What do you know about Sigma 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Macro IF lens?

xfloggingkylex · Sep 13, 2006

Sigma 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Macro IF Auto Focus Wide Angle Telephoto Macro Zoom Lens for Pentax AF

This is what I am looking at for my Pentax *istDL. I originally was going to go with the 50 f/1.4 first because at 160 bucks you cant beat it, but I really want something with better magnification. I take a lot of pictures of the family dog (a very little yorkie) and need a zoom to really do what I want. Also I love Macro shots so the 200-300 mm focal length suits me very well. I am also drawn to this lense because of the versatility (great when shooting at a moving dog who runs up to your feet, then as far away as possible) so this will allow me to keep one lense on for the pictures. Also the price was a big catch for what it does.

They have this lens listed for 270, and being such a large range of focal length I am worried that I will be buying a lense that perhaps wont look as good as I am hoping (which I dont even know really what to look for because this will be my first lense). Do you recommend something with a shorter range such as the 75-300? I'm really just looking for any suggestions right now since I am a newbie.

Also price is a factor. Thanks for the help

oh and while we are at it, I take it the Pentax 50mm 1.4 is a good lense?
http://www.adorama.com/SG28300DGPX.html

Also these lenses will work just fine with my digital correct? Thanks

Johnboy2978 · Sep 14, 2006

It gets mediocre to poor reviews. 28-300mm is a lot to ask from a single lens. May want to get a couple to cover that range.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=183&sort=7&cat=all&page=18

xfloggingkylex · Sep 14, 2006

Thanks, that site is pretty helpful. The whole idea of getting a lense with that large of a zoom range is to avoid getting a couple lenses.

http://www.adorama.com/TM28200DPXAF.html

This lense scored much better on that site you listed so now I am curious about this one, or the sigma counterpart (which wasn't listed on the review page)

http://www.adorama.com/SG28200DPXAF.html

Any opinions on these? I realize I am going to be sacrificing some quality for comfort with a high range zoom, but to be able to change my perspective on the fly is something I would like to be able to do. Thanks again for the help.

Johnboy2978 · Sep 14, 2006

Between these two, I would say that it's pretty much a coin toss. They both are probably going to be pretty cheap plasticy build. I have a Tamron 70-300mm that I got a while back before I knew enough to really spend much money on lenses. Luckily, this one rates as a decent lens for the money, and takes pretty good quality images. I got it off ebay from a dealer called CametaAuctions (actually they still have the same lens at the price I bought it if you are interested:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamron-70-300mm...yZ48558QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). I also recently bought a Sigma 70-200 EX APO DG IF 2.8 which is a damn nice lens but pretty pricey. The thing that I've read about Sigma is that unless it is an EX, it's usually junk. EX is their top of the line I think. Anyway, they apparently have some quality control issues and from what I've read, there are a lot of returns, but if you get a good copy, then it's usually a decent lens.

I would STRONGLY recommend the pentax 50mm 1.4 that you first mentioned. I got it about a year ago, and use it much more than I thought I would. I pretty much use it as my regular lens which I leave on all the time.

In your first post, you asked if they will work with your pentax? All of these mentioned will work. The one thing to keep in mind is that pentax dslr's have a 1.5 conversion factor since their sensor is smaller than a film camera. This is true of other dslrs as well unless you really get a pro quality and spend a considerable sum. At any rate, what this means is that a 50mm lens for example will have the same effect in terms of crop as a 75mm lens on a 35mm film camera. Similarly, a 70-200mm lens will appear to be 105-300mm lens. But other than that, it will function fine. You can also use old manual lenses. If you want a nice cheap lens, search ebay for a 50mm 1.7 manual lens. You can usually find them for $20 or so and since Pentax hasn't changed their mount, it will function on your DSLR. You will lose some ability with it though such as built in light meter.

The thing about a lens with that kind of range (28-300mm) is that it may be passable at any length, but it will not be spectacular at any length.

Good Luck

xfloggingkylex · Sep 15, 2006

Your help is appriciated more than you can imagine. The 50 1.4 is certainly on my wishlist.

I do have an old Pentax K1000 full manual camera with an 80-200 as well as a 50 f/2 that I may have to slap on to see if that will help me decide the ranges that I am looking to work with. Aside from the insanely bright 50 prime I am looking for Macro as well as range for the things I cant get close to.

Thanks again for all the help. you may get a FEW PMs from me

oh and i thought I had included this, but what about this lense http://www.adorama.com/PX55200AFD.html? I am very new to Cameras in general so I dont know which glass is good and which is lower quality. But again I do realize I'm not going to get an amazing zoom lense for the price range I am looking in.

Johnboy2978 · Sep 15, 2006

No problem, glad I could be of some help. Feel free to PM. I tried the link but couldn't get it to pull up for some reason. With manual lenses, there is a setting in the camera menu that you have to change from the default, and I can't remember off the top of my head what it is. Check your manual about this.
Generally with lenses, you can go by the standard that you get what you pay for. Good glass is expensive, and usually worth it. Also "fast" lenses are directly correlated to the amount you spend. That is, the more $, the faster the lens. I try to stay away from anything now that isn't f/2.8 or wider in aperture. Again, both Sigma and Tamron have some decent glass, but it comes at a price usually.

xfloggingkylex · Sep 16, 2006

fixed it, retarded me had the HTTP section twice, wasn't paying attention when I clicked the link button obviously. What needs to be changed on the camera? I seem to remember just turning it on to manual focus mode and doing aperture priority with the "A" on the aperture ring set and it worked fine.

Johnboy2978 · Sep 16, 2006

Looking in the manual, there is a setting about "FI when S lens used" so that the Focus Indicator can be used when a screw mount lens is used. This seems kind of trivial. I guess I was thinking about my ist 35mm which has a couple of settings to change when using manual lens.

That other lens btw, is probably about the same caliber as the others you found. They will probably be decent, good enough for just shooting around and becoming familiar w/ the camera.

xfloggingkylex · Sep 16, 2006

ok, I just dont want it to be real soft at the higher focal lengths. I understand also that some of what people are considering soft is due to the person taking the picture. a 300mm focal length at f/6.3 shot handheld is going to have a little blur if it isn't a nicely lit area. I dont mind using a tripod for macro work or really anything, I just dont want to buy a lense that is going to produce crap (and I dont really know what good lense produces because I only have the kit lense).

Johnboy2978 · Sep 17, 2006

The other thing to keep in mind when you are trying to handhold it, is to keep your shutter speed at least as high as your mm range of your lens (preferably higher). That is, on a 200mm lens, keep your shutter speed at least 1/250 if not 1/500 and so on. That's why it's beneficial to have a faster lens with a larger aperture.