Do you REALLY need more lenses?!

And there is always the chance she will want her photo taking and you'd not have the right lens

On top of usage which may evolve over time, price of lenses plays a great role in ever changing portfolio.

If I take my humble example, coming from compact after film cameras, I picked a K-x almost 2 years ago.
I needed time to get accustomed to it but quickly realized kit zooms (18-55 and 50-200) were not best ones!
I only bought sigma 105 macro and 70-300 so far but had to refrain from buying much more...

Just for macro 35 ltd and new Sigma 150 (once ported on K mount) to complement my lonely 105...
17-70 or 18-135 for a better all around lens
DA 12-24 or sigma 8-16 for ultra wide angle (no opinion on sigma 12-24 v2 yet)
FA 35 f2, DA* 55 for panos, portraits, lower light situations, Sigma 85 f1.4 would be good addition as well
Hopefully I am not that into wild animals yet!

I am not contemplating a 2nd body though a Ricoh/Pentax mirrorless with K mount on it would be mine quickly!

Net, all of these would cost me my marriage I guess!

Do I need more lenses? No.
Do I want more lenses? Possibly.
I would like different lenses, not necessarily more lenses.
I have lenses I never use, but I am not sure they are worth much so I hang on to them. I have lenses I use but would happily sell to finance something else.

If I could buy just one more lens it would probably be a wide-ish prime. I think the 15mm ltd would be too wide for me so the 21mm ltd would be the one I'd go for.

I have a set of DA limiteds, mostly bought segundo mano, so although some of their focal lengths are fairly similar there is no actual overlap. Like mannesty, I enjoy the challenge of taking one or two with me and seeing what presents itself. This way, I need never worry about "missing" a shot, since the only shots available to me are those which fit the focal length I've got on the camera. That said ... yes, I'd lust after a couple of zooms like the DA* 16-50 and 50-135. I'm sure I'd greatly enjoy using them and might even find they suit me better. But am I likely to buy them? Probably not, without an unexpected dosh injection. Not that many folks have £1000 and more to blow on more toys these days. If I was going on a long trip abroad, though, I'd be sorely tempted to get a Sigma 17-70 and take the DA 15 and DA 40 on the side.

It's been quite a roller coaster ride for me since the day I bought my K-r.
I bought it with the 18-55mm kit lens and an additional Tamron 70-300mm. I really wanted the extra length.

From that point forward...it's been hectic. I was hooked once I learned I can get the older M42, K, M and A lenses for "not so much" money.
The first I bought was an A 50mm f1.7 lens. I still have it today and I still think it's one hell of a lens. Hard to nail focus at 1.7 without a focusing screen, but it can be done.
After that I took advantage of buying lenses and trying out what focal lengths work for me and what don't. The ones that I didn't enjoy, I sold for the same amount I bought them for.

After all the fiddling about, I now have a pretty clear view of what I want. The longer focal lengths are more my style, so I have already bought a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 and am now awaiting a DA* 300mm f4. Along them I also have a Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.

In the future, I probably see the acquistion of the DA 40mm for those times when I feel the need for less bulk. But it's a distant future at this point.

Do I need to use a FED2 with an Industar-26m lens when I have an LX with a K50/1.2? No, but its fun. If I only had what I needed I'd be down to the K20D and a handful of zooms. As it is, photography is my hobby and I do it for fun. For me, and I realise that this isn't the case for everyone, part of that fun is using a swing lens Horizont, or my Horseman 5x4 view camera, or snapping a friend's child's birthday party with the K20D and my DA* 50-135mm lens. Thankfully, most of the old glass I own is holding its value and if there was ever a financial crisis I could sell them for at least what I paid for them, and in a few cases for a bit of profit.

K.

You are missing a taste of the FA Limiteds and the DA 12-24mm which is the best wide angle in terms of IQ. And a macro.

So, yes, you need more lenses.

I find part of the problem is the 'what to take' one, not the sum total of lenses. I like using the 55-300 so that's going on my next holiday, but I usually take the 16-45 and 24-90 - both good 'general purpose' zooms, the former is my main walkabout in the city and sometimes mountains, the latter for countryside and coast. So something that overlaps most of their range would be useful - 17-70 maybe, having not been too impressed with what I've seen from the 18-135.

At the moment at least I'm completely happy with my lens line-up:
DA12-24, FA 35mm, DA17-70 & DA 55-300 - covers everything I need and the IQ of them all is excellent.

Previous to buying the K5 I was considering something slightly faster than the DA12-24 for interior shots but the high iso abilities of the K5 sensor have changed my mind.

If a DA17-70 WR came along I might be tempted though!!

Simon

I started off with a DA 16-45 + 50-200 Kit lens, Then Needed a DA 18-250 to save me having to change lenses. After aquiring one and selling the other two I bought an smc K 200 Prime lens and was amazed to see what quality I had been missing up to that moment. I then read in this forum how good the IQ was with DA* 50-135 and bought one, on comparing the quality of image with it I decided these top quality Zoom lenses were right for me, (not to much time spent changing lenses) and much of the time I can't get my Favourite lens (DA*50-135) on my K5 as the DA* 16-50 is just what the shot calls for. I think sooner or later you are going to realise that you NEED a DA 10-17 Fisheye.

Bill.

I am coming to that realisation, I have zooms and primes covering 8mm - 500mm + a very good teleconverter, I do not have a fisheye so I must Need one.

Davex.

And currently there is a very reasonably priced 10-17 in the Classified section.

Just now there are no less than four lenses for sale on the forum I am interested in !

I am living proof there is no cure for LBA.

/Ian

After a flurry of lens buying over three years I have stabilised and LBA is a thing of the past. Last Pentax lens bought was maybe a year ago. That's because the only lenses possibly better than the FA Limiteds cost thousands. And I am satisfied in knowing I will never afford them.

Yes, you can attain peace.

Rather than another lens, what I want/need is a better way of taking my lenses & accessories with me, (and a newer Body!).

My normal kit (in a large backpack) covers nearly everything (I've missed the 17-18mm range) from 10mm(fisheye)to 300mm in four overlapping zooms, together with a fast 50, a 100mm macro and a macro teleconverter (theoretically doubling the whole lot). There's also spare batteries/cards, flash & a few filters. On some occasions I add a second bag (generally for the 600 reflex, or a prime telephoto) and maybe a tripod.
Even with all that lot it's not that uncommon to want a bit of kit I've left at home to photograph something right.

Today (taking the kids through the country park to the swings) I just took the K100d, F50 & an IR filter, and my back seems to approve of the change!

Does anyone know where I can get a cheap Sherpa? He'd have to sleep in the garden, but I'm sure we could feed him.