Originally posted by clickclick Yes! At least yes from the right lens. Some of the price point is going to get down to what you need e.g. auto focus, aperture control, etc. I recently picked up an A* 200/2.8 for less than a new consumer zoom, and I'm finding it surprisingly sharp, but manual focus. But this is just one of many different lenses out there that might do very well for you.
This chart from optical limits puts the old Tamron 70-300 at 300mm at 1939 lw/ph on a 10 MP camera._
Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 LD Di macro (Pentax K) - Review / Lab Test Report - Analysis
The DA*200 is rated at 2074.
I'd be shocked if the a blown up DA* would be better.
A Sigma 70-300 image ( I replace my "lifer collection" image whenever I get a better one. This one has lasted, though, this was the last time I got a close up of this bird.) Goes without saying, it would be sharper with my current equipment. This one taken in 2013, and that was the last time a Red Poll was at my feeder close enough for a shot like this.
A DA* 60-250 with 1.4 TC attached.
DA*200 with 1.4 TC
DA*200
The test chart says they are close, but the DA* images sure look to be a lot crisper to me.
But also, if you pull that type of lens back from full reach, you can get excellent results.
Sigma 18-250 at 133mm, getting closer and shooting with a shorter focal length, makes a cheaper telephoto much better. At 90mm my Sigma 70-300 was only a little bit inferior to my DA*60-250 and Tamron 90mm. You had to look hard..
The trick there is i got close, even a not so good lens will do well if you are close enough. I have different reason for wanting DA*s
Tamron SP AF 300mm ƒ2.8 LD [IF] with Pentax Hd DA 1.4 TC. You can come close to matching the resolution and get decent resolution, but for the smooth creamy out of focus areas, a faster lens is better. As far as I can tell, there's just no substitute for reach. And cheap reach is better than a shorter lens and enlarging.
That being said, I was just completely unhappy with the Sigma 70-300 on both the K-1 and K-3. The above was taken on a K-5, and I would toss that image if taken today. And the K-3 or K-1 are more demanding than my K-5 was.
Last edited by normhead; 11-15-2018 at 07:52 AM.