K-5 Lens Selection.

Ok - so this thread should perhaps be in the "Lenses" forum, but it's not, so there!

I'm now seriously thinking of buying a K-5. I currently have a K-X which I bought with the 18-55 & 50-200 kit lenses. Question is, is the K-5 with the 18-135 WR lens really worth £340 more than with the 18-55 & 50-200 WR lenses?

I feel that the 18-135mm range would be very useful, but would that be at the expense of image quality?

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"He's not the Messiah, ..."

As you already cover this range try going outside these, maybe closer or even longer.

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My Flickr link

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (John Lennon)

K-5 IIs, K-7 (100,000 clicks)
My Lenses (or what's left after the arrival of the 300*)
Pentax DA*16-50 - DA35 f2.4 - A 50mm f1.7 - FA50 f1.4 - DA*300 f4
Sigma 24mm f2.8 - 70-200 f2.8 - 180mm Macro 1:2 f2.8 (ancient but spectacular)
Vivitar Series 1 105mm f2.4 Macro

One of the main reasons for opting for the K-5 is its weather resistance (I live in Scotland. It sometimes rains here ) My other lenses aren't weather resistant so I'd be looking for a half-decent "standard" lens or lenses to suit the K-5 and on the face of it, the 18-135 looks like a very useful lens. Trouble is, this wide range usually comes at the expense of image quality so I'd like to hear from anyone who has used one.

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"He's not the Messiah, ..."

Have you looked at this review?

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax_18-135mm_review.php

Dave

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Pentax K-01/40 ltd/18-55/M28 2.8/M42 55 1.8



Please visit my flickr: link

Yep - I have now. Thanks Dave.

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"He's not the Messiah, ..."

There are persistent rumours of a WR version of the DA 55-300mm. Not that that's much use to you right now of course

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Pentax K20D + BG2 Grip | Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 | Pentax 18-55mm II | Pentax 35mm Macro Limited | Pentax 50mm Macro | Pentax 50-200mm ED | Samsung 100mm Macro | Vivitar 28mm f2.8 | Helios 77M-4 | Metz Mecablitz 48 AF-1 | Redsnapper TRI-283

A meagre 7 for sharpness!

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K20D...ist DS ,DA18/55,DA16/45.DA* 50/135,"A"1.7 50MM..."A" 70/210..M 50mm f2...Tamron 90mm macro,28/300 Tamron,200/500 Tamron 6.9....A Pentax DA*300... Sigma10/20,FA31mm 1.8 Ltd*********,FA 77mm Ltd!

i think it looks good for pentax, just hope they keep it up.

Hopefully my replacement K-5 will arrive today (after nearly 7 weeks of waiting it gets sent for delivery on a day when I have to go out for most of the morning) and I have sort of promised to buy a 18-135mm for delivery late next week.

I have the 2 kit WR lenses so I should be able to give you a comparison.

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No equipment list here .... move along the bus please.

I have the 18-135 WR and it is a very useful all purpose lens.The range from moderate wide angle to medium telephoto is extremely versatile and has the added advantage of being weatherproof.

As regards how good it is I would agree with the view that it is at least as good and probably a little better than the standard kit lenses. There is some distortion at the wide end but this is easily corrected in-camera with the K-5 (JPEGS only - Raw has to be corrected in pp)

The other point is that it is relatively small and light though well built. The new DC AF is very fast. It does not have wide apertures but the high ISO abilities of the K-5 compensate.

If you want the highest IQ you need the Limiteds or DA* lenses of course but as a general purpose, go anywhere lens I have found it very useful. Whether it is worth the rather high price only you can decide.

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Archie

The price of the 18-135mm is already dropping fast (see Leads to Deals section) and it's starting to look very interesting.

When I'm ready I'll just buy one. Pentax don't make bad lenses so I'm sure it will be very usable, especially with WR.

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Best regards, John

Take no notice. Look at example pics instead and make your mind up.

My Sigma 30/1.4 scored low on some review's sharpness arbitrary number becuase it is a bit softer at the edges wide open. Precisely where you don't mind it being not sharp anyway, so it's irrelevant. The lens is razor sharp where you need it and has a lovely vibe.

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Bodies: 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Smeggy's Forum and Pics

And that's from a softly-softly 'review' on the Other Forum which deliberately avoided mention of barrel distortion (traditionally the weakest point of superzooms).

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Pentax K20D + BG2 Grip | Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 | Pentax 18-55mm II | Pentax 35mm Macro Limited | Pentax 50mm Macro | Pentax 50-200mm ED | Samsung 100mm Macro | Vivitar 28mm f2.8 | Helios 77M-4 | Metz Mecablitz 48 AF-1 | Redsnapper TRI-283