[K57XR]

So, my house was broken into last week, and my camera and lenses where stolen

If you have the camera's serial number you should put here in the database and mark it as stolen (if you haven't already): Pentax Serial Number Database - PentaxForums.com

[patrick9]

They told me that they can only get products from their supplier (jb hifi)

That is a new one on me I and I deal with a lot of different Ins. co. daily.

I have already ok'd the order so it's too late to change anything now

Are you sure? Have you accepted the lens yet.
Sorry for your loss and hope everything works out for you

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Are you sure? Have you accepted the lens yet.

She should probably at least give the Sigma a chance. Even if she ends up not liking it, it is worth a good bit more than the Pentax, so she could sell it and pocket an extra $100 or more.

[sarahparish91]

Yeah, the order is placed and excess is paid .. unfortunately I don't have the serial number or even a receipt. I'm going to be much ore vigilant from now on and actually hold on to receipts and serial numbers etc. I had no receipts what so ever and I was worried my claim would be refused, but luckily it wasn't Now, I just have to wait

[patrick9]

I am not knocking Sigma. Just that it's like my chevy was stolen but they will only give me a ford as replacement. I also not knocking the car brands but some people love one and hate the other .
I hope the sigma works out fine for you
PS I own a Ford ,a Chrysler, and a Hyundai and I sold my Chevy not long ago down sizing.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Yeah, the order is placed and excess is paid .. unfortunately I don't have the serial number or even a receipt.

You should be able to use an EXIF viewer (such as PhotoME) to read the EXIF information for one of the image files from your old camera. It should contain the camera make/model and serial number. If you can get the serial number that way, you should let the police know. They should be able to enter it into their database of stolen property, so in the chance they happen to come across it, they can run the serial number and get it back to you.

[GibbyTheMole]

Looking at the differences between the K-x & the K-r, there doesn't appear to be many. The K-r has focus point indicators in the viewfinder, slightly faster continuous shooting, higher ISO speeds and intervalometer. Otherwise, same sensor, same image quality, and very similar cameras.

Here's my personal take on the K-r's improvements:

1) Focus indicators: I don't need 'em. I use the center point all of the time, so I know where the focus point is.
2) Faster continuous shooting: The K-x is 4.7 fps. The K-r is 6 fps. Not a huge difference, and the K-x is plenty fast.
3) Higher ISOs: Anything above 6400 is going to be incredibly noisy anyway. I don't need faster ISOs than that. (I very rarely shoot above ISO 1600, and try to stay at 800 or below.)
4) Intervalometer: That actually might be nice.

Personally, I would go with the K-x, just because of reported mirror flop and AF problems with the K-r. Reliability is a big deal to me.

Also, you could get a nice used K-x for about half the price of a new K-r.

Good luck,
Bobbo :-)

[PandaSPUR]

She should probably at least give the Sigma a chance. Even if she ends up not liking it, it is worth a good bit more than the Pentax, so she could sell it and pocket an extra $100 or more.

Agreed.

I bought my Sigma used for about 380-400 bucks, cant remember. And there are actually signs of use on this lens when I bought it.
For a new in box Sigma 50 1.4, you could get plenty.

It is definitely a nice lens though.

Only issue is that it may have front focus. It has slight FF on my 5D, but so slight it doesnt bother me.
If you're unlucky, Sigma will calibrate the lens for you if you tell them what body youre using it with (better method is to send your body with the lens but you dont HAVE to).
Its free under warranty but you do have to pay to ship to them, they cover return shipping.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Only issue is that it may have front focus. It has slight FF on my 5D, but so slight it doesnt bother me.

There's a chance that any lens will FF or BF on any camera body. If it does, it doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the lens. It just means that it needs calibrated to the particular camera body. The problem is just much more noticeable on a long lens and/or a lens with a large aperture like a 50mm 1.4, since you will sometimes have a very thing DOF.

FWIW, when I first got my Sigma 30mm 1.4 on my K-x, it was back focusing. I sent it to Sigma in NY with my K-x body, and they calibrated it perfectly to my camera for free. They performed the service and got it back in the mail the same day they received it. It came back focusing perfectly. I paid for shipping to them, but they paid for return shipping.

[PandaSPUR]

Oh definitely, I agree with you on that.
But issues with the Sigma seem to be more common than with first party lenses since Sigma is forced to reverse engineer each company's AF algorithms (or at least I know Canon and Nikon dont give that info out, not sure bout Pentax).
Some people have issues so bad that even AF micro adjust cant fix.
Not saying all Sigma lenses are like this, but its something to check out when the lens arrives.

[sarahparish91]

So it came today! And wow, the sigma lens is much heavier then the pentax one I had, I wasn't expecting it to be quite so large. I took 2 photos before I had to charge the battery, just to see what it's like, and the focusing is louder and kind of clunky, but it actually seems to be quicker, bit hard to tell though as I've only taken 2 photos. Will let let you know more of what I think once I use it more, it's currently charging

[Edgar_in_Indy]

the focusing is louder and kind of clunky

Is the Sigma 50mm 1.4 not HSM in Pentax mount? Here's a quote from the Photozone review of the Nikon-mount version of the same lens:

"The HSM ("Hyper-Sonic-Motor") AF is very fast and virtually silent."

They also mentioned that "The focus ring is very smooth."

I only own one HSM lens, the 50-150mm f/2.8, and it also focuses very quickly and silently, and it is also nice to focus by hand.

[PandaSPUR]

Not sure what the previous pentax lens you had is like but I may understand what you mean.

The kit lens for my Panasonic G1 uses internal focusing (it moves an element on the inside, the lens barrel doesnt extend/retract at all during focus) so its quite fast and quiet to the shooter (although still hella noisy for video). This is unlike most kit lenses (including the Pentax ones) which I find incredibly noisy, especially when they smack into minimum or infinity focus lol.

So if what you had before is like that then yea the Sigma 50 may seem clunkier.

For me, I find the Sigma 50 much smoother and faster to focus than the Canon kit lenses and the Canon 50 f/1.8.

Oh and yea, we warned ya, that lens is massive LOL

[Edgar_in_Indy]

I just noticed that the first review for the Sigma 50mm in Pentax-mount on Amazon is from somebody who also had their camera gear stolen, and who also used to have the Pentax 50mm 1.4. Here's their review:

It is a fantastic piece of glass. Previously, I owned the Pentax FA 50mm f1.4 but lost it when my camera bag was stolen. That lens took some great shots and I knew this new lens would have some very big shoes to fill. So, I looked to see what Sigma had. I already had Sigma's 18-50mm f2.8 Macro and loved what it could do so I decided to give this prime a shot.

First thing I noticed, it is much sharper at f1.4 than the FA and the image quality is better. It manages purple fringing and chromatic aberration better than the FA wide open which is nice. Shooting wide open presents its challenges but every now and then, a photographer needs to do just that. It's nice to have some glass that can handle it. Once you bring it o f2 and up, it's incredibly sharp. The contrast rendition is better than the FA and I find the colors to be a bit crisper as well.

Since I have not tried the DA* 50mm f1.4, I can't comment on it's quality compared to this lens but reviews in several Pentax forums seem to be in this lens's favor. Great piece of glass.

The only down side to this lens is it's size. It's not subtle, small or cheap. Plus, the 77mm diameter makes buying filters for it expensive. But that is the only downside. If you are looking for a fast 50, this is the last one you will be buying for a while.

[msatlas]

The main upgrades from K-x to K-r are the better LCD on the back, and focus points visible in the viewfinder. I had a K-x but the lack of focus points annoyed the crap out of me so going up to the K-r was a very welcome change.

As for the Sigma vs Pentax 50/1.4s, the Sigma is definitely sharper. But the Pentax is also very much improved by using a lens hood. The Sigma, as pictured above, is huge. But here's the thing...the Sigma is almost too sharp for portraits, unless you only take pictures of kids. Otherwise just hope your subjects don't mind every pore and wrinkle showing in shots from the Sigma.