Pentax 100mm or Sigma 105mm Macro.

Hi.

Any advice or thoughts, please on which is the better of these two lens.

Pentax DFA 100mm f2.8 Macro.
Or
Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro.

I am looking at 100mm approx, focal length as apposed to say 50mm, as I have physical problems getting down low to subjects.
Also appreciate, the Sigma is less money.

Camera used would be a K10D, with a possible update in the future to a K5, this would be far in the future though, as at this point in time I don’t have the necessary (£££) for the lens, let alone a K5.

Many thanks.

Chris R.

Or the Tamron 90mm?..

Any help or input, would be much appreciated please.

Many thanks.

The Pentax lens is superb and can be found fo amazingly low prices. I would unhesitatingly recommend it.

The Sigma lens I have not tried, but being aware that Sigmas can vary quite a bit and that they reverse-engineer, I tend to avoid them. I don't like the feel of thr finish either!

100mm will certainly be better with regards to reach but the minimum focus distance is around 30cm/12" which still means getting quite near to the subject if you want 1:1 magnification.

Which Pentax lens are you refering to? the DFA100mm or the DFA100mmWR, the former could probably be found for less than the Sigma if you shop around.

Many thanks, John and Alan.

Now to start saving, then convince the wife, that I really need one.

Take care.

Both are very good, personally I think the Pentax has the edge.

Sigma is better made, the Pentax is a bit plasticy imo .. was quite surprised when I first got it but the IQ is superb and it is a lot lighter and more compact than the 105mm.

Thanks Mike.

That takes it to a majority vote for the Pentax.

Take care.

Just to put the cat amongst the cliches.

I have the Sigma, and it is a stunner. Its not labelled DG, but is certainly an EX. Metal bodied, and contrary to John's comment about Sigma lenses, works perfectly. I got it second hand for £250 albeit 2 years ago.

In all honesty, with regard to Sigma lenses, they do work better on Pentax (the faulty one's all seem to be on Canon mount) However, it is best to go for EX lenses for better build and reliability.

Another vote for the Sigma

Me too (also the pre-DG version) and I'd concur. I think the received wisdom that there is no such thing as a bad macro lens holds true in my experience (Sigma 105, Tamron 90 and Komine/Kiron 90-ish lenses). I'm sure both the Sigma and Pentax are excellent lenses and would be more than happy with either.

Maybe we should just have people who have used both lenses comment? I've only used the Sigma.

I've had both in my time. In terms of image quality there's little to separate them, they are both superb performers. Both Full frame compatible too if you fancied shooting film.

In terms of build, there's a big difference. The Sigma is much larger and in my opinion of better build quality. Though the Sigma did annoy me in that the lens cap will not attach when the lens hood is screwed on. It's a tad laborious in that regard.

The DA 100 is smaller, lighter and as a bonus I found that by removing the lens hood you could actually get away with using the onboard flash without casting shadows on the subject. So it's more versatile, but not as rugged. The WR version I expect has changed that for the better.

A tough call. The main deciding factor would be price I think - grab the one you can find the cheapest.

The problem usually comes later when a new body is introduced and the Sigma lens has to be re-chipped. It has happened in a few instances and in severe cases has been impossible to do. Minor problems include misreporting of the lens in the EXIF data.

I tried both and saw no difference in optical performance butt he Sigma felt better built. I bought the Sigma because I can't help feeling the Pentax price is based on being reassuringly expensive rather than any reasonable profit margin.

Incidentally, I tried out the Pentax and Sigma 50 f1.4 s too and again bought the Sigma. The Sigma is pretty bulky but the optical performance is in a different league from the Pentax and the price is much, much less.

Slightly different, I have the Pentax 60-250 zoom which I love but recently bought a Pentax 200mm f.2.8. I love it so much, I'm in Paris at the moment shooting some stock and I've not even taken the zoom out of my bag. The 200 is a real peach.