No experience with the 17-70. I’ve had the 16-50, 60-250. Both very fine lenses, no issues. I let go of both of these when I downsized my APS-C kit. I kept the 50-135/2.8. Alone, it is a superb lens. Together with the 1.4x extender it is a very reasonable substitute for the 60-250.
Two thoughts. First, don’t leave the 20-40/2.8-4.0 out of your thinking. It is a nice little lens; I bought it to use in lieu of the 16-50 because of the smaller size. With the high-ISO performance of recent Pentax bodies, I have stopped worrying much about the difference between Very Fast and Moderately Fast lenses. Second though: why a zoom? You have a good 50mm for the center of your range. Now add the following: 21/3.2 $355 (these are todays price new at B&H) 35/2.8 macro $430 (If you don’t care for Macro, a couple other good very inexpensive 35s out there. 70/2.4 $395 stan > On Jan 29, 2016, at 11:27 AM, Ed Keeney <ewkph...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hello all! > > I have the following in my bag at the moment... > > Pentax K-50 > SMC-DAL 18-55 3.5/5.6 > SMC-DA 50-200 4-5.6 > SMC-FA 50 1.4 > > I find that the image quality of the 50 is outstanding when comparing > to the other 2 lenses (primarily the 18-55). Not that the kit lens is > bad, but the 50 is very sharp. I attribute this to the fixed aperture > and overall better quality glass. > > I'm thinking of saving for a new higher quality lens (aren't we all?). > At this point, I'm not sure which direction to take. Do I look at the > current lineup (below) or try to find a second hand older lens. > > The current fixed aperture zoom lens lineup from the Ricoh site (US prices)... > > PENTAX DA 12-24mm f/4 ED AL [IF] $ 699.95 > > PENTAX smc DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM $1049.95 > > PENTAX smc DA 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM $ 499.95 > > PENTAX HD D FA 24-70mm f/2.8ED SDM WR $1299.95 > > PENTAX smc DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED [IF] SDM $1049.95 > > PENTAX smc DA* 60-250mm F4 [IF] SDM $1299.95 > > > To start, I am looking at the DA 17-70 to roughly cover the same range > as the 18-55 and luckily it's the lowest priced one. B&H has it > listed for $350, Amazon $300. > > Online reviews are hit and miss on this (SDM focusing issues). > > I'd like to get PDML thoughts, so fire away! > > Thanks! > Ed > http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkeeney/ > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.