My dad has just lent me a pair of old lenses that he used on his Me Super.

They are:

Pentax A 1:3.4-4.5 28-80
Vivitar Auto Telephoto 200mm 1:3.5

What do you experts think of these lenses? Any good?

Thanks for the explanations guys!

So good to have a guide through all this stuff

The DA 16-45 is tempting but sadly out of my price range at the moment. At least I know what I should be saving up for. I guess I will go with the 18-55 2nd hand and then I can at least sell again if I decide to go for the 16-45.

Thanks for all the advice

Thanks for the tip! Down from £155.99!?

That is quite a deal.

Are these generally considered to be good lenses? Would they be better than the DA/DA-L/ALII?

I am looking for a kit lens to replace the one I sold with my K-x. Any offers?

Thanks for the suggestion. I have actually never been on there before. Good site.

I just found this one: http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/7360/Used-Pentax-18-55mm-f3-5-5-6-Lens.html


Do you know which one this is likely to be? I guess probably the Mark 1 kit lens?

Thanks for the replies. That helps a lot. I'll go for a DA-L or an ALII.

Looking at the amount they are going for on ebay I think I might have made a mistake letting that lens go for as cheap as I did.

Oh well! I have time to wait for a good deal.

Hi guys,

I recently sold my K-x and upgraded to a K-r. The K-r I bought was body only so I am looking out for an 18-55 lens to replace the one on my K-x.

The one on the K-x was the standard kit lens. I think it was the
'F3.5-5.6, 18 - 55 mm Pentax D-AL lens'.

I have seen another 18-55 for sale but it is the:

'Pentax 18-55mm SMC DA F3.5-5.6 ALII'

So my question is: what is the difference between the AL and the ALII? Also is it worth paying more for the ALII version?

Any help would be great.

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

That helps a lot. I think I will just jump in and give it a go using the bundled pentax software. I can always buy lightroom or something in the future if I find I am using RAW a lot.

Also thanks for mentioning RAW+. I didn't realise that you could have both. Although I might need to get a bigger SD card.

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. Re-reading my post I perhaps came across a little negative above. I should have said that (probably through ignorance) I never could really be bothered to shoot RAW before.

I have a couple of weeks until the shoot so I am actually viewing this as an opportunity/incentive to improve my skills and to learn about RAW. From what I have heard it is well worth it so I expect that once I get going I will learn to enjoy the post production process, I'll certainly enjoy seeing improved final pictures!

I guess my main question is: what software should I use? Should I just use the software that came with my k-r / s95 or should I get some 3rd party software that will do for both?

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if any knowledgeable people could give me some advice about shooting RAW?

I have never really been the type to spend ages touching up my photos so the idea of shooting RAW never really appealed to me. But a friend is making a short film and asked me to take some Production Shots during the shoot. The idea is to put them on the website so I would like to spend the time getting them as nice as possible.

From what I have heard that means I should shoot RAW. I have a Pentax K-r and a Canon S95 which both shoot RAW. Although I will only be using the K-r for this shoot ideally I would like to only have to learn 1 piece of software. Is there anything out there that would do both?

Does anyone have any general starting out advice? What settings should I be thinking about?

Any help would be amazing. Thanks.