Camera lens questions

[julia_kaye]

I am a beginner photographer, and I own a Pentax ZX-50 SLR camera

with a FA 28-90mm lens. I want to know is the Pentax telephoto zoom

100-300mm lens a good lens for landscape photography?

[henricus]

Julia,<p>Quick answer, no. Usually, you would want a wide-angle lens for landscape photography. The telephoto lengths you mentioned are better suited for isolating specific subjects, like a portrait or shooting a pic of your kid at bat while you are in the stands. The wide-angle lenses are great for capturing larger areas. Like your kids team on the field. Your 28-90mm is a compromise. It has the wide 28/35mm, the standard 50mm and a telephoto 85/90mm. Hope this helps.

[julia_kaye]

Thanks Henry

I would also like to know what type of wide angle lens would you recommend what zoom length? Should I get a wide-angle and a telephoto zoom lens to cover all the specifics that I would like to take pictures of such as landscapes and portraits?

[ohchengyu]

I would advise you to go out shooting with your 28-90mm lens to find out what focal lengths you use most. You may find yourself wanting a wider angle of view or a longer one. After this you purchase a wide angle zoom or telephoto zoom depending on your needs.

[henricus]

Julia,

<p>Perhaps someone else could help you with the zoom lenses as I prefer primes and don't know much about the Pentax zooms. That said, your 28-90 covers most of the basic focal lengths. If you get the 100-300mm, then you have a longer range of telephoto lengths.

[stemked]

Julia,

 

Personally I DO use longer focal lengths in many of my landscapes, even up to 500mm (although rarely)! The longer focal lengths are very useful to isolate certain elements in an image. I would probably say that 100mm is my second most common focal length in landscape images (I usually use wider focal lengths).

 

By the way, there are three Pentax lenses that are '100-300mm', F 4.5-5.6, FA 4.5-5.6 (optically identical to the previous one) and the lighter, slower FA 4.7-5.8. The third lens is very light. All three lenses are 'soft' at least from 250-300mm so if you are using them in landscapes you need to be aware of this. All three have front elements that rotate, making them a bit of a pain to use with polarizing filters and split ND filters.

[julia_kaye]

Thanks for all the information. Could someone recommend a lens to take pictures of distant landscapes? Should I get a lens with for example 100-300 or should I just get a single zoom like 200mm?

[stemked]

'Single zoom' doesn't make sence. You mean 'fixed focal length'. A zoom is a lens that you can change your focal length so the 100-300 is a zoom.

 

A 200mm lens is a useful focal length, but it really depends on what you shoot.

[julia_kaye]

I really plan on shooting landscapes in general, distant landscapes, and trees. What would you recommend that I purchase for these types of pictures?

[ohchengyu]

If you are on a budget, you can consider the Sigma 70-300 f4-5.6 APO or Tamron 70-300 f4-5.6, both with 1:2 macro at the long end. For Pentax, there is the 80-320 f4.5-5.6. More expensive choices are the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX and Sigma 100-300 f4 EX.

[julia_kaye]

Thanks for all the advice, and if you can give me some more useful information please do!!!

[markku_ylilammi]

The plastic FA 28-90 f:4.5-5.6 is a poor performer in every aspect.

So almost any other lens is better in landscape photography.

Especially the wide angle end is bad because of strong geometrical distortion. And there is no distance scale for hyperfocal focusing.

The picture is soft in both ends of the focal length scale even

if you use apertures smaller than f:8. Larger apertures are totally unacceptable.

 

My suggestion is to buy a cheap 28 mm f:2.8 prime for landscapes.

In some rare occasions also long focal lengths are needed. This can be covered by a 135 mm prime.