Attention Pentax Fans: Questions

[Dis-obrn]

I am planning on ordering the Pentax k100D in the next day or two. There is a great rebate going on until the end of Sept. I plan on buying the kit which includes the 18-55 mm lens. I would also like to start with one additional lens and not sure which one. Either the 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED, 75-300mm f/4.5-5.8 AL telephoto, or the FA 50mm f/1.4 , but I really am sooo new to all of this. I know I have a lot to learn, but any advice?

[gokenin]

I am planning on ordering the Pentax k100D in the next day or two. There is a great rebate going on until the end of Sept. I plan on buying the kit which includes the 18-55 mm lens. I would also like to start with one additional lens and not sure which one. Either the 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED, 75-300mm f/4.5-5.8 AL telephoto, or the FA 50mm f/1.4 , but I really am sooo new to all of this. I know I have a lot to learn, but any advice?

just bought the K100 myself and am also thinking about the 50-200 lense but instead of the 50 prime was thinking of also getting the 10-20mm that sigma puts out that can be used on pentax SLR's but am also looking for any opinions as well

[Groucho]

For Disney use, I think the 50mm F1.4 is the way to go - I used mine at WDW a lot more than the 50-200mm, and on my Disneyland trip from last week, I never even put the 50-200mm on the camera. (My main lens was a 28-75mm.) This is because there's so much low-light stuff at Disney parks and the 50mm really excels at that. It is also going to be sharper and higher-quality than any other lens in its price range.

The 50-200mm is a nice complement to the kit lens and obviously gives you a bit more reach. I think the 70-300mm is not regarded as highly as the 50-200mm, but is passable and gives you that much more zoom, though you'll need fast shutter speeds to get a steady shot at full zoom.

Ultimately, the 50mm F1.4 and the 50-200mm are very different lenses for different needs... only you can decide which is the best choice for you at this point.

One other thing to remember - when switching lenses, try to minimize the time that the camera doesn't have a lens attached, to minimize dust getting inside! (And make sure the camera is off.) I usually had my second lens ready to mount in one hand while removing the mounted lens with the other, and popped on the new lens as soon as I removed the other. That seems to help a lot...

[Jeanne B]

That's a tough one to answer for the same reasons Groucho mentioned, the 50-200 and 50mm are two very different lenses.

I have the 18-55, 50-200 and the 50mm but I've been debating for months about replacing my 18-55 with either the Sigma 18-125 or the Tamron 28-75 (just can't decide which one to replace it with, I'm leaning towards the Sigma thinking it might be a better walkaround lens than the Tamron). I still want to keep my 50-200 for the longer reach. At the time when I purchased my K100 it was only $17 more to add the 18-55 kit lens so it was a no-brainer to buy it but of the three lenses I currently own, that's the one that I really want to replace since I find myself changing lenses more often than I would like.

My only concern if you went with the 50mm and not the 50-200 is that you wouldn't have enough reach with your only other lens being the 18-55...but the 50mm is a great lens. It's a tough choice but no matter which one you choose you'll probably end up buying the other one at some point anyway (that's what happened to me).:)

[Dis-obrn]

Thanks for the input. I went ahead this am and purchased the k100 with the kit lens and also bit the bullet and ordered the 50mm and the 50-200mm. Groucho reminded me that so much of wdw is low light so I "need":goodvibes the 50mm but I also felt like I "needed" some zoom that the kit lens will not provide. All of the above should be here by the end of next week, and I can't wait!:banana: :banana: :banana: :woohoo:

[Groucho]

Nice, those three lenses are a very complete "starter" set of lenses, and you'll never outgrow the 50mm. :) Enjoy!

(Starter meaning that they'll probably fulfill all your needs until you perhaps find some specific need that requires a more unique lens, not that they're subpar or beginner-only or anything like that.)

[gokenin]

Nice, those three lenses are a very complete "starter" set of lenses, and you'll never outgrow the 50mm. :) Enjoy!

(Starter meaning that they'll probably fulfill all your needs until you perhaps find some specific need that requires a more unique lens, not that they're subpar or beginner-only or anything like that.)

:lmao: dont you just hate when you have to be p.c. with a statement these days. bought the 50-200mm lense myself but still looking at either the sigma 10-20mm or the 10-17mm from pentax to finish my lense buying for now looking at the wide shots and starting to think i may want to get a superwide to supplement my zoom lenses

[Golf4food]

We use the Sigma 18-125 as our walk around and it gets pretty much everything at WDW that we could need. It's nice not having to change lenses. :)