Newbie Looking For Advice On Purchasing New Camera & Lens

[Vinny]

IMO, buy what you want until you outgrow the camera/lens and then think about it then.

Pro lenses are extremely expensive and you may not buy exactly what you want. A prime lens is a great choice but you don't have the zoom capability if that's what you want/need.

I can't speak for Pentax as I own a Nikon but as was mentioned possibly buy used saving some money there and getting a "better" camera body and or lens that way. I disagree somewhat with the brand name comment that Vautrin made as in my research for a camera similar cameras were selling for similar prices. I choose Nikon because I have a Nikon SLR, got a good deal on it locally and if I ever graduate from the kit lens there should be used lenses available; Canon, Sony and Pentax were just as expensive around me. If there was a $100 or so difference - no big deal.

Just my $0.02!

 

[Vautrin]

Well what you could do with Pentax is you can get a few old prime lenses.

Maybe the 28mm, the 50mm, and the 100mm

They should have very high quality but they should be relatively cheap...

You can do this go get the most bang for your buck -- maybe $100 / lens

The old zooms are nice too but technology has changed so IIRC a modern zoom an old zoom have a large difference in quality, but a old prime is still quite good...

 

[Xarcell]

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Thanks for the tips, interesting articles.