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09-30-2011, 06:28 PM   #31
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I'm not saying we can afford it either.. it's just the DA 15 or the DA 12-24 or Sigma 8-16 will *need* to get purchased in the next few months
Unfortunately this leaves my wants for long lenses for wildlife shooting at the bottom of the heap and I will see what I can do with my $50 Bushnell 400mm 6.3 M42 Mount.(rebrand Vivitar TX I think).

09-30-2011, 06:32 PM   #32
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I'm kind of in the same boat. I would love to keep this lens, because it's loads of fun in the right situations, but I know I that for my type of photography I would get a lot more use out of a wide lens. But even so, I keep thinking about just canceling the auction. It's hard to part with a good lens!
09-30-2011, 06:36 PM   #33
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Yeah I think I would have a decent reserve bid on it for sure, if it's not a worthwhile sale, it's better to keep it! in 8 day's I might try hawking in on it
11-11-2011, 01:50 AM   #34
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I bought a used version of this lens. I'm using it on a Pentax K-5. above 370mm the pictures become quite soft. I haven't taken very much pictures with it yet. So maybe I need to practice a bit more.....

11-11-2011, 08:26 AM   #35
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My copy also became soft towards the long end, but Smart Sharpen in Photoshop CS5 did wonders in bringing back detail and sharpness. It was almost as though there was a film on the image and Smart Sharpen peeled it away. See post 20 from falconeye in this thread.

Have you tried Smart Sharpen in Photoshop?
11-12-2011, 12:33 AM   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
My copy also became soft towards the long end, but Smart Sharpen in Photoshop CS5 did wonders in bringing back detail and sharpness. It was almost as though there was a film on the image and Smart Sharpen peeled it away. See post 20 from falconeye in this thread.

Have you tried Smart Sharpen in Photoshop?
I'm using a aperture on a mac. I don't own Photoshop. As I can see you sold your 170-500mm lens. Was it because of it's softness or because of it's size and weight?
11-12-2011, 06:46 AM - 1 Like   #37
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The only reason I bought it was because I got it so cheap. I knew that I could play with it a little and then resell it for a profit. I bought it for $325 and sold it for $560, and I used the profit to put towards other lens purchases, such as the Sigma 30mm F1.4 I just bought. The only reason my wife puts up with all my photography purchases is because I finance it by buying and reselling things.

I don't shoot birds and my little girls aren't playing any sports yet, so I didn't reallyl need anything longer than my 300mm zoom lens (which I rarely use anyway). It was a great lens for the money though, and I had a lot of fun with it, so if I decide in a few years that I would like a 500mm zoom lens, I would probably watch for another one.

11-12-2011, 07:32 AM   #38
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QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
just wanted to let you know that it will be listed on eBay tonight
[...]
--in the auction:--
I do NOT ship to the following countries:
Afghanistan
Angola
Bolivia
Burma
Congo
Cuba
Iran
Iraq
Italy
Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire)
Liberia
Nigeria
North Korea
Paraguay
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Venezuela
Nice list. I am amused by Italy being listed in this group (but not some other countries)
11-12-2011, 07:49 AM   #39
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QuoteOriginally posted by falconeye Quote
Nice list. I am amused by Italy being listed in this group (but not some other countries)
My list is basically based on the list of countries that independent postage insurer Shipsurance won't cover.

Italy is not on that list, but I've heard too many horror stories of USA eBay sellers having their packages tied up indefinitely in customs due to Italy's strict import laws (laws that I assume are designed to protect their native industries, such as clothing, purses, watches, meatballs, etc). And due to eBay's lopsided buyer protection policies, the sellers are forced to issue a refund for an item they will probably never see again. A royal screwing for sellers. So if you're in Italy, and you want to buy something from me, it's NO SOUP FOR YOU! (and you can thank your politicians).
11-12-2011, 03:52 PM   #40
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I'm not in Italy. My own experience is that the upper third (geographically) of Italy is ok, esp. the part north of Po.

I guess the problem isn't customs. It's the buyers refusing to properly deal with their own customs. Because they don't care. If I don't process my parcel out of customs, it'll be returned to sender. But e.g., Germans wouldn't normally allow this to happen. They care. As otherwise, it wouldn't have made sense to do the purchase in the first place.

Btw., processing faults at customs normally can be avoided altogether by attaching complete paperwork (invoice, ebay transaction printout etc.) outside the parcel into a separate pouch.

Last edited by falconeye; 11-12-2011 at 03:59 PM.
11-12-2011, 04:30 PM   #41
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QuoteOriginally posted by falconeye Quote
I guess the problem isn't customs. It's the buyers refusing to properly deal with their own customs. Because they don't care. If I don't process my parcel out of customs, it'll be returned to sender. But e.g., Germans wouldn't normally allow this to happen. They care.
I read an account from one seller who had a location in the US and another in the UK, and he said he didn't have nearly as many problems shipping to Italy from the UK as he did when shipping from the US. He claimed that 8 out of 10 items sent to Italy from his US store were never delivered/claimed. So maybe for some reason it's not as bad shipping to Italy from within Europe. I don't know.

If your theory about the Italians just letting the items they ordered languish in customs forever while the seller has to ultimately eat the cost is true, then that's pretty despicable.
10-21-2013, 10:03 AM   #42
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Sorry to revive and old thread but I wanted to thank Edgar for this review (Although images are gone). Itīs true there arenīt good reviews on this lens and I am temped to buy one locally for arround U$D380

I am not really into wildlife photography. I use my DAL55-300 for landscape and ocational portrait but Iīve gotten involved in a proyect to protect a reservation and helping with documenting the species I think I will benefit from the better sharpness in the same range and the extra 300-500mm range. Is this true? I usually use a monopod with the 55-300.
10-21-2013, 11:43 AM   #43
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I'm glad you appreciated the review, but it's a shame the pictures are now gone. They were hosted on personal server space from my university back when I was in school, but my account eventually expired. I have my own server I can upload the images to, but I'm having a heck of a time finding them on my computer to re-upload. They've gotta be around here somewhere, but so far I haven't been able to fine them. If anybody else has them downloaded on their computer and could send them to me, that would be great.

As for your current situation, I think at $380 it would be hard to pass it up assuming it is in nice condition. If you've never used a 500mm lens before, it will be a fun and educational experience. And if you find that it is ultimately not beneficial for your photography needs, you should be able to re-sell it for at least what you paid, if not a little more. Worst case scenario is you would be out a few bucks for the experience, but you would have "scratched" your 500mm itch.
06-10-2015, 12:44 AM   #44
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QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
I'm glad you appreciated the review, but it's a shame the pictures are now gone. They were hosted on personal server space from my university back when I was in school, but my account eventually expired. I have my own server I can upload the images to, but I'm having a heck of a time finding them on my computer to re-upload. They've gotta be around here somewhere, but so far I haven't been able to fine them. If anybody else has them downloaded on their computer and could send them to me, that would be great.
I've just re-visited this thread after looking at it soon after it was started, when the images were still there. I saved a PDF copy of the thread, which included the images, and it can downloaded from here, in case anyone is interested.
10-09-2015, 03:51 AM   #45
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Sigma 170-500 on the 500mm 6.3 (openwide)
Fullsize image (not cropped).
Distance to object - about 5 meters

NO additional SHARPEN IMAGE

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