telezoom choice

best, worst:
Pentax SMC FA 80-200mm f4.7-5.6
or
Pentax SMC FA 80-320mm f4.5-5.6
or
Pentax SMC F 100-300mm f4.5-5.6
or
...maybe more similar to those?

Cheers!

I have the Pentax-F 100-300mm, and I rather like it. It's a heavy, solidly built lens with a lot of metal in the moving parts. A bit tiring to use hand held for any length of time but it doesn't feel as though it'll fall apart.

I can't comment on it compared to the other two, as I don't own either of them. It's a decent performer for a zoom though, well worth the £60 I paid for mine.

I also have a Pentax-A 200mm f4, which I'm very fond of too but it doesn't have the reach of the zoom. However, for situations when a 200mm lens is long enough I'll pick the prime as it's lighter and sharper, as well as being half a stop faster.

Pentax DA 55-300mm if you can afford a little extra. Well worth it.

Of the three you listed I'd take the FA80-320 every time - nice lens!

You could also look at the Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 - Good quality, reasonable price and has 1:2 macro capability at 300mm.

Now I preface this by saying that I am a newbie, and the information below is purely anecdotal. There was not a lot of science in my tests, just my observations.

I recently bought the SIGMA 70-300MM F4-5.6 SIGMA APO DG MACRO to go with my K-x and kit lens. IMHO this lens has amazing IQ, with little or no CA (even enlarged to over 100%), and very sharp focus. On the down side the AF can be a bit noisy, and the lens does turn when focusing, so using a polarizing filter is a pain. For me it represented the best value, but the overall image quality and especially the lack of CA swayed my decision.

Before buying the Sigma I also tested the Pentax smc DA 55-300mm F4-5.8ED, and the Tamron AF 70-300MM F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2.

While the Pentax was good, I did not find it was quite as sharp as the Sigma or the Tamron, and it displayed some CA - not a lot, but noticeably more than the Sigma, thought significantly less than the Tamron. It was also significantly more money than either.

The Tamron was probably as sharp as the Sigma, for a lot less money (less than 1/2 the price of the Pentax), but it displayed the most CA of the 3 - in my opinion there was a lot of CA (apologies to Tamron users ).

I tested all 3 lenses on the same bright, sunny day, at about the same time of day, so they all had equal opportunity to display their strengths and faults.

Jimmy Dean, you talked about sharpness, do you mean with that overall sharpness or only center?
Most here say the sigma is quite soft at the edges at 300mm, don't know how fast the fall of is though

One thing that puts me off the Sigma is that it's about 115 grams heavier than the Tamron 70-300 and Pentax 55-300.

My vote is for the Pentax DA 55-300. It's by far and away the best of all the consumer tele-zooms.

I've had most of them and it is way better than the others. List of the tele-zooms I've had:

Pentax FA 80-320
Sigma 70-300 APO macro
Tokina 80-400 ATX mkII
Sigma 100-300 EX
Tamron 70-300 LD macro
Tamron 70-300 LD Di macro
Pentax DA 55-300
Tamron 70-200 f2.8
Pentax DA*60-300 (my current favourite and keeper)

I've also owned the following primes A*300 f4.0 and FA*300 f4.5, with the 60-250 I don't have a hankering for the DA*300, even though it's a beautiful lens.

I have to old version of the Sigma 70-300 and a Pentax DA55-300. I purchased the Pentax because the Sigma was never sharp enough and I was always disappointed with the results. Having used the Pentax for a while now I feel it has the edge over the Sigma in the following areas:

Sharper
Faster focusing
Wider angle of view
Less lens flair
Lighter and less bulky
Colour representations are brighter
motor is marginally quieter

I don't particularly miss the macro function as the lens was always far to long for this type of photography.

Regards Graham

Where did you find that last one Richard?
the extra 50mm would be handy though

Agreed, much better than the Tammy 70-300.

Davex.

Interesting one - I tend to go for zooms these days and I still think my 75-300mm 1:4.5-5.8 Pentax AL FAJ is the all round winner.
Apart from the initial cost which was really a steal ( new,BNIB,old stock )it is also very light in handling and with a 28-55 and a teleconverter is all the kit I need on a day when I`m not sure what`s going to present itself.
My Sigma 28-300 is a cracker but not very light and wobbles without a tripod when at the long end.The 70-300 Sigma APO Macro Super is comparable in weight and has the macro facility though.

No need to apologise for your English - seems pretty damn good to me !!

Ah ha! Just wishful thinking!

I am waiting delivery of a Promaster 1.7x AF TC that apparently is supposed to work okay with the DA*60-250 SDM AF, according to a poster on DPR.

That will get me to 300mm and even beyond to 425mm, okay it will be at f6.3, but I can manage with that!

I'm very happy with my Pentax 55-300, it's the lens I sue most of the time. The shots in other posting are taken with it.

Hope that's useful.



Howard