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10-14-2008, 02:49 PM   #46
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I think your lens is way sharper than my DA* 50-135 towards the tele end

here are 2 shots both at f3.2 from my 50-135





10-14-2008, 05:46 PM   #47
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QuoteOriginally posted by Serge Quote
Amazing captures! Thanks for sharing. Looks like the lens performs very well. I have read a dpreview article about that lens - they point out a weakness (resolution falloff) at 135mm setting at full aperture. Have you noticed that softness? As far as I can see from your photograps in the beginning of the thread, closeups are quite sharp... What about longer focusing distances?
Thanks. I have tested it wide-open at 135mm, and I haven't seen the problems
they've seen - if you look in the first batch of shots in this thread, one shot &
it's crop is labeled at 135mm f/2.8.

I just went outside this afternoon & took a series of test shots at 135mm f/2.8,
which I'll post at the bottom.

Regarding longer focal distances - infinity is very sharp, but it's often hard
to lock on to something at about 50-100 meters - I've noticed this with every
200mm zoom I've ever shot, however - it will often back focus if something
behind the target has more contrast. I occasionally need to shoot 2 or 3 times
to get the lens/camera to 'see' the target I'm actually aiming at, and then
it's right on. Closer subjects have 'larger' higher contrast areas that the
lens/camera can lock on to easier, so there's no BF and I nail focus closer to
95% of the time then (at under 50 meters.)


QuoteOriginally posted by cardinal43 Quote
Great pics. Looks like the weather is getting a bit nippy in MN. I always enjoy the pics of your son (Igillian also has some winners of his daughters). Love the curly hair. I think your son must be one of the most, if not the most, photographed son in the world.

Thanks. Yes, it's mitten weather this week at least. And yes, you can say
he's photographed - and keep in mind you guys are seeing only about 5%
of the shots I take of him.


QuoteOriginally posted by heliphoto Quote
He might be, he's a bit older than my son by the look of things (my boy's 9 months next week), but I'm working on breaking the record for redundant photography of a child . I've got 1413 shots tagged with his name right now, and there'll be more soon I'm sure.

The pics of jsherman jr. on this thread and elsewhere are great. I'll have to start posting more of my son ...
Yeah, he turned 1 last month. You should by all means post some shots
of your little guy here, I for one love seeing kids in this forum!


QuoteOriginally posted by LaRee Quote
It is natural to take lots of photos of our children. Or at least I think it is. I've got 2,014 tagged of my youngest 8 yr old son (I'm sure there are some that are not tagged) just from the past 5 months. It would be an interesting (although daunting) exercise to research exactly how many photos I've taken of him over his 8 years. The great thing is all his photos fit in a small box of discs. His older brothers have prints and negatives that fill up a couple huge boxes and lots of albums.
When we were threatened with a major fire a couple years ago I packed all the photos and put them by the door for a fast get away. That is when the contrast hit me between film and digital archiving.

I also have 1000's. The reason I was able to talk my wife into a DSLR in the first
place was that I would be able to take really good shots of our 1st baby - after
she saw the results from the K100D + FA 50 1.4, she was sold, and I was able
to get approval for the kit I have now. My extended family gets abusive if I
don't put new shots of the little guy up on picasaweb every couple days - overall,
a very fun and rewarding hobby, centered on him, but expanded now into
every area of photography.

QuoteOriginally posted by krs Quote
Pictures are very impressive.

A few questions that I have not seen answered:
1. How fast is the autofocus? Does it lag more than other lenses on the camera?
2. How quiet is the lens? I recall the DA* lenses are very quiet on the K10D and newer cameras (K200 and K20)?
3. Showing my ignorance, what is the implications (good and bad) of it being a screw drive?
Thanks. The AF is faster than my Tamron 70-300 was, but slower than my DA
40ltd was. Overall, it's pretty fast & quiet (more quiet than say my Sigma 70,)
but not nearly as silent as SDM. Overall, acceptable AF performance, especially
for the price.


Here are some 135mm f/2.8 shots:




cropped:




crop of next shot:



Not quite a Super Tak 135, but pretty good for a long zoom, excellent even,
especially for f/2.8.


.
10-14-2008, 06:15 PM   #48
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^ on that note, J how would you compare the DA*50-135mm to the Tamron 70-200mm w/in the overlap length? I ordered the DA* but i've been wanting the Tamron also. B&H can't seem to have the Tamron 70-200mm in stock for long...
10-14-2008, 06:33 PM   #49
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QuoteOriginally posted by nupentaxian Quote
^ on that note, J how would you compare the DA*50-135mm to the Tamron 70-200mm w/in the overlap length? I ordered the DA* but i've been wanting the Tamron also. B&H can't seem to have the Tamron 70-200mm in stock for long...
IMO, the DA* 50-135 is the better lens - just a bit sharper, just a bit better rendering
overall. The Tammy is right up there with it, though, just not quite as sharp.

The 50-135 also has SDM, weather sealing, and is lighter/shorter. Overall, I'd
recommend the 50-135 over the tammy, but if you need the length, you're not
giving up much IQ going with the Tammy. It's a wonderful zoom, extremely fun.



.

10-14-2008, 06:40 PM   #50
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mechan1k Quote
Stop Jay ... I tell you ... this is making it harder and harder for me.
This ia definitely going to be a great outdoor "toddler-chase-and capture" lens ... I have been look high and low for something that can do this.

Plus I have a nice Tamron TC to hook it up to as well ... I just don't have the $900AUD for one at the moment.
One drawback to the 'toddler-chase-and-capture' idea - this lens is huge. I generally
park myself on a spot of grass and just pivot, elbows down at sides for stability.
Sometimes I lay prone - it's a bit tougher to handhold shots unless you're sitting pretty still.


.
10-14-2008, 07:26 PM   #51
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QuoteOriginally posted by jsherman999 Quote
One drawback to the 'toddler-chase-and-capture' idea - this lens is huge. I generally
park myself on a spot of grass and just pivot, elbows down at sides for stability.
Sometimes I lay prone - it's a bit tougher to handhold shots unless you're sitting pretty still.
Bah, I've run around my son (he's only now getting fast at crawling so at the time, I was moving around him as he turned) shooting with my Bigma. That little lens you've got there's light (kinda cute).
10-14-2008, 07:45 PM   #52
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QuoteOriginally posted by jsherman999 Quote
Yeah, he turned 1 last month. You should by all means post some shots
of your little guy here, I for one love seeing kids in this forum!
Cool, I'm sure I will more and more...

So, the big question to me is if you tried the Sigma version of this lens range, and if so, how did they compare (and if not, what convinced you... weight? price? macro ratio? (all to tamron so far)). Anyone else with insight into which 70-200 I should set my sights on feel free to chime in... I should be getting a Sigma EX DG 24-60mm/2.8 any day now, and if I added a 70-200, I'd have f/2.8 all the way from 24mm to 200mm and that appeals to me.

10-14-2008, 07:48 PM   #53
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QuoteOriginally posted by qksilver Quote
I think your lens is way sharper than my DA* 50-135 towards the tele end

here are 2 shots both at f3.2 from my 50-135
((action boating pics))
For a touch of softness in those shots, I wouldn't rule out motion blur...
10-14-2008, 08:10 PM   #54
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QuoteOriginally posted by heliphoto Quote
Bah, I've run around my son (he's only now getting fast at crawling so at the time, I was moving around him as he turned) shooting with my Bigma. That little lens you've got there's light (kinda cute).
Heh, that's how I feel now about my 'petite' 50-135'. I guess it's all relative.
Once I get used to this lens, I'm sure it will seem normal-sized. I shot with my
77ltd a bit today and it felt like I was a human tripod, so steady.

QuoteOriginally posted by heliphoto Quote
Cool, I'm sure I will more and more...

So, the big question to me is if you tried the Sigma version of this lens range, and if so, how did they compare (and if not, what convinced you... weight? price? macro ratio? (all to tamron so far)). Anyone else with insight into which 70-200 I should set my sights on feel free to chime in... I should be getting a Sigma EX DG 24-60mm/2.8 any day now, and if I added a 70-200, I'd have f/2.8 all the way from 24mm to 200mm and that appeals to me.
I have not tried the Sigma. I like what I've seen from it, and I like HSM, but I just
decided that the images I'd been seeing from the Tamron reminded me of both
my Tammy 28-75 and my DA* 50-135 - sharp, contrasty, beautiful.


QuoteOriginally posted by heliphoto Quote
For a touch of softness in those shots, I wouldn't rule out motion blur...
Yes, regardig those 50-135 shots, if I were shooting off the back of a vibrating,
moving boat, my shots would be much blurrier than those! (good job actually.)


He sits still when planes & birds fly over:

200mm f/3.5:

Cropped:



.
10-14-2008, 09:52 PM   #55
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QuoteOriginally posted by ftpaddict Quote

No aperture ring, sadly. No mainstream manufacturer produces lenses with aperture rings anymore (forget Cosina - Voigtlander & Zeiss)
Not to argue the point past practicality, but most manufacturers have continued to support an aperture ring in the FF products in the Pentax mount.

The Sigma 50/2.8 EX-DG Macro has an aperture ring and believe that is true for its siblings in the Sigma macro lineup. I think that is also true for most of the non-DC Sigma primes. The Tamron 90/2.8 Macro has a aperture ring as do most of the Tammy FF zooms. Tokina also has a couple of models with aperture ring in their extremely limited lineup.

I can understand a manufacturer cutting it out for an APS-C dedicated lens, but Tamron really should have left it on their FF products. The residual film market may be dwindling, but I suspect that I am not the only guy out there that would prefer to not have to build two parallel K-mount systems.

Steve
10-14-2008, 09:53 PM   #56
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Thanks J, I would definitely getting the Tamron in a month or so when B&H have in stock. Its always great to know you have the extra length and I'm always up for a fun lens.
10-14-2008, 09:56 PM   #57
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QuoteOriginally posted by heliphoto Quote
Bah, I've run around my son (he's only now getting fast at crawling so at the time, I was moving around him as he turned) shooting with my Bigma. That little lens you've got there's light (kinda cute).
its actually not much smaller than the bigma (for same focal length (obviously not when bigma @ 500mm and it has the worlds longest hood but it is a lot lighter and easier on arms.
10-14-2008, 10:23 PM   #58
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OK ... I have seen all the great images in this thread.
BUT .. there is one shot missing ... and that's what the entire rig looks like.

I wanna see a shot or 2 or the actual lens mounted on the camera ... if that's possible.

I know Jay has 2 bodies as well ... :P
Now I am just asking too much.
10-14-2008, 11:26 PM - 1 Like   #59
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mechan1k Quote
OK ... I have seen all the great images in this thread.
BUT .. there is one shot missing ... and that's what the entire rig looks like.

I wanna see a shot or 2 or the actual lens mounted on the camera ... if that's possible.

I know Jay has 2 bodies as well ... :P
Now I am just asking too much.

I did promise that, didn't I?

Here are some shots showing relative sizes, using te FA 77ltd, Tammy 28-75, and
DA 50-135:

On K20D + grip, hoods reversed: 28-75, 50-135, 70-200:




In cases - the Tammy case is huge:









70-200, 50-135 with hoods on:





10-14-2008, 11:35 PM   #60
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Damn ... makes the 50-135 look like a toy ... kinda.
That is a beast of a lens ... but I reckon it'd still be very versatile.
I do like shooting the mid-to-longer focal lengths.

I guess when getting used to it ... it'd wouldn't be too much of a hassle shooting with it.

A gym membership initially might be a necessity.

God it looks pretty decent when mounted on the body though ... wonder if they will produce a "white elephant" version????
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