Sigma 18 - 125 @srs

All things are relative. I've personally never been impressed by Sigma lenses, but others will disagree and that's fine.

I think it's well established that I only buy Pentax lenses these days, and to be honest that has been saving me time, trouble and money for a few years now. I try others from time to time, but they have never offered anything that would make me change the basic philosophy.

I would also buy Nikon lenses, but they are not available in Pentax fit!

I respect your loyalty but many restraints influence our buying choices. I don't want to sound rude, but if you are able to pass your opinion for me on what you perceive the optical performance of this lens to be like it would be greatly appreciated. I value opinion on forums from technically minded users like yourself.

Donald, try photosig.com & search for images by lens (there's a few categories for that lens due to photosig using manual entry for lens descriptions - which can be annoying). There's also a dedicated Flickr group HERE this should help you with "real world" images.

Or why not just accept SRS's offer and try it out if they are happy for you to return it.

DonaldM, not a problem, I would summarise the Pentax 18-250mm as follows. But just to clarify, what I'm saying about Pentax lenses is not loyalty but rather a conclusion arrived at after wasting probably a small fortune on alternative makes. If there's one useful thing I could possibly tell anyone it would be that we might as well save up and buy the best option because in the long run it won't need to be replaced and will prove to be the cheapest option.

The lens is bulky and heavy and does not focus as close as I would like. Its AF is probably slower than some more modest lenses.

The resolution and sharpness are excellent. The colour balance is in keeping with the other DA lenses and is warm neutral.

The distortion is slight barrel at the wider end, but not excessive and certainly fine for general subjects. It would not be OK for critical architectural photography.

Vignetting is not significant for general purpose use.

Contruction quality is excellent and it should serve well for many years.

Hope that helps!