Pentax 60-250 F4 vs Sigma 70-200 F2.8

gerax · 03-19-2016, 05:03 AM

Hi all

I’m looking for an upgrade from my Sigma 70-300 lens which, admittedly, has its own limits. Surfing through the reviews on this very forum I found that the match is between the Pentax 65-250 F4 and the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 (with the Tamron as a possible third contender). Now, I’ve gotten some funny comments on other Pentax forums about some Sigma lenses I use (10-20 F3.5, 17-50 F2.8 - currently shooting with a K30, looking to ugrade to a K3 II down the road) which had me wondering whether those are just Pentax biased comments or reasonable opinions. This makes me wonder if the higher price tag of the 60-250 (even used and for a slower lens) is justified by image quality, integration with the Pentax system and no “bottle neck” considering a possible K3II in some time.
Thanx

vimeto · 03-19-2016, 05:12 AM

I love the tamron, never used the sigma, or pentax. I do own the da* 50-135, and I love it too. I use the tamron more often because of the extra reach, and the autofocus is more reliable (My 50-135 has sdm issues sometimes). The IQ is really good, and I get compatible results with both.

noelpolar · 03-19-2016, 05:15 AM

I faced the same choice decisions as you on this matter a few years ago. Both lenses are very good lenses. I went with the Sigma (the last version....OS HSM...it's the best one) because I wanted to shoot from time to time in low light.....indoors, people, birds in shade etc. I also liked the idea of the sigma being FF compatible. i don't regret this decision.

To me its a case of silent focus, FF and faster v's weather sealed and Pentax and slightly longer reach (not for close stuff though)

I didn't consider the Tamron, at the time the price difference between the Sigma and Tampron wasn't that much and I favoured the refinement of HSM.

As far as say....pentax colours and rendering versus Sigma..... a good shot will be a good shot with either....

FWIW..... if I'm shooting with the sigma at say a wedding around 70-90mm at f2.8 - 3.5 ish....I wouldn't bother swapping it out for a FA77....most of the time.

Driline · 03-19-2016, 05:19 AM

Originally posted by noelpolar

I faced the same choice decisions as you on this matter a few years ago. Both lenses are very good lenses. I went with the Sigma (the last version....OS HSM) because I wanted to shoot from time to time in low light.....indoors, birds in shade etc. I also liked the idea of the sigma being FF compatible. i don't regret this decision.

To me its a case of silent focus, FF and faster v's weather sealed and Pentax.

I didn't consider the Tamron, at the time the price difference between the Sigma and Tampron wasn't that much and I favoured the refinement of HSM.

Noelpolar is the guy I go to for lens advice. He is wise beyond his years

noelpolar · 03-19-2016, 05:40 AM

Driline says that because he knows I'm 12

**jatrax** · 03-19-2016, 05:45 AM

I doubt you would go wrong with either. The Pentax is a superb lens, possibly my 2nd most used. But it is not particularly fast to focus and of course it is f/4.

Driline · 03-19-2016, 06:04 AM

Originally posted by noelpolar

Driline says that because he knows I'm 12

And as a 12 year old his grammar proves it. There's no u in color

gerax · 03-19-2016, 06:24 AM

Thanx fpr the feedack.
The issue with the Sigma is that I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it even new, let alone used...
I spotted a pair here on the sales ads, but I'm in EU and shipping + import duties from US makes the thing a bit unpractical..
Suggestions?

noelpolar · 03-19-2016, 06:26 AM

Originally posted by Driline

And as a 12 year old his grammar proves it. There's no u in color

That depends in which country the 12 yo is residing....

..... not only have you taken 25 cents in the dollar from us..... you want to take our u's as well!

---------- Post added 20-03-16 at 12:04 AM ----------

Originally posted by gerax

Thanx fpr the feedack.
The issue with the Sigma is that I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it even new, let alone used...
I spotted a pair here on the sales ads, but I'm in EU and shipping + import duties from US makes the thing a bit unpractical..
Suggestions?

Sigma stopped making Pentax versions a year or two ago..... so second hand only I'm afraid. Could try a wanted add on this forum....also there are 3 versions of the Sigma (at least).... all a bit different....worth reading up on before deciding.

**Scorpio71GR** · 03-19-2016, 07:30 AM

I have the 60-250 and the Tamron 70-200 2.8. They are different lenses for different uses. I always wanted the Sigma but the last version in K mount can only be purchased used and is extremely difficult to find. When I do find one it typically is priced around 800 to 1000 US Dollars. I purchased the Pentax DA*60-250 and the Tamron 70-200 2.8 for $600 each. The Tamron was new and the Pentax was used. The autofocus on the 60-250 is definitely not blazingly fast but it is faster than the 50-135. The 60-250 is almost the perfect zoom for me. It works just fine with my Tamron 1.4TC. The only real draw back is when shooting subjects less than 10m magnification does suffer. That is where the Tamron shines. At close range I get more magnification than the 60-250. Both lens have quality builds. The weather sealing of 60-250 is nice for photographing outdoors in not so nice weather. The one thing I miss the most on the Tamron is quck shift. Both the Pentax and the Sigma have quick shift which is a big plus for me. In the end it comes down to usage and what you are willing to spend. With the current pricing I think it will be difficult to find a Sigma used for less than a Pentax 60-250 or Tamron 70-200 2.8 new. If a K1 is in your future the Tamron or Sigma may be your best choice. Whatever one you choose you will end up with an excellent lens.

**MJSfoto1956** · 03-19-2016, 07:30 AM

my strategy has been to go for f4 zooms (smaller, lighter) then supplement them with f/1.8 primes. I personally don't find f/2.8 all that compelling -- not particularly fast, heavier, merely "ok" bokeh, etc. In good light, you end up shooting at f/8 anyway. The f/1.8 lenses are cheap and plentiful too. Makes for a reasonably priced kit.

YMMV

Michael

Driline · 03-19-2016, 07:31 AM

Originally posted by gerax

Thanx fpr the feedack.
The issue with the Sigma is that I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it even new, let alone used...
I spotted a pair here on the sales ads, but I'm in EU and shipping + import duties from US makes the thing a bit unpractical..
Suggestions?

Move. There's A Plenty A room here in I O W A ...... Lots and lots of land with miles and miles of corn and beans......more corn.......a few more beans.....maybe a cow now and then. Heaven

Best of all....we got no U's in color.

**darylk** · 03-19-2016, 09:07 AM

Originally posted by Driline

Move. There's A Plenty A room here in I O W A ...... Lots and lots of land with miles and miles of corn and beans......more corn.......a few more beans.....maybe a cow now and then. Heaven

Best of all....we got no U's in color.

...and hogs, meaning pork chops as a regular main course

.

normhead · 03-19-2016, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by Driline

And as a 12 year old his grammar proves it. There's no u in color

There is in Canada...

These Canadians do weird spelling stuff, little bits of old world English and French, with pronunciations that make sense in neither language. I try to fit in....

After 60 years in Canada, people still accuse me of being an American every now and then. Every now and then that mid-west accent just forgets where it's living now. It's worse when I visit my cousins in Cincinnati. After a half hour, I speak with a Georgia drawl.

Hot damn I'm trilingual eh? Y'all know it's true.

OH wait, that's not on topic.

As a DA*60-250 user, I'd like to point out, it's one of the gems of the Pentax world. But I'm thinking of ordering the Tammy 70-200. These are not "one or the other", the 60-250 is pretty much the perfect general use lens, but you still need to cover ƒ2.8 sometimes. And there are times when I'd be happy to give up the extra 50mm for the 2.8 aperture. When you don't need ƒ2.8, then you're going to come out ahead of the game with the DA*.

I'd go with the 60-250 for everything but sports or action.

Nicolas06 · 03-19-2016, 09:39 AM

60-250 is only f/4 and is 250mm only at infinite. The AF is slow and tested by pentax forum as having more miss in difficult conditions than the 55-300. This is an APSC lens only.

What is good a 60-250 is a bit smaller/lighter than some 70-200 f/2.8 and signicantly smaller than some of the heavier ones. It also has WR and not all 70-200 have that neither.

There lot of 70-200 lenses available for all kind of price. They do a better job for portraiture, help a lot for low light and have almost the same reach because outside of 250mm distant landscape you may not focus to infinite and the 60-250 is not 250mm if you focus less than 20meters. I think they all have better AF performance.

The 60-250 is a great lens but maybe a bit expensive for what it offer. It worth it used if you get a good price (more 600$ than 800$ for me). New in europe, the price are insane and the lens is to be avoided.

03-19-2016, 05:03 AM	#1
gerax Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 224	Pentax 60-250 F4 vs Sigma 70-200 F2.8 Hi all I’m looking for an upgrade from my Sigma 70-300 lens which, admittedly, has its own limits. Surfing through the reviews on this very forum I found that the match is between the Pentax 65-250 F4 and the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 (with the Tamron as a possible third contender). Now, I’ve gotten some funny comments on other Pentax forums about some Sigma lenses I use (10-20 F3.5, 17-50 F2.8 - currently shooting with a K30, looking to ugrade to a K3 II down the road) which had me wondering whether those are just Pentax biased comments or reasonable opinions. This makes me wonder if the higher price tag of the 60-250 (even used and for a slower lens) is justified by image quality, integration with the Pentax system and no “bottle neck” considering a possible K3II in some time. Thanx

03-19-2016, 05:15 AM	#3
noelpolar Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Goolwa, SA Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,310	I faced the same choice decisions as you on this matter a few years ago. Both lenses are very good lenses. I went with the Sigma (the last version....OS HSM...it's the best one) because I wanted to shoot from time to time in low light.....indoors, people, birds in shade etc. I also liked the idea of the sigma being FF compatible. i don't regret this decision. To me its a case of silent focus, FF and faster v's weather sealed and Pentax and slightly longer reach (not for close stuff though) I didn't consider the Tamron, at the time the price difference between the Sigma and Tampron wasn't that much and I favoured the refinement of HSM. As far as say....pentax colours and rendering versus Sigma..... a good shot will be a good shot with either.... FWIW..... if I'm shooting with the sigma at say a wedding around 70-90mm at f2.8 - 3.5 ish....I wouldn't bother swapping it out for a FA77....most of the time. Last edited by noelpolar; 03-19-2016 at 05:45 AM.

03-19-2016, 06:26 AM	#9
noelpolar Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Goolwa, SA Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,310	Originally posted by Driline And as a 12 year old his grammar proves it. There's no u in color That depends in which country the 12 yo is residing.... ..... not only have you taken 25 cents in the dollar from us..... you want to take our u's as well! ---------- Post added 20-03-16 at 12:04 AM ---------- Originally posted by gerax Thanx fpr the feedack. The issue with the Sigma is that I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it even new, let alone used... I spotted a pair here on the sales ads, but I'm in EU and shipping + import duties from US makes the thing a bit unpractical.. Suggestions? Sigma stopped making Pentax versions a year or two ago..... so second hand only I'm afraid. Could try a wanted add on this forum....also there are 3 versions of the Sigma (at least).... all a bit different....worth reading up on before deciding. Last edited by noelpolar; 03-19-2016 at 06:36 AM.

03-19-2016, 09:13 AM	#14
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Originally posted by Driline And as a 12 year old his grammar proves it. There's no u in color There is in Canada... These Canadians do weird spelling stuff, little bits of old world English and French, with pronunciations that make sense in neither language. I try to fit in.... After 60 years in Canada, people still accuse me of being an American every now and then. Every now and then that mid-west accent just forgets where it's living now. It's worse when I visit my cousins in Cincinnati. After a half hour, I speak with a Georgia drawl. Hot damn I'm trilingual eh? Y'all know it's true. OH wait, that's not on topic. As a DA60-250 user, I'd like to point out, it's one of the gems of the Pentax world. But I'm thinking of ordering the Tammy 70-200. These are not "one or the other", the 60-250 is pretty much the perfect general use lens, but you still need to cover ƒ2.8 sometimes. And there are times when I'd be happy to give up the extra 50mm for the 2.8 aperture. When you don't need ƒ2.8, then you're going to come out ahead of the game with the DA. I'd go with the 60-250 for everything but sports or action. Last edited by normhead; 03-19-2016 at 09:24 AM.

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03-19-2016, 05:12 AM	#2
vimeto Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: ct Photos: Gallery Posts: 146	I love the tamron, never used the sigma, or pentax. I do own the da* 50-135, and I love it too. I use the tamron more often because of the extra reach, and the autofocus is more reliable (My 50-135 has sdm issues sometimes). The IQ is really good, and I get compatible results with both.

03-19-2016, 05:19 AM	#4
Driline Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: IOWA Where the Tall Corn Grows Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,704	Originally posted by noelpolar I faced the same choice decisions as you on this matter a few years ago. Both lenses are very good lenses. I went with the Sigma (the last version....OS HSM) because I wanted to shoot from time to time in low light.....indoors, birds in shade etc. I also liked the idea of the sigma being FF compatible. i don't regret this decision. To me its a case of silent focus, FF and faster v's weather sealed and Pentax. I didn't consider the Tamron, at the time the price difference between the Sigma and Tampron wasn't that much and I favoured the refinement of HSM. Noelpolar is the guy I go to for lens advice. He is wise beyond his years

03-19-2016, 05:40 AM	#5
noelpolar Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Goolwa, SA Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,310	Driline says that because he knows I'm 12

03-19-2016, 05:45 AM	#6
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	I doubt you would go wrong with either. The Pentax is a superb lens, possibly my 2nd most used. But it is not particularly fast to focus and of course it is f/4.

03-19-2016, 06:04 AM	#7
Driline Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: IOWA Where the Tall Corn Grows Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,704	Originally posted by noelpolar Driline says that because he knows I'm 12 And as a 12 year old his grammar proves it. There's no u in color

03-19-2016, 06:24 AM	#8
gerax Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 224 Original Poster	Thanx fpr the feedack. The issue with the Sigma is that I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it even new, let alone used... I spotted a pair here on the sales ads, but I'm in EU and shipping + import duties from US makes the thing a bit unpractical.. Suggestions?

03-19-2016, 07:30 AM	#10
Scorpio71GR Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Michigan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,014	I have the 60-250 and the Tamron 70-200 2.8. They are different lenses for different uses. I always wanted the Sigma but the last version in K mount can only be purchased used and is extremely difficult to find. When I do find one it typically is priced around 800 to 1000 US Dollars. I purchased the Pentax DA*60-250 and the Tamron 70-200 2.8 for $600 each. The Tamron was new and the Pentax was used. The autofocus on the 60-250 is definitely not blazingly fast but it is faster than the 50-135. The 60-250 is almost the perfect zoom for me. It works just fine with my Tamron 1.4TC. The only real draw back is when shooting subjects less than 10m magnification does suffer. That is where the Tamron shines. At close range I get more magnification than the 60-250. Both lens have quality builds. The weather sealing of 60-250 is nice for photographing outdoors in not so nice weather. The one thing I miss the most on the Tamron is quck shift. Both the Pentax and the Sigma have quick shift which is a big plus for me. In the end it comes down to usage and what you are willing to spend. With the current pricing I think it will be difficult to find a Sigma used for less than a Pentax 60-250 or Tamron 70-200 2.8 new. If a K1 is in your future the Tamron or Sigma may be your best choice. Whatever one you choose you will end up with an excellent lens.

03-19-2016, 07:30 AM	#11
MJSfoto1956 Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Boston Posts: 1,305	my strategy has been to go for f4 zooms (smaller, lighter) then supplement them with f/1.8 primes. I personally don't find f/2.8 all that compelling -- not particularly fast, heavier, merely "ok" bokeh, etc. In good light, you end up shooting at f/8 anyway. The f/1.8 lenses are cheap and plentiful too. Makes for a reasonably priced kit. YMMV Michael

03-19-2016, 07:31 AM	#12
Driline Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: IOWA Where the Tall Corn Grows Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,704	Originally posted by gerax Thanx fpr the feedack. The issue with the Sigma is that I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it even new, let alone used... I spotted a pair here on the sales ads, but I'm in EU and shipping + import duties from US makes the thing a bit unpractical.. Suggestions? Move. There's A Plenty A room here in I O W A ...... Lots and lots of land with miles and miles of corn and beans......more corn.......a few more beans.....maybe a cow now and then. Heaven Best of all....we got no U's in color.

03-19-2016, 09:07 AM	#13
darylk Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Blue Hill, Nebraska Photos: Gallery Posts: 494	Originally posted by Driline Move. There's A Plenty A room here in I O W A ...... Lots and lots of land with miles and miles of corn and beans......more corn.......a few more beans.....maybe a cow now and then. Heaven Best of all....we got no U's in color. ...and hogs, meaning pork chops as a regular main course .

03-19-2016, 09:39 AM	#15
Nicolas06 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 4,854	60-250 is only f/4 and is 250mm only at infinite. The AF is slow and tested by pentax forum as having more miss in difficult conditions than the 55-300. This is an APSC lens only. What is good a 60-250 is a bit smaller/lighter than some 70-200 f/2.8 and signicantly smaller than some of the heavier ones. It also has WR and not all 70-200 have that neither. There lot of 70-200 lenses available for all kind of price. They do a better job for portraiture, help a lot for low light and have almost the same reach because outside of 250mm distant landscape you may not focus to infinite and the 60-250 is not 250mm if you focus less than 20meters. I think they all have better AF performance. The 60-250 is a great lens but maybe a bit expensive for what it offer. It worth it used if you get a good price (more 600$ than 800$ for me). New in europe, the price are insane and the lens is to be avoided.