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05-24-2011, 06:19 AM   #1
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DA 15-60* or Sigma 17-50?

About to get back into childrens portraits and at the moment only have a 10-20, not exactly a portrait lens! Only do outside work, no studio. I also want to use this lens in conjunction with the UWA for landscape work.
Ok so the Sigma is about half the price of the Pentax, but is the Pentax twice as good?
Would like to hear from users of both lens. Money is an issue so the Sigma is first choice, but I don't want to regret the purchase down the track!

05-24-2011, 06:43 AM   #2
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I never cared for the DA* 16-50 and sold it. What about the Tamron 17-50/2.8? It's relatively inexpensive and an outstanding lens - sharp with warm colors.
05-24-2011, 06:52 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by MrPetkus Quote
I never cared for the DA* 16-50 and sold it. What about the Tamron 17-50/2.8? It's relatively inexpensive and an outstanding lens - sharp with warm colors.
....the tamron 17-50 f/2.8 has terrible bokeh.

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05-24-2011, 08:03 AM   #4
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xx-50 is not really the best FL for portraits. A Tamron 28-75 may give you a bit more working room.

05-24-2011, 09:10 AM   #5
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Had the Sigma but went with Pentax for the weather sealing.

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05-24-2011, 09:34 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by ozlizard Quote
About to get back into childrens portraits and at the moment only have a 10-20, not exactly a portrait lens! Only do outside work, no studio. I also want to use this lens in conjunction with the UWA for landscape work.
Ok so the Sigma is about half the price of the Pentax, but is the Pentax twice as good?
Would like to hear from users of both lens. Money is an issue so the Sigma is first choice, but I don't want to regret the purchase down the track!
Sigma 17-50 is a great choice if budget is an issue.
05-24-2011, 01:16 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by MrPetkus Quote
I never cared for the DA* 16-50 and sold it. What about the Tamron 17-50/2.8? It's relatively inexpensive and an outstanding lens - sharp with warm colors.
Agreed, and the Tamron was my choice for 3 years while I shot APS-c wide angle on Pentax. I took over 15,000 shots with it. One only need to look through the Tammy Club to see examples of its excellence. I sold it to help fund my full-frame body and new, wide-angle lenses.

Of these 3 lenses, it is the best wide open, with the Sigma 17-50 2.8 next. On the Nikon forums the 17-50 Tamron is hghly praised.

QuoteQuote:
SpecialK xx-50 is not really the best FL for portraits. A Tamron 28-75 may give you a bit more working room.
Agreed--I used the 17-50 mostly for landscapes, and my 28-75 mostly for portraits.

05-24-2011, 02:51 PM   #8
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Another option is the DA 17-70mm/4 SDM. It isn't weather sealed.
05-24-2011, 03:27 PM   #9
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Optics aside, I am never going to buy another Pentax SDM lens - not-at-all-proud owner of DA 17-70/4.0 f'ing SDM MF lens.
05-24-2011, 03:30 PM   #10
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I thought the old Sigma 18-50 was inferior to the Tam 17-50, but the new Sigma 17-50 is even better than the Tammy but is more expensive.
05-24-2011, 03:40 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by excanonfd Quote
Optics aside, I am never going to buy another Pentax SDM lens - not-at-all-proud owner of DA 17-70/4.0 f'ing SDM MF lens.
I had one for about a year and never had any problems with the sdm but admit that I was concerned. I currently have 1 SDM lens and that is the DA* 300mm. I am reluctant to through out that kind of money the DA* lenses demand with a 1 year warranty and problems they have.
05-24-2011, 05:01 PM   #12
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Best to stick to an f/2.8 zoom if your doing portraits with it, so the Tamron 28-75 is just about perfect. But you could do a lot better with a little more investment into the lens (a DA/FA limited comes to mind...)

Last edited by Ash; 05-24-2011 at 05:07 PM.
05-24-2011, 05:16 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by twitch Quote
I thought the old Sigma 18-50 was inferior to the Tam 17-50, .....
Most reviews say the Tamron is a bit better/sharper than the Sigma,

but having owned a Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC MACRO for a year or so
and shooting mostly wide open/night shots, out of curiosity I did buy a Tamron
a few months ago to compare performance and determined they were just about equal. (tested copies anyway)

What is not equal is the build quality and materials of the Tamron, it felt/handled like a plastic toy compared to the Sigma.

Had I noticed any low-light / sharpness improvements over my Sigma I surely would of kept the Tamron
since 95% of my shots are at night/f2.8 but returned it to store after a few days of testing.

Michel

Last edited by mlatour; 05-24-2011 at 05:23 PM.
05-24-2011, 05:41 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by mlatour Quote
Most reviews say the Tamron is a bit better/sharper than the Sigma,
I had a similar experience comparing the Sigma to the DA* 16-50... no discernible difference between 'em, so I sold the 16-50 and bought something else.
05-24-2011, 08:22 PM   #15
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Thanks for the input. I guess it might laso be worth considering a prime. FA 77 springs to mind for only a little more than the Sigma 17-50. Or even the Sigma 85 (when it comes out in Pentax mount), although a lot more $ than the others. What about the Sigma 24-70, any good?
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