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11/20/2008 10:51:43 PM · #1 |
I have a friend who has a Pentax K110D with 18-55 kit lens. She is on a budget, and is looking for a zoom lens with more reach (like up to 200 or 300mm). I figured I'd help her out for Christmas. She lives in Glasgow, Scotland and will be coming to Seattle for the holidays. She does lots of traveling, so something too heavy is not practical.
I am a Canon shooter, so I am not familiar with Pentax.
What do the Pentax folks on DPC recommend in the $300 range?
B&H has this for $299 - Pentax SMCP-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED
Suggestions anyone???
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12/09/2008 10:10:34 PM · #2 |
OK - so my friend emails me back after a trip to Hungary and Serbia, with the questions below. So what feedback can I give her from any DPC Pentax owners???
"Here's the three lenses I'm looking at...any suggestions?:
First choice is less zoom distance, but I like that it starts at 18, so I don't have to keep changing lenses back and forth for close up/far away.
Pentax DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 ED AL IF
The second one looks like it'll zoom farther, but also looks awkward, which means I'd probably not use it as often...
Pentax DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED
Finally, the cheapest option looks good, but I can't figure out why it costs so much less...
Pentax SMC P FA J - Telephoto zoom lens - 75 mm - 300 mm - f/4.5-5.8 AL"
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12/09/2008 10:21:15 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by seasaw:
Here's the three lenses I'm looking at...any suggestions? |
The first one is pretty good for a superzoom. Obviously slow at the long end though.
The second one is a reasonably new release..hopefully someone else can provide feedback.
Third one I'd stay away from. The FA J series of lenses were a budget range from the film days and are fairly pedestrian in build and performance.
Quite a few samples taken with the 18-250mm here at the Pentax Photo Gallery.
Also note that the Tamron 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 is thought of as being the same lens without the Pentax SMC coatings so may also be an option.
bazz. |
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12/09/2008 10:47:49 PM · #4 |
I started looking for a longer zoom lens recently so I have no "hands on" experience with it, but if your friend might consider 3rd party lenses, the Sigma AF 70-300 4-5.6 APO Macro looks quite good and can be had for under $200.
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