Oh...another lens thread.

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I've been here, but I'm still a Pentax user! I've been slowly building my Pentax kit -- and by that I mean I've purchased the battery grip. I was previously a Canon guy, so the change is a slow progression. I'm still using the K10D kit lens.

Either way:

I am traveling to the Middle East this summer (Jordan, Syria, Egypt -- Iraqi border). I will be shooting street (or rather natural light portraiture :thumbsup: ) and landscape, I suppose. I will be visiting displaced-persons camps and just doing a lot of travel photography. The conditions can perhaps be a little rough at times which is one of the reasons I went for the K10D over anything in my price range from Canon or Nikon.

On that note, I've been eyeballing two lenses. The first is a Pentax-M 50mm 1.7. I hear the IQ is outstanding, and a solid build. The second lens is the Tammy 28-75mm 2.8 -- which I hear is a must for the Pentax-users arsenal. However, before dropping $350, I want to make sure that this wouldn't be better spent elsewhere for my intentions. The biggest complaint against the Tamron I've heard has been related to build quality -- should this matter to me?

The range is fine for my photojournalistic intentions, and I really like the f2.8 aspect. But what else should I be considering? What will get the job done and give me a fairly durable build? I'd ideally like a price near that of the Tamron, but I could go a bit higher if needed.

Jared

Edit: my limited research has led me to...

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8

Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8