Reddit mentions of Pentax SMC DA Series 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL IF SDM Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras

If you do go the Pentax Route, here's some stuff I wrote up in an old subreddit for cameras. It's a lot, but I promise it'll help out.
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I've read a lot about the K-x and just check up on the K-r, so here's some tips:


1. Learn about ISO. The K-r has an ISO range of 100-25600. If you are new to digital photography I suggest reading up on ISO; but in summary: ISO is the sensor's photon sensitivity. A lower value means a much lower sensitivity. So ISO 100 means the absolute lowest photon sensitivity, meaning little to no grain in your photos. You'll always want to try to shoot in ISO100-ISO400 for good looking shots. For dark areas, you are going to have to bump up ISO to ISO 800-1600:
At these ISO values the photon sensitivity is extremely high, accepting any photon that smashes against it's sensor and has at-least some value information wise. This means your photo is going to be VERY grainy, but there is a little secret to this: The grain will only affect the dark areas of the image... Which brings me to my next tip.


2. Shoot in RAW. This is a huge tip for ANY DSLR. I shoot exclusively in raw on my D300, and I can't count how many times it has saved my life. RAW is basically an unprocessed file; Unlike a JPEG. A JPEG is the camera taking a RAW file, adjusting the lighting information and certain other high level aspects, and thus flattening it. When you shoot in RAW, your camera isn't doing any of that: It is up to you to do that work.

This is an extremely powerful tool, considering the fact that if you messed up your exposure, your RAW file can then adjust the exposure by up to about 1.5 full stops of exposure. It is a VERY powerful tool.

But back to the High ISO tip. When shooting at a high ISO OVER EXPOSE, I can't even begin to say how important this is. When you over expose your high ISO image, the amount of noise will be drastically reduced because noise only affects the shadows of the image. Then, since you were smart and shot in raw, you drop it back down a full stop in your RAW editor of choice, and bam. Little to no noise at a very high ISO. (This tip is something that no one ever thinks about, but it will be one of the most powerful things you can do in your photography workflow.)


3. Grasp the concept of f-Stop. I'll summarize it: A very small f-value means a lot more light is going to be allowed into the lens, so you can get brighter pictures in darker areas, it is basically opening up the aperture REALLY wide at a small f-value. This means faster shutter speeds! But, also keep in mind that a small f-value means much more shallow Depth of Field (anything not in focus is going to be EXTREMELY blurred at f1.7).

So if you ever get into landscape or panorama photography, make sure you shoot at high f-values like f11 or f22 ( for extremely large panoramas).


4. Be very selective with your lens kit. You'll soon realize that DSLR photography is extremely fun, but very expensive. Lenses are going to be the one thing that will cost you a fortune and that's why you must choose wisely. You should generally have one telephoto lens, and a wide angle if you are beginning with DSLRs. Wide angle lenses don't zoom very well, but have a very wide image (fantastic for cheap architecture photography.). Telephoto lenses are zoomers, they zoom very well. The downside to a telephoto is that it usually has a variable aperture, meaning that if you have your camera set at f4, and then zoom a bit, the aperture will change to f5.6.

More expensive telephoto/superzooms are more expensive for the lack of a variable aperture. My 70-200mm VR is a set f2.8 at any zoom, but I can always bring that up if I need to. This of course brings the price of the lens up to a fantastic amount because it is a low light super zoom.

Lucky for you, you bought a Pentax. ;) You'll come to realize that while the camera itself might be average, Pentax lenses are best of breed. Here are some recommendations:

Pentax 50-200mm f4-f5.6 Telephoto. This lens is a great telephoto, and the price can't be beat. This would be your zoom lens.


Pentax 35mm f2.4 Wide Angle. This lens would be the wide angle to compliment your telephoto, and it is pretty fast (f2.8) and at a nice price.


When you can afford it though, These two lenses I highly recommend saving up for:

Pentax 50-130mm f2.8. An extremely fast lens, with a pretty powerful zoom. Once you move to the large aperture telephotos, you never want to go back. Like I said, my 70-200mm f2.8 is my favorite lens and comes with me everywhere.


Pentax 16-50mm f2.8. This lens is a wide angle beast. It zooms, is at f2.8, and will take on anything you throw at it.


So those two lenses would replace the above lenses when you can afford them.

I know this is a lengthy guide, and I hope it isn't too confusing, but those are just some tips I have. Enjoy your new DSLR! You'll love it! :D

If you need any more customized help, reach me on dA: Here!

Would you be interested in a camera rated higher than both at a lower price? So that you could save more now and save your father money as he adds to his system? Or buy the camera and 16-50mm f/2.8 and 50-135mm f/2.8 and Flash for $3315?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp

http://snapsort.com/compare