Newbie on board

Hi all.

Thought I'd better join PU, seeing I keep getting an invite every time I check out any postings on this forum.
Bit of a 'born again' photographer, as I've finally got a little more time on my hands now I've retired.
My last serious hobby photography was so far back in time it almost scares me to think about it. My Olympus OM1 should give you a clue. Beautiful piece of kit until someone decided to help themselves to it without my consent.

After much research, I've just invested in a K5 II bundled with a couple of kit lenses (courtesy of Jessops) and following some investigation here, I've also treated myself to a Sigma 150-500 from those lovely people at SRS, as this will no doubt get me closer to the action I seek to capture. I think I'll keep a closer eye on this gear.

Really looking forward to getting out and about with the new kit.

May the light be with you...

Enjoy & welcome!

Hello and welcome to the site!

Hi & welcome the forum.

Welcome to the forum - you have certainly got a nice little starter kit of lenses there - let the LBA begin

Hello and Welcome

Hello & Welcome to the Forum!

Cheers guys.

Although there's a couple of areas of interest my present lens collection can't cope with so well, I'm hoping to avoid contracting LBA this soon in the game.

Plenty to keep me going in the meantime.

As for the Sigma 150-500, the price at SRS just looked too inviting to ignore, although I'm sure my wife will have an alternative viewpoint on the matter.

One topic I have picked up on whilst surfing the net is the fact that lens build quality in general is possibly not as consistent as one might hope for, possibly leading to substandard images.

My question then is this; has anyone established a generic test other than photographing a brick wall, that can be carried out to determine if a lens meets the manufacturer's benchmark standard for that particular lens?
Apologies if it's already well described on the forum and I simply haven't hit on it yet.

Welcome

I'm pretty sure you will pick up on any substandard images yourself. Personally I just find a willing subject, focus on the eye at the fastest aperture and see how the lens does ... then just adjust in camera focus as necessary.

Although normally the dog has wandered off by then.

Hi Strognofe, and welcome. You mentioned lens build quality as possibly leading to substandard images. I believe this alone would be an unreliable guide to the potential of any particular lens - build quality certainly relates directly to how robust or resistant to the elements a lens might be, so those ones marketed at professionals would generally have this higher build quality (which often also gives a 'good feel' as well).

Of course, those marketed at pros will also often have better internal components, better glass and elements and maybe wider apertures - so better quality all round - you get what you pay for!

If you're looking for quality lenses then you've made a good choice with Pentax. Even some of our humble 'kit' offerings have 'good build quality', weather resistance and (compared to similar prices items from competitors) rather good image quality. And there is a great range of high grade independent makes available also, not to mention the full range of secondhand K, M, FA, F, A etc etc older Pentax system items.