Customer Reviews

Sigma 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro Lens for Pentax SLR Cameras

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this lens as my primary lens for use with my Pentax K100D Camera. For the price, I would have to say that this lens is very good. The quality of the pictures that I have taken with this lens is excellent. This is a great multi-use outdoor walk-around type lens with the right f-stop range and wide zoom range that make it adaptable to many different situations.

However, I have found a couple of negatives about this lens. The biggest problem that I have had is that the mechanical components associated with the zoom are not very smooth. The design is poor and I have actually had to repair the lens a couple of times because a small screw inside keeps coming loose. When the screw gets loose the lens will just slide in and out and becomes "disengaged" from the zoom dial on the outer case that you would normally use to zoom the lens in and out. The auto focus is not great either. Sometimes it "hunts" and other times it can be practically useless.

Basically though, it has served me well as a starter lens, but I'll definitely upgrade at some point.

I got this lens for a Disney cruise in the Western Carribean this Fall, wishing for a one-lens solution. Had to settle for bringing the 18-55mm too, but this lens is the one I mostly used, and enjoyed.

My only complaints are that it is a little stiff in adjusting the zoom, and that the flare limiter thingy (great technical term, huh?) was a little loosish, though it never fell off. The lens cap usually comes off in my Lowepro Slingshot bag though. The tightness wasn't a problem in the Caribbean, but I'll have to see how it performs in Wisconsin winters.

All of this being said though, it is a great lens. It functions flawlessly with my Pentax K10D, allowing the camera sensor image stabilization to work very well. (Despite nary a word from Pentax or Sigma about compatibility, so I was sweating it). I would have liked to have the new Tamron 18-250 even more perhaps, for more wide-angle range, but the 300mm reach was very nice. It was decently fast, and the clarity was good. Very worth the money. If it wasn't for the minor issues above, I would have given it 5 stars. Most importantly, it works with tbe Pentax image stabilization system.