Originally posted by whafrog I'm pondering upgrading my current lenses. I have a K-70 with the following Pentax lenses: 16-45mm, and 55-300mm. This gives good coverage, but I'm missing a few things. The main thing is a macro lens: although the 16-45 can focus down to a few inches, it's not very clear...definitely fuzzy at f4, reasonable at f5.6, but it doesn't get close enough for what I want to get pictures of. I actually get better "close up" results from the 55-300mm at a couple meters away. I'm tempted by the 100mm FA lens, but has anyone had experience with this lens on an APS-C sensor? Are there any good 3rd party macro lenses? Weather sealing is a "must-have"...
The other missing thing is a good super-telephoto. 300mm is okay for large birds, but for small birds in the wild it's just not working for me. I've been tempted by the 150-450, but I'm not sure it's going to make that much of a difference, plus I'm not crazy about the size (for this I'm considering M4/3 as an option).
Lastly, my current lenses are "slow"...f4 at best. But current lenses are decent, but the 16-45 has fairly severe chromatic aberration...a recent high contrast image of "trees against the sky" was practically purple throughout. I'm very much considering upgrading everything, as f2.8, or even a constant f4 would be preferable.
Basically I'm after a set of high quality lenses that offer the FF equivalent of 24-600 + macro. Any opinions/experience with the current Pentax lens lineup, that is weather sealed, that would fit the bill?
I use the FA100 f2.8 macro and like it a lot. Have a look at my Flickr link in my signature. It does take practice, though, so don't expect immediate miracles.
Other thoughts:
Pancakes are fun and fantastic quality. I have the 21mm and 40mm. The 21 is my favorite non-macro lens. Do keep them in mind and maybe put a marketplace watch-word to get a feel for used pricing. Both are well-built, may as well buy used.
The 18-135 and 55-300 WR lenses serve me well enough right now, but I'd like better at the long end. This year I may buy the DA300.