Allen,
I would pass on both of these myself. The Kalimar is considerably overpriced
for what it is (it may be new but it can't have been made in the last
decade). The Sigma is also very old stock based on the packaging (pure 80's
style if I am not mistaken). Its price is merely ok but by no means a
bargain.
In both cases these are third party lenses that sold more to the snapshooter
market than the advanced amateur. Usable result are no doubt possible with
them but not necessarily exceptional. Fighting equipment to get the picture
out is no fun for anyone. Given the depressed nature of the second hand
market it is worth taking some time to find the exact lens you need rather
than try them all and then ending up with the one you should have purchased
in the first place. Its great that you have the passion but you need to slow
down in my opinion.
There have been many specific model recommendations made in this thread but
I think you need to look at what your end result needs to be.
Say you end up deciding you would like a zoom lens in the 70-210 range. This
range has literally dozens of options without defining your goal better. Do
you need fast lens speed, one touch or two touch design, close focusing
ability, zoom range, walkabout lens or tripod lens, etc. To discover which
of the many options suits your needs you have to balance all of this. A fast
lens is going to be heavy, there is no way around that as it needs big
glass. One touch vs. Two touch is more of a personal choice in my opinion
though the issue of zoom creep should be considered. And so on through all
of your list of needs. You will need to repeat this analysis for each need
you have.
HTH, Dan S.
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Allen Coltrin
Subject: [OM] Q's on WTB
I wanted to get opinions on these lenses please.
NEW OLYMPUS 35-400 ZOOM MACRO OM-1,2,10 (Kalimar)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150092220953&ssPageN
ame=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005
New Olympus 100 & 400 mm MACRO TELE ZOOM om1 2 FC (Sigma)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150092221318&ssPageN
ame=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005
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