Pentax smc DA 55-300mm v Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG OS

Quick Shift on the 55-300 has saved my bacon more than once when trying to shoot quickly out through window glass (especially the leaded variety!) in dull conditions, and near bushes with e.g. twigs in the foreground. If it starts doing its annoying long-hunting thing, I grab the quick shift collar to correct, then it usually re-focuses quickly where I want it. If not I just flick the manual focus lever.

So in certain conditions it can as I said save your bacon - garden birds etc. tend to disappear before I've had chance to open windows or let it hunt. And I too love this lens, thhough I cannot compare it with the Sigma or Tamron.

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K3/K5/10-17fisheye/15mmDA Ltd/18-55WR/55-300DA/100DFAMacroWR/50F1.4M/200F4M/DA*200F2.8/DA*300F4/DA*50-135/DA*60-250/Mitsuki 400F5.6/others.

stub, PM me if you feel like downgrading to a DA-L again...

http://www.waeplus.co.uk/item/207066/Pentax-smc-DA-55-300mm-F4.0-5.8-ED-Zoom

Anyone used these before?

better half ordered something off them for Christmas, no hassles with the delivery. May not be UK stock, tho...

I think you will find that the 55-300 is lighter than the competitors mentioned - certainly that was part of the reason that I bought it as it a lens for when I'm travelling.

I also think that my DA is incredibly sharp at the long end (for a lens at this price)!
Late 2011 -> 2 completely unretouched and not cropped shots taken from the balcony of our hotel in Northern Greece with the K-5:
With the 10-20 Sigma to give you an idea of how far away the car is in the upper left centre of the 2nd image (about 2-300yds)



Taken with the 55-300 - you can almost read the number plate on the car on the original jpg image (and I certainly could read it in one of the other shots taken at the same time, but which I appear to have deleted!)!


John

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K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)

So not UK stock means no warranty?

Thanks for posting the pics John thats really helpful.

Not UK stock = seller's warrantee only under the Sale of Goods Act, but no direct warrantee from Sigma UK. Therefore it depends on how much you can rely on the UK seller to a) still be here in up to 1yr & b) how likely they are to honour it anyway.

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K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)

Oops - just realised that the shot that I marked as being done with the 10-20 Sigma was actually done with at the 55mm end of the 55-300mm, and here is the shot with the 10-20 Sigma at 20mm:


link

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K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)

Cheers John, thats even more helpful showing the range of the 55-300, its impressive.

Instead of posting a new thread, decided to revive this one.

AFAIK the ranking of zooms were:

1. Pentax 55-300
2. Sigma DG APO 70-300
3. Tamron 70-300
4. Sigma 70-300

Now there's a THIRD Sigma in the guise of the non-macro but OS version 70-300 which isn't on the list. I have the feeling that the conversations here were not referring to the OS, but to the DG APO versions.

Anyone have any experience with the lens? At the other forum the rating of the OS is quite high! So would be interested in hearing out from someone who actually has experience with it (or both).

Can anyone clarify? Thanks in advance!

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Twitter | Someone said time-lapse?
Pentax K5 | Samsung N9005 | DA 18-55 WR | DA 35 2.4 | DA 50 1.8
Tamron 10-24 SP | Tamron 90 2.8 Macro | Tamron 70-300 Macro
Samyang 85 1.4 ...and a few other manual lenses older than me.

This discussion, though I'm coming to it 2 1/2 years on, is most helpful. I too am struggling with this decision amongst the Pentax 55-300 (as I write, at an amazing $325US), the Sigma APO 70-300, and the Tamron 70-300. Money's a big issue, but although the Sigma (next-best choice) is $126 less ($199US), I think the WR and the fact that most reviewers find the Sigma a bit unsharp past 200mm make the decision clear. The Grecian car photos really give an idea of either end of the Pentax, too. I'm in Canada, and the price goes up a good chunk for me ($412 before Customs, etc.), but it's still looking the way to go. It's not going to get me the feather detail I'd like that my Canon and Nikon friends can get--for that I'd need a longer prime--but it's the best I can do for the time being.

For 1stDSLRdude, and everyone else...

A few facts about those lenses mentioned... The Pentax 55-300 = great because it has WR, not so great for aperture and not a full frame zoom - if one wants to possibly upgrade camera bodies later. To my understanding both the Sigma and Tamron you mentioned should be full frame zooms, but no WR.

Might also want to consider waiting. The Sigma 18-300 should be available for all markets soon. About six months from now one may very well be able to expect two more Sigmas... Expect to see a 14-400 and also a 24-300 f2.8

BUT - will they be in the Pentax mount?

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K-3 II, K-3 and a K-70 from SRS (having now relegated the K-30 /"K-50" to a backup body), & some Sigma and Pentax lenses (and a lot of old 35mm gear!)