I get it, Gradon. My reaction to the "L" release of the 55~30 was, also, that it would be less expensive.(?) Speaking strictly from an IQ standpoint, $350 for the 55~300 was a heck of a buy. I made the decision to pick one up upon reading IQ reviews. FWIW, most explicit of which was that of Pop Photo who's SQF tests produced results rated significantly higher than those of the DA* 300 f/4. Sample deviations notwithstanding.
Jack --- On Sat, 9/19/09, Graydon <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Graydon <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: PESO: Pigeon Secrets > To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 8:13 AM > On Sat, Sep 19, 2009 at 08:03:27AM > -0700, Jack Davis scripsit: --- On > Sat, 9/19/09, Graydon <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Jack Davis scripsit: > > > > Thanks, Dave. Seems a quite capable bargain > lens. > > > > > > The DA 55-300 isn't a bargain lens; it is > remarkably capable. > > > > > > I'm quite pleased that Pentax seems to have > decided to produce a kit > > > lens version; the 50-200 (which I have never > owned or used) is > > > reported as being really quite good optically, > but the combination > > > of the extra reach and the colour rendition out > of the 55-300 > > > strikes me as a better first impression to be > making. > > > > > My use of the word "bargain" is a reference to it's > price belying its > > capability. Not a criticism. > > Didn't think it was a criticism. > > Sigma 70-300 f4-f5.6 APO DG Macro is currently 330 CAD at > Henry's. > > Pentax 55-300 f4-f5.8 is currently 500 CAD at > Henry's. For a while > there, it was a lot closer to twice the price; Sigma seems > to have > raised the prices on all the non-Sigma lens mount > versions. (The Sigma > version is still at 280 CAD, rather than 330 CAD.) > > So I was objecting to the "bargain" part; for the segment > it is aimed at > (consumer longish zoom), the DA 55-300 is actually pretty > expensive. > > On the other hand, Henry's also has the K-x, the DA-L > 18-55, and the > DA-L 55-300 on for 1,000 CAD as a bundle. The K-x and > the DA-L 18-55 > bundle is 700 CAD. So it looks like either Hoya > really wants to sell > K-x kits or the DA-L version of the 55-300 is much cheaper > than the DA > version. (I am betting on the latter.) > > So at 300 CAD, and presuming no unfortunate tendency to > mechanical > failure, the DA-L 55-300 is unquestionably a bargain. > (And can I just > say how much I wish someone at Pentax had changed the > series letters, > instead of adding that L?) > > -- Graydon > > -- > 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. > -- 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.
