which motorsort lens?

Hi all,

Ive been using the 55-33 DAL 1:4-5.8 kit lens with my Kx for a few months now and although I gat fairly good results cutiosity is getting the better of me. Is there a better lens out there for motorsport (fast moving bikes/cars)? It would be nice to get something like 25-300 or similar as I keep changing the lens (18-55 kit lens) depending in wether I'm in the pit lane or trackside.

Thanks
Del

What's your budget? I would suggest, if money isn't a concern, the Sigma 100-300mm F4 at around the £800 mark.

Sorry the mistypes in your comment makes it hard to read.
You're looking for a 28-300 lens or something close to it right?

There are some superzooms from pentax tamron and sigma that goes from 18-250mm that might be it but those aren't super fast lenses and you need to give in some quality to get those zoom range in one lens.

If you want a better lens then you will see these lenses are more specialized and have a short zoom range to deliver more quality.
The DA*60-250 f/4 or the sigma 100-300 f/4 would be your best bet for a better quality lens in the zoom range you're looking for and there are 50-135/150 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 lenses as well.

i have been useing a 28-200fa for rally photos for years and had some good results now useing a 55-300 dal for the money a very sharp lens hope this helps one of my photos is on the gallary as watersplash
phill

Yes, I could have been clearer with my question, (note to self, check spelling before post)anyhow I'm looking for something like this maybe.
http://www.parkcameras.com/12081/Sigma-18-250mm-F3-5-6-3-OS-Hybrid---Pentax-fit....
would this be a good motorsport lens or is there something similar.

Thanks

Del

What do you mean by "good"?
As Stefan said the 18-250 Sigma covers the range well but you lose some quality & lens speed compared with a 70-200 f2.8 for example. Life is full of compromises; what will be yours, quality or convenience?

Regards, Ian.

Don't know if it's good for sports or not, the thing is the DAL 55-300 you've now will give you better quality, they say the sigma is quite soft at the long end and that counts for all such lenses.

Here is a review about the sigma link

Here is the Tamron 18-250 the Pentax one is the same link

Like said it won't be a step forward but a step backwards but you don't need to switch lenses at least.

If you want higher quality the DA*60-250 would be the way to go link

I'm expecting good things from my 120mm f2.8. However, I realise that's not the easiest lens to lay hands on so I would suggest looking at a Pentax 135mm (SMC Pentax f2.5 if you can find it, failing that the Pentax-M 135mm f3.5 is cheap and sharp).

What about the FA 28-200mm, I see SRS sells that one for 100GBP, don't know if the tam/pen 18-250 might be a better performer or not?

A lot of the ideal choice for track shots will depend on the circuit.
At Oulton park last month I found my F100-300 produced some nice shots of the Harleys, but at Brands Hatch (and many others) you can't get as close to the track without a media tabbard.

Mike

Depending on the budget, the DA 50-200mm kit may fit your needs. It's a good lens, sharp with good IQ. Get the WR version and you might not be too worried about standing in the rain either. You can probably pick one up for less than £150.
You'll probably need a bright day to get the best from the lens at longer lengths - due to the limited aperture.

Sorry for being a killjoy but I owned and used this at Oulton Park for the BSB and unfortunately I was not impressed, I only managed a few keepers but it was used at or around 200mm when I dropped it down to around 100mm the results picked up. I recently sold it and I'm in the hunt for a 200/300mm prime instead. However this is only my opinion and maybe somebody else has had more consistent results.

I've had the DA 50-200 and can say that my old F 70-210 was considerably better IQ wise, not sure about AF speed. The Tamron 70-300 LD Di was also a better performer, maybe the DA 55-300 if you want to sick with Pentax optics. Maybe I had a poor sample of the 50-200, but it didn't inpress.

Regards,

John

I guess I may have been lucky, but I found the 50-200 to be sharp. Must admit, I'm not sure how close to 200mm I've used it.
I've had real problems with purple fringing on the Tamron 70-300.
All a bit of a moot point now I've got the 60-250 DA* though, that's sublime.

The M 200mm f4 seems relatively plentiful for around the £100 mark, or look at the M 75-150mm f4 which is a superb zoom. Slightly more recently the A 70-210mm f4 has a good reputation.

I realise these are manual lenses, but the IQ is such that it's worth the effort and besides which motorsport photographers in the '60s captured some iconic images with completely manual cameras.