[Ian Tokeo]

I bought this lens recently in part based on information gleaned from these forums, so I suppose this is as good a place for a first post as any. (And hey, why not start with a cat picture?) I've only had this lens a couple of weeks but I'm liking it a lot so far.

I upgraded from K100d to K20d in November (with a lot of others) when the MS Live cashback eBay deal was on, and decided to put the rebate toward a new lens. I had been using a Tokina AF193 19-35mm and a Pentax 50-200mm with the K100d. I love the 50-200 but have never been able to get that excited over the Tokina. Hard to put my finger on it, but it's just always seemed a little "dull" for lack of a better word. Over time I've found that the majority of my photos seem to be taken at the long end of the Tokina's range or at the short end of the Pentax 50-200's range. I went with the Sigma 24-60 to cover this gap and gain some speed, (I do quite a bit of indoor/low light work) figuring this will be the lens that stays on the camera most of the time.

The Sigma has a nice heft and a feeling of being well put together, as others have noted. At first, I was disappointed in the performance wide open, but I'd read some reports of it being soft at 2.8. By f/4, it was looking good. I did some testing, though, and found (as others have) that it had some focus calibration issues. I dialed in compensation to -3 on my K20d and I'm now very happy with the performance at 2.8. (And with the K20d's focus compensation system!)

Here's a shot taken indoors, available light, wide open at 1/8 second (gotta love that Pentax stabilization system), ISO1600, focal length 60mm. Focus was on the cat's left eye (right side of the frame). Shot as jpeg, natural mode with +1 saturation, I believe. NR set at "weakest," minimal post processing, just resizing and a touch of sharpening.

[danielchtong]

The Sigma has a nice heft and a feeling of being well put together, as others have noted. At first, I was disappointed in the performance wide open, but I'd read some reports of it being soft at 2.8. By f/4, it was looking good. I did some testing, though, and found (as others have) that it had some focus calibration issues. I dialed in compensation to -3 on my K20d and I'm now very happy with the performance at 2.8. (And with the K20d's focus compensation system!)

Very nice feline image indeed having the subject pop out readily.






Agreed with you that by F4 it almost needs some tone down on sharpness for femine portrait








For cat its sharpness at F4 is just right on




















Daniel

[jawn doe]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/3277049291_8923a806ca.jpg?v=0 full res
im loving this lens so far, its an awesome step up from the kit lens (though i havent compared it to my m50 f/2) and seems to really be a solid piece of glass, great value

[leeak]

I agree with what other have said of this lens. It is a very very good at wide end and very good at the tele end. Definitely the best bargain at US$200. It complements very well with the DA12-24/4 and DA50-135/2.8. On thing to know though, it is more like a 24-56mm instead of the advertised 24-60mm. It is more limited range than the typical standard zoom range of 17-50mm and basic portrait range of 28-75mm. But if 24-56mm works for you. The Sigma 24-60/2.8 is a great option.

[jawn doe]

it could stand to be wider, and now that you mention it, longer, but for a lens that violates the rules of lens buying, theres gotta be a compromise. its cheap, good iq, and fast, so i guess the best zoom range is out of the question. i would very much like to get the 12-24 at some point to complement it but i feel like thats probably a year away, being a college student and all and hey, while im dreaming, the da* 60-250 f/4 would be nice when it comes out, or maybe a 70-200 f/2.8