[gm4life]

Hi all,

First I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome to the forum. What an awesome online community!

I am curious where do I go from this point...

I have the following and I am looking for advise on new toys or gear to complete my "kit" and books to read, software etc.

Camera: Pentax K3 II w/battery grip and 3 batteries (two spares)

General walk about lens: WR 16-85mm Pentax DA HD F 3.5-5.6

General telephoto lens: WR 55-300mm Pentax DA HD F 4-5.8

Prime Lens: 50mm Pentax DA SMC F 1.8

Prime Lens: 35mm Pentax DA HD Limited F 2.8 Macro

Flash: Pentax AF200FG, for 70 bucks it gave me a basic flash, so nothing fancy, don't do much flash photography anyways

Filters: All lenses have a Hoya UV filter on them

Bag: LowePro Messenger 250 in Mica

Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 and Adobe Lightroom 6

I have a book on Lightroom and digital photography by Scott Kelby as well. Pretty good with PSE but just learning Lightroom.

So I guess what do you guys recommend to complete my kit for gear, resources/software/books etc.

I do have the following items on my radar...

Lens: 15mm Pentax DA HD Limited F 4

Tripod: Manfrotto MK290XTA3-BHUS 290 Xtra Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head

Bag: LowePro Backpack 150 in Mica


Out further on my radar is the following...

Camera: Next APS-C to replace K3 II for a spare body

Lens: 300mm Pentax DA Star F 4

Lens: WR 100mm Pentax DA SMC F 2.8 Marco

I appreciate any advice and suggestions. I think ultimately that would give me several good lenses that are primes to cover most of the stuff I shoot.

Thank you.

---

Last edited by gm4life; 01-01-2017 at 04:56 PM.

[SpecialK]

You have everything except the 10-17 fisheye and 12-24. Just go shoot awhile until a need arises :-)

[Canada_Rockies]

Just for kicks, try the same scene with and without the UV filters. I am now at 25 years without using them except in blowing sand. Except for the M 400/5.6 for which the filters were way too much money so I didn't bother. With DSLR I think the UV filters just add two air/lens transfer points with resulting drop in image quality.

The use of them is particularly noticeable when shooting a back lit or partially back lit scene. Do your own tests, and I think you will stop using them. A lens hood is much better protection for the front element in any case.

[mee]

Hello. It depends on what you want to do with your gear. But throwing more money at more gear isn't necessarily going to make your photos better -- you already have a fantastic set of equipment.

It is difficult, near impossible, to say though with confidence on suggestions outside of 'learn your gear.' And getting a solid workflow in Lightroom + PSE (your post software) is significant too. Actually, learning how to process the taken images is really where a lot of the work is that I think many don't consider. That and taking the images with post in mind. But that too is down to workflow.

Can't buy knowledge outright. Must put in the work!

I can only speak for myself but books haven't really connected me to photography. Well 'Understanding Exposure' was helpful to a point, but really just getting out with the camera, taking photos, and then processing on the PC has really been where the education has taken off... lots of 'ah ha' moments in the middle of trial and error.

All that said, I'd consider some filters since you don't have any and are looking to spend cash. Neutral Density and a good polarizer. But those probably are going to be of limited use depending on your subject choice and camera knowledge.

[caliscouser]

You have great kit. Go out and shoot until you find the limits of what you have. Then it will be obvious what you need.

[Paul the Sunman]

You have more than enough to do nearly everything! Enjoy it.

The ASP-C lens I love most is the DA 15mm. That may be a future buy. However, the 16-85 @16mm is a pretty good alternative.

[gm4life]

Thanks all for the replies back. I am actually hoping to get out and to start to snap the next few days over the holidays. I might put the breaks on the other wide angle lens for now. I do need a decent tripod and another bag for over-flow wouldn't hurt though. A lot cheaper than more glass!

---------- Post added 12-22-16 at 10:27 PM ----------

You have everything except the 10-17 fisheye and 12-24. Just go shoot awhile until a need arises :-)

I am not a fish-eye person - they are way cool though. I do like nice wide angles but anything much wider than the 35mm eq. of say 20mm I likely will not shoot much wider than that. That is why the 15 F 4 Limited in on the radar.

---------- Post added 12-22-16 at 10:31 PM ----------

Just for kicks, try the same scene with and without the UV filters. I am now at 25 years without using them except in blowing sand. Except for the M 400/5.6 for which the filters were way too much money so I didn't bother. With DSLR I think the UV filters just add two air/lens transfer points with resulting drop in image quality.

The use of them is particularly noticeable when shooting a back lit or partially back lit scene. Do your own tests, and I think you will stop using them. A lens hood is much better protection for the front element in any case.

I might try that - keeping the filter on the 35mm Limited is a PITA, because I have to have the lens hood out just a hair to "cover" the filter to keep the cap on. I did do UV filters for one reason only and that is protection. From my calculator I have nearly 1,500 in glass total - they all have the UV filters because of that. Not that is a lot to a pro photographer but to someone like me it sure is!

[Fenwoodian]

Hi all,

First I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome to the forum. What an awesome online community!

I am curious where do I go from this point...

I have the following and I am looking for advise on new toys or gear to complete my "kit" and books to read, software etc.

Camera: Pentax K3 II w/battery grip and 3 batteries (two spares)

General walk about lens: WR 16-85mm Pentax DA HD F 3.5-5.6

General telephoto lens: WR 55-300mm Pentax DA HD F 4-5.8

Prime Lens: 50mm Pentax DA SMC F 1.8

Prime Lens: 35mm Pentax DA HD Limited F 2.8 Macro

Flash: Pentax AF200FG, for 70 bucks it gave me a basic flash, so nothing fancy, don't do much flash photography anyways

Filters: All lenses have a Hoya UV filter on them

Bag: LowePro Messenger 250 in Mica

Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 and Adobe Lightroom 6

I have a book on Lightroom and digital photography by Scott Kelby as well. Pretty good with PSE but just learning Lightroom.

So I guess what do you guys recommend to complete my kit for gear, resources/software/books etc.

I do have the following items on my radar...

Lens: 15mm Pentax DA HD Limited F 4

Tripod: Manfrotto MK290XTA3-BHUS 290 Xtra Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head

Bag: LowePro Backpack 150 in Mica


Out further on my radar is the following...

Camera: Next APS-C to replace K3 II for a spare body

Lens: 300mm Pentax DA Star F 4

Lens: WR 100mm Pentax DA SMC F 2.8 Marco

I appreciate any advice and suggestions. I think ultimately that would give me several good lenses that are primes to cover most of the stuff I shoot.

Thank you.

You may need additional software.

Elements is a great start. Download Google NIK Collection - it's free. It will automatically plug in to your Elements software. Watch a bunch of YouTube videos on how to use these NIK plug ins.

Buy Piccure+ sharpening software. It too can be used right inside of Elements. It's a much better way to sharpen then using , Elements/NIK/Topaz.

[pepperberry farm]

the DA 10-17mm is so much more than a fish-eye lens - by 14mm it starts to lose the fishiness and it is almost nonexistent at 17mm....

[gm4life]

Hello. It depends on what you want to do with your gear. But throwing more money at more gear isn't necessarily going to make your photos better -- you already have a fantastic set of equipment.

It is difficult, near impossible, to say though with confidence on suggestions outside of 'learn your gear.' And getting a solid workflow in Lightroom + PSE (your post software) is significant too. Actually, learning how to process the taken images is really where a lot of the work is that I think many don't consider. That and taking the images with post in mind. But that too is down to workflow.

Can't buy knowledge outright. Must put in the work!

I can only speak for myself but books haven't really connected me to photography. Well 'Understanding Exposure' was helpful to a point, but really just getting out with the camera, taking photos, and then processing on the PC has really been where the education has taken off... lots of 'ah ha' moments in the middle of trial and error.

All that said, I'd consider some filters since you don't have any and are looking to spend cash. Neutral Density and a good polarizer. But those probably are going to be of limited use depending on your subject choice and camera knowledge.

Very true about just getting out to snap photos is a good idea.

Regarding books, I do understand what you are getting at it. I do enjoy to read so hopefully I can get some real value out of the books. I really am not bad at PSE but Lightroom is a new world to me!

Also I appreciate the comment throwing money at gear will not make you a better photographer - I have seen great photos taken on iPhones, Samsung Galaxy's etc.

---------- Post added 12-22-16 at 10:36 PM ----------

You have great kit. Go out and shoot until you find the limits of what you have. Then it will be obvious what you need.

Thanks - I see you have some really nice glass in your collection based on your sig. I might now be to a point that I have gear better than I am a photographer!

---------- Post added 12-22-16 at 10:37 PM ----------

You may need additional software.

Elements is a great start. Download Google NIK Collection - it's free. It will automatically plug in to your Elements software. Watch a bunch of YouTube videos on how to use these NIK plug ins.

Buy Piccure+ sharpening software. It too can be used right inside of Elements. It's a much better way to sharpen then using , Elements/NIK/Topaz.

Interesting I will look into that software then the Google NIK Collection! Thanks!

---------- Post added 12-22-16 at 10:38 PM ----------

the DA 10-17mm is so much more than a fish-eye lens - by 14mm it starts to lose the fishiness and it is almost nonexistent at 17mm....

I will sure take a look at some more photos with the lens, I just never saw myself getting something that far out as far as field of view.

[pepperberry farm]

I will sure take a look at some more photos with the lens, I just never saw myself getting something that far out as far as field of view.

here is my album of shots with the DA10-17mm:

DA 10-17mm f3.5 - 4.5 ED (IF) | Flickr

[wibbly]

work with what you have. find the limitations of it, and adjust to suit your unhappiness. i think it's important to understand WHY you need to change something, instead of just buying everything you see. i have made a lot of purchases only to realize that they weren't a good fit for what i do. and honestly i still have more stuff in my kit than i really need. LBA is a very real thing.

if you find that you are interested in shooting certain things that your current crop of lenses doesn't do well, then it's research and purchase time. for now you have it all covered quite nicely.


and whatever you do, don't check the classifieds here on a regular basis.

[gm4life]

here is my album of shots with the DA10-17mm:

DA 10-17mm f3.5 - 4.5 ED (IF) | Flickr

Thank you pepperberry!

---------- Post added 12-22-16 at 10:51 PM ----------

work with what you have. find the limitations of it, and adjust to suit your unhappiness. i think it's important to understand WHY you need to change something, instead of just buying everything you see. i have made a lot of purchases only to realize that they weren't a good fit for what i do. and honestly i still have more stuff in my kit than i really need. LBA is a very real thing.

if you find that you are interested in shooting certain things that your current crop of lenses doesn't do well, then it's research and purchase time. for now you have it all covered quite nicely.


and whatever you do, don't check the classifieds here on a regular basis.

Good advise or my pockets will be even lighter - visiting the classifieds!

Regarding the other comments absolutely. I don't even know if I would get that much use out of the 300 F 4 maybe the 200 F 2.8 would even be a nice fit for me at some point. I will start to really enjoy what I have for now!

[wibbly]

you have a 55-300.


if you find yourself using that lens at 300 all the time, and are finding that it falls short on overall sharpness or speed, then maybe a 300f4 would be a good fit.

but you need to take an awful lot of photos at 300 to justify a 1000 dollar lens.


it can get very expensive if you aren't making choices based on what you are doing/aim to do with your camera. you can cover all focal lengths with zooms and primes from 8mm to 500mm and find that you really only favor 1 or 2 lenses. these are the ones that you want to spend the money on.

[gm4life]

you have a 55-300.


if you find yourself using that lens at 300 all the time, and are finding that it falls short on overall sharpness or speed, then maybe a 300f4 would be a good fit.

but you need to take an awful lot of photos at 300 to justify a 1000 dollar lens.


it can get very expensive if you aren't making choices based on what you are doing/aim to do with your camera. you can cover all focal lengths with zooms and primes from 8mm to 500mm and find that you really only favor 1 or 2 lenses. these are the ones that you want to spend the money on.

Ah great point, spoken like someone who has snapped a few photographs!