sigma lens for olympus e500 dslr

[jad123]

i hope this will be my last question before finally deciding on the panasonic fz-7, i have discounted the fz30, and sony h2, but on my other post, there have been a number of people advising the dslr, the one i originally looked at was the oly e500, twin lens kit, including a zuiko 14 - 45 lens and a zuiko 40 - 150 lens, for approx £600 from wildings cameras in bolton (u.k.), however this comes with 2 years return to shop warranty,i was concerned this would not give the equivilent zoom of my current camera (38-380) and did not pursue the camera any further,however i have now located similar camera from amazon u.k., the exception being instead of the 40 - 150 lens, it has a sigma 55 - 200 lens (f4-5.6 dc lens, whatever that means), i would leave this lens permanantley attached to the camera until i became confident in the use of the camera,even thoughi have read about the dust reduction, i still have concerns on this

however feedback from buyers of said camera and lenses, have not exactly praised the sigma lens, also saying "you get what you pay for" (£129.99, shop price), can anyone please advise on this, as i do not want to make any mistakes, at this stage should i be overly concerned, i realize even as a complete newbie to dslr, this seems to be very cheap for a lens, i also understand it is not top of the pile in the world of lenses, or is the opinion to give this sigma package a wide berth, and buy the panasonic

however in 12 months time i would not like to be in the same situation as now, (considering upgrading a big zoom camera) because i am unhappy with its short comings.

i would also consider the nikon d50 with a comparable lens, upto the 400mm focal length, if i could buy it for a reasonable price, as i can use my765u.z. for everyday use as i am very happy with that camera except at 10x zoom length (the only reason i want to uprade,) as i want to take pictures of birds, in my garden

thanks, alan

[mtclimber]

alan-

A Nikon D-50 equipped with a Tamron 28-300mm XR lens would give you an effective focal length (in 35mm terms) of 42mm to 400mm which would exceed your current ultra zoom and give you an affordable lens-camera combination. Another alternative would be the Tamron XR Di 18-200mm lens which would effectively give you 27mm to 300mm in 35mm terms.

MT

[jad123]

thanks mt

alan