| Latest Review Posted | Sigma APO DG 170-500mm F5-6.3
Went to my local store a few days back as I was passing anyway, and I often call in to see if they have any second-hand Pentax gear in stock. They don't often have much, but this time they had just taken a Sigma 170-500mm APO DG in as a P/X. I've considered the various big Sigma zooms several times but never bit the bullet and bought one, mainly due to fears of bad copies and QC issues etc, plus they often get very mixed reviews. I couldn't bare taking that gamble with a decent chunk of cash. The store had the older 170-500mm in excellent condition for £299 so I figured I'd have a look. They kindly let me put it on one of their bodies so I could take a few test shots and see how the lens handled. I only had the rear LCD to gauge it's sharpness on but it looked pretty damn good for the cost of entrance. I was a little worried as I hadn't read about the 170-500 before, but figured I'd take the chance, if I didn't like it I felt sure I could sell it on and not lose too much on it.
I got the lens home and mounted it on my trusty K-5, not expecting too much but hoping I'd get at least some usable sharpness at around 400mm or so.......To say I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement!
Shots taken at 500mm are pretty damn sharp, even wide open, and I'm fairly anal about sharpness. Don't get me wrong; you do need the right technique and a decent shutter speed or tripod to use this lens. It's not particularly fast either in terms of AF or max. aperture, but it's f... |
