On Sat, 8 Mar 2003 20:37:47 -0500 (EST), you wrote: >I think I figured out why my Kalimar 500mm reflex seems to give washed-out >pictures. > >Because it's crap. > >I took pictures of the same scene, one with an old Sears 80-200mm with >cheap 2x TC, and one with the Kalimar. The zoom plus TC combination had >better contrast and colors. > >So now I'm starting to think of a new lens in that range, even though it >will take some time before I can work it into my finances. I plan to >spend around $600. So what are my options? At that price point, the >Sigma 170-500mm f/5.6-6.3 looks like about all there is. There's a Sigma >reflex, but I don't think I want to go with another manual focus reflex, I >want AF and adjustable aperture. And I'll probably use it with a TC, I >do want to be able to get somewhere in the 1000mm range. > >I know there's the Pentax 600mm's for around $2000 and up... ain't gonna >happen. > >Are there any treasures that I've missed?
Treasures: Pentax F* 300/4.5 - you'll never regret it. Sigma 300/4 Macro plus a good 1.4x TC: very versatile, very close focusing, very good optics. Sigma 400/5.6 APO Macro (not the non-Macro version): same family as the Sigma 300/4 APO Macro: very good optics. But the 300/4 Macro plus TC combo is slightly smaller and more versatile. For just a little more money, there's the Tokina AT-X 300/2.8 plus Pentax 1.7x AF Adapter. It's not fully an autofocus lens, but it does pretty good. At 510mm/f5, it's a very fast long lens for under $1000. If you really want the Sigma 170-500 or Sigma 50-500m be sure to test them first. The 50-500 is very unwieldy, and I've seen a couple of owners report it is a poor lens. Plus it's slow at the long end. If you really want 1000mm, just stack some TC's. Stacked TC's won't hurt the image quality, compared to any other 1000mm option out there. -- John Mustarde www.photolin.com
