Just bought the Pentax K100D...lens suggestions?? **PICTURES ADDED**

[Jeanne B]

Well I finally bought the K100 so I'm quite excited about my new purchase!! I held off buying it last week because I wanted to wait for the press release of the K10 this week but I think the K100 will be just fine for a beginner like me, especially for $587 (although with my luck Pentax will start offering the $100 rebate next month on the K100 after the *ist rebate offer expires). The price came down about $15 since I started looking at it last week. I ordered it from beachcamera at 2:00 this afternoon and by 3:45 they sent me the shipping notification...amazing!! I've purchased 2 other cameras from their sister website buydig.com and their turnaround time is impressive and based on those last 2 purchases I expect to have my new toy on Saturday. Now to tell DH!!

Anyway, looking for suggestions on a good walkaround lens (along with everyone else!!). I got the 18-55 kits lens since it was only $17 more than the body only but I'm thinking about getting either the Pentax DA 50-200 or the Sigma 18-125. I see the Sigma recommended often as a good walkaround lens and I like the idea that I wouldn't have to change the lens but I wouldn't get the reach that I would with the 50-200 and I'm afraid I might be a bit disappointed with the 18-125 since I'm used to the 12x zoom on my S3, at least with the 50-200 I would be a little closer to what I'm used to with my S3. From Amazon I can get the 50-200 for $175 after rebate or the Sigma 18-125 for $253.

I'll be using the camera for occasional low light situations, vacations and every day use. Any input is appreciated regarding the quality of these two lenses or maybe there's another lens I should be considering as well.

 

[Master Mason]

Well I finally bought the K100 so I'm quite excited about my new purchase!! I held off buying it last week because I wanted to wait for the press release of the K10 this week but I think the K100 will be just fine for a beginner like me, especially for $587 (although with my luck Pentax will start offering the $100 rebate next month on the K100 after the *ist rebate offer expires). The price came down about $15 since I started looking at it last week. I ordered it from beachcamera at 2:00 this afternoon and by 3:45 they sent me the shipping notification...amazing!! I've purchased 2 other cameras from their sister website buydig.com and their turnaround time is impressive and based on those last 2 purchases I expect to have my new toy on Saturday. Now to tell DH!!

Anyway, looking for suggestions on a good walkaround lens (along with everyone else!!). I got the 18-55 kits lens since it was only $17 more than the body only but I'm thinking about getting either the Pentax DA 50-200 or the Sigma 18-125. I see the Sigma recommended often as a good walkaround lens and I like the idea that I wouldn't have to change the lens but I wouldn't get the reach that I would with the 50-200 and I'm afraid I might be a bit disappointed with the 18-125 since I'm used to the 12x zoom on my S3, at least with the 50-200 I would be a little closer to what I'm used to with my S3. From Amazon I can get the 50-200 for $175 after rebate or the Sigma 18-125 for $253.


I'll be using the camera for occasional low light situations, vacations and every day use. Any input is appreciated regarding the quality of these two lenses or maybe there's another lens I should be considering as well.

I would go with the 18-125 as the walk around. I think you would find that the 50 isn't wide enough for an all around lens. For my 2 cents.

 

[YEKCIM]

Jeanne,

Have you considered the Pentax 16-45 *and* their 50-200? I don't have a dog in this fight (yet, anyway) but I have read a lot of very positive things about the 16-45. I believe there are current rebates on both lenses.

YEKCIM

 

[Jeanne B]

Jeanne,

Have you considered the Pentax 16-45 *and* their 50-200? I don't have a dog in this fight (yet, anyway) but I have read a lot of very positive things about the 16-45. I believe there are current rebates on both lenses.

YEKCIM

This is where I'm at a disadvantage as a beginner. What does the 16-45 offer that the 18-55 doesn't? They're close in range so is it speed, picture quality?? I've had digital cameras for years but have always shot in AUTO mode and I really want to get out of that...I bought Understanding Exposure a while back when I bought my S3 but I haven't had much free time to read it (I need to get off the message boards!!).

I think I'm leaning more towards the 2 lens option. Ideally I would like to stick with just one but I feel pretty sure if I get the 18-125 there are going to be too many times where it's not going to be enough reach and I'm going to wish I went with the 55-200. My camera will be here Saturday, as I expected, so I think I'll hold off buying another lens until I've had a week or two to get familiar with the camera. Since the Pentax rebates are being offered into early October I've got some time to decide.

As always, the advice I receive on this board is always appreciated.

 

[Groucho]

First off, congrats on the K100D! I almost regret that it wasn't out when I bought my DL - of course, I got my DL for cheap enough that I could probably sell it for more than I paid for it and pick one up, but I think I'm going to wait for a while and see how the K10D does in a year or so. But the price of the K100D is amazing - that's a terrific deal, even without any rebate.

Beach was great for me - I ordered on July 3rd early afternoon, fully expecting nothing to happen with it until after the holiday, but it was shipped that day and arrived on the 6th. Not too shabby!

You're right that the 50 is a little bit tight for an everyday lens, but it's not too bad. I've used it in our living room to take pictures of my 17-month-old and it works fine, you just have to be several feet away.

I would suspect that for most things, the 50-200 will be perfectly acceptable, and if you keep the kit lens nearby, it only takes a few seconds to switch. I would go that route rather than the 18-125, because you already will have the 18-55mm kit lens, which would probably go unused if you bought the 18-125, and you'd still need to buy one with a longer zoom. So you'd have three lenses instead of two with no advantage in zoom.

 

[Jeanne B]

I would suspect that for most things, the 50-200 will be perfectly acceptable, and if you keep the kit lens nearby, it only takes a few seconds to switch. I would go that route rather than the 18-125, because you already will have the 18-55mm kit lens, which would probably go unused if you bought the 18-125, and you'd still need to buy one with a longer zoom. So you'd have three lenses instead of two with no advantage in zoom.

This is EXACTLY what I found myself thinking after starting this thread...I know the 18-125 is recommended often on here as a great walkaround lens but knowing I've already got the 18-55 seems a waste of the 18-55 so it would either sit and collect dust or I could try to sell it on ebay like I'm sure a ton of other people are probably trying to do. For the $17 difference I paid to get the kit lens I'd rather hang on to it and put it to use, at least for now.

Thanks for your input, both here and on my other thread...much appreciated and your posts are part of what led me to the K100.

 

[Groucho]

Glad to hear it and I hope you love the camera as much as I think you will.

I personally don't mind changing lenses too much (that's part of the fun of an SLR IMHO) but some people seem to really abhor it. I figure that in your case, you're looking at two options:
Normally having the 18-125mm on and swapping for anything in the 126-200mm range (assuming you later add on a 50-200)...
Or normally having the 50-200mm on and swapping for anything in the 18-49mm range.

I'd go with the latter! It's usually a lot easier to back off a little to get the picture in a 50mm range than to get closer to bring something into a 125mm range.

Heck, you might find that you could eventually get by with just the 50-200 and then a smaller (maybe 28mm) prime lens that's faster than the 18-55 lens... you wouldn't be able to zoom but you'd have a very sharp, crisp picture and better low-light ability, and can just crop your picture down once it's on the computer.

 

[Jeanne B]

I got my K100 Saturday and it was a beautiful day yesterday so we took a short ride to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and I was able to try out my new toy. I love this camera so far!! Since I'm a beginner I shot in auto mode but I hope to change that down the road. Before my camera arrived Saturday I was thinking I was going to want to hang on to my S3 but after yesterday I nearly forgot all about it!! Here are a few of my favorites...

 

[Groucho]

Looks great! (Although it's hard to see much detail in the smallish pictures - for this kind of thing, 640x480 is kind of a bare minimum and the ones you posted are 320x213.) Glad you like the camera.

I agree - I can't imagine keeping around a PnS when you've got a DSLR. Unless it's a tiny pocket camera... but otherwise, the "auto" mode is just as easy and so much nicer.

 

[Jeanne B]

Looks great! (Although it's hard to see much detail in the smallish pictures - for this kind of thing, 640x480 is kind of a bare minimum and the ones you posted are 320x213.) Glad you like the camera.

I agree - I can't imagine keeping around a PnS when you've got a DSLR. Unless it's a tiny pocket camera... but otherwise, the "auto" mode is just as easy and so much nicer.

I'm not very familiar with posting pictures on here (or anywhere actually) and I was afraid if I made them any bigger I would be caught by the picture police for posting pictures that are too big. They're larger on the thread I posted on the Pentax SLR forums of steves-digicams.com.

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=103826&forum_id=80

 

[Groucho]

Just looked over there - very nice. (There was already a "Groucho" there so I'm "Damfino" on Steve's... which is a Buster Keaton reference for those not in the know. )

Anyway, they do look great - now you'll have to set aside time on your next Disney trip for photography! I already know that my wife's going to be very bored of me sometimes next trip!

 

[Jeanne B]

Anyway, they do look great - now you'll have to set aside time on your next Disney trip for photography! I already know that my wife's going to be very bored of me sometimes next trip!

DD13 and I are doing a girls only trip to WDW in late November so I'll be practicing then (DD should be thrilled, probably about like your wife will be, and my DH will be glad he stayed home this trip ). I was anxious to get the camera now so I would have a couple of months to get familiar with it before we head to WDW. I got some ok fireworks pictures with my A620 last trip by using a tripod but I'm hoping for improvement with this K100!!

 

[Groucho]

Yes, I also need to spend a few nights practicing. I have warned them that I will probably try to go back to the parks a couple late nights just for picture-taking.

I have also been having various ideas about tricks that might come in handy there... like using the monopod and a delayed shutter release to raise the camera up and over any construction walls or similar things, but I don't think there's be many of those when I'm there. Still, it'd probably work very well.

I was actually just thinking... the new K10D, with its water-resistance and unlimited-JPG capability, could take some fantastic pictures going down the drop on Splash Mountain with no worries about it being ruined by the water. Maybe in a couple years I'll pick one up and try that!