smc 500mm f4.5, couldn't help myself

*borno* · 08-22-2008, 05:43 PM

Well a couple days after our dog died, feeling blue and poking around the web I find a smc 500mm f4.5 and figure I may as well bid (it sure looked pretty) to my suprise I won it and it came today

Man, it looks like new and think once I get used to this beast it'll do pretty good. here's a couple quick test shots taken with my super:

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A crop

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*8540tomg* · 08-22-2008, 06:15 PM

Congrats on the new/old lens Tom. I had a chance to buy one of these at a good price ages ago but failed to pull the trigger in time. It was the screw mount version and I was reluctant to go that route for some reason. Duhhh!!!

I've been kicking myself ever since. That extra length will be handy for birding. Looking forward to more images from this lens.

Tom G

**Damn Brit** · 08-22-2008, 06:29 PM

Sorry to here about your dog Tom. Sometimes it seems harder to lose a pet than a relative.

Good shots with the 500, I really like the last one, it's a great image. Are you prepared to tell us what you paid for it, was it a bargain?
Gary

*borno* · 08-22-2008, 06:42 PM

Thanks tom, With the prices old lenses go for I think I was lucky to get one in good shape for a good price. I don't think it will be too hard to use, just needs a tripod or monopod because it would be real hard to balance and focus without support.

Thanks Gary,
Our dog was 14 but seemed OK until wed. before last and we took her to the vet and didn't get any clue she was dying. They took our $200 ran some tests and sent us home. She was gone the next day, were going to switch vet.s for our cats

Oh I paid a fuzz over $400 for the lens

**Damn Brit** · 08-22-2008, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by borno

Thanks Gary,
Our dog was 14 but seemed OK until wed. before last and we took her to the vet and didn't get any clue she was dying. They took our $200 ran some tests and sent us home. She was gone the next day, were going to switch vet.s for our cats Oh I paid a fuzz over $400 for the lens

14 is a good age and it sounds like it was pretty quick which is a blessing. Good vets are hard to find. We have 2 dogs, four cats (2 with three legs) and 3 parrots. We've been lucky enough to find a vet we trust less then 5 minutes away but it took a while. I got fed up with our previous vet when I took one of my dogs in for a sore throat and the vet straight away gave him anaesthesia so he could look down his throat.
Gary

*borno* · 08-22-2008, 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by Damn Brit

14 is a good age and it sounds like it was pretty quick which is a blessing. Good vets are hard to find. We have 2 dogs, four cats (2 with three legs) and 3 parrots. We've been lucky enough to find a vet we trust less then 5 minutes away but it took a while. I got fed up with our previous vet when I took one of my dogs in for a sore throat and the vet straight away gave him anaesthesia so he could look down his throat.
Gary

HA! That's a full house Gary

We had a real good vet but he had to retire due to back problems, I don't think we'll find another as good as he was

*Canada_Rockies* · 08-22-2008, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by borno

Oh I paid a fuzz over $400 for the lens

That is a superb price for a very nice lens. Pre-digital days, I missed a 500/4.5 K mount in Chicago for only $1,100. It also was nearly mint.

*borno* · 08-22-2008, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by Canada_Rockies

That is a superb price for a very nice lens. Pre-digital days, I missed a 500/4.5 K mount in Chicago for only $1,100. It also was nearly mint.

Hey Albert, The one I got is K-mount also Not that it would matter much with the manual iris. I think the bokeh should be nicer than using a TC. Here is another:

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**roentarre** · 08-22-2008, 10:01 PM

Tom, all these shots are of stellar quality. Excellent clarity with beautiful bokeh in fact. I never bought the lens because of my clumpsy manual focus skill.

I shall take a sigma 500mm f4.5 since I could not make up my mind all these time. Would love to see more great shots from this lens.

*Lance B* · 08-22-2008, 10:02 PM

Congrats on the lens, Tom.

Your posted example pics show that it looks like a beauty! Beautiful bokeh. I like the shot of the birds in a row.

*Canada_Rockies* · 08-22-2008, 10:21 PM

That shot of the American Gold Finch is exquisite! The extra reach of 100 mm and the extra opening at 4.5 compares very favourably to my 400/5.6. Nice catch ( both bird and lens ).

*k100d* · 08-22-2008, 10:36 PM

lens must be a porker! i assume that you must operate it on a tripod?
some sweet photos tho
unfortunate pentax doesn't have any long affordable current glass right now

cupic · 08-23-2008, 01:47 AM

Sorry for your loss and you should be sorry that I didnt win the bid thats a stunner of a lenses

cheers

*borno* · 08-23-2008, 03:33 AM

Thank you all for the comments

I couldn't post a pic because things are crazy with my son's stuff everywhere (we take him to college today).

Sorry Cupic if you bid on this one, it was so poorly packed I don't think it would have survived the trip to OZ

dsport · 08-23-2008, 10:06 AM

Hi, the pics are really great. I also have a dog which is 9 years old now so really sad to know about yours...
I also bought this len recently but didn't have the time to take it out for birdings yet.
Actually, I want to ask 2 questions.
Will you turn off SR when mounting this len on tripod for birdings?
Is there any visible effect to mount or not to mount the internal filter?
Thanks for any advise.