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01-13-2014, 05:57 PM   #16
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The 55-300 zoom is great, kind of. Depends on the FL. But for greater than 100mm, it is a great lens for the money. Maybe even a superlative lens for the money.

01-13-2014, 06:47 PM   #17
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I'd suggest renting the 60-250 from either lensrentals.com or borrowlenses.com, to see if you like it.
01-13-2014, 06:54 PM   #18
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If you can foot the bill for the 60-250, go for it. You will find it sharper and, in addition, it will be a lot easier to keep a decent shutter speed with it than with a 55-300. I own the 55-300 and honestly, as much as I can, I shoot it at f8, because it is soft wide open.

If Pentax comes out with a decent TC, another option would be the DA *200 and the TC.
01-13-2014, 08:35 PM   #19
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Wow, thanks for all the quick replies. A lot of love here for the 55-300, and it does look like a great lens. My only reservations with it are I really wish they had put the silent DC motor in it like the 18-135 and I'm not sure how well I will be able to shoot hockey indoors with it. Can anyone tell me at what focal length you lose the f/4 aperture at?

01-13-2014, 08:42 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by BATMON Quote
The 55-300 is noisy on my k-50 but i doubt birds/wildlife would hear that from afar.
I've scared several birds with this until I found the technique of quickshift close then nail it with the auto focus.

QuoteOriginally posted by fuent104 Quote
I'd suggest renting the 60-250 from either lensrentals.com or borrowlenses.com, to see if you like it.
A great idea, although I'd have to plug cameralensrentals.com, I've used them and they are stellar.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
If you can foot the bill for the 60-250, go for it. You will find it sharper and, in addition, it will be a lot easier to keep a decent shutter speed with it than with a 55-300. I own the 55-300 and honestly, as much as I can, I shoot it at f8, because it is soft wide open.

If Pentax comes out with a decent TC, another option would be the DA *200 and the TC.
Trust your instincts and research and go for the 60-250, although the rental is a good test. The 55-300 is exceptional with good light, but you don't always get good light shooting birds and wildlife.
01-14-2014, 12:44 AM   #21
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Also, is there a DA 120-380 still in the works? That would be an awesome lens with DC and WR.
01-14-2014, 04:10 PM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by V.rider Quote
Also, is there a DA 120-380 still in the works? That would be an awesome lens with DC and WR.
There is a Tele-Zoom on the lens roadmap. When will it be released? Only Ricoh knows...

01-14-2014, 04:30 PM   #23
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pentax da 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 ed sdm

Any good?
01-14-2014, 04:33 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pepe Le Pew Quote
pentax da 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 ed sdm

Any good?
Probably not as good as the DA 18-250 and rather expensive.
01-14-2014, 05:19 PM   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by boriscleto Quote
Probably not as good as the DA 18-250 and rather expensive.

Yeah thought so
01-15-2014, 08:14 AM   #26
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I want more focal range but I need something faster than the consumer telephoto zooms. Sample shots of the 55-300 WR look great but I feel it won't cover a lot of my needs going forward.

Top two right now are the DA*60-250 for all the reasons I mentioned above and the newest Sigma 70-200 f/2.8.

The only thing making me consider the Sigma right now is 2.8 aperture. It has a lot of draw backs in build quality, lack of weather resistance, and IQ compared to DA*. I do like the internal zoom but not a major deal breaker for the Pentax. I wish Pentax had a DA* 70-200 f/2.8 with SDM or DC.

Has anybody used the 60-250 extensively for sports?

Is the k-50 good enough at higher ISOs to make up for the constant f/4 vs 2.8?

I know it will easily handle outdoor sports during the day but what about hockey, basketball, and football at night under the lights?

Thanks again.
01-15-2014, 01:44 PM   #27
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I rented the DA*60-250 for an airshow years ago. It's big and it's heavy - and because it was a drizzly day I was glad it was weather sealed. Unfortunately, because it was drizzly I couldn't really put the lens through its paces. I can say that with the K10 I owned at the time and that lens, it's over 2kg. That's a heavy kit to sling over your shoulder all afternoon.

The 55-300 I bought to replace the Tamron 70-300 which had way too much purple fringing on the K5 has been great. Have a look at my Flickr page. Most bird shots are with the 55-300. I like it so much that when it got damaged I sent it to CRIS to repair, which was slightly less than replacing it. The lens is even better now, they tweaked the focus, I guess.

And yeah, a higher ISO can make up for a lot of f-stop. The K5 is a real slugger.
01-15-2014, 06:25 PM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by V.rider Quote
Wow, thanks for all the quick replies. A lot of love here for the 55-300, and it does look like a great lens. My only reservations with it are I really wish they had put the silent DC motor in it like the 18-135 and I'm not sure how well I will be able to shoot hockey indoors with it. Can anyone tell me at what focal length you lose the f/4 aperture at?
When you zoom with the 55-300 or any lens there is not a "step change" in the aperture in reality but.....
......the controls of the body only show 1/3 or 1/2 stop so yeah it changes as you zoom in is step values.

I did my own experiment the 55-300 non WR and concluded it was certainly 2/3 to 1 stop "faster" than any of the other Pentax superzooms and any of the "bigma/bigmos" Sigma offerings.

f4 from 55 to about 120mm
f4.5 from 120 to about ?? - I'm not sure where it reads f5.0 from, but its closer to 200mm end.
f5.0 from ?? to about 210mm
f5.6 from 210 to 260mm
f5.8 from 260 to 300mm

Compare this to the 18-135 WR. f4 is only up to 28mm and the 18-250 is f4 only up to 40mm.


Anyway, varying aperture zoom tend to annoy me a bit so when I use these 2 lenses I tend to stick them on f8 for half decent sharpness (or f5.6 if I need a bit more shutter speed) so effectively they become constant aperture zoom lenses.

If i had a DA*60-250 i'd use it for sports etc but wouldn't take it on holiday due to the weight/bulk. The cost might limit the holiday budget also.
The 55-300 is definitely the best value for money with decent IQ in this range.
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