[outcast86]

Help, looking to buy a lens in the wide to short telephoto. I have been looking for the sigma/tamron 17-50, lately I've been thinking about to combo of 16-45 and tokina 28-70 as well. Used they will be the same as a new 17-50 ($500ish). I'm afraid to go and get the 17-50 from ebay/Japan having read about the problems with the QC of the lenses.Any suggestions on the matter will be appreciated. Thank u.

[Hattifnatt]

I cannot comment on the other lenses but I think the 16-45 is a great lens for the price. I haven't used that much because I got the DA15mm Limited shortly after, but still I was happy with the results. Since I mostly shoot landscapes I used it stopped down so I'm not really sure how it performs wide open.

Some samples:

16mm @ f/11


31mm @ f/13


45mm @ f/5.6

[eminker]

Hi,

I have both the Pentax 16-45mm F4 and Sigma 17-50 F2.8. I find the Pentax 16-45mm has better contrast and saturation levels and I love this lens. Sigma is also a very good lens but i find it cooler and not as contrasty but IQ is slightly better. If I had to choose one over the other, I would go with the Pentax 16-45mm F4 as I do mostly landscapes and architecture. Mind you, I do find the Pentax a bit short on the 45mm side. Also I find that the Sigma tends to AF hunt even in decent outdoor daylight on 50mm side. Both of these lenses were purchased new for my K-5 and K-5iis so I cant advise on Japanese EBAY QC issues, other than say I have purchased at least 5 lenses of older Pentax F and FA stock from Japanese Ebay auctions and so far, no issues. Best of Luck!

[trumanusa]

I have purchased new sigma 17-50 from a japanese ebay seller and happy with the purchase.

[willeisner]

I had 17 to 50 tamron , is an excellent lens, had no problem with my copy came from Japan. and has the advantage of being 2.8.

Some reviews of it as photozone has given good feedback for it.

[outcast86]

Thank u for all of your replies, I really like the idea 16mm gain but still not sure if I will miss the f2.8 for indoor shots. I'm planning a trip to Brazil and Peru and I was thinking the faster aperture would be nice for indoors, but then again for me the wider the better... Still can't make up my mind...

[grispie]

was thinking the faster aperture would be nice for indoors, but then again for me the wider the better... Still can't make up my mind...

depends a bit on your camera, but only a bit... if you have one of the latest, increasing iso indoors is not much of an issue anymore. And at f4, you still can play the dof game if done wisely.
the 16-45 is a great lens.

This said, if a da15 exists in your future somewhere, i'd go for a 17 50 2.8 lens, just because of the 2.8...

[Hattifnatt]

Also, you have to consider what exactly you want to shoot. If you're gonna shoot non-moving subjects indoors and you don't mind carrying a tripod, you don't have to shoot at f4. You can stop down and keep a decent ISO.

I will go a bit further and add that for such a trip (Brasil and Peru) I would definitively take a good tripod with me regardless of the lens used. Just think about the potential sunsets...

[willeisner]

I live in Brazil you will Liking Very beautiful here, advice, do not use tripe on the street, you can lose your equipment, be as discreet especially if for any metropolis Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. Aperture 2.8 is more shallow dof with the possibility of expanding creative photography. ,

photograph made with tamron 17 50. k5