Sigma 18mm - 250mm DC OS HSM for $529!

[medbooks321]

I had heard rumors that it was going to cost $900. First listings are up on adorama and various ebay sites. I'm definitely excited.

As discussed previously, the in-lens OS will likely be redundant with our in-body IS. But for just $100 more than the original Tamron/Pentax version, I'd assume most of us would be curious enough to try. Maybe in-lens OS would help with telephoto shots?

Will Sigma's HSM work with the K10/K20, the way it does with DA* lenses?

So, does anyone have this yet? I have so many questions. Is there the dreaded zoom creep? Does the extra light from being 72mm make it much heavier for use as a travel lens? (specs say 620g vs. 420g) Does 72mm improve the image quality?

And does anyone know if Pentax is planning on making a weather-sealed 18-250?

[koper]

i have ordered the lenses in adorama
i think that 3 weeks later i can answer your question

[GLXLR]

Originally Posted by medbooks321

I had heard rumors that it was going to cost $900. First listings are up on adorama and various ebay sites. I'm definitely excited.

As discussed previously, the in-lens OS will likely be redundant with our in-body IS. But for just $100 more than the original Tamron/Pentax version, I'd assume most of us would be curious enough to try. Maybe in-lens OS would help with telephoto shots?

Will Sigma's HSM work with the K10/K20, the way it does with DA* lenses?

So, does anyone have this yet? I have so many questions. Is there the dreaded zoom creep? Does the extra light from being 72mm make it much heavier for use as a travel lens? (specs say 620g vs. 420g) Does 72mm improve the image quality?

And does anyone know if Pentax is planning on making a weather-sealed 18-250?

They will not weather seal it for sure, considering even Sigma's pro line doesn't consist of weather seals (excluding some lenses like the 200-500mm f/2.8). Also, nothing is wrong with zoom creep and I am positive that they will put a zoom lock on the lens.
HSM will work with the K200D/K20D, but you will need firmware updates for GX-10/K10D.
72mm is just the filter thread. The filter thread depends on what the FL and maximum aperture. Because the 18-250mm has such a huge range, it requires the spherical glass for the 18mm and bigger glass for the 250mm part (although the aperture isn't that wide). The 72mm thread has absolutely nothing to do with IQ, so I don't think you should worry about it.

[medbooks321]

Originally Posted by GLXLR

They will not weather seal it for sure, considering even Sigma's pro line doesn't consist of weather seals.

The 72mm thread has absolutely nothing to do with IQ, so I don't think you should worry about it.

I wasn't thinking about Sigma making their lens weathersealed, I was wondering if Pentax was going to weather-seal their 18-250. Am I the only one who would be interested in that sort of lens?

And my reference to 72mm is simply that the sigma has more physical glass (and therefore more light) than the Pentax/Tamron 62mm version. This doesn't necessarily mean better IQ, but it potentially could help. Given how popular the pentax 18-250 has been, why didn't they stick with the previous form factor?

[EricT]

Originally Posted by medbooks321

I wasn't thinking about Sigma making their lens weathersealed, I was wondering if Pentax was going to weather-seal their 18-250. Am I the only one who would be interested in that sort of lens?

And my reference to 72mm is simply that the sigma has more physical glass (and therefore more light) than the Pentax/Tamron 62mm version. This doesn't necessarily mean better IQ, but it potentially could help. Given how popular the pentax 18-250 has been, why didn't they stick with the previous form factor?

Pentax has disconintued their 18-250mm. This is because this lens was based on the Tamron 18-250mm, which has now been replaced by an 18-270mm. It is uncertain if Pentax wants to rebrand the new lens as well. I agree it would be great to have a weather-sealed consumer superzoom.

What is certain is that they won't rebrand Sigma's lens, since Sigma doesn't pay license fees for using the Pentax mount (or Nikon, Canon, Sony etc).

[Reportage]

and oddly enough. their prices not much different from manufacturers who actually pay the license fee. Tamron`s warranty length is pretty amazing.

[and]

its going to be interesting to see tests of sensor shift vs optical SR when this lens its in the hands of users.

[Entropy]

Is the OS even present on the Pentax version of the lens?

I recall some of Sigma's other lenses would be missing features on Pentax bodies. (e.g. no OS, or Sigma's first generation or two of HSM predated Pentax's SDM lenses and hence were screwdrive on Pentax.)

Has anyone tried this lens yet? Are there any comparisons of it vs. the Tamron?

I'm in the process of shopping for an 18-250 lens for a vacation in a week and a half. Both the Pentax 18-250 and the Sigma 18-250 are in stock at B&H. Even if it doesn't have OS on Pentax, I'm interested in getting an HSM lens.

[opiedog]

from what i understand, OS is present in the pentax version,


I have sigma's 50-150 and the HSM is nice,
however, from what i've read, the OS still uses battery power even if it's not enabled.

i went with the tamron 18-250.

read slrgear for a review.

[Entropy]

I received mine last week.

I haven't had too much time to test it, but the OS *definately* works even on the Pentax version. It is powered via the SDM/HSM contacts.

It seems to, at least based on my initial impressions, work significantly better than in-body SR at long focal lengths. This could be partly because the stabilization helps the AF mechanism quite a bit by giving it a more stable target.

It's nice to have a stabilized viewfinder.

[medbooks321]

Thanks for the update. The big question is what happens when you have both OS and SR turned on. Do they interfere with each other?

Let us know what you think about the lens' weight as well.