Brian Walters wrote on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:55:38 -0700
G'day all
I'm contemplating getting a wide to tele zoom as a "walk around lens",
when I just want to carry a camera and a single lens. I'd like
something that starts at around 18 mm and goes to at least 135 mm.
I'm aware of the Pentax, Tamron and Sigma 18-250 mm zooms but that
range
seems to be asking a lot of optical design. Does anyone have
experience
with any of these? Are the Pentax and Tamrons pretty much the same
thing
under the skin?
Are there any other affordable options?
Brian, I've tried a number of zooms as walkaround lenses and find that
the Sigma 18-125/3.5-5.6 seems to be about the best compromise for
me. This lens is not highly regarded by some, but my copy is pretty
good; about equal to my copy of the Pentax DA 17-70/4 and considerably
better than my copy of the DAL 18-55 kit lens. It's relatively small
and light, certainly desirable qualities in a walkaround lens, and
it's reasonable in price - I got my copy used for $230. It does
suffer from a small aperture at the long end, but a constant aperture
lens at 125mm would have to be a lot larger and heavier (consider the
DA* 50-135/2.8 for example). I use this lens on my K-m (K2000) and
the DA 17-70 on my K20D.
If you feel that you need a wider aperture lens and can sacrifice some
focal length at the long end, consider the Sigma 17-70/2.8-4.5. I
haven't used it but reports in all of the forums are generally very
good. It's not without issues (vignetting and distortion at the short
end) but many users seem very happy with it.
Regarding the 18-250mm superzooms, the DA 18-250 and the Tamron 18-250
are for all intents and purposes identical, with only minor cosmetic
differences. I like my copy of the DA 18-250 and find that its IQ is
pretty good out to about 200mm (at least as good as the kit 18-50 and
50-200 combo), with some falloff at longer focal lengths. I use it
instead of my other wide-tele zooms when weight and size are not as
important as the extra reach. I have not tried the Sigma so I can't
offer any comments on it.
Hope this helps.
Regards, Jim
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
[email protected]
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
