[Italian-fellow]

I don't have a comparison, but I like my FA 100-300 a lot. If you're an Italian fellow, you might recognise where this was taken.



But even though the 100-300 is nice, it only goes on my camera for the occasional shot. The 55-300 interests me because it would save me a lot of lens changes.

Nice Florence view!
I like that lens because of its color rendering... and I am not sure the 55-300 can be more sharp, let's say at 250mm

[Heie]

The review hasn't been abandoned. Just wanted to give another update - there was a death in my unit, and as such, as the Public Affairs Officer, my priority had to be undoubtedly towards that incident. The memorial was held this morning, however as with any event, the hard work of editing and processing all the photos (I was the photographer for the ceremony) begins now.

I know many have been waiting patiently on this review. I ask for your continued patience - I am working as fast as possible without cutting corners, as the quality and comprehensiveness is my priority for this review. You won't be disappointed in that regard

Thank you.

-Heie

[lordmahesh]

The review hasn't been abandoned. Just wanted to give another update - there was a death in my unit, and as such, as the Public Affairs Officer, my priority had to be undoubtedly towards that incident. The memorial was held this morning, however as with any event, the hard work of editing and processing all the photos (I was the photographer for the ceremony) begins now.

I know many have been waiting patiently on this review. I ask for your continued patience - I am working as fast as possible without cutting corners, as the quality and comprehensiveness is my priority for this review. You won't be disappointed in that regard

Thank you.

-Heie

Eagerly waiting for the review!!

Greetings from India,
Mahesh

[LFLee]

just don't conclude the review with opinion like "Ricoh should sell the lens in higher price", or something similar.

[JinDesu]

The review hasn't been abandoned. Just wanted to give another update - there was a death in my unit, and as such, as the Public Affairs Officer, my priority had to be undoubtedly towards that incident. The memorial was held this morning, however as with any event, the hard work of editing and processing all the photos (I was the photographer for the ceremony) begins now.

I know many have been waiting patiently on this review. I ask for your continued patience - I am working as fast as possible without cutting corners, as the quality and comprehensiveness is my priority for this review. You won't be disappointed in that regard

Thank you.

-Heie

Absolutely no issues - we prefer a quality review over a rushed review, and I certainly cannot fault you for having to spend time on personal items, as this is your favor to us. Thank you.

[Heie]

just don't conclude the review with opinion like "Ricoh should sell the lens in higher price", or something similar.

Now what would give you the idea I'd do that?

Absolutely no issues - we prefer a quality review over a rushed review, and I certainly cannot fault you for having to spend time on personal items, as this is your favor to us. Thank you.

Nothing personal has come before the review (other than visiting my in-laws for the holidays) except my beautiful, understanding wife who tells me to get to bed after writing until well past a reasonable hour, especially since I have to wake up every morning at 0530 for work

Yesterday's service was, undoubtedly, the priority for the entire battalion. Here are the photos should anyone be curious.

-Heie

[Wingincamera]

Thank you for sharing the photos, and for all of you for service to our country.

[Heie]

It's up!



HD 55-300 WR In-Depth Review

-Heie

[Giklab]

Nice!

[savoche]

Thanks! Thorough as always

[lordmahesh]

Very Nice! Thank you Heie.

[wgb]

It's up!



HD 55-300 WR In-Depth Review

-Heie

Well done, Heie, definitely worth the wait, and since I had to decide about returning my HD 55-300 and/or DA* 60-250 before you finished, glad to see I did the right thing for my K-3 by keeping both! Many thanks for all the thought and hard work that you and your friends put into this.

PS. Assuming you've still got the Frisbee, howzabout a follow-up once the new 1.4x TC is out?

[WizBird]

I for one am anxious to see the results. I've been considering the 55-300WR since most of my shooting is outdoors. A wet forcast finds me leaving my non-WR 55-300 at home and my 18-135WR coming with me. But,,,, the better reputation of the 60-250 for image quality and MUCH quieter and more acurate (I hope) focusing has me wanting to wait and get the *lens (at 3 times the cost, but better for the long run).

I did opt for the Pentax 55-250mm and was able to get it at a decent price on Amazon. $1199. Figured I did real good. Lens arrived it good condition. Big and heavy but I expected that. Took it right out and took about 50 test shots. My initial impression was that the result were nothing special and appeared soft. I then tested it vs my Pentax 18-135mm WR. Also my Pentax SMC FA 70-210 (30 yrs old) and my Sigma APO 70-300 (also 30 years old) The color was about the same however the 55-250 DA* was not as sharp as any of my other lens? Disappointed to say the least. Did I get a bad copy? Perhaps but I sent it back and choose not to try another one. For that kind of money the lens should have fulfilled the promise. Note that I also tested it, as much as I could against my Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 WA lens. The color/saturation as well as sharpness was much better with the Sigma. I may try the 55-300mm WR; Ilike the WR feature and it has served me well with my 18-135mm.

[tibbitts]

I did opt for the Pentax 55-250mm and was able to get it at a decent price on Amazon. $1199. Figured I did real good. Lens arrived it good condition. Big and heavy but I expected that. Took it right out and took about 50 test shots. My initial impression was that the result were nothing special and appeared soft. I then tested it vs my Pentax 18-135mm WR. Also my Pentax SMC FA 70-210 (30 yrs old) and my Sigma APO 70-300 (also 30 years old) The color was about the same however the 55-250 DA* was not as sharp as any of my other lens? Disappointed to say the least. Did I get a bad copy? Perhaps but I sent it back and choose not to try another one. For that kind of money the lens should have fulfilled the promise. Note that I also tested it, as much as I could against my Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 WA lens. The color/saturation as well as sharpness was much better with the Sigma. I may try the 55-300mm WR; Ilike the WR feature and it has served me well with my 18-135mm.

Did the 60-250 appears soft all over, even with manual (both viewfinder and live view) focusing, vs. autofocus? I've not experienced a new lens that was soft all over the frame, unless it was just an autofocus adjustment issue, like with my Tamron 17-50. Pentax has an overly restrictive focus adjustment range (at least up through the K5 era), so some lenses require extraordinary means to adjust (debug mode), and some lenses defy adjustment entirely because they require different adjustments at different distances or focal lengths. But the entire lens being soft, outside of autofocus issues and without something rattling around inside, would be unusual based on my limited experience.

[WizBird]

Did the 60-250 appears soft all over, even with manual (both viewfinder and live view) focusing, vs. autofocus? I've not experienced a new lens that was soft all over the frame, unless it was just an autofocus adjustment issue, like with my Tamron 17-50. Pentax has an overly restrictive focus adjustment range (at least up through the K5 era), so some lenses require extraordinary means to adjust (debug mode), and some lenses defy adjustment entirely because they require different adjustments at different distances or focal lengths. But the entire lens being soft, outside of autofocus issues and without something rattling around inside, would be unusual based on my limited experience.

I tried to focus both with auto focus as well as manual. Same result. Took shots at 250, 100, 135, 55mm. Used F8 as that should be the sweet spot. Looked soft even in the center. Performed in camera crops. Can usual go to x8 before image gets real bad. With the 55-250 could not get even close to that. Took photos with and without Lens Correction engaged. Nothing rattling in lens. Looked great; was tight and no apparent damage. I did not try any other means to adjust. Tried to use it same as I would with any lens I have. Now when I put my Pentax 50mm F1.4 lens on and take photos there is now doubt but that the results are superior. I expected that to be the case with the 55-250mm. But they weren't. Maybe soft isn't the right description. Better yet they just weren't sharp/crisp.My camera is a K5. The images should have been better then my Pentax 18-135mm WR but they weren't.