[Sandy Hancock]

Just get the K-1, you fool.

Keep the 10-17. There is nothing to replace it in the foreseeable future. Just use it in crop mode.

Get rid of all the other ultra-wide stuff and just buy the 15-30. Seriously.

Definitely keep your FA31. It is still untouchable.

I have other wide angle primes at (FA)20, (FA*)24 and (F)28 if I really want filters, but to be honest they are all on borrowed time.

Lose the A50/1.7 - the DA*55 will eat it for breakfast as a fast normal. Don't bother with the FA43 unless making a Three Amigo set is a priority (like it was for me).

Personally, I would ditch the DA*60-250 too. The DFA*70-200 is incredible. Save up.

[normhead]

The K-1 i just a camera, that's pretty much how I feel about it now. I'm not selling nay lenses because I got it. And I'm not contemplating adding lenses. I use my 60-250, without doing the baffle modification. I just remember to zoom out a little if I want the whole scene. Buying an FA-J 18-35 has seemed to cure the desire for a 15-30. I bought the 28-105 for it and that's about it. The DA 10-17 is good to 15 mm. The Sigma 8-16 is good to 14mm. But for the most part, the 18 of the 18-35 is all I need.

I still have my K-3 for telephoto and macro. It doesn't make any sense to us a K-1 for those. Even looking through the viewfinder on a K-1 with a 300mm lens on it is disappointing. The subject is so much bigger on my K-3. But the K-1 has largely replaced it as a walk around camera. I can't think of a specific reason why, it just has. Overall, it's a nicer camera.

[monochrome]

Two comments - perhaps not credible since I never post images - are:

• The 28~105 is a remarkably good lens for general use.
• If you can, buy the camera and make your sell list after you have evaluated the lenses you already own. Then add task/purpose lenses as you need. Most legacy lenses are very good on K-1.

[pathdoc]

Well either save me or push me in to the abyss. I have been very satisfied with my K5/K5IIs (and still am) for everything other than the Milky Way (just a matter of physics).

After reading the responses of others, I came back to your opening line.

If you really, actually DO photograph the Milky Way that much, buy the K-1.

Otherwise it seems a very limited use case. (If you simply WANT it, and are using the entire galaxy to justify it, then on your bank balance be it.)

But I would, as has already been suggested, check out how all your existing glass performs before clearing it out to buy that great big honking wide-angle zoom. And if the K-5 series bodies are (as you have said) more useful for everything else, I would be more picky about which DA-only lenses I ditched.

[normhead]

Two comments - perhaps not credible since I never post images - are:

• The 28~105 is a remarkably good lens for general use.
• If you can, buy the camera and make your sell list after you have evaluated the lenses you already own. Then add task/purpose lenses as you need. Most legacy lenses are very good on K-1.

+1
Even lenses I don't like on my K-3 I like on my K-1.
And the 28-105 is just a gem of a lens. Tess even steals it for use on her K-5.

[MaineNative]

I recently bought the K-1 and I immediately noticed much better color on my night/Astro shots compared to my K-5. I usually shoot at around ISO 800 for Astro shots. I have the Samyang 14 f2.8 and there is some distortion in the corners where the stars get stretched. I have the 28-105 and agree it is a nice, light-weight and sharp travel lens, similar to the 18-135 or 16-85 on the crop sensor. The 10-17 is also good for the Milky Way with low coma in my opinion, but won't do FF at short focal lengths. I don't have the 15-30... figured it was too expensive and heavy for now. I have not tried shooting stars with the 28-105 yet.

[interested_observer]

Snipping for brevity

Get the K-1 (it's easy for me to spend your money). The K-1 superiority for the Milky Way is more than just sensor size. The K-5 had a very aggressive IR block filter on the sensor that cut off too much light from hydrogen emission nebula; the K-1 seems better in that respect. The K-1 astrotracer has also been more precise than my K-5 O-GPS1.

Consider selling the 28mm prime. Your 25 and 31 nicely bracket that focal length.

The 15-30 is a very nice lens and works well for the Milky Way. It's heavy and bulky for travel. If you camp, hike, or fly by air there will be times when you want something lighter. The Samyang/Rokinon 14/2.8 works well for the night sky and costs much less. It's arguable too wide but could be a nice companion to your 25.

For general daytime usage with the K-1, the 28-105 is a must have lens for me. It's a versatile lens as long as you don't need a wide aperture. Compact, weather resistant, good image quality. Not very expensive. I generally pack a specialty lens for whatever I plan to shoot plus the 28-105 so I'm covered for unexpected things.

The DA10-17 is the only lens I have left after going FF. It works on the K-1 and stops vignetting at about 14 mm, i.e it gives you a little more FOV than on the K-3 at 10 mm.

Yea, I know that it's pretty easy to spend other people's money. I have been saving for this - so most of the funds are already put aside. Right now I'm just a couple of hundred short, and I have these old Contax lenses (135 and a 70-210 that are AE mount that I can't use) so, they will put me over the top. I had nor really considered any other lenses than the 15-30, so it's good to hear that the 28-105 is so good. Plenty of folks are posting that - so that solves another question that I had. If the 10-17 works providing the equivalent view - then it's a keeper too!

I have the exact opposite experience.
The built-in O-GPS in my K-1 is not as good as the original mounted on the K-5. I figured it was due to the magnetic compass sensor being closer to the cameras own magnets in the K-1.

The flip-out LCD though, VERY nice, especially when aiming for the stars. (Beware though, its position effects the built in compass and thus also the astro-tracer.)

If I can get 60 seconds out of the GPS tracking then it will be good. I think it all comes down to the unit variance from the manufacturing process.

I can relate as my position was similar to yours about a year ago. I started with the D-FA 24-70 as I shoot in those focal lengths quite often. For ultra wide shots I kept my Sigma 8-16 for quite a while as it was fine at 16mm on the K-1 and it's a pretty good lens. I finally bought the D-FA 15-30 as it provides a very useful range in focal length and it is a good lens. However, there have been times when I've left it behind due to size and weight. And I had to replace my trusty backpack to be able to carry it securely. While the size and weight are annoying, I haven't found a better option. I recently traveled to Alaska where much of the scenery is distant and my DA 60-250 was on the K-1 almost non-stop. Having reviewed the many pictures I took with the K-1 and the 60-250, I've concluded that lens is even better than I thought. It worked flawlessly and I have no complaints with the resulting pictures. I did modify, not remove, the baffle very carefully and now there is no vignetting as far as I can tell. So my standard set is the 15-30, 24-70 and 60-250, and those are all great lenses. If I have to lighten-up the 15-30 stays home. I can then stitch photos or take my Sigma 8-16 (allowing super-wide in crop mode) or slightly inferior Pentax 20mm. Good luck with your decisions.

I usually shoot wide. I think that our styles are somewhat flipped. Others have posted that the 28-105 is very good - not 2.8 but in that focal length, f4 is just fine for me. I'm very happy with the 60-250 and with loosing the baffle (I might want to ask about your version of the conversion) provides full coverage - that is more than enough for me.

Just get the K-1, you fool.

Keep the 10-17. There is nothing to replace it in the foreseeable future. Just use it in crop mode.

Get rid of all the other ultra-wide stuff and just buy the 15-30. Seriously.

Definitely keep your FA31. It is still untouchable.

I have other wide angle primes at (FA)20, (FA*)24 and (F)28 if I really want filters, but to be honest they are all on borrowed time.

Lose the A50/1.7 - the DA*55 will eat it for breakfast as a fast normal. Don't bother with the FA43 unless making a Three Amigo set is a priority (like it was for me).

Personally, I would ditch the DA*60-250 too. The DFA*70-200 is incredible. Save up.

I think that as other have posted that the 28-105 will be the solution. The first order of business is acquiring the body, and the 15-30. Then figuring everything else out. I have a number of M's and A's that I will probably never use - so those need to be moved along. My wife and I are cleaning house and just shredded a ton (really several file cabinets and banker's boxes) of paper records that I need while I was working. I really want to just simplify what I shoot plus a couple of other special lenses and I will be all set again. I have lost all LBA and GAS.

The K-1 i just a camera, that's pretty much how I feel about it now. I'm not selling nay lenses because I got it. And I'm not contemplating adding lenses. I use my 60-250, without doing the baffle modification. I just remember to zoom out a little if I want the whole scene. Buying an FA-J 18-35 has seemed to cure the desire for a 15-30. I bought the 28-105 for it and that's about it. The DA 10-17 is good to 15 mm. The Sigma 8-16 is good to 14mm. But for the most part, the 18 of the 18-35 is all I need.

I still have my K-3 for telephoto and macro. It doesn't make any sense to us a K-1 for those. Even looking through the viewfinder on a K-1 with a 300mm lens on it is disappointing. The subject is so much bigger on my K-3. But the K-1 has largely replaced it as a walk around camera. I can't think of a specific reason why, it just has. Overall, it's a nicer camera.

Yes, the K1 is essentially just a tool. I have been pushing the capability of the K5 - and this will not solve all of my problems. The largest problem is me, my skill and what I can and can not accomplish. But, if I am going to drive several hours round trip to get to a dark location, to stomp around the desert for a couple of hours - I might just as well have something closer to what I am trying to do.

Two comments - perhaps not credible since I never post images - are:

• The 28~105 is a remarkably good lens for general use.
• If you can, buy the camera and make your sell list after you have evaluated the lenses you already own. Then add task/purpose lenses as you need. Most legacy lenses are very good on K-1.

Being told that the 28~105 is a remarkably good lens - seems to be a VERY recurring theme. I had not done any research - so, that fills the gap so to speak. The sell list is really my current thinking. Getting the body first and figuring everything out in terms of what is going to work, etc., will work itself out. The Contaxs are going - can't be modified for the K mount - so I am packing them up today. I do have a number of M's and A's that are duplicates that should go. How many 28's do I really need?

After reading the responses of others, I came back to your opening line.

If you really, actually DO photograph the Milky Way that much, buy the K-1.

Otherwise it seems a very limited use case. (If you simply WANT it, and are using the entire galaxy to justify it, then on your bank balance be it.)

But I would, as has already been suggested, check out how all your existing glass performs before clearing it out to buy that great big honking wide-angle zoom. And if the K-5 series bodies are (as you have said) more useful for everything else, I would be more picky about which DA-only lenses I ditched.

Yes, the main driver is the MW. However, I do like to shoot at night - especially in Arizona's prolonged summer. The K1 will help there a lot too, in lowering the noise, even stacking landscapes with minimal ambient lighting.

+1
Even lenses I don't like on my K-3 I like on my K-1.
And the 28-105 is just a gem of a lens. Tess even steals it for use on her K-5.

Everyone keeps saying that - so it must be so....

Well - going over to a friends for burgers, and 17 types of salad......

[monochrome]

Well - going over to a friends for burgers, and 17 types of salad......

My friends and family (minus my younger daughter and newly-minted son-in-law)* are coming over for burgers, salad and then tailgating the local fireworks


* the newlyweds are following the Kentucky bourbon distillery trail, then an isolated cottage on the Outer Banks. Alas, they are of the iPhone generation .

[MaineNative]

I recently bought the K-1 and I immediately noticed much better color on my night/Astro shots compared to my K-5. I usually shoot at around ISO 800 for Astro shots. I have the Samyang 14 f2.8 and there is some distortion in the corners where the stars get stretched. I have the 28-105 and agree it is a nice, light-weight and sharp travel lens, similar to the 18-135 or 16-85 on the crop sensor. The 10-17 is also good for the Milky Way with low coma in my opinion, but won't do FF at short focal lengths. I don't have the 15-30... figured it was too expensive and heavy for now. I have not tried shooting stars with the 28-105 yet.

[biz-engineer]

Depends. Having the K1 and lenses. I can confirm the DFA28-105 is small , sharp ideal for travelling but no so much for low light. The DFA15-30 is good for architecture , especially for photographying indoors because the space may be limited to zoom with our feet, that's where the ability to change the FL from 15 to 30 is convenient. For astro, f2.8 zoom works but they have some coma in the edges/corners and f2.8 forces longer exposure or higher iso. When not using UWA for architecture, but for doing night photography it is better to get a fast prime (such as samyang 24 1.4 , or 35 1.4), and the DFA28-105 and use the money to get a DFA*70-200 (or a DFA*85 if it one day will exist).

---------- Post added 04-07-17 at 22:13 ----------

If I can get 60 seconds out of the GPS tracking then it will be good.

Good calibration of the astrotracer does the job. I've done two shots of the miky way @ 24mm, with the astrotracer, before re-calibration on location, and after recalibration , a 4 minutes exposure. It tells that astro tracing work well depending on how well the compass is calibrated, and especially when using a L bracket fixture and tripod, magnetic elements introduce an error with the compass... which means performing an astrotracer calibration with the camera attached to the tripod !!! that's not an easy task, but once done produces very good results.

[clickclick]

I recently grabbed the K1 followed a few weeks later by the 15-30. I had stewed over both for quite awhile, and the recent sales pushed me over the edge. No regrets. The K1 is just fantastic. The 15-30 is stellar too (yeah, bad pun for you intended....). I am still using my K3II with the 150-450 for my birding, and as such I'm finding both cameras deserve a spot in the bag. The FA 43 is spending a lot of time on the K1. Really sweet combo. The 28-105 is on the short list next time it comes around on a killer sale, which they seem to do every now and then. I don't see how you could go wrong with a K1 acquisition, and I'd keep lenses etc. until you've had a chance to settle in a bit, but grab the 15-30 when you can. It really is sharp across the frame from wide open, and it's one of the fastest focusing lenses I've experienced.

[interested_observer]

I recently bought the K-1 and I immediately noticed much better color on my night/Astro shots compared to my K-5. I usually shoot at around ISO 800 for Astro shots. I have the Samyang 14 f2.8 and there is some distortion in the corners where the stars get stretched. I have the 28-105 and agree it is a nice, light-weight and sharp travel lens, similar to the 18-135 or 16-85 on the crop sensor. The 10-17 is also good for the Milky Way with low coma in my opinion, but won't do FF at short focal lengths. I don't have the 15-30... figured it was too expensive and heavy for now. I have not tried shooting stars with the 28-105 yet.

That is exactly where I am at right now, so it's good to hear about the color. I have been looking at images and comments on the K1 and the MW for quite a while, and you are the first one to come out and state it explicitly. I have been looking specifically at MW shots on the web with the K1. Pentax on their website has a lot at 6400 and 3200. You along with several others report at 1600 down to 800 - which is what I am trying to achieve.

Depends. Having the K1 and lenses. I can confirm the DFA28-105 is small , sharp ideal for travelling but no so much for low light. The DFA15-30 is good for architecture , especially for photographying indoors because the space may be limited to zoom with our feet, that's where the ability to change the FL from 15 to 30 is convenient. For astro, f2.8 zoom works but they have some coma in the edges/corners and f2.8 forces longer exposure or higher iso. When not using UWA for architecture, but for doing night photography it is better to get a fast prime (such as samyang 24 1.4 , or 35 1.4), and the DFA28-105 and use the money to get a DFA*70-200 (or a DFA*85 if it one day will exist).

---------- Post added 04-07-17 at 22:13 ----------


Good calibration of the astrotracer does the job. I've done two shots of the miky way @ 24mm, with the astrotracer, before re-calibration on location, and after recalibration , a 4 minutes exposure. It tells that astro tracing work well depending on how well the compass is calibrated, and especially when using a L bracket fixture and tripod, magnetic elements introduce an error with the compass... which means performing an astrotracer calibration with the camera attached to the tripod !!! that's not an easy task, but once done produces very good results.

I'm on my second Kirk L bracket - it's all aircraft grade aluminum along with my ball head. Aluminum is a non magnetic metal. The accuracy of the compass has been commented on for a couple of years now. I had not really thought about calibrating the entire "system" - body/lens, L bracket and tripod all together. It possibly makes sense. I don't see myself getting a carbon fiber tripod just for this. I guess I see more experimentation in my future. I was hoping to be past the experimentation stage - Oh well!!!

I recently grabbed the K1 followed a few weeks later by the 15-30. I had stewed over both for quite awhile, and the recent sales pushed me over the edge. No regrets. The K1 is just fantastic. The 15-30 is stellar too (yeah, bad pun for you intended....). I am still using my K3II with the 150-450 for my birding, and as such I'm finding both cameras deserve a spot in the bag. The FA 43 is spending a lot of time on the K1. Really sweet combo. The 28-105 is on the short list next time it comes around on a killer sale, which they seem to do every now and then. I don't see how you could go wrong with a K1 acquisition, and I'd keep lenses etc. until you've had a chance to settle in a bit, but grab the 15-30 when you can. It really is sharp across the frame from wide open, and it's one of the fastest focusing lenses I've experienced.

I am pretty much committed (white strait jacket, please) to picking up a K1 now. I am somewhat kicking myself because I missed this last sale, was just taking my own sweet time in thinking things through. I have one lens all packed up and another box with 2 lenses on the dining room table (with my wife looking very disapprovingly about "her" table being re-purposed) getting packed up. Need to print shipping labels and then drop them off at the Post Office today. Still stewing over the decision - but have pretty much make up my mind - 99%. About 3/4 of what I shoot is at night - and during the summer it's more like 100% (just too blasted hot to go out during the day). The Contax lenses (the AE mount) are essentially gone. I am mulling over the future of the M's - I really don't see myself using them. The Contax lenses that I have converted to K mount (28 and 85) - I am keeping along with the ZK (25). I really like them. The 31 is a keeper. Need the body to see about the rest of the wides. That is probably the best path to take.

The goal is the K1 body and the 13-30 and then see how everything works out (I just might float myself a loan from the check book ). The 28-105 might be nice during the Christmas sales.

[MaineNative]

Just to clarify, I have not had a chance to get any good MW shots with the K-1 and Samyang 14. It was too cloudy on my last trip to Maine so I have been shooting stars and night shots outside Boston where there is generally too much light pollution to see the Milky Way well. The colors and noise level of the sky and foreground are better compared to my K-5.

I have been able to get good 60 second Astro shots with the K-1 astrotracer. At 90 seconds I started to see slight trailing. I do a precise calibration with the LCD screen tilted in position and with my tripod mount plate on the camera. I was shooting facing south at about 45 degrees elevation.

One thing I had never seen before was a satellite track. At ISO 800, it showed up as a line about 1 pixel wide. At first I thought it was a scratch on the lens, then I figured out what it was. I don't think I ever had the resolution and sensitivity to pick one up before. (I have some plane tracks too, but those are easy to see with the naked eye.)

[clickclick]

[snip]

I am pretty much committed (white strait jacket, please) to picking up a K1 now. I am somewhat kicking myself because I missed this last sale, was just taking my own sweet time in thinking things through. I have one lens all packed up and another box with 2 lenses on the dining room table (with my wife looking very disapprovingly about "her" table being re-purposed) getting packed up. Need to print shipping labels and then drop them off at the Post Office today. Still stewing over the decision - but have pretty much make up my mind - 99%. About 3/4 of what I shoot is at night - and during the summer it's more like 100% (just too blasted hot to go out during the day). The Contax lenses (the AE mount) are essentially gone. I am mulling over the future of the M's - I really don't see myself using them. The Contax lenses that I have converted to K mount (28 and 85) - I am keeping along with the ZK (25). I really like them. The 31 is a keeper. Need the body to see about the rest of the wides. That is probably the best path to take.

The goal is the K1 body and the 13-30 and then see how everything works out (I just might float myself a loan from the check book ). The 28-105 might be nice during the Christmas sales.

I got a good laugh from this - my girlfriend got knotted up over the SECOND Bowens Illumitron 3S taking up an end of "her" (kitchen) table (but "my" house....) as I scavenged parts for the first Illumitron in my quest of making one solid unit (success!).

The 15-30 is still on sale, but the K1 is back up with a "free" grip ,SD card and bag. Still a nice buy. Also, don't forget you can sometimes negotiate with B&H. Perhaps see if they'd give a break on the bundle minus the grip or something if you don't want it.

I like the way you think on writing yourself a loan from the check book. If you can keep the "loan" in the family, it often works out

Summer is flying by too fast, again, but the good side of this is the Thanksgiving sales will be upon us in no time. You get some fun anticipation figuring out what to add to the kit, and sometimes you have to give yourself those special Christmas presents!

[interested_observer]

Just to clarify, I have not had a chance to get any good MW shots with the K-1 and Samyang 14. It was too cloudy on my last trip to Maine so I have been shooting stars and night shots outside Boston where there is generally too much light pollution to see the Milky Way well. The colors and noise level of the sky and foreground are better compared to my K-5.

I have been able to get good 60 second Astro shots with the K-1 astrotracer. At 90 seconds I started to see slight trailing. I do a precise calibration with the LCD screen tilted in position and with my tripod mount plate on the camera. I was shooting facing south at about 45 degrees elevation.

One thing I had never seen before was a satellite track. At ISO 800, it showed up as a line about 1 pixel wide. At first I thought it was a scratch on the lens, then I figured out what it was. I don't think I ever had the resolution and sensitivity to pick one up before. (I have some plane tracks too, but those are easy to see with the naked eye.)

This is actually wonderful news - I'll take 60 seconds any day of the week and anything over that is gravy. 70 or 80 seconds would be just fine too. I have not been able to shoot a satellite - let me qualify that, "with a camera". I would also like to grab an Iridium flare while I'm at it (I have software aboard). And to be able to shoot at ISO 800 would be perfect.

I got a good laugh from this - my girlfriend got knotted up over the SECOND Bowens Illumitron 3S taking up an end of "her" (kitchen) table (but "my" house....) as I scavenged parts for the first Illumitron in my quest of making one solid unit (success!).

The 15-30 is still on sale, but the K1 is back up with a "free" grip ,SD card and bag. Still a nice buy. Also, don't forget you can sometimes negotiate with B&H. Perhaps see if they'd give a break on the bundle minus the grip or something if you don't want it.

I like the way you think on writing yourself a loan from the check book. If you can keep the "loan" in the family, it often works out

Summer is flying by too fast, again, but the good side of this is the Thanksgiving sales will be upon us in no time. You get some fun anticipation figuring out what to add to the kit, and sometimes you have to give yourself those special Christmas presents!

Yes, summer is seems to be going quickly - but last evening we went out to dinner. Was getting back into the car at 6.30pm and the thermometer showed 118 outside. Summer lasts here till the end of October. The heat really starts to get old very quickly.

My wife has her dining room table back. I packed up the AE Contax lenses and shipped them off to KEH - yesterday. I figured that it would be a bit easier/quicker that way. My wife has also been "discussing" with me - about moving off the kitchen table and out of the kitchen. I have my laptop sitting here, and apparently I have been "spreading" across the table, while I have been filing the papers that we wanted to keep. She wants "her" kitchen table back now. I though that after being married for over 30 years, things would be "ours" by now. I need to now move to a spare bedroom (our sons are out of college and now gone) - which is not a bad idea. At least it would be farther from the refrigerator.

I could just write a check for the whole enchilada and be done with it. But, I really don't want to put any additional capital into this - I have plenty of equipment not being used, I just need to re-allocate assets here. The lenses that I will not be using - need to find a new home where they will be used. I only want to keep what I will be using. So, it's just a matter of getting off my duff and getting things done. I've been thinking about selling off the M's and A's now for three years. So, this is a way for me to actually get this done.

A number of years ago (8-10?), my wife announced that she was no longer going to do laundry (she is short, Italian and grew up in the Bronx, with tenure at the University of California and the University of Washington). Ok, so I started - but I also started collecting all the loose change I found - the laundry money (which I have always though of as my backup camera fund). I have a couple of Costco plastic cashew tubs filled with quarters, others sorted into dimes, nickels and pennies. I didn't realize this, but yesterday I did a quick count and each tub holds about $500 in quarters. Need to count the dimes and nickels then roll the coins and haul them down to the bank. As for the pennies - there is a machine down at the market that will automagically "buy" them from you (with I think a 7% discount). That may just cover the 15-30.

I'll try the B&H route via the forum here. I really don't need or want the grip, and have plenty of SD cards. I've been looking for a new backpack for a couple of years now - and still have not found anything better than the one I have - but it's wearing out. Then for the lenses, Greentoe offers about a 10% discount. I'll try them again - bought my 18-35 that way, and it worked out well.
_____________________

As I was writing this, the Chancellor of the Exchequer walked by and saw my lens list that I was getting ready and just said, you want a new camera - go order the camera..... but she wants her kitchen table back. So, this evening.....