Which lens is your favourite all round performer

Having recently purchased a new K5 (mk1) body, I have been using it with my old 18-55mm kit lens that had come with my old K100D Super.

Though I am happy with its performance, now I am looking to upgrade to a decent lens which I can take out for landscapes, portraits and close up photography, and probably weather-shielded. I am a casual photographer (photography is not my career), and I don't want to carry and change three different lenses while I am out.

My eyes are on Pentax 18-135 WR, but I am willing to hear of your experiences.

Best regards,
Gajan

The 18-135mm is an obvious choice, weather resistant, sharp, fast focusing and able to focus quite closely. It's a useful range and it's roughly equivalent to the 28-200mm zooms that were once called "super zooms" on film.

I'd echo John's comment. You just need to remember the sweet spot for the 18-135, keep it at an appropriately small aperture, and keep the subject matter in the centre at the longer end.

Chris

If you can stretch to it why not get the 18-270. It may not be WR but it covers one hell of a range. I bought a used 18-250 as a holiday happy snapper to save carrying a lot of weight on planes and now unless I am doing something special it is my permanent walk around lens. I still use my very short and very long lenses for specific purposes but as I said my walk around lens is my 18-250.
CHEERS Vic.

Another vote here for the 18-135WR, for all the reasons given above plus quiet focusing!

Thank you all for your comments.


Chris, with the f numbers in the range of 3.5-5.6 on this lens, will it make much difference which aperture we select? Could you elaborate on this?

Best regards,
Gajan

Vic, with your 18-250, how do you find its performance at both extreme ends? Does it suffer any noticeable distortion at the widest and longest ends?

Best regards,
Gajan

My Favourite all rounder is my Sigma 17-70mm 2.8-4.5. Crisp, very close focussing distance. I don't mind taking out more than one lens on a shoot, but if I am forced to only take on lenses that's the one I take. Unless I'm deliberately having a "Specialist" day and then I'll take my A50 1.2 or the DA10-17 fisheye

I think the 18-135mm WR is the lens I get the most use from. It almost lived on my K5 and now hoping for the chance to give it a good try out on the K5IIs.

for now the DA* 16-50. this lens has been my workhorse for a few years not. Its not long, but its wide and bright. Cant wait to pair it up with a k5ii so I can rely on its focus in dim light a bit more
my only complaint would be flare resistance.

Gajan, I was a bit disappointed when I first got the lens as I had a few soft shots - if you look at the reviews then you can see that the centre is nearly always sharp. However the edges can be soft at large apertures and when the lens is used at the longer end. So if you can keep it around f8 then you should be OK at the shorter end up to 70mm.
Using the lens for landscapes at the wide angle end means choosing a smaller aperture, but for a portrait shot you would be OK with a wider aperture if the person's face was in the centre.
Greater than 70mm then you really want to have the subject around the middle given how poor the edges are getting.

Have a look at this review
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/smc-pentax-da-18-135mm-f-3-5-5-6-ed-al--if--dc...

Gajan. As I said it is my Happy Snapper Walk Around lens and for me for every day use it is fine. Others who are more critical may be able to answer your question better than me as I'm not a pixel peeper. Also as I said if I'm doing something special then I use my 10-20. 24-60f2.8. 50-500. 90mm macro etc. but you wanted what John would call a super zoom all singing all dancing lens. You'll not get a zoom that is perfect all through its range That's why so many of our esteemed colleagues use primes. I'd like to but I haven't got enough pennies. Quote "horses for courses" and "cut your cloth to suit your purse"
CHEERS Vic.

I would be a bit careful with that one, I have heard the reviewer is biased towards Pentax.

Seriously though, I would also take the 18-135mm if I had to choose just one of my lenses for the day. There is a used one on the forum atm for a ridiculously low price imo ... I am almost tempted to buy it as a spare.

Chris, thank you for your advice and will consider it when I get hold of one.

Best regards,
Gajan

Vic, I understand what you mean and I will be tempted if I can find a used one at an affordable price.

Best regards,
Gajan