HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE - Show us what it can do, what it CAN'T!

**subsea** · 06-26-2022, 09:57 AM - **3 Likes**

Meeting up on the beach in Kings Park, NY, yesterday. K-3III and HD DA 55-300mm PLM.

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**aslyfox** · 06-28-2022, 09:34 AM - **1 Like**

Black Oyster Catcher Haematopus bachmani

Quote:

Forages on shellfish using its heavy bill—either by smashing open the shell, prying it open, or jabbing into the shell while it's partly open, then cutting the adductor muscle that holds the shell closed. Walks slowly along rocky shores at lower tides, looking for prey. Rests and preens, often in roosts of a dozen or more, during high tide. Quite vocal year-round but especially when breeding, when duetting adults perform display flights in tandem.

Black Oystercatcher Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

MikeMcE · 07-02-2022, 11:06 AM - **4 Likes**

**Wildturkey** · 07-02-2022, 11:43 AM - **3 Likes**

Originally posted by jeallen01

I'm surprised that we haven't had a thread on this subject before!

Anyway, see the forum users' reviews here - and the latest (my!) post, in which I "point out" that it seems to have a "problem" when that lens get "confused" if the subject moves out of the chosen focus area.

Your comments please!

I really like my 55-300

Last edited by Wildturkey; 12-04-2022 at 08:16 AM.

Chris_K · 07-03-2022, 02:09 AM - **4 Likes**

**csa** · 07-03-2022, 10:55 AM - **7 Likes**

Absolutely loving the light weight of my new 55-300 PLM with the Pentax 1.4TC. This was caught with my KP. Absolutely no post processing, the vivid colors were outstanding!

GreenRich · 07-06-2022, 12:27 PM - **8 Likes**

jgnfld · 07-13-2022, 07:32 AM - **5 Likes**

The 55-300mm just plain cannot take a good picture of an eagle preening itself from almost exactly 1km away from a moving sailboat!

What a terrible lens!

But I'm not lying about the preening!...

(I AM rather impressed with how the landscape renders @300mm across a kilometer of open, cold water on a warm, windy day, though!)

**subsea** · 07-13-2022, 08:49 PM - **4 Likes**

Full "buck" moon through the clouds, with a few stars peeking through. (K-3III and HD DA 55-300mm PLM @ 300m, handheld, ISO 12800, 1/320 sec, ƒ6.3)

Full_buck_moon_clouds_2022013 by Mark Stern, on Flickr

simon_199 · 07-17-2022, 11:53 AM - **9 Likes**

Just received this lens bought on discount. Brought it out today for some test shots with the K-3. It's quite versatile, still need to get accustomed with what F-stop I can get by at each focal length. Wide open, depending on the scene it can be hit-or-miss...
Especially at the wide end it seems that there is some sort of field curvature of sorts, that creates (sometimes) a very unnatural transition from sharp to unsharp areas.
Nevertheless it can be sharp even at 300mm (the lizard is a heavy center crop), even if not always. Can get some decent closeup shots, bokeh is good with round highlights. It's a good lens !

aes · 07-26-2022, 08:00 AM

Originally posted by northcoastgreg

Unlike many of the posters here, I didn't acquire the DA 55-300 PLM primarily for the long end of its zoom range. I acquired the lens primarily for landscape work. My Tamron 70-200 is just too heavy for that kind of photography; and besides, I prefer Pentax colors for landscapes. I'm shocked how good the PLM is on the wide end. At 55mm it produces more contrasty, saturated images than my A 50 macro, and is nearly as sharp. And while it can't quite match the artistic rendering of the DFA 100 macro at 100mm, it doesn't give up all that much in terms of sharpness to the macro. Very impressive for a consumer grade zoom. Even at 300mm, where it's only moderately sharp, it will still do in a pinch.

@70mm:

@88mm:

@108mm:

@300mm

What camera were these photos taken with? RAW or JPEG?

northcoastgreg · 07-26-2022, 01:55 PM - **8 Likes**

Originally posted by aes

What camera were these photos taken with? RAW or JPEG?

The photos were taken with the KP and every image was shot in RAW. In addition to shooting RAW, with the KP you can sometimes get away with photographing landscapes with pixel shift, which provides an additional advantage. That's particularly true for desert landscapes or shots of distant mountains (which you too far away to have any detail moved by the wind), as in this shot of Divide Mountain in Montana:

Chris_K · 07-30-2022, 10:49 AM - **2 Likes**

With the KP:

**Des** · 07-31-2022, 12:31 AM - **9 Likes**

Brown Thornbill. KP + DA 55-300 PLM at 260mm (to get f5.6)

**csa** · 07-31-2022, 07:23 AM

Originally posted by northcoastgreg

The photos were taken with the KP and every image was shot in RAW. In addition to shooting RAW, with the KP you can sometimes get away with photographing landscapes with pixel shift, which provides an additional advantage. That's particularly true for desert landscapes or shots of distant mountains (which you too far away to have any detail moved by the wind), as in this shot of Divide Mountain in Montana:

Beautiful! Looks like a watercolor rendition!

07-02-2022, 11:06 AM - 4 Likes	#1233
MikeMcE Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2020 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,093	Backyard time

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07-02-2022, 11:43 AM - 3 Likes	#1234
Wildturkey Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Michigan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 99	Originally posted by jeallen01 I'm surprised that we haven't had a thread on this subject before! Anyway, see the forum users' reviews here - and the latest (my!) post, in which I "point out" that it seems to have a "problem" when that lens get "confused" if the subject moves out of the chosen focus area. Your comments please! I really like my 55-300 Last edited by Wildturkey; 12-04-2022 at 08:16 AM.

07-03-2022, 02:09 AM - 4 Likes	#1235
Chris_K Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Poland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799

07-06-2022, 12:27 PM - 8 Likes	#1237
GreenRich Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Derbyshire Photos: Gallery Posts: 141

07-13-2022, 07:32 AM - 5 Likes	#1238
jgnfld Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,787	The 55-300mm just plain cannot take a good picture of an eagle preening itself from almost exactly 1km away from a moving sailboat! What a terrible lens! But I'm not lying about the preening!... (I AM rather impressed with how the landscape renders @300mm across a kilometer of open, cold water on a warm, windy day, though!)

07-13-2022, 08:49 PM - 4 Likes	#1239
subsea Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Commack, NY Posts: 2,603	Full "buck" moon through the clouds, with a few stars peeking through. (K-3III and HD DA 55-300mm PLM @ 300m, handheld, ISO 12800, 1/320 sec, ƒ6.3) Full_buck_moon_clouds_2022013 by Mark Stern, on Flickr

07-17-2022, 11:53 AM - 9 Likes	#1240
simon_199 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 612	Just received this lens bought on discount. Brought it out today for some test shots with the K-3. It's quite versatile, still need to get accustomed with what F-stop I can get by at each focal length. Wide open, depending on the scene it can be hit-or-miss... Especially at the wide end it seems that there is some sort of field curvature of sorts, that creates (sometimes) a very unnatural transition from sharp to unsharp areas. Nevertheless it can be sharp even at 300mm (the lizard is a heavy center crop), even if not always. Can get some decent closeup shots, bokeh is good with round highlights. It's a good lens !

07-26-2022, 08:00 AM	#1241
aes New Member Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Wuppertal, Germany Posts: 1	Originally posted by northcoastgreg Unlike many of the posters here, I didn't acquire the DA 55-300 PLM primarily for the long end of its zoom range. I acquired the lens primarily for landscape work. My Tamron 70-200 is just too heavy for that kind of photography; and besides, I prefer Pentax colors for landscapes. I'm shocked how good the PLM is on the wide end. At 55mm it produces more contrasty, saturated images than my A 50 macro, and is nearly as sharp. And while it can't quite match the artistic rendering of the DFA 100 macro at 100mm, it doesn't give up all that much in terms of sharpness to the macro. Very impressive for a consumer grade zoom. Even at 300mm, where it's only moderately sharp, it will still do in a pinch. @70mm: @88mm: @108mm: @300mm What camera were these photos taken with? RAW or JPEG?

07-26-2022, 01:55 PM - 8 Likes	#1242
northcoastgreg Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Northern Michigan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,172	Originally posted by aes What camera were these photos taken with? RAW or JPEG? The photos were taken with the KP and every image was shot in RAW. In addition to shooting RAW, with the KP you can sometimes get away with photographing landscapes with pixel shift, which provides an additional advantage. That's particularly true for desert landscapes or shots of distant mountains (which you too far away to have any detail moved by the wind), as in this shot of Divide Mountain in Montana:

07-30-2022, 10:49 AM - 2 Likes	#1243
Chris_K Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Poland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799	With the KP:

07-31-2022, 12:31 AM - 9 Likes	#1244
Des Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Victoria Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 6,422	Brown Thornbill. KP + DA 55-300 PLM at 260mm (to get f5.6)

07-31-2022, 07:23 AM	#1245
csa Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Montana mountains Posts: 10,133	Originally posted by northcoastgreg The photos were taken with the KP and every image was shot in RAW. In addition to shooting RAW, with the KP you can sometimes get away with photographing landscapes with pixel shift, which provides an additional advantage. That's particularly true for desert landscapes or shots of distant mountains (which you too far away to have any detail moved by the wind), as in this shot of Divide Mountain in Montana: Beautiful! Looks like a watercolor rendition!

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