question about new lens for istDS

hi folks,

a little time ago my istDS smashed to the ground.
the body seems to be ok. the lens is out of order...
i have to buy a new lens.
it is a (old) 28-80mm lens which i also used on my analog cam.
i also have a 70-210mm lens.
perhaps someone can advice me which lens i have to buy, so i can get the most out of my istDS.

thanks in advance!

Jean-Paul

The SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm is the standard zoom for your *istDS. It is not expensive, but it is perfectly good for most purposes.

tnx for the fast reaction.
this lens cost about 125 euro in the netherlands.
does this also support macro?
is there also an alternative? different vendor perhaps?
i prefer to use a pentax lens, but perhaps there r better alternatives?

Hoi Jean-Paul,
Have a look at Marktplaats. There are regularly kit lenses offered for less than the retail price since people with the K10D tend to move on to other lenses very quickly or have them alreadyand sell off the kit lens. The kit lens is not a true macro but you can get some pretty good close ups with it.
You will also occasionally find good macro lenses on there - I bought my Tamron 90mm Macro from there. Check it regularly, plenty of Pnetax lenses come up on there - and if you see something you want e-mail the seller don't bid on the site.
groetjes
Gwyn.

hi gwyn,
but isnt it dagerous to buy at marktplaats?
you cant see things, feel things, until you bought them....

You can always arrange to go and see the things before buying. I did that with the Tamron. I have bought a couple of other things blind from there with no problems, but they were much cheaper than the Tamron. I bought a 50mm A 1.7 sight unseen for 15 euros including postage. I figured I could afford to lose that much . If they aren't happy with you viewing first then don't buy from them, very simple.
If you don't want to have to travel the length of the Netherlands to see something you can specify a search radius in the search function. Obviously if you live in Maastricht you will not want to travel to Groningen just to look at something that you may or may not buy.

i start looking internet and marktplaats, but at this moment marktplaats doesnt have a lot of hits...
also looked at ebay.
there i found a tamron 18-200, include macro
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/18200_diII.asp

someone have used this lens before?

any comments?

also put the Q at the pentax helpdesk.
they give an example of smc PENTAX-FA J 28mm-80mm F3.5-5.6AL
this also fit's to my analog body....

how about image stabilizer in lens?
is this possible for my "old" pentax istDS?

Jean-Paul

Pentax don't make image stabilser lenses - only in body IS on the K100D and K10D. A much better system than in lens really as you can use it with any lens then.
Sadly with the Ds you will just have to develop a steady hand or use a tripod.

yeah... develope a steady hand...
that will be the trick...

at this moment i found a nice lens... i think.

http://www.fotokonijnenberg.nl/product_details.php?id_product=9428

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/18200_diII.asp

someone has experience with this lens?

thanks in advanced!

Jean-Paul

I would not consider this to be a nice lens.

The problem is that it is very difficult to make a zoom lens with such a wide range of focal lengths. In this case the longest FL is more than ten times the shortest. This sort of ratio is common on cheap point and shoot cameras and camcorders, where image quality is not very important.

A good rule is not to consider a lens where the zoom ratio is greater than four, and preferably less.

The whole point of buying an SLR is to be able to fit the best lens for the job in hand. By buying just one lens, you are missing out on this vital feature, and might just as well buy a point and shoot camera.

For your camera, I would suggest you buy an SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 and a 50-200, or alternatively an SMC Pentax-F 70-210 (second-hand). You will get much better results, and the DA lenses are smaller and lighter than the Tamron.

Good luck.

G

George is right.
"the best lens for the job" occasionally is a long range zoom, but more often than not, better quality can be had with shorter range zooms or primes.
in the film days my 28-200 was one of my favorites for event/wedding photography.
but I always had more cameras, equipped with a portrait lens, and a fast prime. could always grab the best camera&lens for the shot.

so for the price of that tamron you could get something like a canon is5, (I have a pro one and a g5). Or a second k100 and have quality lenses on each body to give you the zoom range you want with better quality results.

but if the image quality is ok for your needs, then the tamron 18-250 is top notch in it's class...