[Anasazi]

Hello everybody.

This is my first post here, and since I'm not english speaking (I'm a froggie), please be tolerant...

Well, I am going to buy a K10D (I have now a Nikon D70 — and a Pentax ME Super with four lenses, about 30 years old).

My question is:
- should I take the 18-55 zoom which is not supposed to be very good, but is cheap and could be a good option waiting for the new lenses announced for 2007;
- or directly take the 16-45 which looks much better, but is of course more expensive and which I would keep, even after the new ones are out?



Thank you for your answers.

[trog100]

a third option would be to take the both if the cost difference isnt too great..

trog

[WMBP]

[quote=Anasazi;22465]

I am going to buy a K10D (I have now a Nikon D70 — and a Pentax ME Super with four lenses, about 30 years old).

My question is:
- should I take the 18-55 zoom which is not supposed to be very good, but is cheap and could be a good option waiting for the new lenses announced for 2007;
- or directly take the 16-45 which looks much better, but is of course more expensive and which I would keep, even after the new ones are out?

Welcome to the forum!

The 18-55 Pentax lens that comes with the camera is fine. It is not a very good lens; but I wouldn't say that it's not very good. It's in the middle.

In retrospect, I wish that I myself had purchased the camera body without the lens. I have two lenses now that are my standard lenses - a Sigma 28-70, and a Tamron 18-200. I don't use the Pentax 18-55 lens at all. I bought an ExpoCap for it and will probably sell the lens and the ExpoCap together on eBay very soon. My sense is that many other folks here have moved away from the Pentax kit lens to something else, whether it comes from Pentax or Sigma or Tamron.

The problem I faced, however, is that when I purchased my K100D, I entered new territory. I had no prior experience with digital SLRs, my experience with film SLRs was in the distant past and related to Nikon, not Pentax, so I really didn't have any thoughts at first about what I would like better than the kit lens. So I got the kit lens and used it briefly while I did some research.

There is no one right answer here - it depends on your own style of shooting and also on your budget. If you generally stay close to your subjects, then a 16-45 lens sounds like a great replacement for the 18-55 kit lens. You can buy something long later on. I myself prefer to have more versatility in my standard lens - a greater zoom factor. But it's a personal decision.

Perhaps someone else will have a more helpful suggestion.

Will

[roy]

all i can say is the kit is a very nice lens for the $$ you spend. from closeup(it'll get closer than this)



to medium range



to landscape



a lot of bang for the buck.

[pentaxshooter]

I would go for the 16-45mm. That's what I did and I am very happy with this lens. Sure it's a bit more, but a VERY sharp resolution and very nice build quality.

Here are SOME samples....

http://www.pbase.com/mark_dominic/gallery_320

[Jacob]

Hello Anasazi,
I just saw the photos of roy. This is impressing! And maybe you took already a decision looking at these photos.

In case your decision is still open:
I had the Pentax 16-45 and sold it after 2 weeks for two reasons:
1. The zoom range was too small for me
2. In wide angle it is too long to use the internal flash (gives a shodow on the bottom)

Instead I bought a Sigma 17-70 (F2.8-4.5), which does not have these two problems. What I read in various forums about it was very good. Some think it has the same quality as the 16-45 (F4), others think it is very close to it. I did not see any differences in the image quality and I like it very much.
Furthermore it has a macro (1:2:3 20cm), which I enjoy, and is (a little) cheaper (appr. $ 350).

If you are looking for a definitely better quality, maybe primes (no zoom) could be useful. There are the so called limiteds from Pentax (DA series is new, FA series almost not available anymore). This is a question of style and budget to my opinion.

If you are looking for a very very easy to use lens and you do not want to change lenses, the new Tamron 18-250 (F3.5-6.3) could be of interest to you. (I think it will be available as of March or so). But it should be clear, that even though quality of big-range-zooms improved very much over the last years, you will not get pictures like the ones from roy. I expect it to cost appr. $ 500.

An in-between-solution could be the Sigma 18-125 (F3.5-5.6), if you do not need high mm for long distance. It is very important that you check the quality of it, because there was a significant variance of quality reported in the forums. But it could be that this is solved with the new edition (to be identified: logo is not only printed, but has a structure). It costs appr. $ 350.

(All prices are estimations for US, because I live in Germany.)

Maybe I could help you a little in finding a decision. In case of doubt, stick to your 18-55 for some time.

Kind regards,
Jacob

[KFrog]

all i can say is the kit is a very nice lens for the $$ you spend... a lot of bang for the buck.

Wow. Boy I'll say. Nice shots.

[trog100]

well jacob i have compared my tamron 18 x 200 with the pentax kit lens very closely and at similar focal lengths it produces better pictures than the kit lens..

it has its problems but producng better (shorter focal length) pictures than the pentax kit lens isnt one of them..

i do agree the sigma 17 x 70 is the best shorter range option available thow for reasonable money..

trog

[Anasazi]

Wahoo! Thank you all for your answers!
I'm happy I have joined this forum, and more than happy to get my K10D as soon as I can find one (not so easy here in France — or Germany —, at a good price).

I'm impressed by roy images. Superb quality, roy! I might consider to juste take the kit lens.

About the Sigma 17-70, yes, that is one I already considered. f:2.8, plus the stabilizer, should help shooting in low light without a flash (I do not like flashes very much — so, the second resaon Jacob gave for not taking the 16-45 is not very strong for me.), and the focal range is very close from the Nikon kit lens (which is very good).

The choice is even more open now! Thanks again!


PS: and there is the Tamron. 18-200 is very very transstandard. A little bit like the Nikon 12-800 VR. Could be a good choice for an (almost) every occasion lens, with more specialized lenses in the future...

But what about tropicalization?...

[regken]

Anasazi,

What are the old Pentax lenses you have? That may help you decide what you need since they will all work on the K10D.
regards,

[Anasazi]

A 50mm and a 135mm from Pentax, and a 28mm and a telezoom (I can't remember the range since i's beeen a long time and it is somewhere burried in a thousand boxes in the garage) from Vivitar.

So, that means no wide angle, since the 28 is going to be a 42 or something. Thus, the 16-45 (but the others starting at 18 will do too).

Il also have a Canon EOS 50 with a 24-85 in the garage (almost brand new). I loved the wideness of the 24...

[regken]

You have lenses covering 28mm and up. You loved the 24 on a 35mm camera so that means you want something around a 16mm. The new 16-50 is going to barely reach that. It sounds to me like you should buy a 12-24, use your 28, 50, and 135 until the 16-50 is available.

Regards,

[slip]

Hello everybody.

This is my first post here, and since I'm not english speaking (I'm a froggie), please be tolerant...

Well, I am going to buy a K10D (I have now a Nikon D70 — and a Pentax ME Super with four lenses, about 30 years old).

My question is:
- should I take the 18-55 zoom which is not supposed to be very good, but is cheap and could be a good option waiting for the new lenses announced for 2007;
- or directly take the 16-45 which looks much better, but is of course more expensive and which I would keep, even after the new ones are out?



Thank you for your answers.

I would get the kits lens as it is a good deal for the money and wait until the new USM pentax lenes come out.
I think that the 16-45 from what I hear is a step up from the kit lens, but not a major step. I think the new pentax lenses are going to be world class.
I wish I could get the new middle range F2.8 zoom they are going to have. it would take off nicely where my sigma Da17-70mm F2.8-4.5 leaves off.

just dreaming on my part though

cheers and good luck

randy

[Anasazi]

Thank you slipchuck, sounds like a wise decision. The new 16-50 mm F2.8 ED AL [IF] looks indeed very tempting. But, of course, it means that I would have to sell the 18-55 afterwards...

Regken, your are absolutely right and logical. This way, I buy a lens I would not have to resell after the new ones are available.

The only problem is, in doing that, my wife, who is also using the camera, and do not want to switch lenses, ever, would not have the transstandard she is used to have with the D70...

Maybe I just should wait until the new lenses are out... Anyway, the K10D is out of stock everywhere here...

EDIT: Ouch! I just saw the price of the 12-24... It's as much expensive as the body... Maybe not in my range...