Quantaray 70-300mm - TWO Versions

[Teja]

I was in the market for a 70-300 AF lens for my K100D and missed out on the Tamron Di LD Macro deal from Cameta on eBay (... said they were OOS after I placed my order). Anyhoo, I looked at the options. The Sigma DG APO is also highly recommended but is a tad above what I was ready to pay. So I fell back to Quantaray (I was considering it first before discovering that it was in fact a rebadged Tamron - you gotta love the information age )

When I went t place my online order today (no Ritz within 70 miles of my home), I found that Quantaray has TWO versions of the 70-300 lens.

One - The newer Tamron Di LD Rebadge
Two - The older Sigma APO Rebadge

So I did some digging and am sharing the info here - may be useful for someone in the same boat.

The Sigma version (called Tech-10) is the non-DG APO Macro Super version (not Super II). The Super II has, like the current DG APO, a macro enabled range from 200-300mm. While the Super (i.e the Tech-10) can be enabled for macro only at the 300mm end. It has the same THREE low-dispersion lens elements, but doesn't have the new DG coatings, and weighs about 20 oz. This lens originally sold for $199 at Ritz (the Sigma version sold for $249).

The Tamron version is the exact same lens as the latest Tamron Di LD Macro. It has only ONE low-dispersion lens element but has the newer Di coatings to reduce reflections when used with digital SLRs, macro enabled from 180-300mm and weighs about 15 oz. The current $149 price is a good deal considering the Tamron is OOS at most places or costs nearly $200 (Dang.., should've ordered sooner from Cameta).

Size-wise both are same (about 3" dia and 4.6" long). After agonizing for the better part of the day over which version to buy, I finally decided on the Tamron version because a) I think the lower weight helps, b) I really liked the samples posted here and DPReview and c) I found more people recommending the Tamron over the Sigma.

If someone has the Tech-10 version of the lens, please post your inputs - some samples would be great.

Cheers
Teja