Wait hear me out, this might make sense!
I found a great deal on the F 17-28 fisheye online. This lens was cheaper than the K17, has data contacts for FL and exposure data, and actually shoots a smidge wider at 17mm! This would free up both K17 and 28mm primes, and its small size is nice too. I lose some close focusing and all focal lengths are a bit fishy, plus its f/3.5-4.5 design is a 'light compromise' especially at 28mm. Images show better color rendition than the 17. So the zoom has several advantages... but the prime is really nice too, and the manual lenses have their own special fun about them.
Sadly (perhaps) that wasn't my only deal, in fact it was my third. Now comes the messy part.
First off I picked up a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 at a great price; I owned this before and liked a lot. This of course is now a fine fit with the 17-28... but I didn't know the 17-28 was coming when I bought it! It allows most all my primes to depart including the m85 f/2. Money saved! But wait, don't I love my primes? Isn't the KatzEye screen ideal for primes? Hmmm...
Then the real deal came along: an open-box Limited 20-40mm f/2.8-4 for well under $700 - generally that's at least a $200 saving. Add 12 months to pay off w/o interest, so this is likely my best lens bargain ever. Wow!! Owners love this thing, reviewers dislike it - but what a lens if centering issues are absent! Hmm, it's a better match to the k17 than the 17-28 -- though the overlap isn't a huge deal.
Having 17, 20-40, 50 and 55-300 sounds nice and minimal, and the 18-55 can go as the LimiZoom is equally weather resistant along with DC motor and nine aperture blades.
Decisions to make while the return-clock ticks on the 17-28 and 20-40:
- 17-28 28-75 55-300? no wr..
- 17-28 (40?) 55-300? no wr..
- 17 20-40 55-300? wr/dc
- 17 28 50 18-55wr 55-300 that I already have?
So here I am, not saving money quite yet. The 17-28 and Limited zoom can go back within 14 days from dates of purchase. I am now marketing several of my lenses so the decision can be made as other items leave - I cannot lose really.
It should be an interesting ten days or so!
p.s. just to add confusion to the mix, I traded a Q06-lens for an early-AF Tamron 90mm f/2.5, making the M85 slightly more expendable. It never ends, only slows down now&then...
- Best-guess kit: 17-28fe, 20-40, 50, 90, 135, 55-300
