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11-04-2010, 07:29 AM   #1
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Next purchase Opinions

So let's say your a broke hobby photographer, rookie as well, and all you have is K-x and a 18-55 kit lens. You primarily take portraits but some landscape from time to time. If you were only able to purchase one thing, lets say over the next year, what would it be? Upgrade lens? Upgrade flash? $600 is probably your max budget but anything less is bonus.

Thanks in advance!


Last edited by s.randy; 11-04-2010 at 07:46 AM.
11-04-2010, 07:55 AM   #2
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$600 doesn't sound like you need to only buy one thing to me. I would probably buy a manual fast 50 and an auto-flash, and then think about what to buy for the left over money.

I would recommend a 50 with A mode, which gives you full automation except for manual focus. The A50/1.7 should cost less $100, though I don't keep track of prices. And an auto-flash should cost about $20, or a little more for a powerful one. ("Auto" in this case doesn't mean what you might expect, a modern flash that talks to the camera about anything more than "flash now" will cost more.)

If you feel you need auto focus the FA50/1.4 should still be well within your budget.

The only problem with older flashes is they can have a high trigger voltage (which can damage your camera). Check this before purchase.

Both these suggestions require you to learn new things to use, but if you don't want new experiences you can stick with what you have.
11-04-2010, 08:01 AM   #3
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Buy nothing till you know what you needed.
11-04-2010, 08:12 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by wlachan Quote
Buy nothing till you know what you needed.
I think I know where your going with that, I may be trying to compensate experience with equipment....

drougge - thanks for your advice as well!

My ultimate goal here is to take the best portrait I can at the lowest cost. Indoor and outdoor.

11-04-2010, 08:23 AM   #5
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with 600$ i would buy FA50/1.4 and new DA35/2.4
when i bought my fa50, i was not able to buy anything for a year and to be honest i didn`t need. these would be great lenses for you. i would not go into manual lenses, cause it`s horrible to focus with little viewfinder. on my k200d it`s tragedy, on my old k1000 it`s really ok.
i would not go into zooms. good ones are expensive, maybe if you could find cheap 55-300. but this can wait.
11-04-2010, 08:45 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by zelovoc Quote
with 600$ i would buy FA50/1.4 and new DA35/2.4
when i bought my fa50, i was not able to buy anything for a year and to be honest i didn`t need. these would be great lenses for you. i would not go into manual lenses, cause it`s horrible to focus with little viewfinder. on my k200d it`s tragedy, on my old k1000 it`s really ok.
i would not go into zooms. good ones are expensive, maybe if you could find cheap 55-300. but this can wait.
That FA 50mm f/1.4 Lens seems to have a lot of good reviews. I'm going to keep this on in mind, thanks for you input
11-04-2010, 06:47 PM   #7
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If I had $600 to spend to augment my 18-55 DAL.....I'd be looking at what I want to shoot. Since you said portraits and landscape then zooms are not as important to you as they might be if you were doing kids and sports. I'd be looking at Prime lenses.

As has been mentioned here, I thought about the FA50 but fortunately was given a pristine M50 by my sister and BiL. It has reaquainted me with manual focus lenses and aperture setting. The M50 f2 is not a great lens, as you can see from the reviews, but it costs around $30 to buy in descent shape and can teach you a lot about photography. I realized that I do want to do some portraits and indoor and low light photography and its not really what I want for those tasks. I decided to upgrade and snagged a SuperTak 50 1.4 that is on the way because I want better indoor and low light ability. It cost <$90 with shipping.

For $600 there are a LOT of options and you could end up with a nice array of lenses if you are willing to go the manual focus route.

Good luck.

11-04-2010, 07:10 PM   #8
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You don't need a really sharp lens for portraits, so you could get by with the 18-55 for that.

A used 12-24 will help your landscapes and wide shots.
11-04-2010, 07:13 PM   #9
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I say buy the DA35 ltd used for <$500 and save a little bit of $. The 35mm is a great "in between" lens. It is wide enough for some landscapes and long enough for portraits.
11-04-2010, 07:31 PM   #10
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Thanks everyone for their thoughts, I really appreciate the help!!
11-04-2010, 07:36 PM   #11
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you can get a Pentax-M 50mm 1.7 for like $30 on ebay
seriously a great lens! you really can’t beat it for the price
11-04-2010, 07:42 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by jimmydude Quote
you can get a Pentax-M 50mm 1.7 for like $30 on ebay
seriously a great lens! you really can’t beat it for the price
I'll look into this, I didn't plan on a manual focus but the price is cheap enough to learn the way of the old haha
11-04-2010, 07:46 PM   #13
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you should!
plus, learning how to manual focus well can only make you better as a photographer
11-04-2010, 07:48 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by jimmydude Quote
you should!
plus, learning how to manual focus well can only make you better as a photographer
Can't argue that, how sketchy is it buying a used lens off ebay tho?
11-04-2010, 07:51 PM   #15
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haha probably just as sketchy as buying anything on ebay
check the seller’s ratings and what not
you’ll be aight
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