[Naj90]

Hiya, hope you're all well. I am starting to learn photography and recently bought a used Pentax K10D camera with a 18-55mm lens included.

Now I found a Sigma 75-300mm used lens for 10 bucks, but I'm not sure if it would fit the K10D I now own - see attached pictures of the lens. Any advice is appreciated!

Attached Images

   

[AstroDave]

Unfortunately, that's NOT a pentax-compatible lens.

Compare the back end of that lens with your 18-55 kit lens - notice the difference between the metal contacts. Pentax-style lenses use inset little round metal balls to make contact with the camera, not the flat pieces as shown in your second picture.

[Naj90]

Unfortunately, that's NOT a pentax-compatible lens.

Compare the back end of that lens with your 18-55 kit lens - notice the difference between the metal contacts. Pentax-style lenses use inset little round metal balls to make contact with the camera, not the flat pieces as shown in your second picture.

Hi AstroDave, many thanks for confirming. That's a shame. Can you recommend maybe some lenses for me as a beginner or do you think I should stick with the 18-55mm for now ?

[AstroDave]

Can you recommend maybe some lenses for me as a beginner or do you think I should stick with the 18-55mm for now ?

Your 18-55mm will keep you amused for a while, but there are better lenses out there, and of course a lot more focal lengths to explore. Are you familiar with the lens reviews on this forum: Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

They will give you an idea of what other users think about various lenses, and an idea of what they might cost. The older FA and F series lenses will offer autofocus and aperture control with your K10D. If you want to experiment with manual focus and aperture setting, the even older A and M lenses can offer a lot of bang for the buck. Again, check the reviews.

You can buy lenses from fellow Pentaxians here on the forum (check the Marketplace), and there are lots of lenses out there on ebay (be careful if you've never used ebay before - there are lots of stories about both good and bad sellers!). Used lenses from commercial sellers like Henrys, Roberts, and the big NYC stores (B&H and Adorama) are other options. Just read the descriptions carefuly as to condition(s).

[ChristianRock]

It depends on what you like... Landscapes, portrais details, street photography?

My recommendation is always to get a 50mm lens.. they are always cheap and really good.

[Naj90]

Your 18-55mm will keep you amused for a while, but there are better lenses out there, and of course a lot more focal lengths to explore. Are you familiar with the lens reviews on this forum: Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

They will give you an idea of what other users think about various lenses, and an idea of what they might cost. The older FA and F series lenses will offer autofocus and aperture control with your K10D. If you want to experiment with manual focus and aperture setting, the even older A and M lenses can offer a lot of bang for the buck. Again, check the reviews.

You can buy lenses from fellow Pentaxians here on the forum (check the Marketplace), and there are lots of lenses out there on ebay (be careful if you've never used ebay before - there are lots of stories about both good and bad sellers!). Used lenses from commercial sellers like Henrys, Roberts, and the big NYC stores (B&H and Adorama) are other options. Just read the descriptions carefuly as to condition(s).

Many thanks again for the guidance, appreciate it! I will look into the marketplace and the different lenses

[Naj90]

It depends on what you like... Landscapes, portrais details, street photography?

My recommendation is always to get a 50mm lens.. they are always cheap and really good.

As I'm quite new to photography (like 1 week now), I actually want to try out everything. I like to have (interesting) people in my pictures, but with a nice background - if you know what I mean. Imagine the Champs Elysees in Paris as a background.

[marcusBMG]

Welcome aboard, enjoy taking pics with your K10.

That lens is for canon, no use for pentax at all.
FYI this is a useful reference if you are looking at shopping around for vintage/film era legacy lens options:

https://vintagelens.nl/2018/02/19/slr-lens-mount-identification-guide-richard-oleson/

The K10 isn't the best option for non autofocus lenses IMO because it doesn't have live view. You do have a visual cue in the view finder to help you with manual focus, but magnified live view is the most accurate tool.

As already mentioned, it all depends what your photography interests might be as to what lenses you might pursue. This is my standard take as far as the vintage MF possibilities go:

What to pursue?
1. "Nifty fifty". The 50mm "kit" lenses sold with 35mm fim cameras give eye-similar field of view on full frame, more portrait-like moderate telephoto on apsc sized sensors like the K10. Their immediate advantages over typical 18-55mm/similar digital kit lens are speed (F1.7/1.8 is typical vs f5.6 - more than 3 stops advantage) and IQ (the competitive market meant that manufacturers didn't want to be considered inferior, and even by the 1970's the design of lenses of this focal length was well understood and well refined). And final advantage - price. These can be picked up for the price of a coffee and cake. My smc-a 50mm f1.7 is my most used lens.
2. Quality macro. Close focus photography is an obvious photographic avenue to go down and while you can certainly do surprisingly well for many things (ebay pics with my G1 + 14-42mm kit lens + CF filter) with eg a close focus filter on your digital kit lens, there's not much to beat the genuine article - typically 90mm/100mm/105mm lens with focus to 1:2 or 1:1 reproduction. AF is much less useful in macro, the camera doesn't really know exactly where you want your plane of focus so the MF vs AF arguement is much less pertinent. Vivitar (a number of different ones by different manufacturers) and tamron are the most common, tamron tend to be the best value, not difficult get one of the adaptall 90mm for around a hundred bucks or even less.
Also 90mm is ideal portrait focal length on apsc, and the tack sharp iq makes them great landscape lenses.
3. (Other) Quality primes. eg 135mm - this was also a very popular focal length and a well refined optical design meaning you rarely go wrong with one - high iq. OEM (inc takumars, pentax smc's ) and Soviet era lenses like Jupiter, Tair, Carl Zeiss Jena are immediate suggestions.
One caveat: wide angle in the digital era has definitely improved beyond the norm of the film era (as a simple generalisation), and there can be issues with vintage 24mm/28mm like field curvature on digital. Still worth judiciously seeking out the plums mind you, and 28mm is approx like a standard lens on apsc. Check out the 28mm club.
4. Telephotos. While modern big lenses really are radically good, if you'd rather spend $50 instead of $500 or $5000 there is lots of choice. . Browse the 300mm+ lens club and the lens reviews for some ideas and results insight.

5. Lenses of particular interest/character. Mirror lenses are one of the first to come to mind in this category, tamron are the ones to go for, Soviet ones like Rubinar or MTO can also be very good and interesting (avoid cheap new ones off amazon). Then there are lenses known for eg bubble or swirly bokeh (helios for the latter).
6. Iconic/historic zooms. As per comment re wide angles, modern zooms as a rule are simply better. But it's still worth seeking out the plums, indeed that's the game! Vivitar serries 1, tamron adaptalls, contax/zeiss etc.

[Naj90]

Welcome aboard, enjoy taking pics with your K10.

That lens is for canon, no use for pentax at all.
FYI this is a useful reference if you are looking at shopping around for vintage/film era legacy lens options:

https://vintagelens.nl/2018/02/19/slr-lens-mount-identification-guide-richard-oleson/

The K10 isn't the best option for non autofocus lenses IMO because it doesn't have live view. You do have a visual cue in the view finder to help you with manual focus, but magnified live view is the most accurate tool.

As already mentioned, it all depends what your photography interests might be as to what lenses you might pursue. This is my standard take as far as the vintage MF possibilities go:

What to pursue?
1. "Nifty fifty". The 50mm "kit" lenses sold with 35mm fim cameras give eye-similar field of view on full frame, more portrait-like moderate telephoto on apsc sized sensors like the K10. Their immediate advantages over typical 18-55mm/similar digital kit lens are speed (F1.7/1.8 is typical vs f5.6 - more than 3 stops advantage) and IQ (the competitive market meant that manufacturers didn't want to be considered inferior, and even by the 1970's the design of lenses of this focal length was well understood and well refined). And final advantage - price. These can be picked up for the price of a coffee and cake. My smc-a 50mm f1.7 is my most used lens.
2. Quality macro. Close focus photography is an obvious photographic avenue to go down and while you can certainly do surprisingly well for many things (ebay pics with my G1 + 14-42mm kit lens + CF filter) with eg a close focus filter on your digital kit lens, there's not much to beat the genuine article - typically 90mm/100mm/105mm lens with focus to 1:2 or 1:1 reproduction. AF is much less useful in macro, the camera doesn't really know exactly where you want your plane of focus so the MF vs AF arguement is much less pertinent. Vivitar (a number of different ones by different manufacturers) and tamron are the most common, tamron tend to be the best value, not difficult get one of the adaptall 90mm for around a hundred bucks or even less.
Also 90mm is ideal portrait focal length on apsc, and the tack sharp iq makes them great landscape lenses.
3. (Other) Quality primes. eg 135mm - this was also a very popular focal length and a well refined optical design meaning you rarely go wrong with one - high iq. OEM (inc takumars, pentax smc's ) and Soviet era lenses like Jupiter, Tair, Carl Zeiss Jena are immediate suggestions.
One caveat: wide angle in the digital era has definitely improved beyond the norm of the film era (as a simple generalisation), and there can be issues with vintage 24mm/28mm like field curvature on digital. Still worth judiciously seeking out the plums mind you, and 28mm is approx like a standard lens on apsc. Check out the 28mm club.
4. Telephotos. While modern big lenses really are radically good, if you'd rather spend $50 instead of $500 or $5000 there is lots of choice. . Browse the 300mm+ lens club and the lens reviews for some ideas and results insight.

5. Lenses of particular interest/character. Mirror lenses are one of the first to come to mind in this category, tamron are the ones to go for, Soviet ones like Rubinar or MTO can also be very good and interesting (avoid cheap new ones off amazon). Then there are lenses known for eg bubble or swirly bokeh (helios for the latter).
6. Iconic/historic zooms. As per comment re wide angles, modern zooms as a rule are simply better. But it's still worth seeking out the plums, indeed that's the game! Vivitar serries 1, tamron adaptalls, contax/zeiss etc.

Wow, it seems I have a lot to learn still. Thank you for being elaborate, I have read through your post with delight . I may then just use the K10D + 18-55mm lens which I picked up for 50 bucks total for some time until I understand everything about photography and understand what I prefer. Then I can maybe sell the K10 again and find a better one so not to waste money on the lenses, which seem to be what is really pricey mostly. I really appreciate everyone being so helpful !

[AstroDave]

Then I can maybe sell the K10 again and find a better one so not to waste money on the lenses, which seem to be what is really pricey mostly.

I agree with marcusBMG above - getting an older 50mm lens is a good target for your next lens. As you note, yes, the lenses can get pretty pricey. If you hang around here, at some point you will probably see the acronym LBA - that stands for Lens Buying Addiction. Almost everybody here has succumbed at some point! But, as long as you stick with Pentax, your (older) lenses will work with even the newest Pentax DSLRs.

I really appreciate everyone being so helpful !

We all love to help, and we were all newbies at some point. And, we like to help people spend THEIR money

[Naj90]

I agree with marcusBMG above - getting an older 50mm lens is a good target for your next lens. As you note, yes, the lenses can get pretty pricey. If you hang around here, at some point you will probably see the acronym LBA - that stands for Lens Buying Addiction. Almost everybody here has succumbed at some point! But, as long as you stick with Pentax, your (older) lenses will work with even the newest Pentax DSLRs.

We all love to help, and we were all newbies at some point. And, we like to help people spend THEIR money

And I'm grateful, haha I will definitely need to spend my hard-earned money it seems. But seeing pictures for inspiration just wants me to have the skills. Alas, I will be patient and keep on learning and asking

[Des]

Welcome to PF. It's a good place to start your photographic journey.

Can you recommend maybe some lenses for me as a beginner or do you think I should stick with the 18-55mm for now ?

As I'm quite new to photography (like 1 week now), I actually want to try out everything.

The 18-55 is a good lens to learn with. You can try out different focal lengths and different subjects. Then you can see what sorts of images you like best. That will help you choose future lenses.

As Dave, Marcus and CR have suggested, a cheap prime lens (that is, a lens with one focal length) is great too. I would agree with Marcus that the K10D isn't the ideal camera for manual focus, so I would suggest that you look for an affordable autofocus (AF) prime lens. There are plenty in the Pentax F and FA series (designed in the film era, but work well on Pentax digital cameras), plus a number of third party ones. Pentax also make two current cheap prime lenses, the DA 35mm f2.4 and DA 50mm f1.8. They are built with plastic barrels and mounts, but still quite robust and have excellent optical quality - they are known as the Plastic Fantastics for good reason. See the reviews here:
SMC Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8 Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
I'd suggest looking for one of those, either new or second-hand.

Since you were considering the Sigma 75-300mm, it sounds like you are interested in a telephoto lens as well. You can find various Tamron and Sigma 70-300 models in Pentax K-mount, but I'd suggest looking instead for a Pentax DA or DA L 55-300mm f4-5.8. (Not to be confused with the current model DA 55-300mm f4.5-6.3 PLM. It won't play nicely with the K10D, because the camera can't control the aperture.) Not as cheap as the Tamron or Sigma, but still quite cheap - these are a great value buy. (See my review of the DA L 55-300mm here: SMC Pentax-DA L 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED Reviews - DA L Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database).

If your budget will run to the later weather-resistant (WR) version with HD lens coatings (https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/hd-pentax-da-55-300mm-f4-5.8-ed-wr.html), so much the better.

But seeing pictures for inspiration just wants me to have the skills. Alas, I will be patient and keep on learning and asking

Good policy. Skills really do matter more than gear.

Just one tip. You might look at other people's photos and think, "I have the same lens/camera but my photos don't come out like that". We all have that experience at the start. Some of the reasons may be obvious: they get the right focus, the right exposure and more interesting composition. But a hidden reason is processing of images. Most of the experienced photographers here shoot in RAW (dng or pef format) rather than jpg and develop their post-processing (PP) skills. Good processing contributes a lot to the final image. You may feel overwhelmed with information already, so maybe start by learning the basics of using the camera. But when you feel comfortable, it's worth trying some RAW shooting and processing. Most Pentax cameras let you shoot either in RAW or in jpg or in both simultaneously. If the K10D lets you do the latter, do so - save the RAW files for the day when you want to start processing. This pays over the long run. I have been re-processing some images I shot in 2013 and 2014 soon after I started shooting RAW, now that I have better PP skills and better software and it's been well worthwhile. If you have your last photo of Auntie Maud, or your only ever sighting of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as a RAW file, your future self will thank you.

This is another subject on which PF is a great resource for more information.

[K-Three]

Something I did not see mentioned by others,
That Sigma lens can probably be found with a Pentax K mount on it (it's not worth changing the mount on that lens). Sigma, Tamron, Tokina (and others) are third party lens makers who make their lens in different mounts for the various camera systems, (nikon, canon, Pentax, etc.)
In general, if a lens says Pentax on it, it can be mounted and work on your K10D (there are a few newer exceptions),
Other brand lenses can be found that may fit, they sometimes have "PK" stamped on the lens mount, but getting to know the mount end of your 18-55 will help you identify the correct mount too.
If you are searching online, include "Pentax K" or variations in your search terms to help weed out other mounts.
Not everyone knows what they are selling, so you still need to look carefully at the mount if it's not a Pentax lens.

[Naj90]

Welcome to PF. It's a good place to start your photographic journey.



The 18-55 is a good lens to learn with. You can try out different focal lengths and different subjects. Then you can see what sorts of images you like best. That will help you choose future lenses.

As Dave, Marcus and CR have suggested, a cheap prime lens (that is, a lens with one focal length) is great too.

(...)

This is another subject on which PF is a great resource for more information.

Thank you Des and thank you for the elaborate explanations and recommendations, I really appreciate it. I think I will always stick to Pentax from now on due to this helpful community! And I will most likely start out with budget lenses, probably second-hand so that I can find my style and try out different things and see what I enjoy indeed . Then hopefully I can buy some more advanced bodies and gear to shoot more professionally and with more knowledge.

And the tip on shooting RAW is helpful, I will definitely do this and keep all my memories in this format for the future!

[Naj90]

Something I did not see mentioned by others,
That Sigma lens can probably be found with a Pentax K mount on it (it's not worth changing the mount on that lens).
(...)
If you are searching online, include "Pentax K" or variations in your search terms to help weed out other mounts.
Not everyone knows what they are selling, so you still need to look carefully at the mount if it's not a Pentax lens.

Thanks for the tip. Actually I found one that said "Sigma telelens 100-300mm (Pentax mount)" - see picture below. She sells it for 40 bucks, do you think it's worth it or should I just stick to the Pentax lenses you recommend - even if I'm a beginner who doesn't want to spend a lot of money on gear yet until I find out my style and learn some more?