I have owned all three of those lenses (and currently own the Sigma 100-300 F4 and the DA*300.
The Sigma is great for occasions when you are doing candid photography over a wide range of focal lengths. I use it for photographing my daughter's track and cross country meets. Having just a 300mm available would not allow me to easily take team photos and other photos needing a wider angle of view.
The DA*300 is in my opinion an amazing lens. It is better at 300mm (it should be, it is a prime) than the Sigma, but not by much. It is also better wide open at 300mm. I have paired it with a Tamron 1.4X converter and it still works great outdoors. It also has a relatively close focusing distance. The only problem is that I cannot zoom it. This lens is great for occasions where you just need a 300mm such as wildlife and zoo pictures.
The Pentax 60-250 is an amazingly good lens. I had to remind myself when viewing the photos that it was a zoom lens. The color, contrast and clarity over the whole range is fantastic. It is very good even wide open. I prefer it over the DA* 50-135 (except for the size and weight). One nice thing is that it is much smaller than the Sigma when zoomed in. One problem is that since the lens extends when zooming, it takes a little more effort when zooming the lens than the Sigma. The BIG problem I had with this lens is that it is really more like a 60-200mm. The lens does not have much more magnification at 250mm than a 200mm lens. I think that this is because it is not really 250mm until infinity focus. I know this is true of all lenses, but this lens seems to suffer from this effect more than most lenses. I really wanted the lens to be longer, so that I could replace my Sigma. My Sigma gives you much more reach than the Pentax than just the 50mm difference in focal length would lead you to believe.
I think that you will be completely happy with the Sigma - just keep in mind that it is a big, heavy lens. The DA*300 is much lighter and more compact.
Originally posted by daacon I think I am in the market for a relatively fast (f4) or longer Lens. I was thinking the 300 range but I am not ruling out 250. Use would be Landscapes, wildlife, birding. I am pretty much a zoom guy but have not ruled out the DA* 300
The Contenders are:
1st Place Sigma 100-300 f4 - have not read a bad word about it. (50%)
2nd Place DA* 60-250 f4 - SDM not that big a deal however it is weather sealed which places it pretty close to first place (35%)
3rd Place the DA* 300 - stellar lens, weather sealed - but not a telephoto that alone may take it out of contention. (15%)
I know I would use 60mm more than 100 but also know 300 is a minimum focal length for birds, etc. and I have other lenses to cover the shorter length.
The race is really between 1 and 2 for me anyway. So to all the excellent nature and wildlife photog's out there would I miss the extra 50mm to gain weather sealed ? (I do ocassionlly get out when it is snowing or light rain but not often enough that would be a deciding factor alone).
And are there any other contendors that are in the same price range ? (I like AF but would consider MF )...