after. Overall I have had 5 Sony lenses, the 18-55 is ok, the 20mm is good; a 55-200 was not very good; a 16mm prime was bad; and the 30mm macro is good. I was using the Sony for travel and street type shooting. Last summer I saw a great deal on the Pentax KP and went for it. My K-50 was aging, and I wasn’t going to buy more lenses for the Sony because they are way too expensive for anything 300 or longer, where the fast focus would be useful I have barely picked up the Sony since getting the KP. I also bought the 55-300 PLM, the combo focuses extremely fast. The best features of the Sony are really fast burst speed and the small size with the 20mm lens. IQ is comparable to the K-50. The downsides are it is more difficult to set up, only one dial. I find it very difficult to shoot at night, maybe that’s operator error. Batteries expire much faster than the K-50. These are little things but little things are what can make a difference in your enjoyment. Maybe the Sony will be better for you, I just wanted to tell you my experience. There are advantages to each system, you just have to figure which advantages are best for you.

I also had the Pentax 100 macro, it was a great lens, however I didn’t shoot that much macro and sold mine to get the DA* 300 Recently I bought a used Tamron 90 macro and it is also a nice lens, not quite as nice as the Pentax.

BugsDogsAndSunsets · 03-17-2019, 07:48 PM - **1 Like**

I'm new here, and have no experience with mirrorless, but I love the 100/2.8 on my k-s2.

One of the first photos I took with it:

howieb101 · 03-17-2019, 09:02 PM

If you are truly keen on macro get the Tamron 90mm macro second hand. Won't break the bank and has immaculate image quality.

Work out if you like evf especially in bright sunlight where lot's of the evfs currently let in too much stray light as the eyecups on the evfs are too small.

CarlJF · 03-18-2019, 06:36 AM - **1 Like**

BigMackCam already explained most of what I would have told. Iagree 100% with him.

It's not really fair to compare what you would get by spending at least 1000$ on brand new Sont gear with your actual Pentax gear. Which is mostly entry level or very old manual lenses (no offense here). Just take the same amount of money to get some modern Pentax lenses and you will have a quite different experience, even with your K-50.

The DA 16-85 would be great as a all around lens for your family pictures. And 85mm is long enough for taking pictures of 5 years old kid playing socccer. Usually, at this age, they don't play on a full size field and you have access to side line. No need for a long telephoto, at in my experience... And at 16mm, it would be better than anything you have for landscape photography.

It would leave enough money to buy the Pentax 100mm macro. Which could also be used as portrait lens for headshots of your kids. The DA 50 1.8 will do just fine for other non headshot portraits.

Although there are better bodies than the K-50, I would not recommend to change it. You will not get much money for it anyway. Just use it until it brokes, if ever! The K-50 can deliver excellent pictures when paired with good lenses. With the DA 16-85, DA 35, DA 50 and 100 macro, it would be a significantly better kit than what you have right now. And also preferable compared to a A6300 with the kit lens you would got for the same money...

jimfellows · 03-18-2019, 07:45 AM

I purchased my wife a Sony a6300 kit wit the 16-50 and the 50-200mm lens kit for Christmas 2017. She wanted something more up to date then the K500. I liked the idea of a smaller camera and really good video. Well a little over a year later I sold the kit on eBay getting most of money back. The IQ was excellent as was the video. What we both hated was the menus. It is not intuitive or user friendly in my opinion. Of course I shoot mostly with a K-3 and film cameras. so if I only used the Sony I probably would have gotten better with it. I also did not research the cost of additional lens either, very pricy. I have the same 70-300 lens you have and while I have replaced it with a Pentax 55-300 (Non PLM so I an still use it on the k-500 and K-50 I have) it is a decent lens. If you are not afraid of the used market, you can pick up many of lenses you want for a good price. I have had wonderful luck with the Market place on this site.

Jim

**lithedreamer** · 03-18-2019, 07:54 AM

I would throw in another vote for the DA* 16-50 and DA* 50-135. I shot professionally with them and the K-30, so they’re definitely capable. AF is important, but learning how to use AF is more important (using back-button focus and shooting birds is a good way to practice so you don’t feel cheated when you go to a game and haven’t practiced enough to get ‘the shot’).

03-17-2019, 07:48 PM - 1 Like	#18
BugsDogsAndSunsets Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Iowa, United States Posts: 92	I'm new here, and have no experience with mirrorless, but I love the 100/2.8 on my k-s2. One of the first photos I took with it: Attached Images

03-18-2019, 07:45 AM	#21
jimfellows Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 108	Sold my A6300 I purchased my wife a Sony a6300 kit wit the 16-50 and the 50-200mm lens kit for Christmas 2017. She wanted something more up to date then the K500. I liked the idea of a smaller camera and really good video. Well a little over a year later I sold the kit on eBay getting most of money back. The IQ was excellent as was the video. What we both hated was the menus. It is not intuitive or user friendly in my opinion. Of course I shoot mostly with a K-3 and film cameras. so if I only used the Sony I probably would have gotten better with it. I also did not research the cost of additional lens either, very pricy. I have the same 70-300 lens you have and while I have replaced it with a Pentax 55-300 (Non PLM so I an still use it on the k-500 and K-50 I have) it is a decent lens. If you are not afraid of the used market, you can pick up many of lenses you want for a good price. I have had wonderful luck with the Market place on this site. Jim

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Nature Decisions, Decisions.	DW58	Post Your Photos!	3	06-28-2018 10:08 AM
Decisions, decisions...	timw4mail	Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras	21	06-07-2017 05:54 PM
Decisions, decisions, decisions...	SlickYamaha	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	8	06-30-2011 05:39 AM
Decisions, decisions, decisions.....	Mallee Boy	Post Your Photos!	10	04-22-2009 07:55 PM
Decisions, decisions...... oh, the decisions...!	Derridale	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	6	04-30-2008 05:02 PM

03-17-2019, 06:41 PM	#16
sqrrl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Otago, New Zealand Posts: 422	If you are happy with the k50 then you'll be happy with the k70 as an upgrade, it's a very good camera for the price, I personally didn't really like the k50 after using the k10 for years, I went to the kp instead and am very happy with it. There's not much point in changing out your lenses, maybe consider the 100mm f4 macro manual lens if you are happy with manual focus for macro work, I have one and really like it (but then I don't use auto focus or auto exposure for macro). They can be had for less than a couple of hundred dollars from Japan in very good condition. The M-100mm f4 is 1:2 without extensions, not 1:1, I've never been bothered by that on apsc. I got one with the intent of upgrading later and now can't really be bothered upgrading. I have a similar setup to you with the exceptions that for zooms I have an 18-125 sigma, an older 70-200 (which has quite nice image quality despite only costing me about $20) and a 300/5.6 for the longer stuff. I also have the 18-55, but that's only for the WR. The Rokinon 16mm f2 is reportedly a very good lens for astro and landscape, and quite cheap, it's on my to do list for those purposes (again manual focus).

03-17-2019, 07:26 PM	#17
ramseybuckeye Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hampstead, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 17,292	I have been shooting with Pentax for about Ten years, starting with a K20D , then K-30; and then K-50. About a year and a half agoI bought a used Sony a6000, I was curious about mirrorless, and the a6000 was supposed to have the worlds fastest autofocus when it was introduced. I got an 18-55 lens with it and bought a new Sony 20mm lens shortly after. Overall I have had 5 Sony lenses, the 18-55 is ok, the 20mm is good; a 55-200 was not very good; a 16mm prime was bad; and the 30mm macro is good. I was using the Sony for travel and street type shooting. Last summer I saw a great deal on the Pentax KP and went for it. My K-50 was aging, and I wasn’t going to buy more lenses for the Sony because they are way too expensive for anything 300 or longer, where the fast focus would be useful I have barely picked up the Sony since getting the KP. I also bought the 55-300 PLM, the combo focuses extremely fast. The best features of the Sony are really fast burst speed and the small size with the 20mm lens. IQ is comparable to the K-50. The downsides are it is more difficult to set up, only one dial. I find it very difficult to shoot at night, maybe that’s operator error. Batteries expire much faster than the K-50. These are little things but little things are what can make a difference in your enjoyment. Maybe the Sony will be better for you, I just wanted to tell you my experience. There are advantages to each system, you just have to figure which advantages are best for you. I also had the Pentax 100 macro, it was a great lens, however I didn’t shoot that much macro and sold mine to get the DA* 300 Recently I bought a used Tamron 90 macro and it is also a nice lens, not quite as nice as the Pentax.

03-17-2019, 09:02 PM	#19
howieb101 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 594	If you are truly keen on macro get the Tamron 90mm macro second hand. Won't break the bank and has immaculate image quality. Work out if you like evf especially in bright sunlight where lot's of the evfs currently let in too much stray light as the eyecups on the evfs are too small.

03-18-2019, 06:36 AM - 1 Like	#20
CarlJF Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Quebec City Posts: 1,185	BigMackCam already explained most of what I would have told. Iagree 100% with him. It's not really fair to compare what you would get by spending at least 1000$ on brand new Sont gear with your actual Pentax gear. Which is mostly entry level or very old manual lenses (no offense here). Just take the same amount of money to get some modern Pentax lenses and you will have a quite different experience, even with your K-50. The DA 16-85 would be great as a all around lens for your family pictures. And 85mm is long enough for taking pictures of 5 years old kid playing socccer. Usually, at this age, they don't play on a full size field and you have access to side line. No need for a long telephoto, at in my experience... And at 16mm, it would be better than anything you have for landscape photography. It would leave enough money to buy the Pentax 100mm macro. Which could also be used as portrait lens for headshots of your kids. The DA 50 1.8 will do just fine for other non headshot portraits. Although there are better bodies than the K-50, I would not recommend to change it. You will not get much money for it anyway. Just use it until it brokes, if ever! The K-50 can deliver excellent pictures when paired with good lenses. With the DA 16-85, DA 35, DA 50 and 100 macro, it would be a significantly better kit than what you have right now. And also preferable compared to a A6300 with the kit lens you would got for the same money...

03-18-2019, 07:54 AM	#22
lithedreamer Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799	I would throw in another vote for the DA* 16-50 and DA* 50-135. I shot professionally with them and the K-30, so they’re definitely capable. AF is important, but learning how to use AF is more important (using back-button focus and shooting birds is a good way to practice so you don’t feel cheated when you go to a game and haven’t practiced enough to get ‘the shot’).