You left out the DA 16-45 f4, which might be the sweet spot in terms of
performance and price, though it is now discontinued.
FWIW - I have the 17-70, the 16-45 and the first version of the 18-55.
The 17-70 is a little soft wide open but sharpens up even at f 5.6. The
zoom range is good for a general purpose lens. I have not had any issues
with the SDM focusing -it is fast, quiet and accurate. But I'm ever
paranoid that it will up and quit on me given the experiences of others.
The 16-45 is distinctly better than the 17-70 at f4 and marginally
better when stopped down, but 45mm is just a tad short for my tastes. I
have not used the 18-55 for years - my recollection was that it was a
pretty decent lens, though.
That said - I doubt that any of these will be on par with the 50 f1.4.
Mark
On 1/29/2016 11:27 AM, Ed Keeney 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/
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