[Driline]

Bump!

Actually - in the middle of similar dillema. Pentax irrationally highly priced. With Tamron drawback, Sigma seems to be a winner here.

Why not buy used like I did? I paid $600 and got a 3 month warranty from "Henry's". I just saw one go on fleabay in excellent condition for $560. The color rendition IMHO cannot be beat with these lenses. That's why I chose this over the Sigma and Tamron regardless of SDM.

I've got the FA 43 so I now what quality is.

[PentaxScott]

I bought Sigma 17-50 recently. Two weeks later came the Black Friday deal and i bought Pentax DA16-50 from bhphoto.

There are differences between the two zoom lenses.
If you are after the colour of Pentax, get the Pentax. It is WR and of slightly better built quality than Sigma. The Pentax is soft at the corners wide opened.

The risk of SDM failure is real. If that is your concern, get the Sigma. I have paid US750 for the new DA16-50 but will never pay RRP for it. There is nothing wrong with the Sigma as it is sharp and well built. The colour from the Sigma is different but can be adjusted in pp. The minor difference in colour does not justify the extra US700 to get the DA16-50 at RRP.

The above zooms are prompt to flare and hoods are essential.

All the best!

This sums it up best.

I own the Pentax, a close friend of mine owns the Tamron. Both are good lenses, but as Bestzoom mentioned, the color rendering on the Pentax is a tad bit better SOOC. I opted for the Pentax when I bought a lens of this type because I got it well before the MAP went into play and I paid less than $650 for the lens new. At the current price of well over $1000, its hard to see where the Pentax is a better buy than the Sigma or Tamron, which often cost between $500-600. Personally, Im willing to spend an extra 25% of the cost of a 3rd party lens for the extra features such as Quick Shift, superior build, or WR, however, these features dont directly impact the image, so they can be done without. If you can find the Pentax 16-50 *UNDER $749* then I would give it a consideration. Otherwise the Sigma or Tamron would be my choice.

[choong_dc]

sigh, the Pentax DA*16-50mm i got is decentered and the right is blurry for 1/4 of the pic [can this be repaired?]... does the Sigma 17-50mm comes with the ff/bf issue as of the latest build?