I currently have three of the four

DA16-45 - astonishingly good value. Superb for landscapes. Very light weight. Not so keen on the bokeh though.

DA17-70 - lovely lens. Excellent range. Super sharp and contrasty. Fairly heavy, and SDM only (only a problem with older dSLRs). Creamy bokeh. Out-of-camera JPGs very usable.

DA*16-50 - My favourite of the three. Heaviest, but WR. Ultra, ultra quiet focus and an utter joy to use. From initial tests I'd use this on RAW and use the correction of LR3. Excellent match to the DA*50-135.


It's a tough one between the three
Big downside of the DA*16-50 is price

If you want any more specific comments, just let me know
Matt

Great results from simple additions! Well done!

I've also had very good results from using "Funky Foam" for flash reflectors & modifiers. You can pick up a pack of multicoloured foam from Staples, but other art and craft shops stock it It's useful as you can fold it, glue it, staple it, etc. Also double up as small backgrounds! Diffused plastic packaging is also useful... I keep a little stock of interesting materials for flash work

Matt

Why not consider the other macro options? They've been discussed many times...

* Reversing ring. About £10, but you'll need an old manual lens that has an aperture ring - even an M42 screw thread lens will do such as a 50mm, or 28mm. Total cost about £20). Since the lens mounts back-to-front you can always try this just by holding a prime lens over the mounting hole on the camera. Ultra close macro

* Extension tubes. Between £20 and £150-ish. Cheap non-electrical contact versions are available everywhere. You'll have to have a lens with an aperture ring, manual focus, and preferably a prime (e.g. 50mm, 28mm)

* Close up filters. These will work on all lenses, but will degrade the lens quality somewhat. However, there are some decent multi-coated compound optic close up filters that are worth looking at.

HTH!
Matt

Dang... missed it!

You might consider the *ist-Ds too. It has a pentaprism (rather than the pentamirror of the *ist-DL). It also supports the older TTL flash as well as P-TTL, and has 11 point AF, rather than the 3 of the DL Other than that, pretty much the same spec.

SRS have a second hand one for £119
(including 6 month warranty)

Matt

I have a whole range to choose from

A two year old can easily push both sides of the clip... especially if they get a bit bored!!

Matt

It's a great feature... unless you are carrying a child

Twice, one of my children have fiddled with the strap clip and unpopped it!!! Both times, thankfully, I caught the camera (and no, I didn't drop the child instead! :lol

Just something to watch out for though with all your lovely Pentax glass

Matt

Here's another little snapshot - shot wide open, f/2.8, 43mm, ISO640, 1/80s. Fractionally back-focused as the cat wasn't too happy with me taking its mug-shot!

I use the Op/Tech strap - the one below the Pro (which is enormously wide). I believe it's the "Op/Tech Super Classic"
Matt