Originally posted by Frogfish I don't want to hijack the thread but how would you distinguish the pros & cons of each of these lenses ? One of these or a top Tamron / Tokina (the 300 is supposed to have fantastic AF speed) is definitely my next major purchase. Thanks and apologies to the OP !
The DA*300 and 60-250 are both fantastic and trying to compare them basically comes down to whether you want a long prime or a zoom with a fantastic focal length range. The DA*300 has the faster AF, although the 60-250 isn't bad either; it's faster than the 50-135 and at least on par with the Tamron 70-200. The DA*60-250 is pretty compact given it's FL range, although the flip side of that is the lens extends during zooming. Not a deal breaker, but I prefer the internal zooming of the 50-135 and 70-200 lenses. In terms of IQ, they're both excellent in terms of sharpness, colors and overall rendering. The DA*300 is slightly better wide open, but I never found the 60-250 to be lacking wide open (some have said it's slightly soft at f/4). When I made my choice and sold the 300 and kept the 60-250, it came down to the desire for the huge focal range over the slight increase in IQ and reach of the 300.
I also bought and tried the Sigma 100-300 last year. That lens is another good option to consider as it's gives you the reach of the DA*300 with a pretty decent focal length range (although without the nice width of the 60-250). It's a very solid lens with great IQ throughout it's range. Again, I felt the DA*300 had the edge in IQ overall (and AF speed if I recall correctly, but that is to be expected and the edge was not that large in either case that it should be the deciding factor. The Sigma 100-300/4 was the largest of the lenses I tried, and although it wasn't that much longer or heavier than the other choices, it was just enough larger that it did play a small factor when I was deciding.
Feel free to PM me with any specific questions you have trying to compare the lenses. I've also had the Sigma 70-200, DA*200, DA55-300 as well, so if you're considering any of those, I might be able to offer some insight as to how they compare to the rest of your options.