Looking for a lens to replace your kit lens but on a budget? Then read on.
The kit lens that is included with your camera (for k-x users the 18-55mm) is a great start to getting into digital SLR photography. But when it comes down to taking great photographs, lenses really matter. With all creativity aside, lenses do change the quality and the amount of creativity you can achieve with your photographs. After all photography follows all the rules of optics, and creativity follows no rules.
Why are more expensive lenses better?
The most debated reasons…
- build quality (more solidly constructed)
- larger apertures (meaning they are “fast” or that you can use fast shutter speeds with them)
- better glass (meaning the optics are actually produced to be more precise)
- better color/contrast/sharpness/bokeh/etc…
- brand names (like everything else in the world, brand name comes with a price)
These are typically the given reasons for purchasing more expensive lenses. I agree with quite a few of these points, but I simply do not have the budget to purchase real expensive lenses.
I decide on which lens to purchase based on…
- what I want to photograph
- cost
So this kind of leaves me in the arena of many DSLR owners. I want the best quality lens for my limited budget.
Good for you I have been doing a lot of research on lenses recently and came across the Sigma 17-70mm. Most users have described it as an exceptional “walkabout” lens. Meaning that it is good for a multitude of photographic situations. Its good for wide angle views (17mm) and also zoom shots (70mm). It also has a max aperture of f2.8, which means it will be faster in low light conditions. Faster lenses mean that you will be able to use a faster shutter speed to “freeze” the action, less blurring.
Just the amount of buzz that I have heard online has convinced me to at least go out and try this lens as a potential replacement for my k-x’s 18-55mm kit lens. There isn’t anything wrong with the kit lens (its great!) but there are better lenses out there. Most kit lenses are a balance between high performance and low cost, with an emphasis on low cost.
Well, next time I head to B&H I am going to check out this Sigma lens (and knowing my absolute weakness when it comes to not buying anything when I go to B&H) possibly make a purchase. Besides being “faster” (larger max aperture, meaning smaller f number) it has a larger zoom range (70mm) than the Pentax K-x’s kit lens(55mm).
Also at about $370 it’s a “bargain”. The comparable Pentax 17-70mm lens costs $480 and its max aperture is f4.
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Hi !
I just tested the new Sigma 17-70 for several days. I waited 2 month that Pentax version is out and at the end the Sigma really disappointed me. From my point of view the 18-55 Pentax kit lens is equal or even better in the image quality. I also not like the OS of the Sigma, even if you turn him off you still can hear the OS.
Some shots you can see here:
http://picasaweb.google.de/KxBilder/TestShotsSigma1770F284OSHSM#
I will go now for the Tamron 18-250 for outsight shootings and the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 for inhouse or night shootings.
Chris, thanks for the feedback on the sigma 17-70. Let us know how the tamron 18-250 works out for you. Too bad the rebate is no longer available for it though.
Michael, thanks for setting up this blog. I check it regulary as part of my photography education. The k-x is definitely a great tool and this camera alone is huge help.
Chris, you sound like a new user. No ways is the kit lens as good as the Sigma 17-70. The Sigma is universally praised for sharpness and contrast. You are probably not getting your focus perfect. The kit lens is OK – not brilliant but also not bad – the Sigma is much more useful – do yourself a favour and try it again.
The Tamron 18 – 250 is the perfect all purpose lens but lacks sharpness at the extreme wide and telephoto ends of the range – you can improve this a lot by stopping down to f5.6 and mine is at its best at f9.5. Fortunately, with the KX high ISO, this is not a problem. I love this lens – it makes my camera highly useful.