[Brasi]

Hello,

its been two years since I upgraded from canon 1100 to Pentax K70 for my travel photography and what a ride it was! I started with Sigma 17-50, Pentax nifty fifty and I bought a cheap telephoto DAL 55-300 for 130USD just for trying out telephoto since I never used one before. I love 55-300mm I mostly use it for landscape, architecture and static objects so it doesnt bother me much that its focusing is slow, but I have a lot of bad photos. I am using a long times and it gets better using tripod, but image quality is tying me down, since I often find out back at home at PC.

Question is if I want to upgrade is it worth it in terms of image quality the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR or newer HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE, which is considerably expensive.

Another idea is sell Sigma 17-50 and buy Sigma art 18-35 for pentax and be pentaxian for life as image quality is going to be top APS-C lens performance and Full frame is waste of money for me as hoby photographer or?

I thought about jumping the ship, but those mirrorless dont have the available telephoto lens like pentax does so.

Thank you for your ideas.

[Adam]

Get the 55-300mm PLM, as it will solve your focusing issues once and for all. IMO, it is absolutely worth getting the newest lens. The older WR version is basically the same as what you already have, just with weather sealing and better coating.

[clickclick]

Get the PLM. Watch for a sale if needed. I have both. There's no contest. The PLM's focusing speed is vastly better, and I find the IQ is noticeably better too.

[UncleVanya]

The 18-35 f1.8 is a poor focusing lens by most of the reports by users on this forum. The PLM 55-300 is reportedly one of the quickest and most accurate focusing lenses.

I have the older DA version (non-WR) The only real gain over the DA-L that the non-PLM DA versions would have is the ability to use quickshift. So I personally wouldn't buy any 55-300 other than the Plm version.

[DW58]

I have a K-70 and 55-300 PLM. They make a great combo. Save for the PLM. You won't regret it. Images below slightly cropped.

At 63mm.


At 210mm.

[PKMike]

I had the DAL. Replaced it with WR when it came out. Didn't notice any difference, but it was WR as I wanted. Replaced WR with PLM when it came out for faster focus. The focus is lightening fast , nearly silent. and very accurate. Night and day difference. I was immediately surprised by an improvement in image quality as well. I love this lens. Well worth it.

[Des]

Welcome to PF @Brasi

I love 55-300mm I mostly use it for landscape, architecture and static objects so it doesnt bother me much that its focusing is slow, but I have a lot of bad photos. I am using a long times and it gets better using tripod, but image quality is tying me down, since I often find out back at home at PC.Question is if I want to upgrade is it worth it in terms of image quality the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR or newer HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE, which is considerably expensive.

I used to have the DA-L and I now have the PLM. The PLM does produce more pleasing images. It has better bokeh and I think the rendering is better overall. Although it is still a consumer zoom, many users have got very good landscape images from it. See this thread for examples: HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE - Show us what it can do, what it CAN'T! - PentaxForums.com

The step up from there in zooms is the Pentax DA*60-250 f4 or one of the 70-200 f2.8 zooms. Each of which is significantly larger, heavier and more expensive. Or in primes, the DFA 100mm f2.8, DA*200 f2.8 or DA*300 f4 - excellent lenses but an expensive set.

What is it about the 55-300 that is leaving you dissatisfied? If it is purely about resolution, the issue might not be cured by the PLM - at narrow apertures (e.g. f8-f11) I found there is not much between the DA-L and the PLM in resolution.

Since you are interested in telephoto landscapes, I'd suggest you look at this thread: Post your Telephoto Landscapes! - PentaxForums.com

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Last edited by Des; 09-29-2019 at 03:10 PM.

[Brasi]

No its not the resolution, but I dont know what is problem I am using 1/500 and higher times and if I shoot without tripod I have a LOT of garbage photo, which is problem, when I see once a life scene or scenery. Back at home I find out its blurry like I used time like 1/5 and shaked a hand a lot. I dont know where is problem, if I use tripod there is less these photos, but not absolutely and I cant use tripod everywhere.

[K2 to K50]

Hello,


Question is if I want to upgrade is it worth it in terms of image quality the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR or newer HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE, which is considerably expensive.

Another idea is sell Sigma 17-50 and buy Sigma art 18-35 for pentax and be pentaxian for life as image quality is going to be top APS-C lens performance and Full frame is waste of money for me as hoby photographer or?

I came back to photography only last year, after 36+ yrs away. Had a lot of out-of-focus shots, way above what I used to get. Was with Pentax K50, Pentax 18-55mm ( not too bad ratio of keepers/throw-aways, Sigma 100-300mm (only a 50/50 ratio at best of keepers/throw-aways, and a bunch of legacy Pentax M lenses, again with a poor ratio of keepers shots.

Some of this was re-finding my old skills, learning to use my gear better, etc.

Then in June this year I bought my KP, and the 55-300mm PLM.

Man, what a difference!!!

The 55-300mm PLM's autofocus is fast, quiet, accurate and sharp. Unless you do something really silly like trying to shoot handheld at 1/50 second or slower, this lens is fantastic. I have unintentionally taken some reasonable shots with this lens even at 1/60th hand-held and got away with it sometimes.

Of course, at the 300mm length, you should try to keep your shutter speed to at least 1/300th or better, but with support (eg leaning shoulder or back against a wall, or having a low wall or something to rest your elbows on, etc) but if you are even average steady, this lens is very sharp, and the Pentax shake reduction very forgiving.

Get the 55-300mm PLM, absolutely no reservations on this!!!

[Kozlok]

As to the other question, no don’t sell the 17-50 and buy the 18-35. The IQ of the 17-50 is quite good and more versatile. Only buy the 18-35 if you really need the f1.8 for some reason. The 18-35 is nice, but it’s a lens to add to your kit, not an only lens to have. Even then, I’d suggest the FA31 over the 18-35 unless you can afford both.

The 18-35 focuses mostly poorly. It’s a lens for taking your time, and it can be frustrating to use.


For your blurry shots, post some here on the forums in a separate thread, and the experts around here will gladly help you by identifying the problem. They really are very good at that. If you think it’s shake-related, there is a good article on here about proper technique for handheld shots. Very useful (link below). Also, 300mm focused at infinity is quite hard to handhold in the best of circumstances.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/long-exposure-handhelds/introduction.html

[clickclick]

Some other things to check out is fine focus adjustment on the lens for front and back focus, and also do a series of shots stopping down and see if it improves in the f8-16 range. Use a tripod if you can for this and remote control or self timer, and be sure shake reduction is off if on a tripod. I'd expect this lens to improve a bit for stopping down, and you may have a marginal copy (decentered).

[aslyfox]

these charts might be of interest:

The Pentax Camera Lens Compatibility Chart

Pentax K-Mount Lenses Explained: The differences between various Pentax lens series

the PLM is the best among the Pentax 55-300 versions no doubt

hope for a sale or finding an " experienced " one

be sure to look at the reviews of your camera, your current lenses and those your are looking at buying

look under " cameras " and " lenses " above

[CarlJF]

No its not the resolution, but I dont know what is problem I am using 1/500 and higher times and if I shoot without tripod I have a LOT of garbage photo, which is problem, when I see once a life scene or scenery. Back at home I find out its blurry like I used time like 1/5 and shaked a hand a lot. I dont know where is problem, if I use tripod there is less these photos, but not absolutely and I cant use tripod everywhere.

Could it be that your shots are at high ISO ? To get 1/500 SS, more often not you'll have to use a rather high ISO value, which will make the picture look softer than you're used to. It's the main limitation of this kind of lensens (no matter the manufacturer), they aren't bright enough to allow fast shutter speed when you need it most. So either you get softness from high ISO or you shoot at lower speed and ISO and take the risk of having movement blur.

[Wong]

No its not the resolution, but I dont know what is problem I am using 1/500 and higher times and if I shoot without tripod I have a LOT of garbage photo, which is problem, when I see once a life scene or scenery. Back at home I find out its blurry like I used time like 1/5 and shaked a hand a lot. I dont know where is problem, if I use tripod there is less these photos, but not absolutely and I cant use tripod everywhere.

Since it is not the resolution, and there is not a problem when using a tripod, it may be that your holding skills are out of order. I suggest not to buy other long-range lenses first. I will borrow or rent one to judge whether I have my own holding skills.

[normhead]

Your choices are the 55-300 PLM (less expensive) the DA* 60-250 with possibly the 1.4 TC, (more expensive) or the DFA*70-200 with TC, even more expensive. The 60-250 at ƒ4 will give you twice as fast a shutter speed and reduce your dependance on tripods. The 2.8 even more so. The biggest disadvantaged to the 55-300 PLM is the ƒ6.3 widest aperture at the long end. The advantage is it gets you out shooting for a lot less money. Of the 70-300 and similar lenses out there. The 55-300 PLM is the only one I'd recommend based on my shooting style. It's sharp and fast focussing. The other telephotos I own are too heavy and often end up staying home just because I don't want to carry them.

The biggest advantage to me for the DA 55-300 PLM is the images still hold up, even after getting better lenses. It's crossed some imaginary boundary in IQ, where the images are good, it's only the difficulty in getting the images because of a narrow open aperture value and hence slower shutter speeds that holds it back.