Hi Simon, and welcome to the list. In the range 17/18-35, I have been very pleased with my Sigma 18-35, which preceded the 17-35, I think. Very sharp, good contrast, and not too much distortion for a lens of this specification. Most recent reports of current Vivitar lens are a little disappointing, down to downright bad, so I would tend to avoid them. Sigma, on the other hand, seem to be making some really well-specified and optically good lens recently. Build quality is Ok: mine is very light, which suggests mainly plastic elements, but, what the heck, it all works! I have found only one minor problem- the lens base cap is designed for either Pentax/Ricoh bayonet mounts, or the Sigma mount and it can jam on a Pentax lens if you do not mount it carefully.
HTH John Coyle Brisbane, Australia On Monday, July 29, 2002 8:05 AM, Simon Storey [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] wrote: > Hiya, been lurking for a while and slowly making sense of it all. > > For a while now my widest lens has been a 24mm, and I fancy trying > something wider. Cost IS a consideration, so I know I won't get much. > Vivitar do an MF 19mm prime (?89) and AF 19-35mmm zoom for a little > more > (?119) - reviews seem to be fairly mixed/poor. > > Anyone have any thoughts, or recommendations about alternatives? Good > ones > to look out for s/h? I'm in London - any good places to go shopping? > > thanks, Simon - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
