DA* 300 Impressions

John Kovarik · 04-16-2008, 02:04 AM

Got the lens yesterday. A handfull, noticeably heavier than the DA* 200 though it still balances well. Here're a couple of Moon shots from a while ago, hand-held (I removed the tripod mount.) The '500' is with the 1.7TC...........I'm going to like this lens!

300 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

500 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Buddha Jones · 04-16-2008, 04:37 AM

Nice, this lens is my tax refund purchase.

cardinal43 · 04-16-2008, 09:35 AM

Refund? What's a refund? mumble, grumble, mumble, grumble. Stoopid taxes!

John Kovarik · 04-16-2008, 09:43 AM

Don't 'stimulate' me to answer that............... (8- (~

falconeye · 04-16-2008, 04:19 PM

Originally posted by John Kovarik

Got the lens yesterday. A handfull, noticeably heavier than the DA* 200 though it still balances well. Here're a couple of Moon shots from a while ago, hand-held (I removed the tripod mount.) The '500' is with the 1.7TC...........I'm going to like this lens!

300 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

500 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The 300mm moon is very nice. Some slight strange colors on the "mare" north-west.
The 500mm moon seems to have motion blur. With a TC, SR is not effective and shutter speed may have been above 1/1000...

Are both 100% crops from the K20D?

metalfab · 04-16-2008, 04:58 PM

The Moon shots must be resized because this is a 100% crop from my M 80-200 at 200mm ... a 300 and 500 should be a fair bit bigger.

John Kovarik · 04-17-2008, 04:34 AM

Yes, those are cropped, though I am not certain of the percentage. I ran them through Picasa rathe than elements, and uploaded to Flickr. They were handheld and the 500 does show a little shakiness - it was cold on the balcony in me skivies! I was really only verifying functionality of lens + 1.7TC.

The 300, by the way had an insert announcing the HOYA name change and, unlike the 200 came with the correct, updated manual............

Tbear · 04-23-2008, 06:21 AM

Nice 300mm shot. Can you post some daytime shots of non-moving targets?

John Kovarik · 04-23-2008, 08:34 AM

Well, Tbear, here's one. The subject is unmoving but not inanimate, and some may call the shade 'taupe'. Shot thru a double-pane window.................

Gray Shadows on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Tbear · 04-23-2008, 08:54 AM

Originally posted by John Kovarik

Well, Tbear, here's one. The subject is unmoving but not inanimate, and some may call the shade 'taupe'. Shot thru a double-pane window.................

Gray Shadows on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Thanks, John, the photos are getting more and more helpful. Now I am going to be bold and ask for some daytime photos not shot through windows.

John Kovarik · 04-23-2008, 10:35 AM

Ok,Tbear here are two more, handheld, Tv setting.........one inanimate. Tell me what you are looking for, and what you find?

DA* 300 Tbear test on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DA* 300 Tbear test 2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Tbear · 04-23-2008, 11:43 AM

Originally posted by John Kovarik

Ok,Tbear here are two more, handheld, Tv setting.........one inanimate. Tell me what you are looking for, and what you find?

DA* 300 Tbear test on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DA* 300 Tbear test 2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Thanks for posting those, John. Still hard for me to evaluate the lens, but I'm getting a better feel with each new post I see. I'm into birding so I would really appreciate it if you could snap a few of the local sparrow, cardinal or whatever you got in your yard.

Ted

Cvrn · 04-24-2008, 07:08 PM

OK serious question here.

I have the Bigma now and have shot great shots and not so great shots. Is the new 300 f/4 that much better of a lens than my Bigma?

I know it will considerably faster but will not reach out as far. so is it worth 1300$ when I already have a Bigma????

ivoire · 04-24-2008, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by Cvrn

OK serious question here.

I have the Bigma now and have shot great shots and not so great shots. Is the new 300 f/4 that much better of a lens than my Bigma?

I know it will considerably faster but will not reach out as far. so is it worth 1300$ when I already have a Bigma????

I bought the f*300mm over the bigma for its excellent resolution\sharpness. the DA*300mm is it's latest incarnation, f4.0 vs f4.5, weather sealed and focuses faster. I actually bought 2 f*300's on ebay, first for $1250, second for $730 by accident. resold the first for under what i paid. even at $1250, i would never have given it a second thought after seeing the images from it. the DA with its added features seems like a bargain to me and with a 1.4x tc, i suspect the image sharpness will surpass the bigma at the long end. if i owned the bigma, i'd wait a while for a price drop in the DA300 and then swap them out (unless i was really dis-satisfied with the bigma images).

John Kovarik · 04-25-2008, 04:56 AM

Well, Tbear here are two more; one, at least has feathers...........I hope these suit your needs.
Sorry about the delay, been bizzy..........these were run thru Picasa, cropped only........

Flickr Photo Download: DA* 300 test

Flickr Photo Download: DA* 300 test

04-16-2008, 02:04 AM	#1
John Kovarik Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 338	*DA 300 Impressions** Got the lens yesterday. A handfull, noticeably heavier than the DA* 200 though it still balances well. Here're a couple of Moon shots from a while ago, hand-held (I removed the tripod mount.) The '500' is with the 1.7TC...........I'm going to like this lens! 300 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing! 500 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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04-16-2008, 04:37 AM	#2
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587	Nice, this lens is my tax refund purchase.

04-16-2008, 09:35 AM	#3
cardinal43 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,412	Refund? What's a refund? mumble, grumble, mumble, grumble. Stoopid taxes!

04-16-2008, 09:43 AM	#4
John Kovarik Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 338 Original Poster	Don't 'stimulate' me to answer that............... (8- (~

04-16-2008, 04:19 PM	#5
falconeye Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Munich, Alps, Germany Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,871	Originally posted by John Kovarik Got the lens yesterday. A handfull, noticeably heavier than the DA* 200 though it still balances well. Here're a couple of Moon shots from a while ago, hand-held (I removed the tripod mount.) The '500' is with the 1.7TC...........I'm going to like this lens! 300 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing! 500 Moon on Flickr - Photo Sharing! The 300mm moon is very nice. Some slight strange colors on the "mare" north-west. The 500mm moon seems to have motion blur. With a TC, SR is not effective and shutter speed may have been above 1/1000... Are both 100% crops from the K20D?

04-16-2008, 04:58 PM	#6
metalfab Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 302	The Moon shots must be resized because this is a 100% crop from my M 80-200 at 200mm ... a 300 and 500 should be a fair bit bigger.

04-17-2008, 04:34 AM	#7
John Kovarik Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 338 Original Poster	Yes, those are cropped, though I am not certain of the percentage. I ran them through Picasa rathe than elements, and uploaded to Flickr. They were handheld and the 500 does show a little shakiness - it was cold on the balcony in me skivies! I was really only verifying functionality of lens + 1.7TC. The 300, by the way had an insert announcing the HOYA name change and, unlike the 200 came with the correct, updated manual............

04-23-2008, 06:21 AM	#8
Tbear Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 269	Nice 300mm shot. Can you post some daytime shots of non-moving targets?

04-23-2008, 08:34 AM	#9
John Kovarik Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 338 Original Poster	Well, Tbear, here's one. The subject is unmoving but not inanimate, and some may call the shade 'taupe'. Shot thru a double-pane window................. Gray Shadows on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

04-23-2008, 08:54 AM	#10
Tbear Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 269	Originally posted by John Kovarik Well, Tbear, here's one. The subject is unmoving but not inanimate, and some may call the shade 'taupe'. Shot thru a double-pane window................. Gray Shadows on Flickr - Photo Sharing! Thanks, John, the photos are getting more and more helpful. Now I am going to be bold and ask for some daytime photos not shot through windows.

04-23-2008, 10:35 AM	#11
John Kovarik Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 338 Original Poster	Ok,Tbear here are two more, handheld, Tv setting.........one inanimate. Tell me what you are looking for, and what you find? DA* 300 Tbear test on Flickr - Photo Sharing! DA* 300 Tbear test 2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

04-23-2008, 11:43 AM	#12
Tbear Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 269	Originally posted by John Kovarik Ok,Tbear here are two more, handheld, Tv setting.........one inanimate. Tell me what you are looking for, and what you find? DA* 300 Tbear test on Flickr - Photo Sharing! DA* 300 Tbear test 2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! Thanks for posting those, John. Still hard for me to evaluate the lens, but I'm getting a better feel with each new post I see. I'm into birding so I would really appreciate it if you could snap a few of the local sparrow, cardinal or whatever you got in your yard. Ted

04-24-2008, 07:08 PM	#13
Cvrn Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Utah Photos: Gallery Posts: 17	OK serious question here. I have the Bigma now and have shot great shots and not so great shots. Is the new 300 f/4 that much better of a lens than my Bigma? I know it will considerably faster but will not reach out as far. so is it worth 1300$ when I already have a Bigma????

04-24-2008, 10:17 PM	#14
ivoire Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,381	Originally posted by Cvrn OK serious question here. I have the Bigma now and have shot great shots and not so great shots. Is the new 300 f/4 that much better of a lens than my Bigma? I know it will considerably faster but will not reach out as far. so is it worth 1300$ when I already have a Bigma???? I bought the f300mm over the bigma for its excellent resolution\sharpness. the DA300mm is it's latest incarnation, f4.0 vs f4.5, weather sealed and focuses faster. I actually bought 2 f*300's on ebay, first for $1250, second for $730 by accident. resold the first for under what i paid. even at $1250, i would never have given it a second thought after seeing the images from it. the DA with its added features seems like a bargain to me and with a 1.4x tc, i suspect the image sharpness will surpass the bigma at the long end. if i owned the bigma, i'd wait a while for a price drop in the DA300 and then swap them out (unless i was really dis-satisfied with the bigma images).

04-25-2008, 04:56 AM	#15
John Kovarik Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 338 Original Poster	Well, Tbear here are two more; one, at least has feathers...........I hope these suit your needs. Sorry about the delay, been bizzy..........these were run thru Picasa, cropped only........ Flickr Photo Download: DA* 300 test Flickr Photo Download: DA* 300 test