SOS - impartial lens buying advice needed urgently!

I enjoy photographing plants and flowers but would like to be able to capture birdlife more often when the opportunity arises. Longest lens at present is a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG, which isn’t really up to the task. Have been keeping an eye open for an AF 400mm (e.g. Sigma APO 400mm f5.6 Tele-Macro AF) but am beginning to realise that the chances of finding one , let alone one in good nick, are slim to say the least. I’ve seen plenty of evidence in the forum gallery that the DA* 300mm is a very capable lens in the right hands (no names and no pack drill) and has a useful close focus capability. As we all know, however, quality does not come cheap and given that I’m not a fanatical watcher /photographer of birds, perhaps I should be considering one of Sigma’s big zooms (e.g. the 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM). Whilst obviously not in the same league as the aforementioned Pentax, it could be argued that for my needs it would suffice, offer greater flexibility and cost around half the price. My plea to you, then, is for considered advice: should I stop agonising, settle for the Sigma and get on with taking photographs, or, inhale deeply and go for the DA*; safe in the knowledge that I’ve bought the best and that it’ll probably still be going strong long after I’ve gone?

Yours in protracted vacillation,

Jon

P.S. A big "Thank you!" if you've read this far and apologies for the length of my post.

Hello Jon, I would have thought that you could get some decent bird shots with the 70-300 sigma. the main issue is getting close enough to get a 'frame-filling' shot (if that's what you're after), but you will have similar (obviously slightly less acute) issues I think with a 400mm lens.

That said, the DA* is a very capable lens and indeed focusses close - I have one and I wouldn't be without it, although of course it doesn't zoom so you have to move around a bit more sometimes.

In fact, I was in a very similar position to you a couple of years ago. I had (still have) the sigma 70-300, and was wondering about getting something longer, or of greater quality - for shooting wildlife, but instead I spent my money (about £175) on a one day bird photo workshop - and it was fantastic! I got some great shots and picked up some great tips and techniques and then happily shot away with the sigma for months thereafter - i upgraded when it got a bit too battered, but I still use it from time to time (in fact only last weekend!).

That probably doesn't help your quandary...

Regards

Jon, I am no expert by any means but in my honest opinion go for the DA* 300mm. You may be able to find one on Ebay! Or try one to see how it feels at some were like SRS.

I'd recommend the DA*300 too, you can always fit a rear converter to give you 420mm (1.4x) or 450mm (1.5x) or even 510mm (1.7x) if you buy the early Kenko Teleplus SHQ or Tamron 1.4x you'll even retain SDM focus.

This was the DA*300 with 1.5x Kenko SHQ:

https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/kinfisher-redux-17891/large

Regards,

John

If you can find one, the Tokina ATX 80-400mm is a viable choice and quite compact, albeit also quite heavy.

There are suitable Sigma and Tamron zooms available new.

Hello Jon

I have had the same issues.

I have the sigma 70-300apo dg macro and love it however, at 300mm it is noticeably worse than at 200mm and below.

I opted for the cheap m42 option regarding lenses and have been enjoying it.

Let me be very clear about this I would love (really love) to have the 300mm DA*, I have the money (just) but I also have a young family which comes first.

My far from perfect interim solution is as follows.

I bought an M42 NPS 400 f5.9 for £29.99 plus postage from ebay - a bit of a risk but I really like this lens - manual everything, black slider needs some adjustment in camera raw (this really brings the shots to life) but the results are so far well worth the cash. NPS seem very rare but via the MF lenses website the information I have recieved is that it was probably made by Sankor. A sturdy tripod and patience with focusing manually is a must.

To cover 300mm I bought an M42 Tokina 300mm f5.5 (manual everything again, (£16.00) I like this lens, it is useable without a tripod, has a built in hood and has decent quality when you get it right but oddly enough it is harder to squeeze a really good shot out of it than it is with the 400mm above, I thought it would be the other way around. This applies even on a tripod

I also bought a genuine Pentax m42 to pk adapter from a forum member, thanks Clarky

My total outlay including postage is under £100.00.

I have decided that I will try to learn how to use lenses of this type to the best of my ability and in future should I upgrade to for example a DA* 300mm or maybe a 150-500mm sigma I hope to be better equipped to obtain the best from them.

It's working well for me, albeit manually, but that in no way means that it would suit you or others.

I have heard though that the DA* 300mm makes grown men have that funny warm feeling inside as well as producing excellent results but this may just be a rumour

Cheers


Stuey


Ps for 200mm and below the Sigma suits me fine.


Heres a pic from the 400mm,

I am sorry but I have not uploaded anything from the Tokina to Flickr as yet.link

Sigma 100-300mm f4 DG EX.

Very nearly the quality of my 300mm prime but with the added bonus of being a zoom lens. Also very good with the Sigma 1.4x teleconverter.

That's right, I had one this afternoon.

NeilP on here has the Sigma 150-500 and gets very good results with it, his blog has various and numerous shots with it.

I'm not so much of a birder, so didn't need the flexibility of a zoom, and splashed out of the DA* instead.

Dan

The Sigma 400mm isn't actually as rare as you might think - SRS have had two in the past couple of months, and there has been one other on sale in the marketplace here.

But out of production and out of stock on Pentax mount unfortunately

There have been 3 (or 4) different variations of the Sigma, only one of them is really worth having and that is as rare as hens teeth.

And which is that?

G

Probably the same as this crippled Canon version ebay link

Although looking at the two sample bird pics on that listing it doesn't look that impressive.

I Suspect Mike-P is referring to the Sigma APO 400mm f5.6 Tele-Macro AF, which can be seen at 'the other place' here: http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/showproduct.php?product=486&cat=73

Several times I've thought I've found one recently only to request further detail and discover it to be one of its lesser brethren

Ho-hum

The Bluetit looks ok .. could do with a bit more light.

That's the one .. was about 3k new I believe, whereas the others were hundreds.

On closer inspection and a couple of coffee's I can see that it's not as bad as when I looked this morning.