[malabito]

Dear Pentax users,

After my last post regarding whether should I upgrade my K10D to a K20D or get the DA* 50-135mm I decided for the DA* as must of you suggested, and wait later to upgrade to the new pentax or the K20D. Now i have the opportunity to sell my Pentax 18-250mm lens to get the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens, I even thought of getting the pentax DA* SDM 18-50 but after reading so many negatives about it, and considering that for me, since i leave in another country, returning it will be really difficult, I prefer to passed it. Will this sigma be much better then the 18-250mm, i know its much faster but what about quality. I really do like my 18-250 under bright conditions, but under low light it ain't really that helpful.

Thanks for your time and suggestions.

[bdery]

Those two lenses are very different, and it's clear that the Sigma will be better. The 18-250 is very good at what it does, but it's a compromise lens. The 18-50, while apparently slightly below the Tamron 17-50 and a good version of the Pentax 16-50, is still a pro, constant f2,8 lens. It will be a quantum leap in difficult situations.

Read the reviews here of those two lenses, and you will see what most users think about those lenses. Remember that pro-grade users EXPECT pro lenses, so can be more critical.

[SuperAkuma]

I do not have the Pentax 18-250mm lens but I do have the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC macro lens. I gotta say the sigma is my favorite all around indoor lens or night time lens. The constant f/2.8 is very usefull with bad lighting. As far as lens sharpness I never did any real test and looked at them at 100% crop. I just look at it in a real world situation like the images that I've took. I never had any problem with the lens not being sharp enough for me.

I just signed up for smugmug.com. If you check out my gallery, most of the image there are taken with that sigma lens. My gallery is still small but you can get a glimpse of how the lens perform.

[malabito]

I do not have the Pentax 18-250mm lens but I do have the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC macro lens. I gotta say the sigma is my favorite all around indoor lens or night time lens. The constant f/2.8 is very usefull with bad lighting. As far as lens sharpness I never did any real test and looked at them at 100% crop. I just look at it in a real world situation like the images that I've took. I never had any problem with the lens not being sharp enough for me.

I just signed up for smugmug.com. If you check out my gallery, most of the image there are taken with that sigma lens. My gallery is still small but you can get a glimpse of how the lens perform.

SuperAkuma thanks for your comments. You have some really nice pictures, the fire eater is amazing. I am planning to use the 50-135mm most of the time on the camera, but in case a shorter range is needed i want a lens that wont cut down the quality that much compare to the 50-135mm specially since i want to take concert photos, (friends bands gigs, actually). i just been shooting for almost a year and this is just a hobbie to me, not planning on making a profit, but having the right tools always makes your hobbie more pleasurable.

Thanks and best regards...