New lens shopping

[Moparmike]

I'm finding myself in about the same boat that Joris has posted in his "I'm Puzzled" thread.

I'm looking for a faster fixed focal-length wide/standard zoom for my *istDL (and it'll be used on a future K-x too).

Right now I've got the Pentax DA18-55 kit lens which has been really good to me except it's a bit on the slow side at f/3.5. My long zoom is the DA50-200...good lens but again, a bit slow for indoor work even at 50mm. My fast lenses are MF primes...two 50mms (f/1.7 & f/2.0) and one 28mm f/2.8.
In addition to my normal playing around with shallow DoF still life shots, I've got a friend's wedding coming up this summer where I'll be taking some non-pro shots.
A faster AF zoom would be a nice addition to my kit.

The two lenses that have really popped out at me while reading reviews are:
-Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 EX DC
-Tamron SP 28-75 f/2.8 XR Di LD
Both are priced out around $400 right now and my budget is $500.

I'm leaning towards the 28-75 Tammy right now. Seems to fit in with the shots that I usually take.
I seldom used the 18-24mm range on my kit lens, but that 24-28mm range does get used some. I'm a little concerned about missing that 4mm if I go with the Tammy.
The 50-75mm range would be nice to add onto the lens. I use 50-70mm quite a bit with my DA50-200 and I wouldn't mind having that range stuck onto another lens. This might avoid a few lens swaps when I'm out and about.


Anyone used either of these two lenses (or something similar)?

[JorisVandenBerghe]

Do you need much wide-angle ? I considered the 28-75 from Sony myself, but on an APS-C or crop camera (read: non-35mm/full-frame camera) 28mm may not give you enough wide-angle. 24mm is ok for most people, even on a crop camera, but 28mm is getting pretty narrow. For portraiture etc, no problem...but if you're planning to get a shot of a group of people, then I'd consider the Sigma, or perhaps even the Tamron 17-50 (not sure if it's available for Pentax ?).

If you need a really fast lens, a prime is the way to go. If you can live with the fixed focal length, that is (at the moment, I can't...zoom lens addiction I believe it's called ).

[Ferry_vO]

or perhaps even the Tamron 17-50 (not sure if it's available for Pentax ?).

According to the official Tamron site it is. Nice lens, I have the Canon version. Works quite well indoor. AF is loud but reasonably quick. It sounds slower than it is. The new VC version (Vibration reduction) apparently is less sharp than the non-VC version. Good lens with a great price.

[Moparmike]

Strangely enough, I stopped into the local Ritz (about 90 miles away) and fondled that 17-50 Tammy today. Doesn't look too bad of a lens...on a D40...
This Ritz hasn't had anything Pentax in the store for several years but at least I can stop in and browse what's available for Nikon. That's a story for another thread though!

Hadn't even considered the Tamron 17-50mm since I just plain overlooked it while browsing the reviews on several Pentax forums I frequent. Arrgh...more reviews! I've already got brain rot!!!
It is definitely one to research some more!

I've seen the 18-50 EX Sigma in action on a local friend's Canon. I'm fairly impressed with it and it get's good reviews from online Pentaxians too.

I seldom dip below 24mm with my current DA18-55 kit lens, but that 4mm from 24 to 28 is a gap that I do use occasionally. That's my biggest concern with the Tammy 28-75.

Primes...
I like primes if I'm just messing around shooting still life or landscapes. I have been quite happy with my old 28, 50, and 135mm manual focus primes. Don't have any AF primes though since I'm usually not in a hurry when shooting those subjects. I can "zoom with my feet" most of the time.
If there are subjects on the move or I can't take the time to find a good shooting position a zoom is awful handy!

[Moparmike]

Just received a brand-new Tamron 17-50 in the mail the other day.
Had a bit of time to play with it but mostly I've been fighting with getting the sensor clean on my DL...as you can see I've still got a few stragglers hanging around in there.


A center crop of a leopard frog soaking up some sunshine.

50mm@f2.8



Another froggy sunning himself...

50mm@f4.0



Surprised a pair of mallards. Not the best choice for a bird shot, but this shows off the bit of vignetting that I'm getting with the lens. Not really happy about vignetting at 50mm...on the wide end I can live with a bit but I'm not sure I like that on the top.
Oh yeah...don't forget to ignore the fuzzies on the sensor! :d

50mm@f6.7



This is my typical subject material...

50mm@f13






And one from last summer with my DA18-55...

55mm@f5.6



The full size shots are on my flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moparmike90/