The war of the normal zoomrange!..Struggle to descide!

Arvan

Hey..Looking for a new normalzoom for my K10D...from 16-70 or something like that.

It´s so hard to choose wich one to go with..Since all the ones i have looke on seems great.

So here is what im aiming for..

Sigma 17-70

tamron 28-75

pentax 16-45

pentax 16-50 ( rather expensive )

Wich one?? :O the sigma and the tamron are a bargain for the imagequality you get..So it feels like hard competition between them.

I have 1 more question..

On the pentax lenses..What does IF mean?... Internal focusing or something like that?. IS the new 16-50 solid while zooming and such?..Was thinking that many lenses expand when zooming...but there are some who don´t?.

Need some help in this jungle, so i would be very happy if i got some replys

Thanx for reading // Arvid

Art Scott

Figuring that the Pentax is a crop sensor (1.5 or 1.6) then you have to multiply the zoom range by that factor....I currently have a Sigma 24-70 2.8....I found it too be just a tad too long at the short end 24 = 36mm in 35 equiv)....so for my next system I will be ;looking for something shorter than 20mm for the short end and it really needs (for me ) to be a 2.8 lens........

Yes IF on a lens means Internal Focusing....meaning the lens barrel does not turn while focusing and mkes the use of certain filters much easier...

As for the actual focal lenght for you, you need to go play and try them aout at a camera store......it is truly hard to tell how you will like the results until you put taht lens on a camera and try it out....If I had tried out my Siggy before ordering it I would not have bought it but would have looked for a lens taht met my criteria better.

Good Luck
HTH some

Arvan

Thanx for the reply...yeah i may have to tru some zooms..I know about the focal lenght and i have a bag wich cover me from 18 to 300 mm...Both solids and zooms.


I like 18 mm...but i allso loke the barreldistorsion with 18 or below..So that part dosn´t bother me that much.

The thing is id like to see the different lenses with full tele / full wide..The looks of it..Much barrel going outside the lensbody..Gahh how can i explain this??...Hope you know what i mean...

Can you post a pic of the lens, or maby post a link to a site wich shows the picture?..

Thanx for reply was good to hear.

photocat

I have the tamron (I have different tamrons) and I like them. They are good lenses, the way to go if you can't afford the more expensive glass. I have been very happy with them in the last 2 years. The last tamron I bought is an 28-300, 2.8, and is the lens that I use most. A great one to walk around in strange cities, wide enough to get street views and buildings in one go, the outer end is great for snapping portraits without being in people's face.
The only thing that I have to watch is blurr.. It is easy to blurr as it only gives 2.8 at 28... The minute you zoom, the values go down... Still a great lens though

Miguel Delinquento

From what I have read, they are all good choices. I sold the kit lens (which is quite good actually) and am looking for something to fit between my DA 12-24 and the DA* 50-135. Both of these are professional-level lenses.
The reason the DA* 16-50 is pricey is that it is weatherproof and has SDM focusing as well as traditional AF. It may be the best of the bunch if you get a good copy. Early models had slightly larger-than-expected focusing issues.
The Tamron is out of production, but rumors are that the model will be re-released within months. I have read good things about this one too.
The Pentax 16-45 is supposed to be quite sharp, but suffers from more CA than one would like. I would choose the DA*.
The Sigma I have also read positive and negative things about. My friend has it in the Nikon mount and the sharpness and rendering is fine; that said, I have also read about recurring back-focus issues. I admit to having a negative bias against Sigma lenses from reading more bad things about their quality, but if someone offered me a Bigma at the right price I would gladly purchase it.
Finally, let me ask you, what kind of shots are your planning to use this lens for? If you are thinking about significant landscapes, do consider the 12-24. It is pushing past my Pentax SMC 24mm as my favorite lens: incredibly sharp, accurate wide-angle rendering, and sweet color.

M

Tee Why

If you can live with the focal range, the tamron 28-75 is a nice lens. For me 28m on a K10D is not wide enough and I'd lean towards a Sigma 17-70. Of course the Pentax 16-50mm would be ideal, but as you noted it's is very expensive.

Arvan

thanx for the good answers.

Well it seems like im going for the tamron 28-75 since i will be using this lens for "daily use ".. random portratis and so on. Multipurpouse lens i guess.

Allso going to ge myself something around 90 mm for the serious portratis.

Still 1 question is unaswerd..The 16-50..Does it stay in the same size even if zooming?. No ugly drainpipe coming out?..

Thanx guys..Very nice help indeed.

Tee Why

Hoya/Tokina owns Pentax and they have a Tokina version of the same lens with the same optical design and the Tokina 16-50 extends during zooming, so I'd expect the Pentax version to do the same.

EDIT: You know I think I'm wrong here. I was just briefly skimming an article on the new Pentax 16-50 and 50-135 and it stated that the lens length does not change.

Miguel Delinquento

The 50-135 is next to me as I write this: it does not expand.
BTW: Hoya does not own Tokina. Their products are distributed in the US by the same firm (Kenko maybe) but they are independent operations. Tokina will use Hoya glass blanks for lenses, but so do just about all lens makers.
Several Pentax-branded lenses were co-designed with Tokina, but the Pentax products have some significant differences including, SMC coatings, SDM, and weatherproofing on the DA* models.

M

BikePilot

There's also the sigma 18-50 if you want something between the kit lens and DA* lens in terms of quality. The older model is cheaper now and the newer one is said to have considerably better image quality, though neither is bad from what I've seen (I own neither, just read a few reivews on them).

older style sigma
http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-50mm-Pentax-Digital-Cameras/dp/B0002P19PI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1200016803&sr=8-4

newer style (has the word "macro" in the name, larger diamater etc)
http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-50mm-Pentax-Digital-Cameras/dp/B0002P19PI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1200016803&sr=8-4

The DA* lenses are really nice though

Manfr3d

Tamron 17-50/2.8 SP