Pentax DA 300mm f4 vs Sigma 100-300mm f4
I have just won the Pentax DA 300mm f4 for cheap! Can't believe it! Anyway, I thought I'd be able to compare it against the Sigma 100-300mm f4 side by side. It would be really interesting if the Sigma 100-300mm f4 is indeed a DA 300mm killer. We'll see!
Watch this space 🙂
Just got the DA,.. quick test!
DA 300mm f4
IMGP8965 | Tristan Carlos | Flickr
Sigma 100-300mm f4
IMGP8964 | Tristan Carlos | Flickr
How sharp can you be at 300mm f4?!? The DA* 300mm is very sharp!
Bokeh is creamier on the Sigma and it seems that the FOV is slightly longer/tighter too.
That's an interesting side-by-side. I had thought a long time about the Sigma before I got my DA*. I may have even gone for it had it been readily available. They are still a little hard to come by.
The contrast is a lot higher on the DA* as well. I think that contributes to a lot of the difference of the looks, though it does also look sharper as you mentioned. Cool you got a good deal on the DA*! It's one of my favorites now.
Quote from Snappy on July 7, 2021, 5:45 pmThat's an interesting side-by-side. I had thought a long time about the Sigma before I got my DA*. I may have even gone for it had it been readily available. They are still a little hard to come by.
The contrast is a lot higher on the DA* as well. I think that contributes to a lot of the difference of the looks, though it does also look sharper as you mentioned. Cool you got a good deal on the DA*! It's one of my favorites now.
Yeah the Sigma 100-300mm f4 is a pretty rare beast. I might even keep it just because of its creamier bokeh and aperture ring. Plus, having the versatility of a zoom. AF seems a lot quicker with newer bodies too!
update: Sold the Sigma 100-300mm. The flexibility of a zoom is good but I want to be able to use f4 and get good results. I have found that I needed to stop down to f5.0 to get acceptable results and it doesn't really get very sharp even at f8.0 (using a Pentax KP). I guess it was good when the pixel density was not so high but with high-res sensor nowadays, I believe the Sig 100-300mm starts to reveal its limitations.
p.s. Sold it higher than what I've paid for the DA 300mm.
Quote from tristanludlow on July 14, 2021, 7:24 pmupdate: Sold the Sigma 100-300mm. The flexibility of a zoom is good but I want to be able to use f4 and get good results. I have found that I needed to stop down to f5.0 to get acceptable results and it doesn't really get very sharp even at f8.0 (using a Pentax KP). I guess it was good when the pixel density was not so high but with high-res sensor nowadays, I believe the Sig 100-300mm starts to reveal its limitations.
p.s. Sold it higher than what I've paid for the DA 300mm.
That's awesome! Score. Good to know your thoughts about it. The DA* 300mm f4 is a winner for sure 🙂
to me the prime looks way better.
Yep, I thought so too. The fact that the DA 300 is also smaller and weather sealed made it a no-brainer for me. The Sig had to go.
Something worth mentioning is that the precision of Pentax limiteds and DA* lenses is next to none. All of my limited lenses and DA* lenses do not need AF fine tune adjustments. They're all bang on 0.
Quote from tristancarlos on July 20, 2021, 8:29 pmYep, I thought so too. The fact that the DA 300 is also smaller and weather sealed made it a no-brainer for me. The Sig had to go.
Something worth mentioning is that the precision of Pentax limiteds and DA* lenses is next to none. All of my limited lenses and DA* lenses do not need AF fine tune adjustments. They're all bang on 0.
Mine do 😂 But I wonder sometimes if it's my bodies and not the lenses if it's almost every one? I don't know.
This is an intesresting topic.
As a Sigma 100-300mm f4 user and lover (well now it's broken and works only from 100 to 200mms) I have been looking at the DA* 300mm f4 with desire, but I do use my lenses for motorsport so the flexibility of the zoom is key for me.
I would love to add an DA* in my collection and use it with the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 I just bought in order to replace my non reparable Sigma. Yet again I have been very pleased with the images taken with the Sigma for the past 6 years since I bought it. I think it is a great investment if you can get any.
