Pentax DA 55-300mm for travel? Any alternatives to consider?

seventysixersfan · 06-13-2012, 04:36 PM - **1 Like**

crowsby-- looks like there is a Tamron 18-250 available for sale in the PF Marketplace right now, and I noticed that KEH has the Pentax version but at a higher cost. Have fun on your trip!

Mr_Canuck · 06-15-2012, 02:06 PM

An all in one can be nice, if compromising sometimes. I appreciate my 18-135 more and more. But if you really like your Sigma, I'd seriously consider the 55-300 or maybe 55-200. I find the whole "getting the shot" thing a bit of a misnomer. What shot are you getting? You're getting the shot you envision and want to get. OK, a rare bird flies by and you wish you had your telephoto. But so much of photography is what is a person looking for, and what are they framing up in their mind? Whatever lens you have in hand, one could be thinking in that range and so it doesn't matter if you don't have another lens in your hand. If you wished you had a 10mm fisheye but don't, you'll still shoot with the 17-70 you've got in your hand, just shoot it a different way. Just my two bits of philosophizing.

Bottom line, you'll get a lot better telephotos from a 55-300 than from a 18-250.

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06-13-2012, 04:36 PM - 1 Like	#16
seventysixersfan Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 2,054	crowsby-- looks like there is a Tamron 18-250 available for sale in the PF Marketplace right now, and I noticed that KEH has the Pentax version but at a higher cost. Have fun on your trip!

06-15-2012, 02:06 PM	#17
Mr_Canuck Guest	An all in one can be nice, if compromising sometimes. I appreciate my 18-135 more and more. But if you really like your Sigma, I'd seriously consider the 55-300 or maybe 55-200. I find the whole "getting the shot" thing a bit of a misnomer. What shot are you getting? You're getting the shot you envision and want to get. OK, a rare bird flies by and you wish you had your telephoto. But so much of photography is what is a person looking for, and what are they framing up in their mind? Whatever lens you have in hand, one could be thinking in that range and so it doesn't matter if you don't have another lens in your hand. If you wished you had a 10mm fisheye but don't, you'll still shoot with the 17-70 you've got in your hand, just shoot it a different way. Just my two bits of philosophizing. Bottom line, you'll get a lot better telephotos from a 55-300 than from a 18-250.