[maciekpruski]

Hi everyone!

I need some advice on long telephoto for my Pentax system. I plan on buying the 1.4x teleconverter (the new one) and some telephoto for it.

I will primarily use it for landscape (in places like Moravské Toskánsko, Tuscany and some national parks here in Poland) and some mostly static wildlife.
So no birds-in-flight or sports that would require shooting wide open or super fast autofocus. I suspect I will use it mostly on tripod and/or stopped down aperture.
However, based on my previous experience in these locations, the 33-300 PLM lens would be used in the 200-300 mm range quite often.

So here are my questions:
- given the big difference in price between these lenses (DA 300 vc 55-300 PLM) is it really worth getting the DA 300mm? how big is the difference in sharpness if shooting stopped down to say f 8 or f 9?
- do they work equally well with the 1.4x teleconverter?
- I already have the Tamron 70-200 f 2.8. Should I just buy the teleconverter and stick with the 70-200 plus crop or high-res mode?

I appreciate any opinion on the matter, thanks!

[pepperberry farm]

I would not pair the 55-300 zoom with the tele-converter; you're losing light as it it with the teleconverter and that zoom isn't going to respond well to it...

I always suggest the prime over the zoom at the long end... you already have the 70-200; adding the DA 300 (or FA* or F* 300) will just be the capper...

[swanlefitte]

At f8 the shutter speed and subject motion is the big thing. Thus having f4 means alot.

The 1.4 tc on the 55-300 only helps because around 270mm the lens softens. This means the tc and 214mm edges out the plm alone at 300mm.

The difference between the * and plm is like reading an eye test and easily reading all the lines to just making out the next to bottom line. Thats my analagy from seeing birds plumage from both.

[stihlmania]

The DA 1.4x is not a good match with the 55-300plm. F4 or faster lens is recommended for the tc. Try the Tamron with the converter first if you purchase the tc... I use my DA 1.4x with my Pentax DFA 70-200 f2.8 and it is sharp, 280mm with the tc..

[aaacb]

I have the PLM lens, and at over 200-250, certainly at 300, stopping down helps but not greatly, it's not super sharp. It's fine for my needs and a nice lens especially for the money and size, but wouldn't want to enlarge it with a teleconverter even if the small aperture wasn't an issue.
If I were you, I would get the TC with your current Tamron and decide later if a longer prime is really needed. I find myself using the zoom often with the 55-300 plm lens for landscape, so I'd imagine being fixed at 300mm would require frequent lens switching with the tamron (and add significant bulk to your bag).

[Des]

I have the 55-300 PLM and the FA*300 f4.5. I also have a Kenko 1.5x teleconverter. The TC will work with the PLM lens, but only in optimal conditions. Adding the TC is equivalent to a one-stop loss in aperture, so f5.6 (the maximum aperture on the PLM from about 136mm to 260mm) effectively becomes f8 and f6.3 (the maximum aperture from about 260mm to 300mm) effectively becomes f9. AF is very unreliable at these apertures. And as others have pointed out, those sorts of apertures often mean unacceptable compromises in shutter speed and ISO.

The FA*300 f4.5 works OK with the TC but even then the maximum effective aperture (f6.3) is not ideal for AF speed and accuracy. I expect the slightly faster aperture of the DA*300 f4 would make an appreciable difference, because Pentax cameras seem to focus a lot better with a maximum aperture of f5.6 than a maximum of f6.3.

The other thing is that (at least with a 24mp APS-C body) a TC doesn't always produce better results than cropping. There are some informative threads about this. Start with this one: Understanding folks saying a TC doesn't ad more detail. - PentaxForums.com

The 55-300 PLM provides very good results, even at 300mm, for a consumer zoom. Not only is the resolution very good, but the rendering is also quite pleasant. In fact I like the bokeh from the PLM much more than that for the FA*300. And of course the AF is very fast and quiet.

Have a look at this thread for samples: 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
You will notice that it's not just a wildlife lens - there are many fine landscape images in particular.

As for resolution, if the subject is close enough or large enough to fill most of the frame, and the light is good, the PLM can hold its own against the FA*300. For yard birds, for example, the PLM is a wonderful lens - affordable, light-weight, versatile, WR, nice rendering, very fast and quiet AF with QS,






But when resolution is tested by a subject further away, or where a wider aperture is needed, the zoom is no substitute for a 300mm prime.





(These three are all substantial crops.)


The other option to consider is a long zoom, like the Sigma 50-500 (Bigma) or DFA 150-450. These are much heavier (about 2kg) and, in the case of the DFA, more expensive, but they add more reach and the versatility of a zoom.

[DWS1]

I have the DA 55-300mm plm, DA* 300mm f:4, and the DA 1.4x teleconverter. The image quality and low light performance of the DA* 300mm is far superior to that of the DA 55-300mm at any focal length. The auto focusing and versatility of the DA 55-300mm is far superior to that of DA* 300mm. The only reason to use the teleconverter on either lens is to extend the maximum focal length to 420mm, and because of the loss of 1 stop of light and slight image quality loss I only use it on the DA* 300mm. It would be better to crop the DA 55-300mm image than use the teleconverter on it. I am still undecided whether cropping of the DA* 300mm image is better or worse than using it with the teleconverter

It is basically a trade off between auto focusing speed and versatility, or superior image quality.

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Last edited by DWS1; 04-19-2020 at 06:07 PM.

[ramseybuckeye]

I have both the DA55-00 PLM and DA*300 and like them both. I use the PLM more because of the fast focus and it is still very good. But I think it would lose too much light with the teleconverter (I don't have that). I would love to get the teleconverter for the 300, but I'd also love the 150-450, but out of my budget for now.

[swanlefitte]

The tc and plm focus is great. One thing better than cropping is it is easier to get the focus point exactly where you want it with the extra reach like getting a bird through branches. I didn't bring my tc shooting birds through blowing cat tails that caught the focus.

Like in this photo where at 300 the focus point would be too big to thread the needle.

[tduell]

I normally shoot with the DFA 150-450 and often use the HD DA 1.4x TC, and recently purchased the DA* 300 to help ease the transition back into photography after shoulder surgery.
I've not used the DA* 300 a lot as yet, but have had a couple of sessions using the 1.4x TC, and find the combination to be very good.
To my eye the lens solo and with the 1.4x TC is very sharp even wide open, and suspect the results with the 1.4x TC are as good or better than cropping.
I recall Wpresto posted results of tests some time back that showed that 150-450 + 1.4x TC gave better results than cropping.
I think the DA* 300 would be hard to beat, but I do miss the ability to zoom in or out as required.

Cheers,
Terry

[grispie]

If I were you, I would get the TC with your current Tamron and decide later if a longer prime is really needed.

this, i guess..

the da300 (combined or not with tc) is a very different experience from 55 300. It's simply a different league.
both can be used aside the other. if you can afford it, it is a highly recommended lens.. real pleasure both in use and IQ

Hi everyone!

I need some advice on long telephoto for my Pentax system. I plan on buying the 1.4x teleconverter (the new one) and some telephoto for it.

I will primarily use it for landscape (in places like Moravské Toskánsko, Tuscany and some national parks here in Poland) and some mostly static wildlife.
So no birds-in-flight or sports that would require shooting wide open or super fast autofocus. I suspect I will use it mostly on tripod and/or stopped down aperture.
However, based on my previous experience in these locations, the 33-300 PLM lens would be used in the 200-300 mm range quite often.

So here are my questions:
- given the big difference in price between these lenses (DA 300 vc 55-300 PLM) is it really worth getting the DA 300mm? how big is the difference in sharpness if shooting stopped down to say f 8 or f 9?
- do they work equally well with the 1.4x teleconverter?
- I already have the Tamron 70-200 f 2.8. Should I just buy the teleconverter and stick with the 70-200 plus crop or high-res mode?

I appreciate any opinion on the matter, thanks!

Is the 55-300 PLM compatible with the converter? According to Ricoh's list of compatible lenses it is not. It has to do with either the largest aperture or/and the fact that the PLM uses the electromagnetic aperture. The mount of the rear converter is KAF2, of the PLM it is KAF4.

[swanlefitte]

The plm works with the newest 1.4x tc. In post #9 I posted a picture from the combo.

[normhead]

I would not pair the 55-300 zoom with the tele-converter; you're losing light as it it with the teleconverter and that zoom isn't going to respond well to it...

I always suggest the prime over the zoom at the long end... you already have the 70-200; adding the DA 300 (or FA* or F* 300) will just be the capper...

That reminds me, the last time I tried to use the 1.4 TC with the PLM, I couldn't even get it to focus. I need to get out and futz about a bit to see what's going on. It has worked, sort of, in the past.

[jddwoods]

I have all three items listed in this post, the 55-300 PLM, DA* 300 and the 1.4X Teleconverter. The TC, as others have noted works much better with the DA* than it does with the PLM. I tried it on the PLM zoomed out to 270 -300 mm and found that while the autofocus was not compromised the aperture needed was just too compromised for it to be useful. At 300 mm the maximum aperture PLM with TC would be f8.0 which is wide open. That would require a very steady hand (which I do not have) to be able to shoot without having to crank up the ISO and shutter speed to get good shots. Even with a monopod I could not get good results. With the PLM I could get better results with cropping images from the PLM without the TC, than un-cropped images from the PLM with the TC.
On the other hand using the TC on the DA* 300 did not have exhibit this issue. It becomes a 420 mm f5.6 lens as far as I am aware. When my outing includes telephoto shooting such as birding my long range kit is the PLM for 55-270 range and the DA* with and without the TC for 300 mm and 420 mm shooting.
The two lenses I have that best benefit from using the TC are my DA* 300 and the DFA 100 macro WR. I have also gotten good results with the TC paired with the DA* 200 but for 300 mm prime I just use the DA* 300 solo.