What’s the best first lens after the 18-55mm kit lens for a Pentax K-x on a student budget?
Asked 9/26/2010
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I’m new to photography and use a Pentax K-x with the 18-55mm kit lens. My budget is under $300, and I want a first additional lens that will help me learn without feeling like a purchase I’ll quickly regret.
I’m considering a few directions: an 18-200mm superzoom, an 8mm fisheye, a fast normal prime like the Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4, or a budget 70-300mm telephoto. I’m not yet sure what type of photography I enjoy most, so I’m looking for a lens that is useful for learning and offers solid image quality for the money.
Should I buy a prime, a telephoto zoom, or wait and save more? Is the used market the smartest option for Pentax?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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My advice: get one or more primes. Why? For $300, there are a number of very high quality prime lenses available, particularly on Pentax with its extreme backwards compatibility, and so you're likely to find a pro-quality lens that you'll keep and use for years. On the other hand, at that price point it is very difficult to find a high-quality zoom.
You note that you have no prime experience, so perhaps it's also a good way to expand your repertoire. It's often fun to work under more constraints, and prime lenses go down to f/1.4 rather than f/2.8 which is the limit on all but the most exotic zooms; those two extra stops can mean a lot.
Regarding your four suggestions:
- Don't bother with the zooms. They will be low quality.
- An 8mm fisheye is for full-frame. On 1.5x crop, you'll have kind of the worst of both worlds: a cropped field of view and heavy fisheye distortion. Now, a fisheye is certainly an interesting and very fun lens, though quite specialized. IMO it's a worthwhile component of any kit, but not the best second lens. If you do choose a fisheye, I've used the DA 10-17 and it's very nice, though slightly above your price point new.
- The DA 35mm would be a fine choice, but there's nothing particularly special about it that would merit waiting.
Where to go from here:
- Browse around the PentaxForums.com lens database. This gives data and reviews on nearly every Pentax lens that ever existed.
- Consider used. This is a good way to get a great lens cheaply (or maybe even two).
- keh.com is highly reputable and I've had excellent luck with them; they back their used sales with a short warranty.
- Here is one of many Pentax lens compatibility charts.
- If you have some patience, consider a manual focus or even screwmount lens. You can get superb glass for very cheap; for example, this 50mm SMC Takumar costs only $70 and I can assure you those Takumars are truly remarkable pieces of kit. (Note that with screwmount, you need an adapter and it's important to get a high-quality one.)
Originally by user27. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27
15y ago
0
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For your budget, a prime is the safest and most useful choice—especially on Pentax, where good used lenses are common.
The Pentax 35mm f/2.4 is the strongest option from your list. It should give better image quality than a cheap superzoom, adds a wider aperture than your kit lens, and is a great learning tool. Using a prime helps you improve composition because you must move and think more deliberately instead of relying on zoom.
The 18-200mm superzoom is the least recommended option here: lenses in that price range are generally heavy compromises in optical quality. A budget 70-300mm can be decent if you specifically want reach, but it’s more specialized and less versatile as a first extra lens.
The 8mm fisheye is very specialized and probably not the best first lens unless you already know you want that effect.
Also, check the used market. Pentax’s backward compatibility means there are often excellent older K-mount primes available, sometimes faster than f/2.4, and they can be great long-term lenses.
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AI15y ago
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