[mmm121]

HI to all.... i own k100Ds and kit lens (18-55 DA) and now it time to get some tele -lens... i have to choose from Pentax 50-200 for 200euro and Sigma 70-300 MAcro for 150 euro. Personaly i preffer pentax because its small, its 52 mm like the kit (using same filters) and for those 50mm.... What would u suggest to me ? i have just 20 hours to choose ... help me

[Jodokast96]

What end do you shoot more? 15mm on the short end is a lot easier to make up than 100mm on the long end.

[mmm121]

im interesting about quality first .... then the reach

[creampuff]

There is also the Tamron 70-300mm and the DA 55-300mm to consider as well. The former is very affordable while the Pentax is optically quite good.
Alternatively, the DA 18-250mm makes for a one lens solution.

Can do a search as there are plenty posted on the lenses.

[SpecialK]

Here is my comparison shots.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/4768-lens-comp...-70-300-a.html

A funny (not) end to this is...after getting the Pentax 55-300, I put the other lenses on the shelf. Eventually took them to a used camera dealer where we discovered the Sigma had broken aperture blades. I plan to dismantle it someday. I kept the 50-200 which is on my K100D, sitting on a shelf. The K100D has a depressed contact on the lens mount which still works with my Pentax lenses but not the 18-50 Sigma...

[Marc Sabatella]

What end do you shoot more? 15mm on the short end is a lot easier to make up than 100mm on the long end.

I disagree, at least in part. Cropping can turn 200mm into 300mm easily enough. Although to be sure, probably half the time when 200mm isn't enough, neither is 300mm. So if you were going to crop anyhow, having to crop *more* could be problematic. But as I just mentioned in another thread, that 55-70 range one misses by using an 18-55 and 70-300 is actually a wonderful range for many kinds of portraits. And my sense was, the gap there combined with the increased size/weight of the 70-300 was such that I tended to put the 70-300 on for a few shots, then I'd want to take it off and get the 18-55 back. The 50-200 didn't often make me feel that way, because I could do more shooting with a lens that goes down to 50 than one that goes down to 70.

But if one's main concern is lens changes, and one doesn't need a "fast" (large maximum aperture) lens, and doesn't min spending a little more, the 18-250 is certainly a great choice too. IQ on all of these is pretty similar, really.