Replacement Kit Lens?

Hi,

I've had my K10D for about 7 months now and have started to get results I am very happy with.
A couple of months back I bought a Sigma 10-20mm which I Love (my main interests are architectural and landscape shots) and it has not been off my camera since.
I intend to buy the new Pentax 55-300 in the next couple of weeks as a zoom as I want to try my hand at some wildlife shots and this lens has been getting great reviews.
Next on the list will be something to cover the middle ground, like the Kit Lens (18-55).
I was wondering if you guy's could recommend a few lenses I should be thinking about in this range...I would hopefully want something that was a definite step up from the Kit Lens and Ideally it would be below £300.

Thanks
Mark Morb

The Pentax 17 to 70 F4 DA SDM lens looks like it will be a very good option, though it seems it will retail at about £370. Though this will not work with older cameras as it has a PKA3 mount which does not have the connector for the camera driven AF.

The other alternative and highly regarded is the 16-45 f4 and is only £199 (SYS Microsystems). Personally I will be looking at the 17-70 and the 16 -50 DA* SDM (£469 from SRS) and replacements. So far the 16-50 is winning out due to the faster 2.8, the full water and dust sealing and that I will be able to use it on older cameras. Though I am very interested in the 17-70 because of its good focal length range.

1. Pentax 16-45mm F4 - popular, well respected, not too slow, nice to handle, useful wide end.

2. Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 - fast, lightweight for the type and inexpensive for the type, very nice image quality generally, and sharp at all apertures and lengths when focused correctly, but occasional autofocus inaccuracy (in my experience).

3. Sigma 17-70mm F3.5-4.5 - popular lens that is apparently very practical and decent. I've not tried this one myself, but came close to choosing it instead of the Tamron 17-50.

Thanks for the replies, lots of useful information and suggestions there for me to look into.

Cheers

since you have the 10-20 for wide angle, you could perhaps consider lenses like the Sigma EX24-60 F2.8. A very nice lens and generally quite inexpensive, but whether the gap between 20 and 24 would bother you deppends on your personal shooting style.