smc DA 55-300mm f/4.0-5.8 ED

What is the general opinion of the above lense.

Cheers

Ian

pretty good:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-DA-55-300mm-F4-5.8-Zoom-Lens....

For the money I would say it can't be beaten.

Take a look at the shots that Yve has posted in the Gallery, I think that will give you an idea of how good this lens is.

Totally agree, much better than 3rd party equivalents.

Davex.

I'd rather the Sigma 100-300mm f/4 constant, or any make 70-200mm F2.8 + 1.4x TC instead. Barring that, this one comes next in line. That's saying something as those are some serious pieces of glass! Not to mention they cost 3-4x the amount of the DA 55-300mm.

As has been said many times on the forum, it's an excellent lens.

As people have said, for the price it's excellent - and what hasn't been mentioned yet is that both its size and range make it very attractive when comparing it to superior glass such as the 70-200 f2.8's or the 60-250 f4.

However, I have found myself getting frustrated by its' performance a little of late. It's just not capturing the detail that my other zooms (DAs 10-17, 12-24 & 17-70) are, even when using a tripod. I guess this has something to do with the demands of the telephoto range. However, I would expect (not having had experience of the other long range lenses) that the faster lenses would perform better, and not only because of the wider aperture.

Unless a secondhand bargain arises, I anticipate my next new purchase will be something faster in this range to partly take its place. However, I'll definitely hang on to the 55-300 for both the convenient size and range, and the more than decent results when all things are considered.

Used it for a nearly a year before changing it, great lens for the price.

I've got an 80-320 and my Dad has a DA55-300. The DA is better in every way provided you don't need full frame coverage.

In fact the DA is so good that in real world use it often takes a better photo than my Tamron 300 F2.8 prime. The prime is the better lens, but it's sheer size and weight make it hard to handle where the Pentax is light and agile.

Many thanks guys and gels and any other sort that there may be. Advice taken and lense on order, will be delivered on Monday.

Thanks once again for all your help

Ian