|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-22-2010, 11:10 AM
|
| |
Limited primes, primarily, are built a lot better. They're all metal-and-glass construction... no polycarbonate. And the optics represent the best that Pentax offers. In your case, with the kit lens, a DA 70mm f/2.4 Limited would be an excellent start... a bit over $500. But, again, the least-expensive DA Limited is the 40mm f/2.8 pancake. Very small, very sharp, very fast auto-focus. $339.
If you want a faster, cheaper lens that will still be very useful, there's the old FA 50mm f/1.4. Plastic construction, but the lens has hundreds of thousands of fans. And it's $359.
|
|
Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-21-2010, 09:56 PM
|
| |
I just typed out a long, detailed message but the site crashed when I pressed "post." So here's a quick summary:
I suspect eventually you will try both primes and zooms. And that's fine because you'll never find out if you're a prime or zoom person at heart unless you do. But your $500 budget means you need to look for value. I'm talking about new lenses with warranties here. You might be able to find good deals on used lenses in the Marketplace section.
Primes: The new Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4 is barely in stores but seems to be getting very good early reviews. List price is $219. Pentax's venerable FA 50mm f/1.4 can be had new for about $359 at B&H. If you get only the 50mm, then you're well under your budget. But even if you get both (not a bad idea), you'll be spending about $579 - not ridiculously over your budget.
The DA Limited primes are great but are generally more money. The cheapest is the DA 40mm f/2.8 pancake ($339 at B&H), which is a very compact, light, sharp and fast-focusing lens. The other DA Limiteds run in the $500-$600 range each.
Zooms: You have some good options here... B&H has the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for $459 ($414 after rebate) and, more importantly for your application, the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for $499. There are Sigma alternatives, but they are more money: a 17-50mm f/2.8 for $669 and a 24-70mm f/2.8 for $569.
What kind of camera and lens(es) do you have now? If you have a least a kit zoom, I'd suggest starting either with the Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 or the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 and go from there.
|
