Originally posted by knightyo Hello! For my inaugural post, I thought I'd post a topic which has already probably been covered about 300 times. I just can't find a definitive answer, so broke down and will post this.....
I have a K-50, and a DA 55-300mm lens.. I just can't get close enough to wildlife to obtain satisfactory shots. I've experimented with cropping/enlarging, but the IQ just isn't there. I would really like to drop $1500+ on a lens in order to zoom in on my subjects, but for now, my budget is about 10% of that. I'd love to hear options in this ballpark!
Alan
Welcome to PF Alan.
You've got lots of good advice already. I'll just add what I can from my own experience.
I have the DA-L 55-300 and it's quite capable if you can get close enough. I agree with what @MarcusBMG said about getting the best from it. Here are some samples with it.
Going beyond 300mm is generally expensive. Especially if you want AF, which I think is invaluable for wildlife. I used to have a Sigma 170-500 (non-DG version) and while it was fun to learn with, it didn't really add anything to cropping from the 55-300. The more recent Sigma xx-500 lenses are probably better, but they are a lot heavier (about 2kg) and way more than $150, even second hand.
I have ended up with a FA*300 f4.5 and a Kenko 1.5x TC, which gives me the equivalent of 420mm f6.3 in a compact and fairly lightweight package. That works for me, and it's great value for the excellent optical quality, but you are still looking at something like $US750 for the combination.
I used to have a K-30, which has the same sensor as the K-50. Sweet camera, but going to a K-3 was a big improvement for wildlife shooting - much better AF, better metering and more pixels for cropping. With a tight budget, I think that would be your best value as an upgrade. Used K-3 bodies have become quite affordable, and they are very robust. Add a cheap Rogue Safari flash extender (
Rogue Safari Flash Extender - PentaxForums.com) and you should get some better results.