Originally posted by SpecialK 
10 or 12 recent threads about them, all lead the the Pentax 55-300.
And it's exactly the 18-55 + 55-300 combo that I object to, because of the necessity of swapping lenses at 55mm. I bought my K20D without the kit lens, my two zooms being the DA10-17 and the DA18-250. With that superzoom I can go seamlessly from a wide street shot to a long face-in-the-window shot to a close portrait to whatever. I've done so extensively in travels throughout USA and Mexico. An 18-55 + 55-300 kit is just too clumsy for me.
Any lens, prime or zoom, imposes its limitations on the photographer. We learn to 'see' the field-of-view that lens is made for. An 18-55 or 16-50 or 24-90 is great for not-too-wide and not-too-long shots. A 50-200 or 55-300 or 70-210 is great for medium-to-longer shots, and closeups from a safe distance. And primes are great for imposing discipline on our optic systems, forcing us to see in specific ways. But an 18-250 or 18-200 superzoom frees us from a restricted span of views. So I prefer the superzoom as a default, and more limited zooms (10-17, 18-55, 35-70, 100-300, 170-500) and primes-with-character (16-24-35-100/2.8, 50-55/1.4, 85/2, 200/5.6, etc) for specific situations or visual exercises.
I consider the kit zoom + long zoom combo as a sort of trap. Or maybe it's just a learning experience. (Oh no, not ANOTHER learning experience!!!)
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