the voice said"simplify."

And so I shall try.

A nice copy of the 18-200 Sigma caught my attention, a PGE lens I have known since 2009 in Quantaray disguise and Alpha mount.  It was essentially my only lens on the Sierra hike and allowed me to zoom in on coyotes across the valley.  At $120 it can replace every prime, though with far slower light collection; is that a really big deal right now though?  Later, yes - but not now.  For longer shots and to replace the outbound 100-300mm, I won a bid for yet another famous  PGE lens, the Pentax DA-L 55-300.  I also picked up  an old Sigma 50/2.8, a true 1:1 macro, with 'A' contacts; I bid lower than the asking price and despite crossing my fingers.. the seller said OK.  However this clinches it: no more bids or offers!  I lost two other bids over the past week - and I feel just fine about that!

*as noted before PGE = Plenty Good Enough*

The next step was contacting Adorama to offer a blockbuster trade of fairly fast primes and a few seldom-used zooms in K and NX mounts and my lone MD/NX hybrid, the Rexatar 200/3.3.  I shall miss several of these, but not enough to rend my garments.

So the Lucky 7 are

• 24, 50, 100 macro, and 135mm primes plus Hanimar 400mm for rare use
• 18-200 + 55-300 zooms 

Which 50mm lens is TBD, either the A50 f/2 or Sig50/2.8 macro.  That decision could also determine the fate of the 100mm 1:2 macro!  Two 18-55wr lenses are in storage with a second K-r body, for when my wife is ready to team up with a matched camera/lens pair.  The NX300 now has 16 and 30mm native primes - and an adapter for the K lenses.

In my dreams the simple kit would become 20-40Ltd, DA* 50-135 and that 55-300, with a 14-15mm prime for when 20mm won't do.  These would mount to a K-3 or perhaps a K-s2.  The alternate dream is a Samsung NX1, the 16+30mm tiny primes and their 50-150/2.8 S. If either dream comes true it must wait 6-9 months, perhaps even a year..we'll see.

Heretic!

The DA18-135wr is a lens with its own polarizing filter built in!

No not as it pertains to light, but as a conversation piece.  Most owners think very well of it, and its specs hold great appeal: the first silent DC motor has held up well compared to the perceived woes of its SDM sibling, its weather resistance and range are great to carry as a single unit.  WR does not just work in foul weather, but in many other times when switching lenses isn't a great idea (think dust and sand not just rain-drops).  At the same time, most people point out edge softness as the price of a super-zoom lens, and chromatic fringing as easy to correct with either in-camera or on-computer processing.

All points are fair, and each owner needs to evaluate what it takes to make a lens do well enough for their needs.  I have tried three of the 18-135s and it doesn't work for me.  I sold my most-recent copy and picked up a Sigma 18-250mm the same afternoon, and put some money in the bank (aka 'lens fund').  The compromises required for this lens fit me better, and it's that simple.

What does the Sigma do better?  Well it has more range, clearly enough, and the f/6.3 penalty kicks in right about where the 18-135 stops so fair is fair.  I haven't really tested it explicitly at 135mm but I have the strong feeling it works better than the Pentax lens there.  Why?  Because it outperforms the Pentax at higher focal lengths for color fringing, showing essentially none in spots where the DA lens showed quite a lot.  I am not a fan of correcting lenses within the camera, which made my time with micro-43 gear trying too.  The Pentax K-5 series exacts a time penalty for correcting fringing and distortion at the time of shooting, that's mostly what I dislike.  Both my early Sigma 18-200mm and this 18-250 do not need fringing correction to speak of at any time - sure it can be done and improve things, but only when peeking at a higher level that I enjoy peeking.  Again, it's that simple to me.

I will post some teeny images here to show what I mean, but click 'em to see things better.

hmm, wires look
wire-colored...

The dreaded telephone pole/wire shot with +EV correction always outs bad fringers and the Sigma barely flinched at 250mm wide open, which beat the 18-135mm by 160mm± in my experience.  Yes I've lost out on weather resistance, but the Sigma has its HSM motor that is nearly as fast to lock focus (not quite though) and is equally silent.  OK I lost quick-shift manual focus too, and that's a bummer though not as huge as I keep telling myself it should be.  I can definitely detect fringing near the corners, and if I get worked up enough about it I can push a button on my computer.  I probably won't but I can!

250mm f/8 bottom crop 100% - soft w/minimal fringing.
The extreme corners do show more fringing.

And lest we forget, the Sigma can do closeups to 1:2.5, almost half life-size.  I tested it against my Pentax A50/2.8 macro and 1:2.5 is a very good match for scale, but let's be clear the macro prime impressively outscores the superzoom.  When closeups matter the 50 must come along, but when it's incidental to the shooting this zoom will serve well enough in good light.  Funny thing about closeup ratings, Sigma always underrates their zooms: from the 17-70 to the old 18-200 to this one, I can always squeeze out a closer closeup than they claim.  How nice!

the hidden cost of lens-switching

I find that my kit no longer needs 52mm and 58mm filters.  How odd, as a few months ago I needed nothing other than those!  That was partly thanks to a 49-52 and 55-58 step rings.  Now everything is 49 and 67mm with a few stray 55s, so as a result many of my filters will be on the block now.  And it turns out I have more than one of some of them, such as two 58mm cPolarizers - that could use an explanation...

Both the 28-200 and 18-200 are moving on, so that last test was done just in time!  The winner by attrition: Pentax DA 50-200 WR.

testing 1,2,3 zooms to 200mm

I stood on my porch with my K-01 and tested three xx-200mm zooms at 135mm, 200mm and for close focusing.  They each did the job pretty well, which is no surprise nowadays.

I locked aperture and ISO but the left one does not show the 0.7EV exposure boost that I thought they all had - and no stopping the clouds in any case!  Anyway, the 18-200 Sigma looked best for colors, the Promaster 28-200 perhaps a touch sharper, and the DA50-200WR the least color-fringed.  No surprise since it's the zoom with the least range to compensate for, and a later test looked sharper than the first go.  The 28-200 is an older copy of this oft-remade Tamron lens, and color fringing has been its weak point for quite a while in my experience, which goes back to my Alpha days in 2008.  This version has 72mm filter threads and is about 100 grams bulkier than the more recent models.

One thing is clear in close-focus: the longer the zoom's range the closer you can get, but the least like 200mm the scale becomes.  Long-reach zooms must be made this way to do what they do, and it's very clear when popping off the 18-200mm and sticking on the DA 50-200WR; I had to step quite a way further back to reach focus, but the resulting image scale is actually larger!

No major surprises revealed, but good to know.

the Kit - this time I mean it! mean it... mean it... me

OK, a final flurry of shopping and the kit is reshaped.  Here is the core* of my photo gear as of late June.

Mounted on the K-5 is yet another fine copy of the DA16-45.  That lens was one of the big reasons I went back to Pentax as a digital choice after letting Sony go reinvent itself without me.  I have been forced to sell it once, and chose to a couple of other times - this is my fourth copy so this is truly the voice of experience speaking -- and I dearly hope I've learned from it all!  If nothing else my pension checks will dictate that it stay around, I expect...

To cover the midrange I have the DA40 and DA70 Limited duo (hiding in their fine leather pouches).  These are absurdly good lenses and I hope never to part from them, unlike other lenses I have owned.

In the WR and telephoto department I will carry the DA50-200WR.  This lens is plenty good enough and much easier to carry than the well-regarded 55-300mm (another lens I have owned at least three times), and on a wet hike it will be the on-camera option for max moisture resistance.  It has the additional ability to make use of 49mm filters like the Limited primes!

On the occasional day when more reach is needed, the 100-300 Quantaray/Sigma will join me.  Other than being quite slow optically (f/6.7 at 250mm +) it's talented, compact and lightweight, and is faster to focus in good light than the DA55-300.  When lighting and weather are at their best, I can cover quite a bit with 16-45, 40, 70 and 100-300.

* Not appearing above because they won't get much use:

• Sigma 15mm fisheye, good enough to get more use but less vital with 16-45 in the bag
• SMC-A 24mm f/2.8, a nice lens but the 16-45 excels in this zone with greater versatility
• SMC-M 50mm f/2, which cannot compete with the Limited pair & has 'limited' resale value
• Sigma 18-200DC gen-1, a quite decent all-purpose lens that will be on the K-01 often
• Quantaray 28-90mm w/1:2 macro, a great $35 lens that is hardly worth the price to ship! :~)
• Hanimar 400mm f/6.3 preset, for emergency wildlife only!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
early-Aug update: the 28-200 and 18-200 are gone, as is the venerable Vivitar 28-105.  The 15-fish and 28-90 remain available but no takers yet.  The primes will not harm me if they stay, and if I take them to goodwill I fear that I might return home with more! :~)
mid-Aug: the 15mm fisheye is gone, sad to say.

another old friend returns

Prodigal lenses surround me!

First it was the 28-90 Sigma/Quantaray (top), then a  100-300mm of the same vintage (left).  While seeking a wide option I rediscovered the Tamron 17-35 (right).  And now a used-but-effective 18-200 Sigma has reappeared (bottom).  I have many good memories from these lenses, from backpacking to general bikeabouts; the 18-200 is decently sharp for its type, shows far less chromatic fringing than the DA18-135, and reads f/5.6 out to 170mm before dropping to f/6.3 beyond that. Yes that means it's 5.9 with rounding but good enough for me!  Truly one could take prize-winning shots with such a lens, but I do not plan to dump everything else upon its arrival.

Depending on its focus speed it could be ideal for the K-01, and this plus a Limited prime in each pocket will do great things any time.  It's only 1:4ish for closeups, but I have just allowed my macro lens to leave the nest; seems I very seldom do more than 1:2 so extreme closeups are not my 'thing' and the 28-90 can do that.  At least I tried and I know my macro interest now, after trying out three dedicated macro primes!

So while this could be a kit-rearranging move, I expect that the budget is more likely the item that will cause changes.  As a newly retired human with smaller checks in my future, I may need to think about what gets used often and what just looks nice on my shelf.  We shall see!  In the meantime I can comfort myself with the knowledge that the four lenses cost me a total of just over $400 - and that's quite a lot of versatility for a relatively small price!

News Update 6/28

Well I did it again, but for a very good reason: a sub-$200 DA16-45 became available.  Compared to the Tamron 17-35 I gain coverage both wide and long, and shed 10mm off the filter size and 80 grams off the bag weight.  In exchange I lose full-frame/film coverage, f/2.8 at the wide end, and an  aperture ring.

 This change voids the last month or so of acquisitions, as the 28-90mm can go too: the DA16-45 goes nearly 1:3 on closeups at f/4 with smoother bokeh, so the 1:2 at f/5.6 is less amazing.  For that matter, even the 15mm fisheye is now at risk from the 16-45!  I'll probably keep the 28-90 for $35, and it can join the $25 100-300 as the film-capable lenses.  The 18-200 can stay too, as it's hard to beat as my casual lens.


In other news, the two excellent Rikenon lenses have moved on. They are both deserving of more time.  The 28/2.8P and 70-150/4 XR served me very well!  The Promaster 28-200 is also on the runway awaiting final instructions.

dwarf with a chip on his shoulder!

After being abandoned in our back yard, the elements had time to wear away a part of our friendly dwarf. Curious that it would choose his shoulder as the primary point of wear!
Taken with a Sigma 18-200 just before its departure - the budget is not going to allow a lot of duplication for a while, even though the 18-200 gave a good showing on the K-5. Maybe later..