Originally posted by barondla Amazing images luftfluss. Lens records impressive sharpness in your hands. See many mentions of this lens being difficult to shoot. Is it more difficult than other large 500mm lenses?
Bought one of these years ago. Don't remember it being anywhere near this quality. Will drag it out and try it on the K-1. Are there different versions of this lens? Mine has an interchangeable back piece that accepts m42 or K mount fittings. What do you feel is the sharpest aperture for this lens? Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks,
barondla
I'm happy to answer questions about the lens - I appreciate that there are folks interested in using it.
Yes, it's a little tough to use. Besides that fact that it is large and heavy, the focus ring does not always have a consistent feel when the lens is tilted up or down - there's something like a little bit of a binding sensation. One reviewer of the K version of the lens thinks the binding sensation is due to using a heavy camera (mine's the K-3 II + grip). And of course since the lens is not Internal Focus the balance shifts while focusing. Of my long teles the A 400/5.6 is my favorite for focus, it's smooth and linear and well-damped, so while focusing isn't fast it is precise. The K 135-600/6.7 has a pretty nice focusing action, too.
Focusing using a large aperture is a little tricky because the depth of field is so thin.
AFAIK the SMC Tak version and K-mount are the same other than the mounting point. The non-SMC Tak still has the same optical construction, just lesser coatings.
I don't recall if I've stopped down further than f/8, but that is definitely the sharpest aperture I've encountered. Each half-stop down from f/4.5 yields a noticeable improvement in sharpness and contrast, and a reduction in chromatic abberation, which can be downright vicious wide open. Wide open, the lens actually captures a decent amount of detail, but it's attenuated by the low contrast and aberrations. I generally prefer to shoot the lens at f/6.7 - f/8.
A few other thoughts: bokeh is generally very nice and smooth, even when the lens is stopped down. However, sometimes the transition areas can be a bit fuzzy - think focusing on a tree branch and there's another branch right behind it...
that branch may have a bit of a fuzzy appearance to it, but branches further back will be rendered smoothly. The lens is very sensitve to light. Harsh, midday sunlight can lead to a pretty ugly aesthetic; modern lenses handle that much better. Keep the light behind you or shoot on a cloudy day or evening and the lens performs OK. Bright white objects can bloom a bit when the sun hits them - another case where modern glass does a better job. I guess what it boils down to is minding your P's and Q's when it comes to lighting... actually everything