Trouble finding lenses

JSwaggerty · 11-07-2014, 12:44 PM

I got my K-50 thinking there would be a bunch of lens options to choose from and now I'm finding it to be a pretty small selection.
Am I not looking in the right places, or is there adapters I should get?
Please let me know what and where to find all the great glass for k-mounts.
thanks

LensBeginner · 11-07-2014, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by JSwaggerty

I got my K-50 thinking there would be a bunch of lens options to choose from and now I'm finding it to be a pretty small selection.
Am I not looking in the right places, or is there adapters I should get?
Please let me know what and where to find all the great glass for k-mounts.
thanks

Well, you could start with the "review" section of this site... look under the "lenses" dropdown and you will find a selection of all the good, the bad, the great and the exceptional ones; present, future and past!
https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

As for buying, it depends on where you live.
Ebay could be a good bet for the old ones... just research carefully because sometime people try to sell you an ok lens for a lot of money... if in doubt, just ask here!

waterfall · 11-07-2014, 12:54 PM

B&H and Adorama have all current Pentax lenses available. KEH sells used gear, both legacy and in-production. The best place for used lenses is the Pentax Forum Marketplace. Are there particular lenses you want?

**Hattifnatt** · 11-07-2014, 01:08 PM

If you have a kit lens, my advice would be to stick with it for a while and try taking as many photos as you can. Then you can look through those photos and see what focal length you tend to use most, and maybe get a good prime lens close to that focal length (for instance I found out that I favor 35mm). Primes usually have better IQ than zooms at the same focal length, they are easier to carry around (especially Pentax primes) and ultimately they will help you become a more disciplined photographer, since you'll have to think more about framing.

Or you can just get a longer zoom, or whatever you need. Point is, after using the kit lens for a while you will know exactly what you've been missing and what you want to buy next.

If you don't even have a kit lens yet, I suggest getting a zoom (maybe the new 16-85?) and apply the same tactic.

**rbefly** · 11-07-2014, 01:10 PM

Hello JSwaggerty, welcome to the Forum!
The good K-mount glass is around and plentiful, if you know where to look. Unfortunately, Ricoh/Pentax doesn't have much of B + M store presence, so you'll be doing most of the shopping online.
For new 3rd party lenses, here a recent list; https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/243556-3rd-...available.html Adorama and B + H are two good sources for these, as well as for new Pentax o.e.m. lenses.
Used K-mount? The Marketplace here, eBay, KEH, Craigslist, there's (literally) millions around. But as normal for used gear, you'll want a full description and clear return policy. Check the seller's rep, too.
Beware LBA!
Ron

VoiceOfReason · 11-07-2014, 01:15 PM

I'd suggest the 18-135WR and see where you take most of your pics at. Trust me, you can easily get most of the lenses in my sig and then a bunch more.

Rimfiredude · 11-07-2014, 02:01 PM

Sometimes you can find a great deal on eBay, but you will spend hours searching, one of the benefits of being retired.

cxdoo · 11-07-2014, 02:16 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Hattifnatt

If you have a kit lens, my advice would be to stick with it for a while and try taking as many photos as you can. Then you can look through those photos and see what focal length you tend to use most, and maybe get a good prime lens close to that focal length

I see this advice here a lot and tended to consider it sound. However, the primes I have & love their results (43 & 50) are in focal range I had the least photos taken by kit. Most were taken at 18-28 range; a range I'm not to eager now to get a prime in.

I got 50 because it was the cheapest 'good' prime. FOV was awkward and demanding, and yet, many of the 'best' photos I took this year were taken by it. Being forced into a focal length made me more aware of framing and composition, and consequently resulted in more pleasing photo. Now I'm pretty comfortable taking 50 for a stroll; I'll find a way to use it.

I got 43 because an opportunity arose I couldn't pass. I probably had no photos at all at this focal range, and yet, now it's glued to my camera.

Exploring what focal length is 'easiest' or 'natural' for you is common sense, however I suggest you don't limit yourself to your comfort zone. Sometimes being forced to work in a less used focal length might improve your skill more. So, check the marketplace for affordable 'good' glass in ballpark of what you want to shoot (wide/normal/tele) and go for it.

**TER-OR** · 11-07-2014, 02:22 PM

The Marketplace here is where I look first - buy used from someone who took care of the gear.

**Madaboutpix** · 11-07-2014, 03:13 PM - **1 Like**

About 30 (in words: thirty) lenses plus one teleconverter in the current Pentax K-mount line-up. Most of them dedicated APS-C lenses, taking advantage of the format in terms of size and weight. Quite a few affordable - talking hundreds, not thousands of dollars/euros - yet high-quality options. The wonderful Limiteds. Focal range covered between 10 and 560 millimetres. Many weather-sealed lenses. Okay, maybe a bit short as far as really fast glass is concerned, but there are also a few F1.4+ options. New 16-85 take-everywhere zoom announced. Three more zooms in development. A fair number of third-party options (mostly Sigma, Tamron, Samyang), though fewer than there are for the bigger brands. Loads of legacy glass on the used market. New high-performance HD coatings and DC motors being roled out step by step.

You may wish for this or that specialty lens or Mk. II version, but otherwise, would you call that a "pretty small" lens selection? Sure the Canon and Nikon line-ups are way bigger, but with fewer dedicated APS-C lenses. And ultimately, what's the point of zillions of lens options, most of which you'll never own? Up until now, I for one have been able to feed my lens hunger exclusively from the Pentax line-up ...

kooks · 11-07-2014, 07:24 PM

K-mount have the biggest selection of APS-C glass. i dont think that your choises are limited.. you have every single Pentax lens + really good Sigmas.. + Tamrons.. + some others.. look at adorama.com amazon.com BH . and the Pentax Online Store.. also Ebay if you are looking for some 2nd hand lenses..

LensBeginner · 11-08-2014, 01:03 AM

Originally posted by kooks

K-mount have the biggest selection of APS-C glass. i dont think that your choises are limited.. you have every single Pentax lens + really good Sigmas.. + Tamrons.. + some others.. look at adorama.com amazon.com BH . and the Pentax Online Store.. also Ebay if you are looking for some 2nd hand lenses..

^was that a subliminal message?

**interested_observer** · 11-08-2014, 02:57 AM

It all depends on your needs coupled with your point of view. If you look at Canon and Nikon, you immediately cut their numbers in half since their image stabilization is in their lenses. They have doubled their offerings to have both with and with our IS. If you are looking for some really long (over 300 and in particular 500mm) you can go to older Pentax glass (the M42, K, M and A's to some degree). Wider is somewhat slower - but then you have much higher ISOs available from the body to compensate. Plus WA glass is usually for landscape, architecture and interiors, so you are not looking for the OOF background. Fast glass that Nikon and Canon folks always recommend - I read their postings on other sites, you just have to go get the 50 f 1.2 its a gotta have - well, who can focus that at f1.2 and just how much are you going to make use of it. Yes, I can say that a 30 f1.4 would be nice for astro work, and other low light situations. But, when I am out shooting ambient low light (night), I am usually at longer shutter speeds up on a tripod - so it does not matter that much.

What are you shooting and what focal lengths and apertures are you considering?

MPrince · 11-08-2014, 07:15 AM

Originally posted by JSwaggerty

I got my K-50 thinking there would be a bunch of lens options to choose from and now I'm finding it to be a pretty small selection.
Am I not looking in the right places, or is there adapters I should get?
Please let me know what and where to find all the great glass for k-mounts.
thanks

You can't possibly be serious. SLR Lenses, DSLR Lenses | B&H Photo Video

That's just the current lens lineup from Pentax. It includes 14 zoom lenses that cover a range from 10mm ( the 10-17) to 300mm (the 55-300) and 27 prime lenses that cover a range from 15mm to 560mm.

Then add 67 third party lenses including 27 from Sigma and 8 from Tamron.

Then add in legacy glass-lenses that date back 40 years and more, and your options are legion.

Just at B&H, the current lens lineup offers 38 zooms and 70 primes from which to choose.

All those choices and you can't find any lenses that suit your needs?

**Mikesul** · 11-08-2014, 07:20 AM

It may be hard to find them in local stores but Pentax lenses abound on Amazon, B&H, Adorama, KEH, Ebay and a great many other online resources.

11-07-2014, 12:44 PM	#1
JSwaggerty New Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 4	Trouble finding lenses I got my K-50 thinking there would be a bunch of lens options to choose from and now I'm finding it to be a pretty small selection. Am I not looking in the right places, or is there adapters I should get? Please let me know what and where to find all the great glass for k-mounts. thanks

11-07-2014, 01:10 PM	#5
rbefly Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Denver, Colorado Photos: Albums Posts: 2,030	Old or New? Hello JSwaggerty, welcome to the Forum! The good K-mount glass is around and plentiful, if you know where to look. Unfortunately, Ricoh/Pentax doesn't have much of B + M store presence, so you'll be doing most of the shopping online. For new 3rd party lenses, here a recent list; https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/243556-3rd-...available.html Adorama and B + H are two good sources for these, as well as for new Pentax o.e.m. lenses. Used K-mount? The Marketplace here, eBay, KEH, Craigslist, there's (literally) millions around. But as normal for used gear, you'll want a full description and clear return policy. Check the seller's rep, too. Beware LBA! Ron

11-07-2014, 03:13 PM - 1 Like	#10
Madaboutpix Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: North Rhine-Westphalia Posts: 1,440	Pretty small lens selection? About 30 (in words: thirty) lenses plus one teleconverter in the current Pentax K-mount line-up. Most of them dedicated APS-C lenses, taking advantage of the format in terms of size and weight. Quite a few affordable - talking hundreds, not thousands of dollars/euros - yet high-quality options. The wonderful Limiteds. Focal range covered between 10 and 560 millimetres. Many weather-sealed lenses. Okay, maybe a bit short as far as really fast glass is concerned, but there are also a few F1.4+ options. New 16-85 take-everywhere zoom announced. Three more zooms in development. A fair number of third-party options (mostly Sigma, Tamron, Samyang), though fewer than there are for the bigger brands. Loads of legacy glass on the used market. New high-performance HD coatings and DC motors being roled out step by step. You may wish for this or that specialty lens or Mk. II version, but otherwise, would you call that a "pretty small" lens selection? Sure the Canon and Nikon line-ups are way bigger, but with fewer dedicated APS-C lenses. And ultimately, what's the point of zillions of lens options, most of which you'll never own? Up until now, I for one have been able to feed my lens hunger exclusively from the Pentax line-up ...

11-08-2014, 07:15 AM	#14
MPrince Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: WV Posts: 1,495	Originally posted by JSwaggerty I got my K-50 thinking there would be a bunch of lens options to choose from and now I'm finding it to be a pretty small selection. Am I not looking in the right places, or is there adapters I should get? Please let me know what and where to find all the great glass for k-mounts. thanks You can't possibly be serious. SLR Lenses, DSLR Lenses \| B&H Photo Video That's just the current lens lineup from Pentax. It includes 14 zoom lenses that cover a range from 10mm ( the 10-17) to 300mm (the 55-300) and 27 prime lenses that cover a range from 15mm to 560mm. Then add 67 third party lenses including 27 from Sigma and 8 from Tamron. Then add in legacy glass-lenses that date back 40 years and more, and your options are legion. Just at B&H, the current lens lineup offers 38 zooms and 70 primes from which to choose. All those choices and you can't find any lenses that suit your needs? Last edited by MPrince; 11-08-2014 at 10:39 AM.

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11-07-2014, 12:52 PM	#2
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	Originally posted by JSwaggerty I got my K-50 thinking there would be a bunch of lens options to choose from and now I'm finding it to be a pretty small selection. Am I not looking in the right places, or is there adapters I should get? Please let me know what and where to find all the great glass for k-mounts. thanks Well, you could start with the "review" section of this site... look under the "lenses" dropdown and you will find a selection of all the good, the bad, the great and the exceptional ones; present, future and past! https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/ As for buying, it depends on where you live. Ebay could be a good bet for the old ones... just research carefully because sometime people try to sell you an ok lens for a lot of money... if in doubt, just ask here!

11-07-2014, 12:54 PM	#3
waterfall Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Northern Minnesota Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,812	B&H and Adorama have all current Pentax lenses available. KEH sells used gear, both legacy and in-production. The best place for used lenses is the Pentax Forum Marketplace. Are there particular lenses you want?

11-07-2014, 01:08 PM	#4
Hattifnatt Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Bucharest Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,625	If you have a kit lens, my advice would be to stick with it for a while and try taking as many photos as you can. Then you can look through those photos and see what focal length you tend to use most, and maybe get a good prime lens close to that focal length (for instance I found out that I favor 35mm). Primes usually have better IQ than zooms at the same focal length, they are easier to carry around (especially Pentax primes) and ultimately they will help you become a more disciplined photographer, since you'll have to think more about framing. Or you can just get a longer zoom, or whatever you need. Point is, after using the kit lens for a while you will know exactly what you've been missing and what you want to buy next. If you don't even have a kit lens yet, I suggest getting a zoom (maybe the new 16-85?) and apply the same tactic.

11-07-2014, 01:15 PM	#6
VoiceOfReason Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mishawaka IN area Photos: Albums Posts: 6,124	I'd suggest the 18-135WR and see where you take most of your pics at. Trust me, you can easily get most of the lenses in my sig and then a bunch more.

11-07-2014, 02:01 PM	#7
Rimfiredude Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Washington Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,176	Sometimes you can find a great deal on eBay, but you will spend hours searching, one of the benefits of being retired.

11-07-2014, 02:16 PM - 1 Like	#8
cxdoo Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Limassol, Cyprus Posts: 1,150	Originally posted by Hattifnatt If you have a kit lens, my advice would be to stick with it for a while and try taking as many photos as you can. Then you can look through those photos and see what focal length you tend to use most, and maybe get a good prime lens close to that focal length I see this advice here a lot and tended to consider it sound. However, the primes I have & love their results (43 & 50) are in focal range I had the least photos taken by kit. Most were taken at 18-28 range; a range I'm not to eager now to get a prime in. I got 50 because it was the cheapest 'good' prime. FOV was awkward and demanding, and yet, many of the 'best' photos I took this year were taken by it. Being forced into a focal length made me more aware of framing and composition, and consequently resulted in more pleasing photo. Now I'm pretty comfortable taking 50 for a stroll; I'll find a way to use it. I got 43 because an opportunity arose I couldn't pass. I probably had no photos at all at this focal range, and yet, now it's glued to my camera. Exploring what focal length is 'easiest' or 'natural' for you is common sense, however I suggest you don't limit yourself to your comfort zone. Sometimes being forced to work in a less used focal length might improve your skill more. So, check the marketplace for affordable 'good' glass in ballpark of what you want to shoot (wide/normal/tele) and go for it.

11-07-2014, 02:22 PM	#9
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	The Marketplace here is where I look first - buy used from someone who took care of the gear.

11-07-2014, 07:24 PM	#11
kooks Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: San José, Costa Rica Photos: Albums Posts: 794	K-mount have the biggest selection of APS-C glass. i dont think that your choises are limited.. you have every single Pentax lens + really good Sigmas.. + Tamrons.. + some others.. look at adorama.com amazon.com BH . and the Pentax Online Store.. also Ebay if you are looking for some 2nd hand lenses..

11-08-2014, 01:03 AM	#12
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	Originally posted by kooks K-mount have the biggest selection of APS-C glass. i dont think that your choises are limited.. you have every single Pentax lens + really good Sigmas.. + Tamrons.. + some others.. look at adorama.com amazon.com BH . and the Pentax Online Store.. also Ebay if you are looking for some 2nd hand lenses.. ^was that a subliminal message?

11-08-2014, 02:57 AM	#13
interested_observer Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,707	It all depends on your needs coupled with your point of view. If you look at Canon and Nikon, you immediately cut their numbers in half since their image stabilization is in their lenses. They have doubled their offerings to have both with and with our IS. If you are looking for some really long (over 300 and in particular 500mm) you can go to older Pentax glass (the M42, K, M and A's to some degree). Wider is somewhat slower - but then you have much higher ISOs available from the body to compensate. Plus WA glass is usually for landscape, architecture and interiors, so you are not looking for the OOF background. Fast glass that Nikon and Canon folks always recommend - I read their postings on other sites, you just have to go get the 50 f 1.2 its a gotta have - well, who can focus that at f1.2 and just how much are you going to make use of it. Yes, I can say that a 30 f1.4 would be nice for astro work, and other low light situations. But, when I am out shooting ambient low light (night), I am usually at longer shutter speeds up on a tripod - so it does not matter that much. What are you shooting and what focal lengths and apertures are you considering?

11-08-2014, 07:20 AM	#15
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	It may be hard to find them in local stores but Pentax lenses abound on Amazon, B&H, Adorama, KEH, Ebay and a great many other online resources.