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Best cheap 300mm

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Hey Greg, how would you describe the BGN rating for KEH? I've been tempted to order BGN lenses, but I've never been too sure about it. Do you think they're conservative with their ratings?
 
Wow - that Tamron puts the DA50-200 to shame. Would love to see how they compare say at f9? If I can expect this level of performance form this Tamron I might just pick it up as its dirt cheap at $170 or so. Interesting.
richardday said:
This may help.

Full size JPEGs, K10D, Raw -> ACR > PS CS2 -> Unsharp mask applied
60% at 0.6 pix to all, saved at High (8).

FA*300/4.5 @ f5.6 v Tamron 70-300 LD Di at 300mm @ f5.6 (a cruel
test!)

FA*300
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/FA300_5-6.jpg

Tamron
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_5-6.jpg

DA 50-200 at 200mm @ f5.6 v Tamron 70-300 LD Di at 200mm @ f5.6

DA 50-200
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_5-6.jpg

Tamron
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_5-6.jpg

I think the Tam does rather well, however you can see the well
documented purplish effect on the roof rings in the 300mm shot at
f5.6, it almost clears by f8.0. It's hardly visible in the 200mm
shots as it is stopped down 2/3rds of a stop from wide open (f4.5)
at 200mm. Used with a bit of care, it's a great cheap lens.
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK
Click to expand...
--
Sinan

 
Or another shot of the Tamron wide open at 200mm (f4.5)would help a lot actually - if you have the time of course! :) I cant believe how sharp that Tamron is - are you sure you didnt miss focus on the DA50-200 shot byw the way?

--
Sinan

 
Alfisti,

Are you sure you want to cart around a manual focus long prime lens?

Having canoed through Algonquin in my younger days I wonder if you will find it inconvenient to canoe & portage the 2+ kg of lens plus tripod that will be needed to use such a lens. Having said this, the moose and loons are certainly plentiful there and using a long lens to capture a pair of loons with their chicks would be quite a coup.

If you want to pursue this path, someone at Pentax Forums is selling a 400mm prime + TC in the price range you specified. Otherwise I would also suggest you consider the FA80-320/5.6 lens. It's a decent performer and available on flea-Bay for under $200.

Have fun!
 
To ask a question which might focus your thinking, what kind of weight and portability were you hoping for?

The Tamron 70-300 Di is not only cheap, but also light compared to a 300mm prime. The downside is of course the PF.

The Pentax 80-320 can be found on eBay secondhand for a price just a bit more than the Tamron, but the some versions have reliability issues---search for 80-320 on DPReview, there's a thread about them---IIRC the automatic aperture hardware is fragile. This scared me away from them.

The 50-200 with the 1.4x TC is even lighter than the Tamron, but the flaky autofocus on early morning bird shots was driving me crazy. Manual focus worked fine when the birds sat still, but I was losing too many shots to moving birds and hunting AF. Not a lens issue, the 50-200 is great, but F5.6 plus a stop for the TC is going to cause AF issues.

If weight is no object and AF isn't essential, you'll get the best images with a second-hand 300mm prime. But the ones I looked at weighed a lot more than the Tamron.

--Brett
 
Sinan Tarlan said:
If I can expect this level of performance
form this Tamron I might just pick it up as its dirt cheap at $170
or so. Interesting.
Click to expand...
Interesting when people say $170 is dirt cheap when its actually available all day long at $149. :)

Larry
 
James Lin said:
Hey Greg, how would you describe the BGN rating for KEH? I've been
tempted to order BGN lenses, but I've never been too sure about it.
Do you think they're conservative with their ratings?
Click to expand...
I've bought 2 bargain lenses from them, and they've both been great. The rating means that there will be cosmetic problems and wear (although in my case not much), but nothing that will effect optics or operation of the lens. Although they never come with lens caps (either end).

--



Greetings from Santa Cruz
 
That is my suspicion too, i have seen other comparisons where the 50-200 is slightly better.

I have th elink at work, i will get it for you in a few hrs.
Sinan Tarlan said:
Or another shot of the Tamron wide open at 200mm (f4.5)would help a
lot actually - if you have the time of course! :) I cant believe
how sharp that Tamron is - are you sure you didnt miss focus on the
DA50-200 shot byw the way?

--
Sinan

Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens

Updated March 2007
 
WHere?
mutleybird said:
Sinan Tarlan said:
If I can expect this level of performance
form this Tamron I might just pick it up as its dirt cheap at $170
or so. Interesting.
Click to expand...
Interesting when people say $170 is dirt cheap when its actually
available all day long at $149. :)

Larry
Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens

Updated March 2007
 
I was thinking about this, yes. For 1/2 a stop it's nearly 4 times the weight of the Tamron.

Plus AF is handy. Looks like it has to be the Tamron doesn't it.

Free purple borders for me!
tranq78 said:
Alfisti,

Are you sure you want to cart around a manual focus long prime lens?

Having canoed through Algonquin in my younger days I wonder if you
will find it inconvenient to canoe & portage the 2+ kg of lens plus
tripod that will be needed to use such a lens. Having said this,
the moose and loons are certainly plentiful there and using a long
lens to capture a pair of loons with their chicks would be quite a
coup.

If you want to pursue this path, someone at Pentax Forums is
selling a 400mm prime + TC in the price range you specified.
Otherwise I would also suggest you consider the FA80-320/5.6 lens.
It's a decent performer and available on flea-Bay for under $200.

Have fun!
Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens

Updated March 2007
 
THanks Brett.

I am not crazy about old glass as the metering can be a step or two slower by the time we hit the * button etc etc etc. Pain in the butt frankly.

I willjust have to be careful of contrasty situations and hope for the best.
With any luck pentax 55-300 solves this problem.
BrettRTurner said:
To ask a question which might focus your thinking, what kind of
weight and portability were you hoping for?

The Tamron 70-300 Di is not only cheap, but also light compared to
a 300mm prime. The downside is of course the PF.

The Pentax 80-320 can be found on eBay secondhand for a price just
a bit more than the Tamron, but the some versions have reliability
issues---search for 80-320 on DPReview, there's a thread about
them---IIRC the automatic aperture hardware is fragile. This
scared me away from them.

The 50-200 with the 1.4x TC is even lighter than the Tamron, but
the flaky autofocus on early morning bird shots was driving me
crazy. Manual focus worked fine when the birds sat still, but I
was losing too many shots to moving birds and hunting AF. Not a
lens issue, the 50-200 is great, but F5.6 plus a stop for the TC is
going to cause AF issues.

If weight is no object and AF isn't essential, you'll get the best
images with a second-hand 300mm prime. But the ones I looked at
weighed a lot more than the Tamron.

--Brett
Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens

Updated March 2007
 
That's the post I was after.

On that evidence you'd have to go the TC right? But I have seen very sharp images from the Tamron, including a recent thread showing the roof of a building where the Tamron was much sharper ..... so it is very hard to tell.
Stringmike said:
Check out some of the tests I did last year, with photos of the
various lenses to compare portability.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=19800851

--
Mike

There are holes in the sky
Where the rain gets in,
But they're ever so small
That's why rain is thin. ..... Spike Milligan
Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens

Updated March 2007
 
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=19800851
richardday said:
This may help.

Full size JPEGs, K10D, Raw -> ACR > PS CS2 -> Unsharp mask applied
60% at 0.6 pix to all, saved at High (8).

FA*300/4.5 @ f5.6 v Tamron 70-300 LD Di at 300mm @ f5.6 (a cruel
test!)

FA*300
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/FA300_5-6.jpg

Tamron
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_5-6.jpg

DA 50-200 at 200mm @ f5.6 v Tamron 70-300 LD Di at 200mm @ f5.6

DA 50-200
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_5-6.jpg

Tamron
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_5-6.jpg

I think the Tam does rather well, however you can see the well
documented purplish effect on the roof rings in the 300mm shot at
f5.6, it almost clears by f8.0. It's hardly visible in the 200mm
shots as it is stopped down 2/3rds of a stop from wide open (f4.5)
at 200mm. Used with a bit of care, it's a great cheap lens.
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK
Click to expand...
--
***********************************************
Please visit my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti

Pentax Lens examples at http://www.pbase.com/alfisti/images_by_lens

Updated March 2007
 
Well everyone has made some useful input and asked some questions as well, so I will attempt to answer best as I can. ;-)

The DA 50-200 was focussed very carefully and it is not wonderful at max aperture at 200mm whereas the Tamron is very decent at 200mm.

I am also trying to fill the gap while waiting for either the DA 55-300 or more specifically, the DA*60-250 which was expected about a year ago and I sold my Tokina 80-400 in anticipation (that will teach me a lesson!).

Because the Tamron is cheap, lightweight and a decent performer, apart from the purple hue it imparts to dark edges when wide open in high contrast situations like the railings against the sky (shot on purpose to show this up) I am happy to live with it and work around it's known limitations, for me it has more advantages than the DA 50-200, although it's a sweet little lens it is soft wide open at the long end, and here in gloomy Britain we need as much light through the lens as possible!

Luckily, for my long lens solution, I have the fantastic FA*300 and will mainly use the Tamron between 70 and 200 where it is okay at f5.6 to f8.0 most of the time. If I do use it at the 300mm end, I will ensure I keep to f8 - f11 and avoid very high contrast if I can.

Like so many in the forum, I am awaiting a decent long tele-zoom from Pentax, but the wait is awful. :-(

Here are some more shots to show some of the differences:

Same subject as before, but at different apertures:

DA 50-200
200mm @ f8
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_8.jpg

200mm @ f11
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_11.jpg

Tamron
200mm @ f8
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_8.jpg

200mm @ f11
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_11.jpg

Now for the good old brick wall test, a pixel peepers delight! ;-)

DA 50-200
200mm @ f5.6
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_wall_5-6.jpg

200mm @ f8
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_wall_8.jpg

200mm @ f11
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/DA50-200_200_wall_11.jpg

Tamron
200mm @ f5.6
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_wall_5-6.jpg

200mm @ f8
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_wall_8.jpg

200mm @ f11
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_200_wall_11.jpg

Just for good measure
300mm @ f5.6
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_wall_5-6.jpg

300mm @ f8
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/TAM300_wall_8.jpg

It doesn't seem to get much sharper beyond f8, but the purple problem gets better.

Then, just to be cruel, here is the FA*300 wide open at f4.5.
http://www.zen70100.zen.co.uk/jpgfiles/lens%20tests/FA300_wall_4-5.jpg

That should be enough for now!
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK
 
went to ritz camera here in irvine... i was able to get a sigma 70-300 DL macro for $39.00 including tax... brand new in its box. i think i got a bargain! no high expectations for the lens... but so far its been fun!

:P

--

 
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