[evansph]

Hi guys, new to the forum. I had a sigma 150-500mm which is sadly no more as I dropped it. However I've got the insurance to purchase a replacement but was thinking about a DA* 300mm or DA* 60-250mm. My main area of interest is wildlife/birds and would like opinions on both the lenses mentioned as I thought the sigma was quite soft on my K5. As both the DA* lenses are roughly the same price in the UK and both within my budget. Any experienced views most welcome.

Cheers
Phil

[hcc]

I have a DA18-250mm and FA*300mm. For wildlife and birds, the extra +50mm of the 300m is great. But, with the DA*300mm, you will miss the zoom capability of your 150-500mm.

Why dont' you stick to the 150-500mm? The reach is significantly longer, and the lens is well liked by its users (Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 OS HSM Lens Reviews - Sigma Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database).

Food for thought....

[Bob from Aus]

I found my sigma 50- 500 soft at the 500 end. I was really stunned just how much better the sigma 500 prime was. To compensate not have the 50-500 I got the much smaller 60-250 to fill the gap. While it is a much nicer lens to use than the bigma, I can't see the massive improvement although I like the quality of the colours from the pentax a lot more.
Maybe the answer to these questions will help you.
Do you want your photos to go the next step? The a 300mm prime should provide the best results
Do you want a very flexible lens that has very good quality - then the 60-250 is a great choice, but not a stunning choice in my experience.

[evansph]

Thanks Guys for the opinions so far. Yes, I would like my images to go to that next level and all the example shots I've seen from the DA* 300 especially seem to be pin sharp compared to my Sigma shots. The colour rendition also seems to be better on the DA* lenses. It's a tricky choice

[elho_cid]

Future cameras will probably have more megapixels giving you more options to crop. And the DA*300 is very sharp, while the different bigmas are not so much - the 16Mpix of K-5 is about the limit....
Maybe a crop from DA*300 will be the same IQ as Bigma @ 500mm in near future.

And be aware of the fact that there are several different versions of bigmas. 50-500 EX is the best one, 50-500 OS is probably second, 150-500 EX is just ok and 170-500 is the worst.

[GaryH]

And be aware of the fact that there are several different versions of bigmas. 50-500 EX is the best one, 50-500 OS is probably second, 150-500 EX is just ok and 170-500 is the worst.

I have had the Bigma EX and now own the OS. The latest version with OS has much better IQ than the EX.


If you are needing a lens for wildlife, then the Sigma 50-500mm OS will be the most versatile and the IQ at 300mm is extremely good. I also have the DA* 60-250 and the DA*300mm. I use the two lenses for very different purposes. The 60-250 actually replaced my 50-135 and it works great as a portrait lens while giving me a high quality lens for travel. It and the AFA 1.7x will get you to 425mm in a relatively light compact kit. I pair it with my 16-50 as a travel kit when I think that I might get some wildlife shots.
The DA*300 is a fantastic lens also that is relatively light and produces great IQ. It works well with the AFA 1.7x giving you a 510mm lens combo in a small package compared to the Bigma. I found that the DA*300 with teleconverter actually gave as good or better results than the Bigma EX.
I understand your wanting to explore different lenses than the 150-500mm. (which by the way handles similar to the Bigma) That is why I have all 3 lenses along with a Tamron SP 400mm f4. But that is another story.
You say you are into birding and wildlife. I would rule out the 60-250 for that intended purpose and go for the 300mm or the Bigma. If you go the 300mm route, a teleconverter should probably be considered if you are planning to photograph small birds.

Good luck with your decision.