[bdery]

See here for the 150-450mm.

HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

It's a great lens

[TER-OR]

I have both and find them useful for different purposes. The DA*300 is fast and light but of course has a fixed focal length. Image quality is excellent. The DFA 150-450 is big and heavy but has the advantage of a variable focal length. Which is more important for any particular purpose is subjective but I have shot birds with both. If you have some control over the distance between you and the subject then the 300 is much easier to use. But if you are shooting where the distance is constantly changing then the 150-450 is of course better.

I find I tire out when using the 150-450 free hand. On a tripod it is fine.

Image quality I suppose I give the 300 an edge but it is insignificant and perhaps just a figment of the common assumption that primes are better than zooms. In the real world I can tell no difference between them.

Great feedback. Thanks.

Are the fields of view and magnification similar at 300mm for the zoom?

In the field I carry two cameras now, one with a 100mm macro and ring flash, the older K5 gets the DA300. I do agree it's about the limit for carrying around, even on a harness system it's a lot of weight with those two rigs. I'm debating buying the 1.4X TC, though at this point replacing the K5 with a new body gives about the same increase in magnification via better cropping capacity.
I find the DA300 easily usable hand-held. Sometimes I lose warblers in the treetops, though, with the limited FOV.

[Vaskebjorn]

I have been “seeing” these on ebay. There are also a couple even bigger ones on there.
I really like the 600mm f4 thats for sale, you might need to sell a kidney for that though. Unfortunately I have only one that is in a sellable state.

If you are on a budget and can live with manual focus, take a look at a used SMC Pentax A 400mm f/5.6. I have one that I bought new back in the eighties. It has served me well on film and digital bodies.

---------- Post added 11-08-19 at 01:28 PM ----------

Terry,

Weight is a factor in my considerations. As i am also carrying 2 cameras, I’m already at 4 kilo at the moment. If I would change to the 150-450 the weight would increase to 5 (and not evenly divided at that)
I already use two K3’s so no extra pixels to be had.
There seems to be a new body in the works, as most people here probably will no, that might add some extra pixels but most likely empty my wallet. Trading in my two body’s i will not be somewhere near two new ones and i like my K3’s to be honest.

Great feedback. Thanks.

Are the fields of view and magnification similar at 300mm for the zoom?

In the field I carry two cameras now, one with a 100mm macro and ring flash, the older K5 gets the DA300. I do agree it's about the limit for carrying around, even on a harness system it's a lot of weight with those two rigs. I'm debating buying the 1.4X TC, though at this point replacing the K5 with a new body gives about the same increase in magnification via better cropping capacity.
I find the DA300 easily usable hand-held. Sometimes I lose warblers in the treetops, though, with the limited FOV.

[whammerhead]

I must admit that I absolutely adore my DA*300. I think, in the end, you'll have to prise it from my cold dead hands

[TER-OR]

LensRentals.com - Rent a Pentax HD D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW

Well, it's available for rent. It would be interesting to see how it performs, can it replace two discrete lenses?
I use the DA300 near its minimum focus more than I'd expected, particularly for more skittish subjects who won't let me close enough for the FA100.

---------- Post added 11-08-19 at 02:52 PM ----------

LensRentals.com - Rent a Pentax HD D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW

Well, it's available for rent. It would be interesting to see how it performs, can it replace two discrete lenses?
I use the DA300 near its minimum focus more than I'd expected, particularly for more skittish subjects who won't let me close enough for the FA100.

[steephill]

I have used the FA*300 f4.5 for years on my APS-C cameras and missed the reach when I got the K-1 so I got the DFA150-450 to restore the view angle. It is a beast of a lens to hand hold but that is mainly how I use it so far despite now being an OAP. The high ISO performance of the K-1 is a real boon when it comes to attaining higher shutter speeds needed for motor sport.


Quality wise I reckon it is better than the FA* 300 (which is very close to the DA*300) so I am happy to deal with the extra weight and size. The FA*300 now fronts my old K7 where the slight extra aperture is useful given the body's poor higher ISO performance - Winter light in the UK isn't generous at the best of times.

[jatrax]

Are the fields of view and magnification similar at 300mm for the zoom?

I've honestly never checked that.

Crop duster heading right at me with the 150-450, 310mm

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[Vaskebjorn]

Terry,
I Might be inclined in renting one, but I am not in the US. There is not pentax rental in the Netherlands for as far as I know.

LensRentals.com - Rent a Pentax HD D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW

Well, it's available for rent. It would be interesting to see how it performs, can it replace two discrete lenses?
I use the DA300 near its minimum focus more than I'd expected, particularly for more skittish subjects who won't let me close enough for the FA100.

---------- Post added 11-08-19 at 02:52 PM ----------

LensRentals.com - Rent a Pentax HD D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW

Well, it's available for rent. It would be interesting to see how it performs, can it replace two discrete lenses?
I use the DA300 near its minimum focus more than I'd expected, particularly for more skittish subjects who won't let me close enough for the FA100.

[noelpolar]

Generally, there is a major problem getting a 150-450 whilst owning a 300. The 300 will mostly stay at home.

99% of my 150-450 shots are all just hand held.... no issues... even for an old man like me.

[Paul the Sunman]

The DA* 300mm could conceivably be used hand-held; the DFA 150-450mm I would think not unless you're quite strong & steady.

I use the DFA 150-450 almost exclusively hand-held. It is no problem at all. With the K1+DFA 150-450 on a Peak Design or Black Rapid strap, it is easy to carry around and quick to deploy. The image quality is simply stunning. I was only telling my wife this morning, as we walked around spotting birds, that I was so glad I bought this lens.

Some of my shots with it, mostly on the K1 but some on the K3.

Great feedback. Thanks.

Are the fields of view and magnification similar at 300mm for the zoom?

In the field I carry two cameras now, one with a 100mm macro and ring flash, the older K5 gets the DA300. I do agree it's about the limit for carrying around, even on a harness system it's a lot of weight with those two rigs. I'm debating buying the 1.4X TC, though at this point replacing the K5 with a new body gives about the same increase in magnification via better cropping capacity.
I find the DA300 easily usable hand-held. Sometimes I lose warblers in the treetops, though, with the limited FOV.

There is some overlap, but the zoom is a full-frame lens and the prime an APS-C lens. Both usable on an APS-C body; but on a full-frame body in crop mode, the field of view will be the same for both bodies with the prime lens. So, using those advertised values, the zoom gets you 10.7° to 3.6 ° (varying with the focal length), while the prime gets you 5.4 ° to 4.6 ° (depending on the aperture setting). On an FF body, the zoom gets you 16.5° to 5.5 °. Clearly the zoom gets you better flexibility in composition than the prime, particularly on a full-frame camera. That's all without the TC, by the way. I have the zoom, myself, and find it to be one of the best of my lenses - so it's sort of like the old days of computers when all the "mainframes" that were worth anything were sold by IBM, there was a saying among middle-management types that "no one ever got fired for recommending IBM" - when all your options are the best available, you can't be blamed for any failures. I don't have the prime, but I do recommend the zoom, because it's not worse than the prime, could give you better options in taking your shot, and will work on either APS-C and FF cameras.

[pschlute]

There is some overlap, but the zoom is a full-frame lens and the prime an APS-C lens

The DA* 300mm lens is full-frame compatible. Originally built for aps-c, yes but based on a FF design. Pentax are so confident of it's FF capabilities that they even include FF lens correction values for this lens when used with the K1 in addition to the apc-c ones.

The same is true for the DA*200 also.

[Robin]

I have both an F*300mm and a DFA 150-450mm. The 300 is light and easy to carry, but I tend to prefer the 150-450 when out and about. Weight isn't too much of an issue, because I usually use a beanbag rest on the windowsill of my van. For AF speed, the 150-450 definitely wins, but then the 300 is at least 28 years old! Lastly, the zoom is useful, because birds often sit a lot closer to you than the prescribed FOV! The 300 is a faster lens, but with the newer cameras you can up your ISO without losing quality. Here is a recent photo from the 150-450, and a close crop. This kingfisher was only about 15 metres away.

[C_Jones]

Hearing long lens users i think for (at least the regular) birders It is a good option. In my case I would be needing the longer end maybe 5-10 a year. For getting a bal eagle for example.
I normally drag two cameras around. 1 with the 50-135 and 1 with the 300. And strangely enough I find my self using the 300 way more then the 50-135. It is more or less my walk around lens. I know it might sound ridiculous for a lens this size but it renders great images in my opinion. I am not even bothered by the fact that the subject is sometimes to close to the lens to get the full picture, because it’s also great in detail, almost a bit macro.

It almost sounds like I am trying to convince myself in keeping the 300 .

Looks like i might have to spend a couple of braincells on this “problem” to see if I would shell out the 2k for the lens and some money for getting some extra upper body strength.

As I said, I would recommend the 150-450 as long as you are comfortable with purchasing it. The difference in type and category of performance of the 150-450 vastly differs from the 300. The advantages in capability and versatility would be distinct. It would give you the option to shoot in a super telephoto environment, as opposed to the medium telephoto reach of the 300. Not that the 300 is not a well performing lens, but the 150-450 is a tool in a different level.

Good luck and happy shooting!

[Vaskebjorn]

Thanks everybody for your thoughts. It gives me the information to get to a decision and take one of the 3 options

1) keep the 300
2) buy a rear converter, which is the least attractive to me as I do not like changing lenses
3) acquire the 150-450 (which coincidentally picks up nicely where the 50-135 stops) and sell the 300