Going wide

It's 3.8-5.6. I wrote a review of the lens for photo.net a while back and you can see it at http://www.photo.net/equipment/pentax/smc28-200

How does that 28-200 stand up against the 'newer' Pentax DA 50-200 4-5,6?
Has anyone used both?
I am looking to complement the 18-55 to the tele side. I have a 80-200 Pentax, but there is a gaping hole between 55 and 80. I can partly solve it by using my old 35-80, but that lens isn't the best of lenses (Pentax FA 25-80 which came with my MZ-10)

Unfortunately I don't know much about the 50-200 - I've never seen or used one. If it's anything like the quality of the 18-55 then it wouldn't be a lens that I'd want however!

I have compared the 28-200 to the 18-55 though and through the range the overlap I found the 28-200 the better performer. When I originally got the 28-200 I also had an FA 100-300 and in the range they overlapped I also found the 28-200 a better performer.

Having said all that if you're intending to keep both the 18-55 and the 80-200 then one candidate to consider is the FA 28-70 F4 (there are usually a few on Ebay). That's a constant aperture lens and a cut above the performance of the other consumer zooms in that range - such as the FA 28-80 etc. If you're considering getting rid of the 80-200 and/or only want to carry around two lenses then the 28-200 could certainly be an option.

My own expectations for the 28-200 weren't that high when I bought it - partly because of a lot of critiscm of that type of lens at the time and partly because I had F2.8 zooms and prime lenses in the same focal length range. I was pleasantly surprised by the 28-200 though and overall found it a useful lens. One of my lightweight kit options was an MZ5 with Pheonix 19-35 and the SMC-FA 28-200 as lenses, and I got many memorable shots with that setup.

So the pentax 28-200 is nothing but a rebadged Tamron lens. I should have known that sooner. There is quite a lot of them going on ebay and such for low prices. The Pentax version fetches a lot more money.

I wouldn't personally hold anything against a lens just because it was made by a 3rd party, however as far as I can tell the only difference is the SMC coating on the Pentax lens although it's also possible they're chipped differently. Even the lens cap is definitely Tamron made (although it says Pentax on it) although that's a good thing as it's one that can be taken on and off with the hood in place.

I've never tried the Tamron model so can't comment on how it compares in use, however as 28-200's go it was well regarded and (like the Pentax) has good close focusing capabilities.

I've still not had a chance to have a proper outing using the Sigma 10-20mm, however I've taken some pictures near the office and at home to see what it's like. The wide end is certainly very wide - wide enough that I've managed to get the edge of my hand in shot, and it's also easy to get your feet in if you're pointing a little bit down.

Mostly I've been using the lens stopped down to F11 or smaller and the results have been very sharp indeed across the frame, quite impressive. I've also take some interior shots hand-held and wide open and those have also been useably sharp.

Here are a few shots to give some idea of how wide 10mm is:













The close focus performance is very useful, making it easy to get front to back sharpness.

I feel a twiching in my wallet.

I took the plunge and just got myself a Tamron 28-200 from Ebay.
So I'll putting some things on ebay myself quite soon to clean up the collection