Confused by all the lenses Pentax has..

[seora]

hihi

im very new to photography and havent got myself a account yet. im using my friend's account to post this.

i've used several compacts and pro-sumers before and finally think that i should get a dslr to try it out. i've settled for pentax for its value and personally i prefer the colours that pentax beholds.

however, looking at the all lenses, i got entirely baffled. there are so many series and different types as i went on the net and the marketplace. just the prime lens itself, there are so many series.

im looking for a walk around prime, one great for both portraiture and landscape. may i ask what are the differences between e 'K', 'A', 'M' AND 'F' series? all of them seem to have the prime. what is one that will suffix my needs, esp when im taking children portraits?

as im still on my bargaining journey with some of the forumites here in the marketplace, i havent physically hold a pentax slr or tried the prime lenses before. thus i need the enlightenment and reccomendations that i can absorb from the more experienced here.

[scorpioh]

Short explanation on the fly: K, M, A and F are the older series of lenses designed during the good old film era - you may not want to dwell much into them when you are new. The latest range, designed for the digital crop sensor are the DA series. You may also find the somewhat new FA series - designed for film as well but features auto-focusing and metering. if you see "*", it means the professional grade lenses - weather sealed and tight tolerance. if you see "limited", it means a range of very exquisitely crafted, glass-in-metal primes.

If you want to go prime, sadly, it's not possible to find a one-prime-fits-all solution. Landscape shooters usually prefers something wider, say 20-30mm. 30-50mm would be good for walk-around and 50-90mm for that portrait. Yes, it's true that you can walk closer or further to "zoom" in and out using that prime but sometimes you may be constraint by your physical space. But as a start, I guess the da40/f2.8 pancake would be the best compromise.

Regarding the feel of the Pentax bodies, you should generally be satisfied - very nice ergonomics and decent built quality comparing with the same class by the competitors.

[fengwei]

Take a look here:

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269055

[seefei]

want to hold a pentax camera, come for this sat pentax marathon. we start at 730 am at singapore botanical garden. go to the "december outing" thread to find out more!

[hjbyeo]

Originally Posted by seefei want to hold a pentax camera, come for this sat pentax marathon. we start at 730 am at singapore botanical garden. go to the "december outing" thread to find out more!

What an event to end off the year with Pentax!