Hello all,
So, I've the new lens for 2 days now and here's my initial thoughts.
It's big. Yes, the nickname Bigma really does hold true. It's actually so large that it now requires a new camera bag- perhaps for my birthday I'll have to buy a F4 from Domke.
It's heavy. At 4 pounds, 10 & 1/4 oz., (not including the lens cap), it demands a tripod or monopod. This is not a lens that you can easily handle while walking around and not get tired. Perhaps a new strap to hold the camera is also in the cards- the Pentax one started to dig into my neck with this monster on the camera. My poor girlfriend Jenny will need to start lifting weights here when she wants to use it for more than an half an hour.
It's solid. Everything on this lens is smooth and has a great feel to it.
It's fast. The 4F across the full range is just awesome.
It's sharp. Ouch.
It's a stopper. While drinking some hot chocolate at Harvard Sq.'s LA Burdick's today, the server stopped and asked all sorts of questions. He was quite taken by the lens. Yesterday the people at the chocolate factory where all very wide eyed.
Here is a
link to the photos that I took- nothing too serious yet.
Thanks again for the opinions and advice.
Hank