Originally posted by Miserere The Lion photo is really something else, both technically and artistically.
I'll add this to my ever-increasing list of Lenses I Will Never Own but Will Stay Awake at Night Crying about.
Thanks for the compliments. The shadows from the chain link fence that was between the lion and me drive me crazy, but I do love that shot and it illustrates both the advantage of f/2.8 and how sharp this lens is wide open.
The hardest part about reviewing this lens is knowing that the review unit has to be returned to Pentax ... it's actually already left my possession. (Now that's something to cry about.)
I've used some 135mm f/2.8 primes over the years but the only 200mm f/2.8 lenses I've used until now have been 70-200mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom lenses. I enjoy the flexibility a 70-200mm lens gives me, but I recently realized that most of my photos shot with 70-200mm zooms are shot at 70mm and 200mm ... rarely anything between.
I own a DA 70mm Limited which is amazingly sharp and after reviewing this lens I'm thinking about buying my own copy of the DA* 200mm and forgetting about 70-200mm zoom lenses going forward.
I just wish Pentax would release a DA 120mm Limited Macro or a DA 135mm Limited Macro. The old DFA 100mm Macro is a good lens, but it's a little short and has VERY noisy autofocus.
The upcoming DA 15mm Limited and a 120mm or 135mm macro would be all I need to cover 95 percent of what I shoot with primes.