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Tamron 70-200 or Pentax 60-250

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eliehbk

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Could you please give me your opinion about the 2 lenses, I am thinking about buying one of them and I would appreciate it if you could tell me about build quality, image quality and auto focus speed of the lenses. I shoot with a K5 and currently own 40, 70 limited and 50mm manual
Thanx
 
Wow, there's been a lot about the 70-200 lately.

I really like that lens. I tested one against a 70-200 sigma and the 60-250 Pentax... and decided I wanted the 70-200. The AF is fine for me and the tamron was sharper, lighter, and cheaper than the 60-250 that I tested.
--
Why yes, I AM colorblind.
 
For me what matters is image quality more than price and weight, thank you for your input
 
He's asking about the Tamron....
 
eliehbk said:
For me what matters is image quality more than price and weight, thank you for your input
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Gee, I like the fact that people see the words "sharp" and automatically think it translates to IQ. ( No offense to anyone, but sharpness is by no means the be all and end all of IQ)

Although from what I have assessed from the Tamron its sharp and has great bokeh.
Its mechanically inferior to the Pentax and the Sigma equivalent lenses.

If Tamron made this lens better mechanically and at a similar price then its almost a no brainer. But Pentax makes a lens that is better built, silent, Sealed, and has possibly the best bokeh of any zoom lens in the range ever. Although the Tamron is not that far off.
 
Thank you for your replies the reason why I didn't include the Sigma is because I haven't herd very good things about it except that it is quick in AF, do you guys recommend this lens? I herd IQ isn't as good as the Pentax or the Tamron
Thanx again
 
I tested and used both.
Both are excellent.
I can't say that one is better than the other one.

Both are good. One will be more attractive for you due to several reasons : price, weight, focal range, built quality,aperture, ...
You have to choose, none of these lenses is a bad choice.

--
Regards
Francois
 
Which 2 did you test between sigma, tamron and pentax? I am tending towards the pentax since it's lighter, more focal length and I trust pentax more than the other 2, the only - is that it's 50% more expensive and slower
 
I am also considering buying one of these two lenses primarily for Safari and Whale Watching trip next year. I have the longer reach covered with F* 300 & 1.7 TC. I just cannot get a handle on how much risk is a non-weathersealed lens on a whale watching boat. I like the 2.8 for very early mornings & late evenings. This is a good thread with very helpful contributions.
Earl
 
so Earl towards which lens are leaning? Pentax is slower but with better built quality maybe slightly better IQ but 50% more expensive, so if you had to choose tamron or sigma which one would you choose? Do you think sigma's HSM vs Tamron's screw mount AF would be much better suited for whale watching? The question is IQ on the tamron much better than the one on the Sigma to sacrifice the better more accurate AF of the sigma?
Thanx
 
eliehbk said:
Thank you for your replies the reason why I didn't include the Sigma is because I haven't herd very good things about it except that it is quick in AF, do you guys recommend this lens? I herd IQ isn't as good as the Pentax or the Tamron
Thanx again
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My Sigma 70-200 II is the best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp, good at all focal lengths, except that it is a little soft at close focus distances at 200mm. I have a few images from it in my gallery



 
eliehbk said:
Thank you for your replies the reason why I didn't include the Sigma is because I haven't herd very good things about it except that it is quick in AF, do you guys recommend this lens? I herd IQ isn't as good as the Pentax or the Tamron
Thanx again
Click to expand...
I had the screw drive Sigma a few years ago. I'm still kicking myself for selling it to buy another lens. Sharp, fast focus (K10D at the time), reasonable weight, great color.

The sale was the kind of stupid thing I sometimes do when the budget gets too tight.

--
Charlie Self
http://www.charlieselfonline.com
 
beautiful sharp picture but if you say that the sigma isn't good for close ups then you wouldn't recommend it as a walk around telephoto lens?
 
I am not considering Sigma at the moment. I will probably use MF for Whale Watching so HSM AF not a factor, but maybe a noisy AF would be a factor on a Safari at very close quarters. Fortunately still have time to reach a decision.

Earl
 
How come no one recommends the Pentax 60-250 is it because of it's price or maybe because it's F4 or is IQ? This was actually my 1st choice, the only reason why I asked about the other 2 is because of the F2.8 but with the K5 I'm not too concerned going a bit up in ISO so the main reason is that I would be paying around $500 extra for it
 
I had just one day out for whale watching in a small and fast boat, whaves washington quite high and ata the end of the day i washington Completely soaked. Fortuna me whater sealing ispira paramount. Also considera the unexpensive 50 200 wr. I own it, the iq ispira pretty poor but the price is low. Fortuna safari, in myanmar limited experience i don.t think nise's a problemi. Sorry for typos, i'm writing frombola mobile. Bye
 
I can recommend the Pentax DA* 60-250 without hesitation-- for it's IQ, build quality, weathersealing, and silent AF. I'd want weather sealing on a whale watching trip. I did one about 3 years ago w/ the Olympus E-3 and 50-200, both weather sealed, and they were soaked in both rain and salt water spray during the trip, but no damage.

I've used the K5 and 60-250 in light to moderate rain with no problems. I have no experience w/ the Tamron or Sigma.

Cheers. ernie
 
eliehbk said:
beautiful sharp picture but if you say that the sigma isn't good for close ups then you wouldn't recommend it as a walk around telephoto lens?
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Don't get me wrong, the Sigma is fine for close-up work. But those looking for a flaw will notice that at close focus at long focal lengths it isn't as strong. I use it as a zoo lens wih no problem.

The older, non-os version is a very good deal at the moment... But I've never directly compared mine to the 60-250. I liked the Tamron very much, but was drawn to the silent focusing of the Siggy.
 
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