Telephoto Lens

Hi everybody. have just come back to photography having been given a K10D. I am currently using this with a SMC DA 18-55mm lens, but would like to add a lens to extend my focal range.

I do not have a specific subject I photograph and am on a pretty limited budget of about £120. Am probably being to greedy but if possible would like a macro option, so guess I will be using a popular auction site.

Have had a look on line and the options are pretty bewildering, so I am hoping that somebody can offer some guidance and point me the right direction.

Many thanks

For £120 you could pick up a Tamron 70-300 LD Di new from many dealers, it has a Macro setting beyond 180mm that will give 1;2 (half life size) at the closest focusing distance. You really would be hard pushed to get anything better at the price, expect to pay £55-70 secondhand.

Just looked £89 @ SRS

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/283/Tamron-70-300mm-F4-5-6-Di-LD-Macro---Pentax...

John

What he ^ said.
Cracking lens, pretty sharp, quick focusing and great for close-ups and portraits. Lovely creamy bokeh (out of focus areas).
It suffers from purple fringing in high contrast, but there's a simple fix for that - just ask here.

Tested here:

http://www.photozone.de/pentax/281-tamron-af-70-300mm-f4-56-ld-di-macro-pentax-k...

..............and comes with a 5yr guarantee from SRS!

John

Couldn't agree more: you can take some great shots with this lens. However, it is quite bulky. The Pentax 50-200 is obviously not as long, but it's amazingly compact and very nicely made. I'm not sure of its close focus ability, though.

A 50-200 WR (weather resistant) would be a great companion for your K10D.

Lee

Hi guys, thanks for you help. Had thought about something like a 50-200 and I suppose I could always slip a teleconvertor in my pocket if I needed a bit more length.

Also seen the the two Lens below how do they rate, the Tamron is of interest as it covers the range of my existing lens so would reduce the need to carry two around.

Sigma 55-200mm 4-5.6 DC
Tamron LD 18-200 3-6.3 XR Di

Thanks

I would stick with the smallest zoom range as the longer it gets the worse it can be as a rule

18 to 200 or 18 to 270 lenses have the convenience but I am told the image quality is the trade off, basically the larger the differences between the higher and lower figure the more challenging the lens design problems

I have the Sigma 70 -300 apo dg macro which is not so great over 200mm but is ok for macro, however, I also have a collection of manual focus primes which really have an edge in sharpness if nor fringing

Personally, If I were you I would go for the Tamron 70 - 300mm and also a old mf prime 300mm as well - I have this arrangement as the sigma is noticeably worse after 200mm, the 300mm is streets ahead - of course this depends on what old 300mm and if you are ok with manual focus.

I have a Tokina rmc 300mm f5.5 m42 lens but I believe the Hoya/Tokina 300mm f5.6 is pretty much the same beastie and mine cost me £16 or thereabouts from evilbay.

The Pentax M 200mm f4 is also pretty good but probably not needed as the tamron will be very good at 200mm


I use my sigma when I need af for the 70-200mm range

I have sets relating to my mf primes on my flickr account below if these help in any way

Regards




Stu

I think you'd be hard pressed to do better than the Tamron 70-300 for the price you can buy it.

But if an all in one lens is attractive I don't think their 18-200 had the best of reputations and may be best avoided. The replacement 18-250 was a significant improvement (and also outperforms the DA50-200 in many respects), but difficult to pick up within your budget.

Cheers,

Jon

Guys, Thanks for all the advice much appricated. The 70-300 Tamron it is then. The idea of a prime at at 300 seems like a good idea, will see how I get on with the Tamron, especially at the longer end of its range before deciding on what I need to invest in next.

Thanks