pentax lens

[neoenter]

consider to buy K10D to be my 1st DSLR, but some DX said pentax lens are very hard to find and buy, is it ture? can i buy lens easily in singapore? thanks!

[night86mare]

you want the truth?
second hand is not easy to find
first hand certain lenses not easy to find

but you still get quite a lot of lenses
and a lot of the vendors are quite willing to help
unless you are the very picky sort, hrm

[fengwei]

Depends on what kind of photos you like to take. If you prefer taking sports/birds/wildlife, Pentax might not be good for you 'cause it's hard to find good Pentax tele lenses. But if you are into landscape/cityscape, portrait, daily life/street photography, Pentax got plenty lenses for most users.

To be honest, for most users, a kit lens plus a DA50-200 is already more than enough. Besides, Pentax got those cute little pancake lenses which no one else has Just get the due lens kit, plus a DA40 or DA70, you are done for a great start

[VSonic06]

Originally Posted by neoenter consider to buy K10D to be my 1st DSLR, but some DX said pentax lens are very hard to find and buy, is it ture? can i buy lens easily in singapore? thanks!

Depends what you need. Exotic stuff like FA Limited series are hard to come by, while some lenses like DA Limited 70/3.2, FA35/2 are not available because for some reason Shriro doesn't bring them in. Check out OP at SLS Level 6, they do bring in Pentax-mount lenses that local distributors (Shriro, Sigma) shun. Be aware that those are grey imports.

Short zoom lenses like DA 16-45/4, Sigma 17-70, Sigma 18-50 are easy to get here, and so is the FA 50/1.4 (also for 2nd hand). The new DA*s are as rare as Ferraris for now but thats likely to change from next month.

There is a bit of hunting when buying Pentax lenses but look at the bright side... it is also a good thing for your wallet

[overdodo]

I agree with fengwei, it is difficult to find telephoto lens (>200mm) in Pentax mount (either Pentax or 3rd party). One might even have to end up paying a premium to use them.

However, there are many normal-daily-use lens available for Pentax and they are cheaper / and of comparable quality compared to the competition.

[neoenter]

thank u so much, dxs
i do not need telephoto lens. i think normal-daily-use lens is already gd for me.in that case, the lens is easy to find, right? bty, shriro......

as for the grey lens, do they have warrenty? thanks

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by neoenter thank u so much, dxs i do not need telephoto lens. i think normal-daily-use lens is already gd for me.in that case, the lens is easy to find, right? bty, shriro...... as for the grey lens, do they have warrenty? thanks

In that case, Pentax will be okay for you.

And yes, those lenses from OP do come with shop warranty. I'd buy from them if I can get the lens cheaper there

[NoMoney]

There more threats in the B&S sub-forum for the pentax lenses.

There is a possibility of more threats being posted as the DA* lenses were on their way to the shelves in the shops.

The grey lens by OP would have the shop warranty. Any problem can send back to them.

FA 50/1.4 is a great lens to have and value for $.

Hope you would join Pentax soon

[creampuff]

Nothing wrong with grey sets. From my experience, I've never actually had any problems with the lenses I've bought within the first year, be it local warranty or grey. I personally would not hesitate to buy a grey set because I enjoy an upfront savings of the purchase price. Lenses are global products, no difference in quality if bought in the US, HK, Singapore, etc.

That said, having visited some shops recently, I have seen the DA14mm, DA21mm, FA50mm, DA10-17mm fisheye, DA12-24mm, DA16-45mm, DA100mm macro, DA50-200mm available for sale. So if you do some legwork, there are more than enough Pentax lenses to pick up.

This whole lens availability issue to me is an issue blown out of proportion (presumably by overzealous people using other makes who don't want you to consider Pentax). If you can't get what you want in Singapore, one can easily find them online or from other countries (like Malaysia, HK, Japan, US, etc.), and often cheaper than locally. The only issue is whether one is prepared to spend $$$$$ and take the time to look.

The new DA* zoom lenses should already be available. Buy both and most of your shooting needs would be covered. Reality check, how many are willing and able to fork out the money for these beauties? Plus there are the new Carl Zeiss lenses coming soon. So the constraint is always going to be one's budget.

If one's budget is more modest, then give older manual focus lenses a go. I use quite a number of manual lenses that give pretty good results. These are available cheap because far too many photographers are too accustomed to AF that they forget that manual focusing lenses can be just as good. That's the advantage of using a Pentax - backward compatibility.

[creampuff]

A few days ago I had the chance to see the insides of the Canon and Nikon kit lenses up close. All I can say is I'm glad I'm using Pentax if for any other reason because the Pentax kit lens is much better built. The revelation is the amount of PLASTIC in the kit lenses from the other camps (lens elements, lens mount) ugh!

[hamustar]

Hi there,
With regards to lens availability, I think Pentax FA/DA lens collection has almost every prime/zoom ranges covered. There are also a fair amount of common ranges made by 3rd party.
In SG, if you visit TKfoto, Orient Photo or Cathay...etc, u should be able to find the lens you want. Secondary choice will be to order from overseas websites like bhphotovideo.com (USA , direct shipping or use vPost), or shashinki.com (Malaysian website)....these would cost only slightly more than local shops.

Without the clutter and over-supply of so many 3rd-party and original lenses for other makes, Pentaxians can spend more time dwelling in photography, rather than collecting lenses and studying lens specifications.

[the mac 13]

Originally Posted by creampuff A few days ago I had the chance to see the insides of the Canon and Nikon kit lenses up close. All I can say is I'm glad I'm using Pentax if for any other reason because the Pentax kit lens is much better built. The revelation is the amount of PLASTIC in the kit lenses from the other camps (lens elements, lens mount) ugh!

Wait till you see the decorations on their kit lens peeling off.

[Danny Rusli]

Pentax lens have a unique range, so when want to find/ buy lens like 70-200 f2.8 or tokina 12-24, it very difficult to find...

[Gengh]

Originally Posted by neoenter thank u so much, dxs i do not need telephoto lens. i think normal-daily-use lens is already gd for me.in that case, the lens is easy to find, right? bty, shriro...... as for the grey lens, do they have warrenty? thanks

I was asking the same question here some months back when I was deciding if I should get the K100D. Since then, I've been paying attention everytime I pass by the usual camera shops, and they do usually have a small selection of lenses for Pentax mount on display. So in this aspect (and in most other aspects too ) I'm pleased with my decision to go with the K100D; lens availability (the usual ones at least) is not something that should keep people away from Pentax!

[creampuff]

Originally Posted by Danny Rusli Pentax lens have a unique range, so when want to find/ buy lens like 70-200 f2.8 or tokina 12-24, it very difficult to find...

Bro, your first post in CS, but I'm afraid you got no idea what you're talking about...

FYI there is no Tokina 12-24 for Pentax mount. There is a Pentax version with it's unique SMC coating and a Tokina version for other lens mounts. The Pentax 12-24 is made under a joint agreement between Tokina and Pentax. This is not difficult to find.

As to the 70-200 f2.8, only Sigma has this lens in their current lineup. This lens is only made for Canon and Nikon mounts.

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by Danny Rusli Pentax lens have a unique range, so when want to find/ buy lens like 70-200 f2.8 or tokina 12-24, it very difficult to find...

this is quite zen

"unique range"
?!?!?!?!

[istDeS]

Originally Posted by creampuff As to the 70-200 f2.8, only Sigma has this lens in their current lineup. This lens is only made for Canon and Nikon mounts.

Yes and the earlier version of sigma 70-200 f2.8 (non macro) has it in Pentax AF mount.

[berry]

More Tamron lenses in Pentax mount coming this year end or next year. Some of the lenses like 17-50/2.8, 24-70/2.8 etc are already on sales in Japan, Taiwan and others country.... Hopefully can see it in Singapore soon!