As I've mentioned before, that's because Pentax stupidly use CR Kennedy as their agent in Oz, and Kennedy are also agents for Sigma, on which they presumably have some volume-pricing deal. That means they always push Sigma at the expense of Pentax.

From what I have seen, most UK and US sellers on Ebay are prepared to ship internationally (if they don't explicitly say so, just ask), and postage charges from the UK to OZ are, I think, reasonable.

Also, KEH in the States is regarded as a very ethical seller, whose "bargain" category often includes some very good stuff.

Don't give up.

G

Nothing wrong with any of the lenses you mention, Matt, but they don't all fit into the budget category!

G

PS: One fairly frequent bargain bundle to be found on Ebay is the SFX body plus 35-70 and 70-210. Usually worth the price even if you don't want the body.

Sledger,

Sorry for being cranky!

There's no such thing as one lens that will do everything, and chasing after such a mythical beast will get you nowhere.

A few points:

1 A prime (fixed focal length) lens is much easier to make than a zoom, so primes will always be cheaper, faster (this means having a wider maximum aperture, which will permit you to use a faster shutter speed), sharper, smaller, lighter, mechanically more robust, and generally better in every way than a zoom. But, of course, you have to change lenses if you want a different angle of view. That's the downside.

2 The 18-125 focal length range is wonderful - in theory. In practice, it is impossible to make a good lens with such a wide zoom range, so if you care about quality, forget wide-range zooms.

3 Very few third-party lens makers can match Pentax quality, even occasionally. So stick to Pentax, and always buy second-hand (while budget-constrained).

4 I suggested the Pentax 18-35 zoom on the grounds of cost, and JR suggested the the 18-55, which is better, but more expensive. In your shoes, I would buy one of these two zooms, mainly because it gives you access to a cheap wide-angle (a Pentax 20mm prime would cost more), plus any SMC Pentax 50mm (they're all excellent) and the SMC Pentax-F 70-210 1:4-5.6. That'll give you quality ranging from good to superb, and it'll cover the spectrum fairly well at the cheapest possible price.

Cheers cobber

George

PS: SMC refers to the lens coating, and is an indicator of quality generally. Lens suffices F, FA, DA, FAJ and D-FA are all auto-focus lenses that will work fully with the *ist DS. No suffix, or an M, indicate early (but still good) lenses with no automation. They only work in manual mode on the DS, but are often a very good budget buy. Lenses with an A suffix work in (almost) all modes, but are also manual focus.

I don't think you have understood a word I wrote!

You can't have high quality and low cost, unless you buy a good lens second-hand.

Your Astron lens is another cheapo, which will inevitably disappoint you. If you're going to buy rubbishy lenses, you might as well buy a point and shoot camera.

It's like buying a putting a Daewoo engine in a Ferrari.

George

Try the brand whose name is inscribed on your camera.

If you're on a budget, the best advice is to buy top quality brands second-hand, not third-rate brands new.

In fairness, Sigma do make some good lenses. But a large proportion of their output is, and always has been, pretty poor. I speak from experience, having bought Sigmas too when I was on a tight budget.

If you frequent Ebay, you will find loads of Pentax-M prime lenses at very modest prices, as well as some very good Pentax-F zooms, like the 70-210 f4-5.6, and the 35-135, both of which go for around £40 or so.

Another excellent Pentax zoom is the M 75-150, and so is the A 70-210 f4.

Power zoom lenses are out of favour, and the 28-105 is pretty good and pretty cheap.

If you don't have a 50mm lens, make that a priority. The quality is staggering, and the price miniscule.

Finally, if you want a modern lens, the new FAJ 18:35 lens is not too bad, despite the scorn sometimes heaped upon it.

And finally, avoid zooms with a ratio of more than four times (like your 18-125). The design challenge means that they will either be expensive, or bad, or both.

Good luck

George

That works fine, but unless you are good at counting the clicks you may get an aperture which isn't quite the one you wanted.

G

That works fine, but unless you are good at counting the clicks you may get an aperture which isn't quite the one you wanted.

G

If it wasn't for the overhang, which makes operating the auto/manual switch less easy than it might be, using a screw-mount lens is possibly even easier than using an M or K lens.

1 Select Av mode
2 Select aperture (on the lens!)
3 Switch to Auto (on the lens)
4 Compose and focus
5 Switch to Manual (on the lens)
6 Shoot.

Repeat steps 3 til 6 until you fill the card or run out of ideas.

Of course, with enough light, or if you want a wide aperture, you can omit steps 3 and 5.

G

Pentax makes an adapter which allows 42mm screw-mount lenses to be used on most K-mount bodies, including the DSLRs. They are often sold on Ebay.

However, the overhang on the pentaprism housing (on the *ist D - the other bodies may be different) reduces the headroom above the auto/manual switch on the lens, so if you have big fingers this may be a problem.

George

Mac,

I suspect you may not know about these two excellent sites:

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/

http://stans-photography.info/

George