[Edgar_in_Indy]

PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing

Item for Sale
Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 II EX DC HSM, competes with Pentax 50-135mm f/2.8

Asking Price
$850

Item Location
Indianapolis, IN (United States)

Item Description
Here is your chance to own one of the most desirable telephoto zoom lenses ever made for Pentax DSLR's. The Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 II EX DC HSM is approximately the same size and weight as the Pentax 50-135mm f/2.8, and the image quality is on par, as is the build quality. But anybody who has used both lenses will tell you that the Sigma autofocuses much faster than the Pentax.

The Sigma 50-150mm has a big advantage in focus speed. It has a reputation as being an extremely fast focuser, and it easily beats the Pentax on autofocus speed. Not to mention the slightly longer reach of the Sigma. Both lenses are great for portraits and candids, but for action sports and moving subjects, the Sigma is the clear choice.

The Sigma 50-150mm was only made for a couple years before it was discontinued and replaced with a much bigger and heavier version with OS. The new version is not offered in Pentax mount. This lens can be extremely hard to find in Pentax mount, with only one or two showing up on eBay in a year.

One more thing that makes the Sigma desirable is the silent HSM autofocus motor, instead of the Pentax SDM autofocus motor, which has proven unreliable for many owners.

I bought a Sigma 50-150mm just before it was discontinued, and it is one of my most-valued lenses, next to my Sigma 100-300mm f4. I recently came across this second copy at a price I couldn't refuse, and am selling it to help finance a K-30 purchase. I haven't had much time to shoot with this lens, but my initial tests show me that it performs exactly the same as my own 50-150mm.

Sample Images
Here are a couple sample pictures I just shot with this lens on my Pentax K-x. Both pictures were captured wide open
at full zoom (f/2.8 at 150mm), so you should consider these images to be a "stress test" for lens image quality.
In the doll picture, the focus was on the face of the second doll from the left (beside the big doll).
Click on the pictures to open the full-size 12MP image

Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
No

Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling

Item Condition (Key)
Used
Like New

Shipping Destinations
Worldwide

Shipping Charge
Free in US, $40 Worldwide

Shipping Services
USPS Priority

Accepted Payment Types
PayPal Check/Money Order

Return Policy & Additional Details
Returns accepted only for signicantly not as described

Please send me a private message if interested in the item!

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Last edited by Edgar_in_Indy; 07-15-2012 at 12:43 PM.

[metalmania]

A legendary lens. I remember I was searching for it without success and had to buy the Tamron 70-200 instead. Now it is here!

[alamo5000]

WOW. I don't know much about the history or any of that but this looks very interesting for a 'set' of lenses...

I recently acquired a Tamron 17-50.... I am loving that...I also have a Tamron 10-24 on the way....for the low end... (I have several primes too, 50's and an 85mm)

Now with this lens it fills a gap...I could have this one (if it performs up to speed) and then later get the sigma 150-500 and have the full gamut covered out to 500mm...

Of course I could just buy the Sigma 50-500mm but the downside there is aperture. This one will give me f2.8 all the way out to 150mm, Whereas with the Sigma 50-500 I would have to start out at 50mm with a f4.5 if I got the new one...hmmm

And the current version of this lens is not offered in Pentax mount (per the Sigma website)...

HMMMM......

I have the Pentax 55-300mm but I am thinking I want more... and more reach...and that lens starts out at f4...

When you post photos can you post some of it wide open? How does this lens perform a f2.8 throught the gamut?

[Edgar_in_Indy]

As you can probably tell from my signature, I'm a big fan of the modern Sigma lenses, and I've often thought that a killer set of zooms would be the Sigma 8-16mm, Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8, Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8, Sigma 100-300mm f4, and then the Sigma 150-500mm or 50-500mm. Pretty much all of those lenses are the top of their class for K-mount. Unfortunately, the 50-150mm f/2.8 and 100-300mm f/4 are discontinued and are almost impossible to find for Pentax.

[Dirtistasty2]

Had the Pentax 50-135mm, and have the Sigma 50-150mm now. Both are extremely sharp. The Sigma has blazing fast AF but contrast wide open is slightly better with the Pentax. Past f3.2 they're pretty much the same. Dimensions are very similar as well. To me the fast AF was more important than weather sealing.

[dadipentak]

I can vouch for the lens: it's my go-to for from-the-floor basketball photography.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

HMMMM......

I have the Pentax 55-300mm but I am thinking I want more... and more reach...and that lens starts out at f4...

When you post photos can you post some of it wide open? How does this lens perform a f2.8 throught the gamut?

I've just added a couple sample photos to the original listing. I took the picture of the fence post from outside my car window while I was at work yesterday afternoon (when it was 104 degrees F!!!), and I took the picture of the nesting dolls in my living room this morning. Both pictures are shot at 150mm and f/2.8, so you can see how this lens performs at the extremes. If you click on the above images to view the full-size image, I think you'll be impressed with the sharpness.

Like pretty much every other telephoto zoom lens known to man, the Sigma 50-150mm is a bit softer at full telephoto, but I still find it to be impressively sharp. I mostly use mine to shoot candid portraits, and I can tell you that even wide open at 150mm, my subjects eyes are still very sharp. I never hesitate to use this lens at f/2.8, even at 150mm.

Please keep in mind that the depth of field at 150mm and f/2.8 can be extremely thin depending on your distance to the subject. In the picture of the nesting dolls, the objects in the background that are heavily blurred are only about a foot or so behind the dolls. When viewing the picture full-size for sharpness, you should note that the focus was on the face of the second doll from the left (the doll right beside the biggest doll).

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Last edited by Edgar_in_Indy; 07-07-2012 at 12:44 PM.

[Quazimoto]

Plug for this lens:

I've never used it because I got a good deal on the DA* 50-135, but it looks from these pictures, that the Sigma trumps the Pentax at full zoom f2.8 too, as if beating it on autofocus speed wasn't enough.

The Pentax isn't quite that sharp at f2.8 135mm, 120mm is about as far as I take it at f2.8, then I go to f3.5 or even f4. So considering the Sigma is also 15mm longer, and thus could be used at 135mm without as much "stress", I'd say it'd be a fair amount sharper at 135mm f2.8.

Note I'm not having a go at the Pentax - I agree with everyone else on this site that from 50-110mm, it's just about the sharpest zoom known to man - but if I could be bothered to sell it, I'd buy this from you instead.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Okay, here are just a few sample photos from my own Sigma 50-150mm shot with my Pentax K-x. I'm including samples from a variety of focal lengths, but all at f/2.8 since that's what people are most interested in seeing. Click on the image for the full-size image. Some of the images have been cropped, but none of the full-size images have been down-sampled, so you're seeing the raw output of the lens at the pixel level.

You may also notice that on some of the high ISO shots I applied little or no noise reduction. I would normally do so, but in this case I didn't want to obscure the detail that the lens has captured.

[dadipentak]

Yeah--it's a terrific hoops lens.

[cj8_jeep]

Is your lens still available?

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Is your lens still available?

My Sigma 50-150mm is not available, because I would never sell it. However, the 2nd copy I recently acquired is still available. As I posted above, this copy performs identically to my first one.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures from my copy. This set is from the Indiana State Fair last year. I even make a rare appearance in front of the camera in one of these pictures (who says mother-in-laws aren't good for anything?). As with the previous set, you can click on the image for the full size image. And again, some of the images have been cropped to improve composition, but none of them have been down-sampled. They're all wide open at f/2.8, except for one f/3.5 that snuck in.

[dadipentak]

That's you in the 4th one?

[Edgar_in_Indy]

That's you in the 4th one?

I had the hardest time getting back down.

[liukaitc]

from your full sized sample, at long end, your lens looks better at f2.8 than my pentax 50-135 at f2.8