[Duck Dodgers]

There's a 16-50 from Australia on ebay right now; at first I thought it might be our OP...but the spelling on the ebay ad is too good!

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Last edited by Duck Dodgers; 07-09-2009 at 06:11 AM. Reason: brainfart

[GeneV]

For the bike photos, there is not a whole lot of difference between the DA 50-135 and the Sigma. I think that test can be thrown out as proving no problem with the lens at all, and it is not worth talking about too much.

On the other hand, that kangaroo photo just is not what you would expect of a quality lens like the 16-50 down one stop at 1/2000. It lacks contrast as well as sharpness. However, the more I see it, the more the perspective on that photo does not seem like 45mm as in the EXIF, and it could very well be focused out of the cropped frame.

[maxwell1295]

What focus mode was used here? There's a huge difference between AF-C and AF-S. It could be something that simple. For a photojournalist shooting sports, I would think AF-C, center focus point, TAv mode (Auto ISO set between 100 and 3200), with center weighted metering should be sufficient for just about any outdoor sport. Set aperture at 5.6 and have at it...

[K-9]

Having both Sigma and Pentax AF lenses over the years, I must admit, the Sigma's were always better AF performers. However, the Pentax have much better image quality, so I will always take that trade off.

[philbaum]

I've had great luck with both the K10 and K20 with these DA:

DA300
DA35
DA21

But the other day, I had focused with the 300 on 3 baby seagulls sitting close to the edge of a concrete beam. All 4 photos with those seagulls were out of focus. Even though the red dot was on the seagulls, the focus snapped to the edge of the beam, even though center point was selected. So the accuracy of the red point is not stellar or the focus area maybe bigger than the red dot.

Of course if i take pictures through tall grass or reeds, you know the subject ill be out of focus. thats what they make MF for, i guess,

best,

[Pentaxor]

somebody needs to learn how to use a manual focus.

[J.Scott]

Bloody hell! I read through this post from stem to stern and didn't see a damn picture or a link to one even. (There's 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back!)

Can the OP please post either the images or a link?


Thanks a bunch.

[Marc Sabatella]

So the accuracy of the red point is not stellar or the focus area maybe bigger than the red dot.

It's a *lot* bigger than the red dot. It's somewhat bigger than the size of round brackets at the center of the focus screen. You can measure it yourself by trying to focus on a black dot on a white piece of paper at close range (so the paper fills the frame) using any given focus point. If you can get a focus lock, the dot is within the focus area. Keeping moving the camera around until you see the boundaries for yourself.