Originally posted by josepheller Hi all, been reading and using the many resources on this site for some time now as my wife and I did our research and finally settled on a camera for her (feels more like I will be the one doing most of the work though
). We are both novices to serious photography and DSLR cameras, but decided to take the plunge as we both have an interest and with the arrival of our first child cell phone photos would no longer do. Anyhow, the camera is arriving tomorrow and we have no lenses for it. My first order of business is to get a good portrait lens and then build out the collection (the 24-70 and 70-200 probably next up, though I have read that the kit 28-105 is a really good all around lens). With that said I have narrowed the portrait lens search to the following options (as I currently rank them), but thought I'd check with the experts before settling on a specific one:
1. SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.4:
SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.4 Reviews - FA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
2. SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.7:
SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.7 Reviews - FA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
3. SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8:
SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8 Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
Let me know if you think these are good options or if there are other/better ones out there that I should be considering.
Other than that I am wide-open to hearing thoughts on other lenses we should consider (for portraits and other modes of photography), or philosophies on building a lens collection (primes v zoom, pentax v third party, D FA v DA/F/FA/etc). To give a bit of background and context on how the camera will be used: mostly portraits, family photos and events. But we do like to travel so street, city and some action photography will occur from time to time (hence my thinking that the 28-105 D FA lens may be a good and versatile all around option). I understand there's not a one size fits guide to building a lens collection, but I want to learn from the folks that have been there and done that to avoid any common pitfalls along the way
Thanks for your help. I look forward to learning from you all, and hopefully (with time) contributing to the community as well.
I would start with the
FA 50mm F1.4 for now, as it's available new with warranty, and is affordable.
Then, once the D FA* 50mm and D FA* 85mm are released (hopefully by the end of the year), you can upgrade and select the focal length you prefer. These will both be high-performance lenses, and I'm personally quite excited for them.
If you want to stick to primes most of the time, I'd get the 28-105mm for now, and then add one of the aforementioned primes later.
The D FA* 70-200mm is of course an amazing lens, but it's also heavy, hence I'd favor the 85mm for portraits.
Adam
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