lens suggestions

[herb_wilburn]

<p>I dropped my 75-300 lens a while back and need to replace it. I am a hobby shooter, limited in budget (within reason). I have a K7 and still have a 50mm prime lens. I am looking for a replacement lens for shooting wildlife. The 300 was ok, but really is the minimum to get worthy shots. I also need the lens to be fast, I shoot a lot on the river with lots of shade or early in the day/late in the evening (when the animals are out). Any suggestions?</p>

[personalphotos]

<p>Budget (within reason) and fast don't fit in the same sentence most of the time. You can get a lens like the Sigma or Tamron 70-300mm for under $200. You could get a Sigma 500mm f4.5 for $5000.00 Fast long lenses are by nature, very expensive. A very good compromise is the longer Sigma zooms. Price is fair and they offer a FOV most others don't. The 50-500mm "Bigma" is a very good lens. It's a bit slow at the long end f6.3, so you'll need to use a tripod in low light.</p>

<p>But the choices of anything at 300mm or longer that is faster than f5.6 just don't exist on a limited budget. Probably the least expensive 300mm that is fairly fast is, the DA*300mm f4 at around $1200.00</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Tokina 80-400/4-5.6 or 400/5.6 are decent and usually priced reasonably though appear rather infrequently on the used market.<br>

Along with the DA* 300 that Peter mentioned Sigma 100-300/4 is one of the better choices for 300mm. Once you get 300/4 then you can think about 1.4x teleconverters. I would put the DA* 60-250/4 in this company as even though it's 50mm shorter it also has good optical quality at the long end and is in the same price category.<br>

In addition to the 50-500 Peter mentions, Sigma also has 120-400 and 150-500 lenses. Since all three of these are f/5.6 or f/6.3 at the long end they are somewhat less suitable for adding teleconverters.<br>

The next question is whether or not you're shooting handheld as it will become increasingly difficult to get sharp shots the longer the lens.</p>

[r.t. dowling]

<p>It's hard to know what "limited in budget" means -- there are quite a few members here whose "limited budgets" are about 5x bigger than my "limited budget"! -- so I'm going to be completely arbitrary and assume you want something under $400. (If that's not the case, let us know.)</p>

<p>First, I would suggest taking a look at the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542146-USA/Pentax_21720_SMCP_DA_55_300mm_f_4_5_8_ED.html">Pentax 55-300</a>. Obviously it's not as fast or sharp as the DA* primes, but the images I've seen are impressive, particularly in regards to color and contrast, which it retains throughout the entire zoom range.</p>

<p>However, if you need something even more affordable than that, your best bet would be the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/423730-REG/Tamron_AF017P700_70_300mm_f_4_5_6_Di_LD.html">Tamron 70-300 Di</a>, which can be had for under $200, is well constructed, and has a 6-year warranty. It's got to be one of the best values out there. I own one and continue to be impressed with it, especially when I consider how little I paid for it. It loses some contrast between 200mm and 300mm and will give you a bit of purple fringing at that end of the range, but both of those issues are relatively easy to correct, either on the computer or in-camera.</p>

[r.t. dowling]

<p>Just an FYI: I was searching the B&H site for the Sigma 50-500 and they don't appear to have it in Pentax mount. Not sure if that's just a B&H issue or if Sigma discontinued it in that mount. It does sell for about $1600 in the other mounts; only Mr. Wilburn knows if that falls within his "limited budget" or not!</p>

<p>B&H does have the Sigma 120-400 in Pentax mount for "only" $900.</p>

[stemked]

<p>A 'budet' lens to get IMHO is the Takumar 500mm f4.5, provided you use a solid tripod. It is a fast lens, usually for sale for under $600. And you can get good images with a 1.4X-L teleconvertor. It does have a few issues though. It is not APO so colors may bleed a touch, a problem say if you are photographing a Scarlet Tanager. You CANNOT handhold the lens even though it truly isn't all that heavy for its focal length. Third issue is you tend to gather a lot of attention using a 500mm lens (it's not truly a 'telephoto' lens, it REALLY is 500mm long). That said it is a reasonably sharp optic and at a bargin price, provided you already have a good tripod and head.</p>

[slawek_jacek]

<p>I have a Pentax-FA 100-300mm F4.7-5.8 and can recommend it if you are looking to try for something good and inexpensive to shoot outdoors. Very light - it's a pleasure to work with. Very sharp at short end. Very acceptable at long end. Excellent color and contrast. Zooming is not the fastest due to the long range. It does not haunt however - just motors it's way to the proper AF point. Being a FF lens is good for my film body too :-).<br>

Some people mind light lenses saying they are not rugged enough. This one is probably one of these lenses - it's featherweight and it would likely brake if dropped on the ground. But which lens is safe to drop??? With this one at least you won't despair (get another one). <br>

I ran a direct test against a new 55-300 at the photo show. The results were slightly better with my old 100-300 so I decided not to upgrade (to 55-300mm). I also compared it to the Pentax 80-320mm which I acquired as a part of a kit. This one was beat hands down. I sold it quickly.<br>

The FA 100-300 is a sleeper. If you decide to get one just make sure you get the F4.7-5.8 version of it.<br /><br /></p>

[stemked]

<p>Hi Slawek.<br>

I was wondering about the 100-300 f4.7-5.8 for sometime. I have the feather weight 80-200mm A f4.7-5.6 (comes in a F version too) that I was always surprised how wonderfully it performed. I think of the 100-300 F 4.7-5.8 as the updated version (philosophically anyway) of that lens, its nice to hear that it is an optically acceptable lens in a feather weight package. When it came out the only reason I didn't get it was because of the lack of close-up focus, the Tamron 70-300 f4.5-5.6 LD 'macro' is what I ultimately got, which is a fine lens, but not a featherweight and I suspect is surpassed optically by your lens. When I tested the Tamron and the Pentax 80-320mm side by side I would say they were 'equal' optically on the long end (a bit soft), the faster focus going to the Pentax lens, but of course the close focusing going to the Tamron, which was what I was after at the time.<br>

I'm sure most of our users also know that there was also a 100-300 f4.5-5.6 F/FA out as well. Still heavier (over 600g) it was a power zoom lens built to meet the needs of cameras like the PZ-1s, but again didn't focus especially close.</p>

[personalphotos]

<p>Well it seems the old screwdrive 50-500 Sigma is disco'd. The new version is HSM and the price has gone up. So a used copy might be a good choice and last I looked, they sold around $900-1000. But the 120-400mm version is a very good focal range and faster at the long end and might be the better option depending on funds.</p>

<p>your budget will determine which makes the most sense.</p>

[lauren_macintosh]

<p>If you are into wild life photographing take a look at the Tamron </p>

<h2>SP AF200-500mm F/5-6.3 Di LD (IF)</h2>

<p>I had this lens and I liked it very much ,My son now has it with my old Canon</p>

 

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Is that Tamron 200-500 available in Pentax mount?</p>

<p>Sigma 150-500/5-6.3 OS HSM is available in K-mount for $999.</p>

[personalphotos]

<p>Andrew, nope, it's only for Canon, Nikon, Sony. So your suggestion is a good one that's available.</p>

[thebs]

<p>Thought this was an interesting new lens, but not sure it will be available in a K-mount: <br>

http://www.photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/00XKs2</p>

 

[herb_wilburn]

<p>Thanks to all for your responses. I really can't justify spending over a grand. I'm a teacher and just don't have the bucks. I'll study your suggestions and see what I can do. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Herb</p>

[thebs]

<p>The DA 55-300 f/4-5.8 is a solid zoom for not much over $300, just limited to 300mm. But at 14.6MP, consider shooting RAW and cropping if needbe.<br>

Otherwise, the used market, possibly for long manual primes.</p>

[lauren_macintosh]

<p>so look for what you want in craigslist in your area or on Ebay But with be-sure to ask a heck of lot of question about the lens look at KEH.com and B&H.com and adorama.com their web present on web sites Adorama steps in once in while to answers questions on adorama from time to time:</p>

[michael_elenko]

<p>Herb,<br>

I'd recommend the Sigma (Bigma) that Peter called out above. You should be able to find a used older model for about $700 or a new one for $1000. It's the most affordable and convenient super-tele for Pentax right now. The optical quality can be good and occasionally great. I owned one for a couple of years for birds and sports, until I sold it and took on a Canon 7D for that kind of shooting.</p>

<p>An alternative is to procure a DA* 300mm and then a 1.4 or 1.5X teleconverter to add reach. That may go over your $1000 target somewhat, but I like that lens (having borrowed it for a day).</p>

<p>If photographing wildlife, including birds in flight, is very important to you, then seriously consider using systems by either Canon or Nikon. While the forthcoming K-5 sounds like it may have sufficient predictive AF and fast frame rate capabilities (finally), the selection of long lenses that fit those other brands is greater (though very expensive too).</p>

<p>ME</p>

[snik75]

<p>As a very low cost option, the Pentax FA-J 75-300 is only a little over $100. I don't think I would pick it as a wildlife shooter, but as someone who occasionally wants 300mm, it works pretty well. (Especially if kept to about 270mm). I also recently picked up a Rikenon XR 300 mm f/4.5, which is obviously a little faster, but all manual. I haven't used it enough to deliver any good shots, or much of an opinion.<br>

Good luck!</p>

[slawek_jacek]

<p>Here is a sample handheld shot with my Pentax-FA 100-300mm F4.7-5.8 lens at 300mm wide open, 1/250 sec. </p>

[slawek_jacek]

<p>Another try for a picture. Sorry</p><div></div>

[stemked]

<p>Slawek,</p>

<p>I actually saw this one of yours posted on your workspace.what a wonderful demonstration of what this lens can do. I have posted an image here that I took on a moving boat in Costa Rica using the Tamron 70-300 f4.5-5.5 LD macro+ 1.4X Tamron TC (I was very limited in the equipment I cold take because I was in CR with a class of undergraduates)</p><div></div>