SMC DA60-250 f4 ED (IF) SDM

Have been looking at this lens and am about to test drive - does anyone have experience of using it. Anything I should watch out for?? I had been looking at the 300mm but decided that I probably needed more versatility, it's to replace the Tamron 70-300 which has dreadful purple fringing.
Any advice would be gratefully received
Vicki

Fantastic lens, will wipe the floor with your Tamron (and so it should considering the price difference). I find mine fairly sharp at f4 and the colours are superb. Only thing against it imo is the slow SDM focusing.

Also have a look at the SIgma 100-300mm f4 if you can.

The Tammy is what it is, a cheap and cheerful lens. I got mine new for forty pounds and have had everything from really nice shots to annoyingly soft ones**, and PF can be a problem in some circumstances. The DA* 60-250 has a very good reputation but so it should for 20x the cost!

**Annoyingly soft (sometimes) wide open at 300mm but some of that may be down to camera shake as I only use it wide open when the light is dire. My seagulls picture was grabbed quickly, and only after did I realise that it was wide open at 1/4000 sec!

If I have a windfall -- some hope -- I too will be trying to choose between the 60-250 and the 300...

Best wishes, Kris.

Brilliant lens

My entries in the Fortnightly Competition and the Weekly Competition that have just finished were taken with it.

Thanks for the speedy response.
@Hyram - Those pictures are amazing - I'm sure it's not just the lens that did that tho' !!
@Kris - the Tamron as you say is ok in some circumstances but in areas of high contrast you get the PF - it has served it's purpose though, it has proven that I WILL use the versatility of the lens.
@Mike - P - thanks will take a look at the Sigma but am due to test the Pentax tomorrow, my local shop has got a demo one in for me to try and the price they have quoted is only £80 more than I have found it on the web, so am more than happy to spend the extra for the privilege of being able to try it out against the Tamron in the shop. Excellent service again from J&A Cameras in Barnstaple.
Thanks all
Vicki

Only had my DA 60-250mm a few weeks and quite pleased with the results considering the light conditions recently.
Mike, found SDM slightly quicker than the DA 300mm!!

Yes, it's a very nice lens and gets a strong recommendation from me. Only slight weakness is the SDM speed.

I have one too, which I bought, for a great price, second hand. It hasn't had much of an outing yet, but so far I am very happy with it. It will get put through it's paces more when we go on holiday soon.
It is the lens I wanted but couldn't afford, as it gives me a good range when combined with the 17-70.
I wonder how much use the 50-135* will get now.

I may be mistaken, but isn't the 60-250 an Internal Focus lens? If so, does that not mean that it's more like a 60-210 when focussing on objects closer than five metres... something to consider, perhaps.

Many say that but isn't the DA*50-135 a different lens?
I use it for portrait and I would miss the 50mm and the f/2.8

True Stefan, but I don't use it much anyway. I was thrilled to buy it, but actually find it spends more time on the shelf than in the camera bag.

Or on the camera for that matter

Yes, it's only a 250mm at infinity. At minimum focus it's about a 175mm. I was concerned at first, but I've never found it a problem in practice.

It is one superb lens. Love it!

What a shame, if you use it a lot outdoors and don't need the f/2.8 then yes I so no reason why you should keep the DA*50-135

You can probably sell it with a profit now

I hardly use mine either but can't seem to part with it.

I would suggest getting it out now and then just to give the SDM a workout as it seems the DA* lenses are getting most problems if unused for any length of time.

I picked up my 60-250 from SRS on Saturday: it is too early for me to give a full report just yet...!