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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-23-2014, 07:09 PM
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That was also my experience. I spent far, far more time bumping into the 75mm end then I did the 28mm end. That's probably why I enjoy my Sigma 85mm so much. Enjoy your lens!
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
01-23-2014, 06:22 AM
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Nothing against the 17-70mm, but you've gotta have 2.8 if you're shooting indoors much, so I would either stay with your 18-50mm or go with the Tamron.
The Tamron 28-75mm was actually my first "upgrade" lens, and I still LOVE it, and it would probably be the last lens I get rid of. However, it is now my studio lens (I do a lot of product photography) and its focal range is perfect there, and the edge-to-edge sharpness is ideal.
So these days the 28-75mm almost never leaves my house, but that's mostly because I have a lot of other options now to go wider or faster. I usually try not to go out with more than two lenses, and I will usually have either my 8-16mm or 30mm 1.4 for wide duties, paired with the 85mm or 50-150mm 2.8 for telephoto. But in the past, the 28-75mm was practically welded to my camera (my beloved K-x).
If you ABSOLUTELY cannot afford two lenses right now, then I would recommend staying with the 18-50mm since, as stated by others, the 28mm will have you backing into walls indoors.
However, if you still have your 18-55mm kits lens, or could afford to pick one up, then I would say go with the 28-75mm. The long end at f/2.8 will likely get a lot of use, and it's a top-notch portrait lens. It also does great as a quasi-macro lens since it focuses very close, giving you all kinds of creative possibilities. And the image quality on APS-C is really great. But when you just have to go wider than 28mm, then you just whip out the old kit lens. That's how I got by for quite a while until I could afford to expand my kit, and it worked fine.
After you get the 18-55mm/28-75mm combo, then your next goal would be to save up for an ultra-wide angle zoom, such as the Sigma 10-20mm. The 10-20mm & 28-75mm would make a WONDERFUL budget combo, and would cover practically any situation that doesn't require a long telephoto. I went for a LONG time without a ultra-wide, wondering if I would ever use it. But it has now become one of my most-used lenses.
Phase three would be to save up for a consumer 300mm zoom lens. A budget 300mm zoom lens from Sigma, Tamron, or Quantaray can often be had for $100 or less. I've owned several of them in the past (see my signature), and I did not find a significant difference in any of them. Image quality in those lenses can usually be described as "good enough" for most casual photographers. You can also find some older Pentax telephotos for very cheap, such as the FA J 75-300mm.
And a BONUS lens, which would be appropriate to add at any time, would be the old manual-focus Pentax-M 50mm 1.7. That is a wonderful lens with very nice, sharp optics and beautiful bokeh, and it can usually be found for $30 - $50, but sometimes you can get it closer to $20 if you're lucky.
EDIT: Just noticed you already have some other lenses, including the 50mm 1.4, so please disregard any extraneous advise! But I'll leave my comments intact in case anybody just starting with their lens kit ventures this way in the future. |
