Craigslist Score

When I made the decision to buy the Pentax k-x, I willingly sacrificed the wide range of lenses of Canon and Nikon for shutter speed, video capability, and price.  And, as an added bonus, the Pentax is backwards compatible with nearly all of the lenses ever produced for Pentax SLRs - digital and 35mm.  I didn't really give much thought to this added feature.  If I was going to buy a lens, it would probably be a nice new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8.  Only problem: the lens is about $450.

So, whenever I went to a garage sale or flea market, I casually looked for any older Pentax lenses that might be around.  I never stumbled across one single lens.  I never even saw a camera.  Well, just the other day, a guy was selling an old Pentax camera (K1000) on craigslist with "extras".  Turns out the extras were a 70-200mm f/3.8-4.8, a 100-300mm f/5.6, and a 50mm prime f/2, a lens cleaning kit, some filters, and a camera bag.  Nice.

I haven't gotten to fool around with the longer range lenses, but here are a couple of shot comparisons with the 50mm prime (comparing to my 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens).

Kit:

Prime:

Kit:

Prime:

I don't need to be a professional photographer to realize that the pics with the new lens are a whole lot better.  The only problem is that with these new lenses (all of them), is that I lose the ability to autofocus.  I don't know if that is going to hinder their use in skiing, when I like to bang out a bunch of pictures in a row and I can't be bothered to focus on every one.  I guess time will tell.  Right now, though, I can't think of any other way I would have rather spent that cash.