[johan kruger]

Hello all

I recently got a FA*600mm F4 lens and already have a few other long lenses as well to add. I have not had time to do s stationary test yet but Kevin (KevinR - View Profile - PentaxForums.com) did do a few before shipping the lens to me. He also tested the lens with the new teleconverter that he has.

If there is enough interest I will also do a static test of the FA* 300 vs the FA*600 with my old 1.4X and 2X converters. I will want to tie up with a fellow pentaxian that's close-by that has the new DA560mm and his new converter to do some test.

Lens Test:

Native view with DA* 300



The view comparison only cropped horizontally. (ie full vertical FoV)

Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/267012-some...#ixzz3IZ9eyskK



And then a zoom in on the angle graduation plate with each image resized so that the view is the same number of pixels in each case (600x600 from 300x2.8TC or 600x1.4xTC as default view)



And then a zoom in on the angle graduation plate with each image resized so that the view is the same number of pixels in each case (600x600 from 2.8x TC as default view)



He tried the stacked 1.4x and 2x converter but could not get a stable enough photo to post.

Here is the whole post as well (https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/267012-some...nce-tests.html)

---------- Post added 11-09-2014 at 01:04 PM ----------


Review:

Now in terms of the 600mm. The weight is something to get use to but is manageable. I attached it also just directly to my big monfrotto mono pod and this combo seems to work well and offer some mobility. I also now ordered a Wimbley style head with adapter for my car.

Secondly I also found that the lens hood design could have been better. It is a bit tight and if not extended correctly can scratch the barrel. Also being a silver lens it is prone to being scratched but on the 600 the paint does seem thicker than my FA* 300 F2.8. I am also going to make myself some lens covers like that of the 600mm that recently sold that was made by the owner kulas3VII - View Profile - PentaxForums.com



AF Test:

The AF is very fast and with the new K3 I can get some degree of Birds in flight shots. you can also limit the focus range to increase the AF further. I have not had a lot of time to practise yet but here is a composite showing the FPS and AF speed. Note one photo I left out as it was to tight in composition.



The sharpness is Excellent and I will also post some shots taken with lens.

---------- Post added 11-09-2014 at 01:34 PM ----------

Sample shots

shot at F7.1 1/640s Iso 125



full size here

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/85506286/IMGP6849%20copy%20-%20Copy.jpg

Croped on bird

---

Last edited by johan kruger; 11-09-2014 at 11:02 AM.

[johan kruger]

shot at F8 1/2000s iso 640



shot at F8 1/1600s Iso 640

[RobG]

The FA600 looks like a great lens!

[johan kruger]

Here is also some sample shots that was done by Kevin

[johan kruger]

Next I will discuss my FA* 300 F2.8 lens a bit.

This lens I have owned a few years and have taken to Chobe, Etosha and the Kruger a few times.

Focus:

Weight:

Lens quality:

Sample images:

[KevinR]

The FA*600 is a massive heavy lens, but was remarkably manageable and I thoroughly enjoyed the short time I had it between seller and shipping on to Johan. And I am very pleased it has gone on to a local South African Pentax enthusiast. It would have been a tragedy if this lens had gone off to distant shores.

So far, the combination is looking very good ito IQ. The FA speed on the K-3 must be impressive as I was already happy with it on my K-5.

Regarding some of the other observations from my short experimentation:
-Sharpness, I found it slightly soft wide open but still very very good. It is much sharper stopped down one stop, and brilliant in general. Considering all the difficulties with extreme focal length sharpness (motion blur, vibration, atmospheric aberration) the performance seemed about as good as it gets. It will be interesting when Johan and Philip (@vcollerp) get together and compare the FA*600/4 vs the DA-560/5.6 in similar light and atmosphere to see how the old compares to the new telescope design.
-CA, is not perfectly controlled, with a normal amount of green and magenta fringing in line with large aperture good primes from that era.
-Color, very pleasing and warm rich colors
-Bokeh, just brilliant. Smooth and pleasing to the eye imo.
-FA speed, good but not quite BIF material. But then throwing this lens around is going to be a challenge for other reasons (>8kg of kit minimum). Focus limiter was very handy to limit focus throw. AF/MF clutching reasonably effective with a quick push/pull action.
-Handling, the weight is something to behold. But it was manageable on a heavy duty monopod (I used 434B Manfrotto similar to newer 681B model). The weight could be a benefit in stabilizing the lens against unintended movement and vibration, but not sure if this real or opinion.

Johan mentioned the TC stacking I did, which worked very well on my DA*300 with an older MF 2x and the new AF DA-1.4x giving remarkable good results due to the high initial qualities of the lens. I think the same applied to the FA*600 although I didn't post the full size crop results for the double stack because of difficulties with shake. Here I was severely compromised in not having a heavy duty tripod and head. With close to 10kg mounted on a Manfrotto190XDB with a light duty 222 pistol grip being my limitation. Just not good enough. But wow, the magnification was fantastic with effective 1680mm on a 1.5 crop giving 2520mm FF equivalent. Perhaps I should have bumped T to 1/4000s..!

[hjoseph7]

Wow, Pentax hasn't come out with a really long lens in years, but the old lenses still pack a punch.

[Mikesul]

Oh yes! Thank you for sharing these photos and thoughts. It is a shame that this lens is not more readily available. Does anyone know how it compares to the newer DA 560?

[Conqueror]

Surprised SAMYANG/ROKINON/BOWER hasn't built a 300mm prime for k-mount

[johan kruger]

I hope to tie up with Phillip that has a DA560 so that we can test it some stage.

[Mikesul]

That would be great 'cause you clearly know how to use the 600!

[johan kruger]

here is a few shots by Phillip and his 560mm

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/257619-pentax-hd-pentax-da...ml#post2978115

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/55946-300mm-plus-lens-club...ml#post2977731

[LensBeginner]

Hello all

I recently got a FA*600mm F4 lens and already have a few other long lenses as well to add. I have not had time to do s stationary test yet but Kevin (KevinR - View Profile - PentaxForums.com) did do a few before shipping the lens to me. He also tested the lens with the new teleconverter that he has.

If there is enough interest I will also do a static test of the FA* 300 vs the FA*600 with my old 1.4X and 2X converters. I will want to tie up with a fellow pentaxian that's close-by that has the new DA560mm and his new converter to do some test.
*snip*

Interesting post.
The DA*300 looks softer without the 1.4 TC than with it, in the 100% crop with the angle scale.
A focus issue? jpeg compression (I see more artifacts on the left)? downscaling? lens behavior?

[johan kruger]

Hi. Well here is a summary of what Kevin did from the other post I linked.

"And then a zoom in on the angle graduation plate with each image resized so that the view is the same number of pixels in each case (600x600 from 2.8x TC as default view)"

Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/267012-some...#ixzz3IalvOzau

so because he took the default view as 300mm+TC you had to crop to a smaller portion of the view for the standard 300mm but I am sure Kevin will also expand

[LensBeginner]

Hi. Well here is a summary of what Kevin did from the other post I linked.

"And then a zoom in on the angle graduation plate with each image resized so that the view is the same number of pixels in each case (600x600 from 2.8x TC as default view)"

Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/267012-some...#ixzz3IalvOzau

so because he took the default view as 300mm+TC you had to crop to a smaller portion of the view for the standard 300mm but I am sure Kevin will also expand

Thanks, I'm going to read it now.