[Temitope-One]

Hi friends,I just signed up on PF even though have been digesting loads of awesome articles&threads for months.I was set on starting out in Fashion/Wedding photography with a Nikon D3300 bundle before I came across this site and fell in love with the Pentax line.
Now,I need the help of my new family here.I have just $750 to build a camera bundle and I wont spend another on gear for some time so I want suggestions(DSLR Camera+Lenses+Accessories) that are future-proof for a beginner like me.I have looked at the K-30,K-50,K-S2 and K-3 but I cant seem to make a decision.I am also going for a NEW camera body.
Thanks.

[dansamy]

K-50 from Samy's is $350-$100 rebate = $250.

[Adam]

Given the current sales in the US I'd recommend going for a K-50 ($295 at B&H, $249 with lens at Samy's after mail-in rebate) with the Sigma 17-50mm (on sale for $399 at B&H until tomorrow) along with a prime such as the DA 50mm F1.8 for portraits ($91). Your other option would be to get the K-3 ($649, better camera) with just the DA 50mm and perhaps a 18-55mm, but I think having a premium lens is more important than having the best available body if you're on a budget and mainly interested in image quality.

[dansamy]

The DA50 & DA35 are both $100 right now.

That leaves you $300 to spend on another lens, a flash or other accessories.

[Temitope-One]

Given the current sales in the US I'd recommend going for a K-50 ($295 at B&H, $249 with lens at Samy's after mail-in rebate) with the Sigma 17-50mm (on sale for $399 at B&H until tomorrow) along with a prime such as the DA 50mm F1.8 for portraits ($91). Your other option would be to get the K-3 ($649, better camera) with just the DA 50mm and perhaps a 18-55mm, but I think having a premium lens is more important than having the best available body if you're on a budget and mainly interested in image quality.

Thanks Adam.I will consider that.

[Alex645]

Because you mentioned Fashion/Wedding photography, I'd have to say with a $750 budget a White K-50 with the 18-55mm, DA 50mm f/1.8, and AF360FGZ II flash. You really will want and need a reliable flash that tilts and swivels. That doesn't really leave much left but ideally you'd also throw in a large memory card, either a spare battery or the AA adapter, and perhaps a camera bag and/or black photographer's vest.

Actually those lenses may be too noisy autofocusing at the wedding, so maybe give up the bokeh and f/1.8 of the 50mm and replace both of those lenses with either the DA 18-135mm or DA 18-270mm SDM, both of which have quieter AF for weddings. If that busts the budget, then go for a black K-50, but you really need a versatile quality flash.

Does anyone think the SDM on the 18-270mm is significantly quieter than the less expensive 18-135mm?

Another reality, however, is that I've never worked professionally without redundancy; two of everything in case one whatever stops working for any reason. OR just hire an assistant that owns their own DSLR and just make sure they bring their gear....in case you need it!

Be ready to get some serious attitude that all weddings must be shot with a Canon 5D Mark III. It's ridiculous but I've known photographers that bought one just to get over the bias. Ultimately if your portfolio has great images, that will get you word of mouth, and fashion/wedding gigs.

[Temitope-One]

Because you mentioned Fashion/Wedding photography, I'd have to say with a $750 budget a White K-50 with the 18-55mm, DA 50mm f/1.8, and AF360FGZ II flash. You really will want and need a reliable flash that tilts and swivels. That doesn't really leave much left but ideally you'd also throw in a large memory card, either a spare battery or the AA adapter, and perhaps a camera bag and/or black photographer's vest.

Actually those lenses may be too noisy autofocusing at the wedding, so maybe give up the bokeh and f/1.8 of the 50mm and replace both of those lenses with either the DA 18-135mm or DA 18-270mm SDM, both of which have quieter AF for weddings. If that busts the budget, then go for a black K-50, but you really need a versatile quality flash.

Does anyone think the SDM on the 18-270mm is significantly quieter than the less expensive 18-135mm?

Another reality, however, is that I've never worked professionally without redundancy; two of everything in case one whatever stops working for any reason. OR just hire an assistant that owns their own DSLR and just make sure they bring their gear....in case you need it!

Be ready to get some serious attitude that all weddings must be shot with a Canon 5D Mark III. It's ridiculous but I've known photographers that bought one just to get over the bias. Ultimately if your portfolio has great images, that will get you word of mouth, and fashion/wedding gigs.

That's some eye opening,thank Alex.

[pathdoc]

and replace both of those lenses with either the DA 18-135mm or DA 18-270mm SDM,

Aren't they going to suffer from being slow at the long end in relatively poor light? I always thought this was the reason the pro Nikon shooters went for their Holy Trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses.

Just out of interest, what lens(es) and flash type(s) did you have in the Nikon bundle? That might also give us a starting point of sorts for recommendation. We might not be able to exactly duplicate your old kit piece for piece, of course, but we could suggest lenses (in addition to the recommendations already made above) that would do the same job.

[TaoMaas]

...I want suggestions that are future-proof for a beginner like me.

In the digital age, no camera body is going to be future-proof. Lenses, maybe...but bodies, no.

[pres589]

In the digital age, no camera body is going to be future-proof. Lenses, maybe...but bodies, no.

One of the things that attracts me to Pentax is that the body kind of is future-proof as the K-mount is probably going to be here for a long time. Maybe an auto-focus drive method won't be available, like how some of the newest AF lenses won't have functioning AF if I still had my old K100D, but a body purchase once a decade would deal with that.

Put another way, I don't think a K-50 is going to be functionally limited for quite a while, and at ~$300 or less new I bet most folks would shrug and move on. That said, investing in good glass is probably a more future-proof plan, as you stated. I just wouldn't try to dismiss the want of the original poster of this thread.

[Marktax]

The more professional-oriented K-3 user interface and its wider options are unbeatable. K-50 had the final iteration of the K-5's 16mp sensor, though, and it added Eye-Fi card capabilities to emulate wi-fi, so it does remain a good camera.

[UncleVanya]

I'm struggling to come up with a complete kit at this budget. Adam gave a good option, but you need a flash - do you have one already? Also you need a backup camera. The low cost kit Adam recommended plus a flash or two is likely a good start. Flashes can be manual so that could save money. You will need extra batteries as well. You may want a flash modifier like a Gary Fong light sphere. And a backup lens.

[swhay]

buy an inexpensive body used K-30, K-7, or K-5 and invest in good glass first. Glass will last much longer than any body. I wish I had done that when I started out. I am currently switching from Canon to Pentax because of the expense of Canon glass and the incredible value Pentax offers and will be focusing on good DA* lenses first with a used K-5 I bought about a month ago.

[Temitope-One]

Aren't they going to suffer from being slow at the long end in relatively poor light? I always thought this was the reason the pro Nikon shooters went for their Holy Trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses.

Just out of interest, what lens(es) and flash type(s) did you have in the Nikon bundle? That might also give us a starting point of sorts for recommendation. We might not be able to exactly duplicate your old kit piece for piece, of course, but we could suggest lenses (in addition to the recommendations already made above) that would do the same job.

I had not started researching on nikon lenses when I stumbled on this forum and completely ditched the idea of getting a Nikon.

---------- Post added 12-04-15 at 09:07 AM ----------

In the digital age, no camera body is going to be future-proof. Lenses, maybe...but bodies, no.

Wow,i didnt know that.I just thought of the fact that I may not be able to afford a new gear too soon in case i make the wrong choices now.I'm really learning a lot on this forum and I believe I cant make a wrong choice with the sort of advice I'm getting here.

---------- Post added 12-04-15 at 09:11 AM ----------

One of the things that attracts me to Pentax is that the body kind of is future-proof as the K-mount is probably going to be here for a long time. Maybe an auto-focus drive method won't be available, like how some of the newest AF lenses won't have functioning AF if I still had my old K100D, but a body purchase once a decade would deal with that.

Put another way, I don't think a K-50 is going to be functionally limited for quite a while, and at ~$300 or less new I bet most folks would shrug and move on. That said, investing in good glass is probably a more future-proof plan, as you stated. I just wouldn't try to dismiss the want of the original poster of this thread.

the reason I thought of a future proof dslr is because I am a really fast learner and very adventurous and wouldnt want to need a new camera body too soon because of the limited funds i have for a start.

---------- Post added 12-04-15 at 09:12 AM ----------

I'm struggling to come up with a complete kit at this budget. Adam gave a good option, but you need a flash - do you have one already? Also you need a backup camera. The low cost kit Adam recommended plus a flash or two is likely a good start. Flashes can be manual so that could save money. You will need extra batteries as well. You may want a flash modifier like a Gary Fong light sphere. And a backup lens.

I have no dslr kit at all.I am just starting out.

[UncleVanya]

Given that you are just starting out. You might consider buying used from the Marketplace here on the forums.
You can still buy a new K50 or perhaps a used K5/K5ii as the camera.
You should look for a used or new 17-50 f/2.8 lens (Tamron or Sigma). Or possibly a 17-70 Sigma which is a variable maximum aperture lens (f/2.8 at the wide end f/4 at the long end)
You should look here or on ebay for some simple manual flashes that you can set for reduced power that are known to work safely with Pentax DSLR's. I'm sorry I don't have a good list but there are threads on this. Using the flash manually will be more complicated at first but it gives more control and will be cheaper to get started with than the P-TTL compatible automatic flashes.
Wedding photography is very specific - if you have not had a DSLR before did you do it before with Film? If not you may need to see if you can find a few jobs as an assistant to learn the ropes.