Hi Petter - My advice would be Don't Go Mad! It would be easy to
blow your budget all at once on a lot of shiny new gear you eventually
find you don't use. I was in the same happy position as you (wrt both
Pentax buying and fatherhood) a year or so ago, and I'm pleased with the
way both have worked out.
I started with an ME Super, A 50/1.7 and M 24-35/3.5. A quick
summary of where I spent my money in the course of a year or so.
MZ-5n: Very pleased. Viewfinder display occasionally hard to read, and
make sure you turn off the spotmeter (or the self-timer) when you've
finished with it, or you get some very odd results. Easy to use - even
in MF - and I don't think I've missed a shot because the camera couldn't
do what I wanted. There are some good prices about on these, here in
the UK at least.
FA 35/2: Excellent, although I've used it less than I thought I might
(see below!). Works well for indoor people-pictures (of which you'll be
taking a lot) when there's not a lot of light and not a lot of
backing-up space.
FA 100/3.5: Not awfully nice to hold or to focus manually, but very
effective for the money. I've had a few goes at real macro, but mostly
I use it for outdoor portraits.
FA 28-70/4: Bought on the strength of recommendations here to replace
the tacky 28-80 that came with the 5n. Didn't cost much (used) and
works well in AF, but not nice to focus manually, and too slow to use
indoors. Doesn't get much use these days.
F70-210/4-5.6: Not awfully useful for baby pictures, but I thought it
might be good once we reach the playing-on-the-lawn stage. Meanwhile,
it's a terrific mid-range zoom for zoo pictures and the like.
FA 43/1.9 Limited: The reason the 35 and 28-70 get out less than they
used to. Rather than agonize over which focal length would be perfect,
I just pick up the 43 and stand where it wants me to. I got mine new
and ridiculously cheap, but even the full price would be good value for
this gem. Since I bought it, I'd guess I'd used it for 60 per cent of
my pictures overall and 80 per cent of baby pictures. It kinda does
that to you!
Tripod: Essential unless you want an album full of Baby Blinded by Flash
pictures. I like ball heads - they're easier to position quickly than
those multi-way things, for my purposes anyway.
Film. Lots and lots of film - and processing. (The staff at my lab ask
after my son every time I go in.) Kodak Supra 400 and Fuji NPH seem to
work well for babies, without turning them into red-faced monsters, as
Royal 400 can. Or you could do as I did I try black and white for the
first few days - it doesn't draw attention to how tired everyone is
looking!
Hope that's some help, and that all goes well in the spring. Just
remember to put the camera down occasionally and enjoy the magic of it
all!
All the best,
Clive.
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