50-200 vs 55-300

Dear All,

I wondered if any of you have owned an original 50-200 which you have upgraded to the 55-300? Were you pleased that you did and what were the greatest benefits/improvements?

I have a Samsung 50-200 which I have always been pleased with, so what extra will the 55-300 give me?

Regards

Better image quality, longer reach.

I upgraded from the 50-200 to 55-300. Mine is a DAL version (which you can now get very cheap from various suppliers) and I recently bought a compatible lens hood for £9 on eBay. As John says the 55-300 has better image quality and I have found the extra reach very useful for flowers, butterflys, birds, etc.
If you are interested have a look at some of my pictures taken with this lens:

http://www.ephotozine.com/u90027/gallery/1655850

http://www.ephotozine.com/u90027/gallery/1652086

http://www.ephotozine.com/u90027/gallery/1575092

http://www.ephotozine.com/u90027/gallery/1571941

The shake reduction feature works very well with this lens - I have managed to get sharp pictures at 1/125 sec at 300mm. It is very light so is always in my bag and I use it a lot more than the old lens.
So I would therefore definitely recommend upgrading.

Regards
Peter

SRS has now a good deal for the DA 55-300

Hi pgweber, I, like you, have the Samsung 50-200 and have been pleased with it, also a Tamrom 18-200 which I have been equally pleased with. Plus a Sigma 100-300 4.5 to 6.7 bought back in the 90s (auto focus) in the days of film. A lens with not much of a reputation on this forum, the last post I saw indicating it might be worth £25 but no more.
The recent offers on the 55-300 I have found tempting, and the longer reach over the 50-200 you will definitely find useful. I'm not going for it because the IQ of my Sigma is good enough for my needs, but if as your signature suggests the Samsung is your current longest focal length, the 55-300 is the best option for you to go longer, and you will massively enjoy the extra reach(while needing to pixel peep to see the extra quality).
Furthermore 300mm seems to be the cut off point for a reasonable price AF lens, any longer and the price takes a massive hike.

Thanks all for your replies to my query.

It was the current SRS offer that was prompting me to consider this again.

Regards
Peter