Hello!

Hi there!

My name's Katy, and I'm a recent convert to the DSLR game, having recently bought a Pentax K-R off of one of the forum users here!

Until now I've mostly been using 35mm film cameras, such as my Zenit EM and Canon AE-1 among the many others which sit on my shelf, but was spending ridiculous amounts on film processing, so decided to invest in a digital SLR - and here I am!

I'll be looking to grab a zoom lens and/or zoom macro lens for my K-R at some point, so any advice would be much appreciated

Welcome to the forum Katy. I think you need to change your signature though! You've got the standard zoom, so I assume you mean a telephoto. It all depends on what you want to pay, but I'd recommend the 50-200. you can pick one up quite cheaply from here or ebay (I might be selling one myself soon as I've just bought the 55-300; not sure though.)

Tony

Hello and Welcome to the Forum Katy.

Sigma do a good starter telephoto zoom with a macro function in the 70-300mm.

There are a couple of versions about but expect to pay less than £80 for a copy.

Welcome, and check out the Classifieds in this Forum.

link

and link

Welcome Katy.

Hello and welcome

The Sigma 70-300 apo dg macro I have is soft at anything above 300mm but pretty good below that at f8 - f11.

I believe that the Tamron version is better at the long end but not as good as the Sigma at the short end and suffers more from fringing.

The Pentax 55 - 300 is reputed to be a better and more costly option but without the semi macro mode

I suppose a lot depends on which focal lengths are more important to you and what kind of macro shots you want.

Hope this helps.


Stu

Welcome Katy. Enjoy your time here

Welcome to our little slice of Pentaxia

Hello Katy.

I have the DA50-200WR zoom that comes in handy every now and then... It does the job!

Don't discount older AF lenses in the F or FA ranges (the F's have a better rep, despite being a generation behind) there's some good glass in there...
And don't go too much on reviews - I've found they're not always accurate...

Welcome to the forum

Dave

Hello and welcome Katy.

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your warm welcomes and tips!

Hi from me too Katy, hope you enjoy your K-r and this website too. Lots of useful help available on this Forum, so don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you need advice on.

Best wishes
David