Lens Recommendation Please -CONFUSED.COM

please help me.

I am getting overwhelmed by the amount of lenses on the internet and cannot make up my mind.

Perhaps someone can recommend one if I give you the low down?

I believe people take photos, not the camera. Meaning that I am not a "gear hoe" and can happily snap away with any sort of equipment.

I mostly shoot birds (have the sigma 150 500) but am interested in doing more general things - street, portrait, a bit of close up work...

A general do all job that will fit nicely on my K-x

I am also interested in some of the lenses that appear on ebay - manual ones. Can you recommend any of those>

Thanks!

What have you currently got Alistair? A kit lens? If not you can pick those up for peanuts. No need to go manual.

There are as many answers as lenses - depends entirely on what you want to do with them.

As a general comment - if you fancy an old manual lens for street photography - a good start would be to grab a pentax M 50mm f1.7 You can generally pick up a good example for around £40. A superb quality lens with great IQ and bokeh - very nice low light street lens. Moving up from that - any of the old Pentax Ms are good fun to play around with - m70-210 etc

If you are looking fo a general 'walk about' lens - covering a range - again there are so many and it depends on the individual - as a general rule of thumb - the greater the range of the lens - the lower the IQ quality (OK not quite that simple but as a general rule. Have you considered what range you would like to cover as this really is your start point

All depends on budget and use

Carl

Hello

I use a few old manual lenses, my flickr account has photo's from them - as you have the 150 - 500 probably the only one of the type I have that you may be interested in (mine is not for sale) may be the Vivitar 28mm f2.8 - it is one with the serial number beginning with 28 and cost me around £20 from evil bay - I like this lens a lot

Regards

Stu

Thanks guys for that

Alan?

I have the kit 18 55 mate and the 50 200

Cheers for the input Carl

Stu - can you pm me about your experiences with THAT lens etc?

Would love to hear more about cheapies on ebay and other DA stuff.

Ta

An M50/1.7 is a no brainer, but beyond that you're going to need to be more specific about what you think you need. If general street stuff a zoom is a good way to go until you establish your shooting style and preferred focal length. For this the kit lens is fine, but

1) The Tamron 17-50mm is a bargain with near-stellar IQ (costs 250 quid or thereabouts s/h - if that sounds a lot, compare to the DA16-50mm!), or...

2) An F35-70mm would be a low-cost (35 quid?) 'pocket-sized' addition to your kit (and a decent range for 'street shooting with excellent IQ).

Good man - will check those out!



Quick question and a little embarassing

Does 50mm equate to a different focal range with a digital camera?

QC

Quick question and a little embarassing

Does 50mm equate to a different focal range with a digital camera?

QC
hi
a 50mm lens is still 50mm on a digital camera
its a crop factor of 1.5
neil

Yes, 50mm equates to 75mm when used on a digital camera.

Forget focal length. It's angle of view we are talking about, and to go from film to digital, multiply by 1.5.

G

Until we get a Pentax FF at which point - it will be a 50 again

Unless you have specific low light or very shallow depth of field requirements just go out with the kit lens. See what focal lengths you are using and then decide what to buy based upon your usage. Its no good buying a 35-70 for example if you are taking all your photos between 18mm and 35mm.

For what its worth, like you my most used lens is the Sigma 150-500. Next most but a long way behind is the Sigma 10-20. I would like a 21mm Ltd for the street

You're confusing the issue again!

I'm trying to keep things simple.

G

QC - i believe you are becoming overwhelmed at the number of lenses because you have no specific purpose for your new lens in mind ... this phenomenon is called LBA

You have a good lens, the kit 18-55 is highly regarded as a starter kit lens and you have 150-500 covered with an excellent, if rather heavy, lens. You really should identify your specific need before plunging into the market again !

That said if you want a fantastic lens to fit into that 55-150 gap in your range then Mike P is selling the absolutely stellar Sigma HSM 50-150/2.8 but at £400 it may not be exactly what you were thinking, though it is rarely on the market and will last you for many years. Otherwise something like a MF macro lens in the 90-100mm range will broaden your range and your camera's capability, though an AF model, I'd suggest the superb value for money Tamron 90/2.8 Di, is an excellent medium range street lens (having superb bokeh and a focusing limiter) as well as a stunning macro lens.

My MF lenses tend to be of the rather more expensive Zeiss / Voigtlander ranges but I'd caution against going out an buying a ton of MF lenses that later will sit in the cupboard. Buy quality rather than quantity is an LBA junkie's advice !

For a step up from the kit lens the Tamron 17-50 and the Pentax DA 17-70 are worth a serious look. The 17-70 can be pressed into use as a macro too (just)
For old manual lenses look at any of the Pentax M or A series in 24,28 35 and 50mm range. The Sigma superwide II 24mm a also very good.

Thanks lads