And the winner is

After much deliberation, articles, youtube clips, digital SLR camera rating and what not sites. After just about all the technical knowledge i could manage to cram into the deepest recesses of my limited brain space and come up with a final solution.

I am buying, April 20th. A Pentax K-5!

Body only, have a couple of old lenses i can play with. Budget is £900 on this so i want to get a decent all round lens to compliment the camera best.

Would like this one - Pentax 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 SMC DA WR Lens. But that may take a while to fund so i'm looking for something a little cheaper, don't even have to be Pentax for the time being.


Any suggestions welcome


Kind regards
D

Hi D,

Congratulations on the decision to buy a K-5. Pentax 18-55 and 50-200 both WR versions would be fine to start with and they are not expensive. Good luck with the K-5.

Regards,

Jeeess

Hi D great choice you made, The Pentax smc DA 55-300mm f/4.0-5.8 ED Lens is very good value IMHO great all rounder

If you can stretch to it then the DA 17-70mm at Jessops is very good vale at £330. You can also do 6 months interest free credit .. I did, why spend your own money when you can use theirs.

Jessops if you have any tesco clubcard vouchers you can exchange for double
there worth to spend at jessops (tesco £10= jessops £20)
Tokens must be ordered by 15 March and used with in Jessops by 31 March 2012.

You don't have to use only £5 Tesco clubcard vouchers either.

I used £5 + £5 + £4 + £2.50 to order £30 worth of Jessops tokens.

£16.50 total clubcard vouchers became £15 used to buy £30 worth of Jessops tokens and the remaining £1.50 credited back to my clubcard account.

Thanks guys some nice lenses to think about.

Unfortunately though, Jersey is Tesco-less. I miss Tesco's

Any thoughts on this Sigma 70-300mm

Personally, I have never used anything Sigma before. This lens however seems to be good value for the price.

Customer reviews seem positive enough.

If you are looking for cheap and good the Tamron 70-300 probably just edges the Sigma especially with the quite good macro and often under £100.

Of these three then:

Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 Macro DG

Pentax smc DA 55-300mm f/4.0-5.8 ED

Pentax SMC DA50-200mmF4-5.6ED WR

Amazon is usually price wise a better deal for me, CI savings to be had upon the normal cost.

The Sigma for price alone with macro.

The DA 55-300mm- All rounder

The DA50-200mm - All weather which would probably suit me better.

Trying not to spend as much time on this as I did fracturing my brains over the right camera.

Any thoughts much appreciated.


Kind regards
D

55-300.

Need more words ?

DA 55-300mm

Hi Frogfish

By 'All rounder' I simply mean, an everyday day lens for what I would normally shoot.

My biggest passion is War birds, which we get to see here annually via the Airshow.

My kids, wildlife, long walks etc. Opportunist shots...

What I'm looking for is a lens that will afford all this and be right on the money with the quality that befits a K-5 and, at a reasonable price.

I may be asking a bit much, I know.


Always hoping to draw on user experience


Kind regards
D

Hi D,

I feel the Pentax or Tamron 18-250 should be fine for you. From what I have read, the quality is acceptable too and it will be a great all purpose lens covering whatever you have mentioned. May be a little less for wildlife at the long end. New will cost around £ 400 and used ones can be explored. A few weeks before there were some offers on this forum too. Alternatively, you can look for a new or used 28-105 lens or a Sigma 28-300.

Regards,

Jeeess

I have the 18-55 WR Lens and find it great for both still and video of my kids. I have found that my sigma 18-200 is largley left unused due to IQ, but can't speak for the 18-250 versions. I have the Tamron 70-300 and though a great lens I am not happy with the purple fringing (CA). Personally I would consider the 18-55 WR and the 55-300 as a great starting point.

I have shot airshows and the 300 end is great, 200 is a little short.

Unfortunately neither the Tamron or Pentax version are available new any longer. Used prices fluctuate and recently have been towards the top of the curve. You ought to be able to pick up a good used copy for around £250.

As for quality, it's far more than acceptable - it's excellent. Much better than something with this range has a right to be.

Given your budget and considerations I would buy the K-5 with the kit lens + 55-300.

The rationale is that the kit lens is a good performed (not excellent) and is a great value, you can always upgrade it later without a significant loss. The 55-300 is a fantastic lens for the price, one you can keep for the long term, great quality and value. And you can find it used on this forum from time to time and price new is very reasonable too.