Suggestions ...

An acquaintance of mine wants to but a DSLR and has a budget of around £4000 to £5000.

He has always been interested in Photography and wants to take it up as a serious hobby, but has no definite objective - landscape, wedding, wildlife, portrait could all be there

He had initially considered just Nikon and Canon but I suggested he look at others including Pentax. He has now come round to the view that there are other good brands around and has been out to see what else.

He has now come back with to set ups:

Sony Alpha A850, sony 28-75f2.8, sigma 50-500f4.5-6.3, sigma 70-200f2.8 mk11, sony f36am flash, sony vgc 90am grip and two sony npfm500h batteries for £4520
or
Pentax K7 , Tamron sp70-200f2.8 Tamron sp28-75f2.8, sigma 50-500f4.5-6.3, Pentax 16-50f2.8, Pentax BG-4 grip, Pentax charger and two Pentax dl190 batteries for £4058

I don't like either - there is too much overlap of lens ranges.



My suggestion was:

K7, Pentax 16-50, Pentax 50-135 and Sigma 150-500 plus a Pentax 360 flash.

or K7, Pentax 16-50, Pentax 60-250 and the Sigma 150-500 and the flash

Then maybe an ultra wide angle too.


What comments do any of you have on the possibilities? What would you suggest and what overall cost?

A Pentax MZ-M, a Durst M370 and sundries, a few cheap lenses. £200 all in.

And start an evening class in September £150. A level photography.

Wait a bit longer and get the ultimate landscape DSLR, the 645D... it's almost in budget you know

I think your first suggestion would be best, two good f/2.8 lenses are always nice and these lenses have SDM and quick-shift, together with the K7 that makes for a silent combination

Instead of the 360 flash though maybe a Metz 48, it's cheaper has more power and a swivel head.

If he wants a longer lens to go with your fist combination he might consider a Sigma 100-300 f/4 and if he wants more reach use a 1.4x TC.

I don't want to seem harsh, but for a beginner who "wants to take it up" then that sort of expenditure is beyond all reasonable suggestions.

He would do best buying a K7 with 18-55mm and 50-200mm lenses and seeing how he gets on. After a while he will know where his interest lies and therefore what lenses to buy next.

Buying all at one go can only lead to dissatisfaction and confusion.

From my own experience I'd take John to task on one point, I'd go for the 55-300, then take a lot of picture and check what lengths you actually use.

As to the Sigma 150-500, it's just got a lot more complicated.

I have had a few reasonable results with my old 150-500, but I had always suspected that the Bigma (50-500)had a better IQ. now, both lenses have been updated so who knows?

Personally I would not be without the DA*50-135.

I agree with John. Besides which it's topo easy to focus on camera and lenses and forget about filters, tripods, bags, software, etc which make up the bulk of purchases if not price.

In fact my suggestion for a beginner would be a K7 and a 40mm prime. Learn how to shoot first, then get better gear when you need it.

My suggestion:-

Buy a K7 + grip + 2 lens kit and start from there.

He'll also need one or more of the following:- Memory cards, flash, tripod & head, polarizing filter(s), Arctic Butterfly, a decent waterproof bag, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop Elements, decent spec. PC, decent spec. notebook/netbook.

He knows of all the other bits ... and has those on his list too.

I take it he's been into Jessops and talked to the 'experts'?

With that much money to play with I'd agree with John, going as Oggy says for the 300 option.

When he can use the camera and produce consistently good shots then look to buy better.

If there is better than a K7 on the APS-C sensor!

Sounds like the friend has gone into a shop with very little idea of what he wants and asked the salesman what he could get for the money.

Even with £4000-5000 worth of gear doesn't make you a portrait or wedding photographer...

A D700 or 5D2 with the marque 24-70 takes care of £3000, both require the grips and a £50 spare battery. Why the dealer quotes for 2 extra batteries and a charger in the Sony/Pentax gear I don't know. An 80-400 or 100-400 adds £1200 to the price, then £400 for an adequate gun. I hear things about the Nikon 80-400 that makes it necessary to use a tripod at the long end....

The suggestion supporting the K-7 with the DA 16-50 and 55-300, D-BG4, AF540FGZ and a spare D-Li90 makes more sense. Fraction of the price - if the badge on the front matters more, then D300s or EOS7D are credible alternatives...but you'll get plenty of people on here telling everyone how much they like the K7 and that's a pretty good recommendation.

I believe he may have started with Jessops or similar which may be where the N/C choice came from but after my push to look at others he went to a "real" Photographic dealer (no names - but not a pro dealer) and came out with the two suggested options which has quite a few oddities or quirks. I don't think he is too worried about the name on the badge provided it is of a reputable brand.

My suggestion would be a K7 with the dual kit lenses of 18-55mm WR & 50-200mm WR. From here, he can play around with both lenses to see what he really wants to capture and then move on to other lenses.

For protraints, the DA*16-50mm/2.8 & 50-135mm/2.8 are good starters or go for a FA43mm/1.9 Limited/FA77mm/1.8 Limited. The other lenses for portraits will be the DA40mm/2.8 & DA70mm/2.4

For landscape, he could start with the DA12-24mm/4 or even the Sigma 10-20mm/4.

For wildlife, DA55-300mm/4-5.8 or the Sigma 50-500mm.

I for one use the DA*16-50mm/2.8 as my main kit lens and my tele is the 50-200WR. i do have the 18-55WR as I bought the dual kit for the K7. The DA* was a brought over from my K20D, which I sold away to finance for the K7 as the price had come down recently.

I know it's not strictly an SLR but how about a Leica M9? The body would take up most of his budget but with some thrifty eBay shopping he could probably find a well-used 50/2 Summicron or 50/2.8 Elmarit to stick on the front for just slightly over £5k all in.

Don't forget to keep about £100 back for the inevitable urge to buy an MX with similar vintage lens and winder...

I think he needs to work out where he wants to go with the camera first so I go with Oggys suggestion.

IMO the Sigma 50-500mm is a cut above the 150-500mm picture quality wise although you lose HSM and OS.