Comparing lens.

[dwssas]

Am I correct in thinking thay with an FZ-20 at 8X zoom that I would be at 280mm. Also with a Pentax K100D and there 50-200 kit lens with the 1.5 crop factor making it 300mm. Would the Pentax at full zoom, minus the 20mm, be approximately the same as the Panny 8X zoom?

[Bob Nichol]

More or less, the Pentax sensor has a 3:2 aspect ratio and the Panasonic sensor has 4:3 aspect ratio so you would get a slightly different view of the world through the two cameras. To put the aspect ratio in perspective, 4:3 is the aspect ratio for a standard computer monitor. A 3:2 aspect ratio image on a standard monitor would look somewhat letterboxed, for example a 4000x2666 pixel image on a 4000x3000 pixel monitor.

[JohnG]

dwssas wrote:

Am I correct in thinking thay with an FZ-20 at 8X zoom that I would be at 280mm.

The FZ-20 is a 12x zoom. It's effective focal length is 36-432mm. So you would need a 300mm lens on the Pentax to get the same coverage. But I wouldn't base your decision on which camera to buy solely on focal length.

[dwssas]

Thanks for your replies. The reason I was asking is that I mostly use between 1X and 8X zoom on my FZ-20. Using a Pentax with the 2 kit lens would give me that and my FZ could be used for longer zoom reach especially with a T-con 1.7 attached. It would be nice to be able to afford the big zoom lens for the dslr but unlikely when I would need lens for the 300 to 700+ range. Big bucks Im sure.

[superakuma]

dwssas wrote:

Thanks for your replies. The reason I was asking is that I mostly use between 1X and 8X zoom on my FZ-20. Using a Pentax with the 2 kit lens would give me that and my FZ could be used for longer zoom reach especially with a T-con 1.7 attached. It would be nice to be able to afford the big zoom lens for the dslr but unlikely when I would need lens for the 300 to 700+ range. Big bucks Im sure.

Not really, you don't need to spend a lot of money to get that kind of zoom range. The advantage of a dSLR is the ablity to change lens to many people do not want to buy a lens that has a zoom range greater than 5x or so. The greater the zoom power(not distance) typically, the lower the quality lens. But you can get a really nice 18-200mm lens for a dSLR for about $150-$200. I picked up the Sigma 28-200mm lens for about $78 on ebay, retail it was worth $250. You can find some really cheap GOOD lens if you look around.

As you said, dSLR have cropping factors so that 18-200mm becomes 28-300mm which is about the same distance as what you wanted. But you get the added bouns of a cleaner picture.

I jumped from a superzoom PnS digital camera, the Fuji s5200. Before I bought the Pentax DS, I was also concerned about not being about to get the zoom that I got with the Fuji without having to change lens. But now that I've converted to the dSLR world, I don't think I can go back to PnS unless I just want to take some snap shots.

[mtngal]

I have the K100D and use the kit lens and the DA 50-200 for walking around - together they handle most snaps I want to take.

I ended up picking up aused A*300 lens. It's a prime lens, but works well with my other lenses for me - I don't feel a need for anything between 200 and 300. You can occasionally find K, M* and A* versions of this lens for sale on ebay and elsewhere, though the prices are going through the roof (one of the A*300 lenses ended up going for over $800 US on ebay a while back, and an FA version of the lens went for around $1100. I used to see K versions of the lens going for something like $350 on KEH several months ago).

[milrodpxpx]

this is my current lens lineup and cost, to show that you don't need to spend a whole lot to have a variety and enjoy them!

kit lens 18-55mm (included in purchase)

sigma 28-200mm $75 on ebay.

vivitar 28mm f2.8 macro $25 on ebay.

Pentax smc-a 50mm f1.7 $30 local camera shop.

Pentax 135 smc-m 135mm f3.5 $18 local camera shop.

Vivitar 400mm f5.6 on ebay for $55 - equivalent focal length of 600mm (about 19x if you want to look at it in 35mm equivalent)

i also bought a 50mm pentax smc-f (i think, the auto version) for $45, sold it on ebay for $120 to fund some of the above listed other purchases :-)

though in my life i'd never have thought i'd be using all those primes, they actually spend the most time on my camera, and were the cheapest to buy (although the prices do seem to be going up lately).

i've bought and sold several other lenses that i didnt like - not necessarily for profit, but using ebay is an easy way to try and buy things at a small loss if you dont like it. oh in case anyone was wondering, i had both the 50mm f1.7s listed above at the same time and chose the manual lens - i like having the control of depth of field for such a fast lens.

and to repeat was was stated earlier, that sigma 28-200mm is a very nice lens, i think i got it from cameta auctions - it was brand new at that price!


also, i previously have an fz30, so i know where you're coming from. andwhen i did use the zoom, i also foundthat the 7-9x range was where alot of my shots would inevitably fall. now using primes so much more, i zoom with my feet!

[dwssas]

Thank you all for your most usful, to me, replies. Makes a lot of sense. Thanks again.