New K30, undecided on lenses. 18-135WR, 17-50 + 50-200WR, or other?

[alexruiz]

Well, after a few years, we are finally kissing the faithful and trusty K100D good bye and upgrading to a K30, skipping 3 generations (K200, K-x, K-r). All this time we had the camera we added only a macro lens and a 50-200 DA zoom (not WR) but really lacked a good all around lens. I am planning to rectify the situation with the K30.

Before continuing, I know you will ask "Why not the K-5?" The better video implementation in the K30 was a factor, hence why we picked it. But even if we would pick the K-5, the main question applies.

I am thorn right now between a 2 options, one of them K30 with the 18-135mm WR (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...F_3_5_5_6.html) that seems a good all around lens, and it is weather resistant. Image quality seems decent.

The other option is grabbing a great all around zoom like the Sigma / Tamron 17-50mm or the Pentax DA 17-70mm and a WR zoom. I am however, not sure on which one of the 17-50 or if the 17-70 would be better.
Tamron 17-50mm: http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?i...0mm%2520pentax
Sigma 17-50mm: http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?i...0mm%2520pentax
I think the Sigma has supersonic motor and the tamron doesn't

And how do the Pentax and Sigma 17-70 compare?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._DC_Macro.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...mm_f_4_AL.html

Furthermore, which WR zoom to get in addition to the all around zoom. Is there anyWR zoom longer than the 50-200WR?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._50_200mm.html

Image quality and versatility main factor, price second.

 

[GoSharks]

Check photozone.de

The DA* 60-250 is longer than the 50-200

 

[Throckmorton]

The 18-135 for more zoom!

 

[Gooberlx2]

Photozone's copys of the 18-135 must have been wierd. Pretty sure that people on pentaxforums and dpreview are generally pretty happy with theirs. That's the one I'd personally go with.

I think Pentax has some more longer zooms on coming up on their roadmap, like a 135-350. The DA* will certainly be sealed, dunno about the others.

http://www.pentaximaging.com/files/pdf/lens_roadmap.pdf

 

[fralexandr]

the only kit i would consider from pentax's k-30 lineup is the 18-135 <3

otherwise pentaxforums has done reviews comparing the 17-70s and 17-50s, though they don't compare the 17-70s to the 17-50s

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-16-50-vs-sigma-tamron-17-50mm/introduction.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-sigma-17-70mm-comparison/introduction.html

the general consensus on the 18-135 is that it's optically similar to the 16-45 but with greater zoom range. this places it somewhere between the 18-55 kit and the 16-50 DA*
http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/smc-pentax-da-18-135mm-zoom/review.html

 

[alexruiz]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I will be picking them all, Tamron 17-50/2.8, Pentax 18-135 WR and a longer WR zoom... but not all of them right now

I am getting the 18-135mm first, seems the more logical choice because of its versatility, and the 17-50mm next. That 60-250 DA* seems lovely, but at the same price as the K30 itself it is a little more in the future

 

[JoeyM]

good choice. I'm going to get the k30 as well with the 18-135 WR unless the K5 replacement is really compelling (and competitinely priced). I'm also getting the 300mm Pentax prime for telephoto work and a macro adapter for the 18-35 zoom lens. That should cover my needs for a long time.

Joe M.

 

[Smoove910]

So I must ask, why get the 17-50mm if you are going to have the 18-135mm? Seems like you are just buying a 2nd lens with the same focal range...

 

[alexruiz]

So I must ask, why get the 17-50mm if you are going to have the 18-135mm? Seems like you are just buying a 2nd lens with the same focal range...

The 17-50 is fixed F2.8 through the whole zoom range, and described as better indoor lens. Probably redundant as you mention, but hey, I also have the itch for a lens this kind