[kenhreed]

What is your favorite prime lens? I just got a k20d and know that I want to have a "go to" prime lens to supplement the 18-55 kit lens. Any input is appreciated.

[Ash]

Hi there.
What's your budget, and for what purpose will this prime serve?
Favourite prime of all time? FA 77 ltd - portraits, indoor and out.
Otherwise, the FA 31 ltd. - absolutely gorgeous rendition and razor sharp all rounder.
Then perhaps the DA*55 (or the FA 50/1.4 if on a tight budget)

[SteveM]

First question is the focal length....wide (-28/31), normal(43/50) or tele(70/77/85/105/120/135+). You can simply walk forward or back...unless you buy a telephoto and your style is to take land/city scape with a wide.

Any chance you can borrow a couple of lenses from friends?...at the very least to decide focal length?

DA*...great lenses and water sealed like your k20d...but $$$$

DAs ltds are small and will provide great compatibility and autofocus. They are $$

FA ltds are unbelievabily well made and take most find superior but not everyone likes their signature look. They are $$$$

You can get into manual focus...
"A"s...(fairly compatable with digital but plasticy....)
Shooting with manual aperature needs tweeking but it isn't hard and some of this glass is legendary
"M"'s ...great build quality and a delight to use....but smaller and at times that came at a cost of picture quailty...
"K"'s...(Sometimes called SMCP) great build quality and a delight to use....these and taks are my fav
Taks (Sometimes called SMCT) (SMC, super, auto or just tak). SMC coatings have advantages.....but the others are great too. You need a screw mount to K adapter to use them but that isn't an issue....I would buy a pentax brand adapter.

Great starting manual lenses are the SMCT / K28/3.8, or the SMCT / K 105/2.8....I find I don't use the 50mm focal length much.....but you might?...f 1.7 or 1.4 are great. I'll also throw out the 85 1.8.....but it is expensive....but still less than new lenses if you look hard enough. This is a very "Hyped" lens but it is worth picking up.
Hope that helps!

[Marc Sabatella]

Do you want to replace it or supplement it? That's a pretty big distinction. If I were trying to replace a zoom, I'd simply find what focal length I used the most, but err on the wide of being too wide, since you can always crop. If I wanted to supplement the zoom, I'd really think about what focal length I'd be most interested in getting the most extra quality and speed from.

So for replacing, it might be the DA21, or a 24 if I found one I liked. 28mm at the very longest. For supplementing, the either the DA40 or one of the 35's. That assumes we're talking about supplementing within the same focal length range. If the kit lens were my only lens, the first supplementing I'd personally do would be to add a telephoto. D-FA 100 macro, perhaps.

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Last edited by Marc Sabatella; 07-10-2009 at 03:38 PM.

[kenhreed]

I realized that I should have been more specific in my budget and needs. Budget-between one and two hundred dollars. (slightly more if a "great" lens is $200.00 plus. Use: Outside shots of my nine year old and our golden retriever and other shots as opportunity presents itself. The lens will be supplementing the kit lens.

Thanks

[TER-OR]

I'm newly back into the SLR game, I bought a used K10D a few months ago.

I bought a used Tamron 70-300 zoom and it's been pretty good for me. It does exhibit purple fringing above 200 in high-contrast conditions. Knowing this I'll fire off shots around 180mm before zooming further. If the longer shots work, great, if not, I've got the 180s. It's light, inexpensive at around $130 used and focuses well for me. It's a budget zoom I expect to outgrow, but who knows? I'm renting a DA* 55-250 for an airshow so we'll see how much better a lens 10X as expensive is.

I can second the nod to the FA100 macro, though. That's been an outstanding lens for me - taking insect pictures. It's over $300, though, from what I saw when pricing it.

[GerryL]

I suggest get the "A" prime lenses as you don't have to stop down and the extra effort is just you have to manual focus (which is no biggie).
You can get more of these lenses for the money.
For the $200+, you can get different focal lengths.

[Ash]

Gerry's got a good suggestion there, in case you don't mind manual focus, though if AF's the way you want to go, there's not too much choice there in your price range. Primes are generally more valuable due to their better quality. In terms of zooms, various 70-300 lenses are around that price but are not what I would consider "great" lenses.

You may have to consider spending a little more for a prime, though I'm still not sure what focal length you're after...

[Marc Sabatella]

I realized that I should have been more specific in my budget and needs. Budget-between one and two hundred dollars. (slightly more if a "great" lens is $200.00 plus.

There are no new primes available for under $200. Push it a bit higher and you have two choices: FA50 or DA40. If you consider used manual focus lenses, though, there is a wide variety, in just about any focal length area you want.

Use: Outside shots of my nine year old and our golden retriever and other shots as opportunity presents itself.

For this, what's wrong with the kit lens? Outdoors, you can stop down to f/8, and the kit lens is practically as good as any prime there. If I were you, I'd spend that $200 on a telephoto zoom like the 50-200 to have more flexibility outdoors. But the advantages of primes will be more apparent *indoors*. Use the kit lens enough to get a sense of what focal lengths *you* find most useful (everyone is different in this!), and then we can talk about what prime in that focal length range might make most sense.

[bogiesbad]

What is your favorite prime lens? I just got a k20d and know that I want to have a "go to" prime lens to supplement the 18-55 kit lens. Any input is appreciated.

My favorite is the only one I own: 50mm A 1.7.( I just watched one go for $66 on evilbay.) The IQ from it is amazing next to the 18-55 kit lens. Primes now dominate my watch list.

[Andi Lo]

I personally always think it's better to expand range than upgrade, unless what you have is really bad. This is the reason why I still have my DA18-55: trying to have fun iwht all other types of lenses that there is.

I second the fast fifty option since it's cheap and definitely a huge range increase, although I personally recommend a fast thirtyfive more (Sigma 30, FA 31, FA 35 or DA 35)

[GerryL]

Marc is right about the kit still good outside for your purposes and that the primes are advantageous indoors.
Once you have primes though, there in no turning back as you would get addicted to its sharpness and constant aperture that you would always be looking out for ones for sale of the available focal lengths.
Get a fast fifty first (nifty fifty) as it is one indispensable lens and the cheapest fast lens you can get with a f1.4, 1.7 or 2.0.
If you get this speed with other lenses, the price would be kinda astronomical.
Once you have experienced the 50mm, you can then decide wether you would want to go this route.
I wasn't able to get the 50mm yet though and I started with the 135mm 1:2.8.
Even if you get these lenses off brand (cheaper) you can still notice the difference in sharpness (with regards to most zooms).

[GerryL]

Take a look at our SLR lens forum and check out https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/31353-off-brand-club.html.
You will find interesting lens here and the silly (very cheap) prices that go with these lens and what these lenses are capable of.
I think most of the ones here are prime lenses of different brands other than Pentax, Sigma, or Tamron.
It might give you also an idea on what you want to do picture wise and what lenses would be best for these.
Hope this points you into the right direction.

[kenhreed]

I appreciate the great input and varied opinions of everyone who has posted. I have another newbie question that I hope someone will help me with. I've been looking at the lens forum and am still confused about which lens is which. Is a Super Takumar a Pentax lens? Is there a website that will explain how I can tell by looking at a picture of a lens what it is? ( I understand that some lenses are easier than others to identify, for example, when Pentax FA is written on the side.) There are lens on Craiglist that aren't described much beyond a picture and "this lens came with the camera" so I don't know whether I'm missing a bargain or buying a pig in a poke.
Thanks again

[Andi Lo]

Just ask the seller to put down all the writings on the lens barrel (or just take a better picture outdoors with it). That usually solves the problem

Takumar is what Pentax call their lenses before they changed their name (CMIIW) from Asahi to Pentax