Looking for 200-400mm Lens

**87Duckfan** · 02-10-2021, 10:14 PM

I spent some time looking thru all the lens reviews and could not even find a 200-400mm lens. I would like a quality zoom with a little more reach than 300mm if possible.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

TIA!

**tduell** · 02-10-2021, 10:23 PM - **2 Likes**

The DFA 150-450 fits the bill.
Excellent image quality, but not cheap.

Cheers,
Terry

**UncleVanya** · 02-10-2021, 11:08 PM

Is autofocus required? And what is the budget?

https://www.pentaxforums.com/lenssearch/?minfl=132&type=Zoom&inproduction=0

Paul the Sunman · 02-10-2021, 11:25 PM

You may like to leaf through the pages of the DFA 150-450 lens club. It's a brilliant lens. However, it is very expensive. The Sigma 50-500 or 150-500 are also pretty good, if you can find them second hand.

Macario · 02-11-2021, 12:14 AM

if you can find it second hand, the sigma 100-300 F4 is also a good choice, pair it with the sigma 1.4 converter, and you are good to go.

**termy** · 02-11-2021, 12:53 AM

Originally posted by 87Duckfan

I spent some time looking thru all the lens reviews and could not even find a 200-400mm lens. I would like a quality zoom with a little more reach than 300mm if possible.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

TIA!

This is most odd.

There are so many zooms that cover till 400mm (am assuming you are looking at zooms), i am left wondering which section of the lens review you went to and could not find a lens covering the 300mm to 400mm side.

(Unless, you are specifically looking for a 200mm to 400mm zoom?)

Here are some of the (AF) zooms that go at least 400mm that i am aware of (since you indicated wanting more reach than 300mm)
>>

1) Sigma 50-500mm
(There's a couple of versions)

2) Sigma 150-500mm
(Think there's two versions)

3) pentax DFA 150-450mm

4) sigma 135-400mm
(DG and non-DG)

5) Tokina ATX 80-400mm

6) sigma 120-400mm
(There appears to be quite a few versions of this 120-400)

7) pentax 250-600mm

8) sigma 170-500mm
(A few versions as well)

**Lowell Goudge** · 02-11-2021, 04:50 AM

Originally posted by Macario

if you can find it second hand, the sigma 100-300 F4 is also a good choice, pair it with the sigma 1.4 converter, and you are good to go.

In the sigma line up, aside from the 100-300, I believe there is a 120-400/5.6. both these lenses are older lenses and only available used. In addition, if you can find one, the screw drive sigma APO 70-200/2.8 EX (in either DG or non DG version, but avoid the macro version) plus the sigma 2X TC is a very good combo, although now after using mine for 20 years, and also using recently the DA560/5.6, with HSM focusing, I find the precision of the AF of the screw drive lens a little wanting. This is more just my impression having been recently spoiled by newer technology. I now have the same feeling about my old *istD, as I progressed through K10, K7, K5 and now K1 MKII. Everything is relative.

In manual focus, although it is a beast, there is also the tamron 200-500/5.6 but you will be tripod bound

**allanmh** · 02-11-2021, 05:02 AM

How about the 1.4 teleconverter? It'l give you 420mm reach from any Pentax 300mm lens, and the price will be a fraction of the 150 - 450mm

dlhawes · 02-11-2021, 05:43 AM

The one problem with the 150-400 is that the barrel retracts by itself if you point the lens upward. There's no focal-distance locking mechanism. I put a 1/8x3" rubber band on it that I move up and down by hand in order to prevent retraction by gravity. Otherwise, it's a most wonderful lens, and the best image quality of any zoom I've ever seen - and much better than lots of primes.

As to the cost, keep in mind that this isn't gasoline or eggs, something you need to buy repetitively such that you need to keep an eye on the price tag. It's a one-time investment, presumably. Me ol' Dad, raised on depression-food (though he was two or three when the depression began) and diining by kerosene lamp, had the notion that if he needed something, he'd buy the cheapest available product that purported to fill the bill, on the theory that it was "more economical". So he bought cheapo junk that crapped out after a few uses, and he never caught on that the increase in price for a high-quality product was disproportional to the increase in value, and thus represented the truly more economical purchase. The lesson I learned from his experience was this: go for value, not inexpensiveness.

The moral of the story is that you should buy something you're really going to be happy with over time, and not bitching and moaning because you bought something that saved you a few bucks at the expense of having to wrestle with product deficiencies over time. If you truly can't afford it, don't buy at all, and if you need to, save your pennies for the day when you'll have enough to get what will really satisfy your need.

**tduell** · 02-11-2021, 02:25 PM

Originally posted by dlhawes

The one problem with the 150-400 is that the barrel retracts by itself if you point the lens upward.

That problem may be specific to your lens, not sure. I'd be surprised if that is the norm for a new lens.
It isn't an issue I have with mine, so it could be a bit of a variable, and possibly related to how well the internal seals fit.
Some time ago my lens had to be sent off over the sea for the lock switch to be repaired, and when it returned the zoom motion was much more stiff, and the barrel wouldn't retract by itself when pointed upwards. Now that it has had a lot of use since then it is less stiff, but still OK when pointed upwards.

Cheers,
Terry

Paul the Sunman · 02-11-2021, 02:56 PM

My DFA 150-450 also extends under gravity. I think it's common, but not ideal. You can lock it at 150mm for carriage, but unfortunately not at other focal lengths. It's really the only negative I can find with this lens, and it's only a minor annoyance.

automorphism · 02-11-2021, 03:35 PM

The 150-450 really is the best option. I have seen some good shots taken with the 120-400 but I believe the 150-450 is superior (it should be).

tibbitts · 02-11-2021, 04:39 PM

When you express surprise that "not a single" 100-400 is listed, that suggests you may be coming from another platform and have unrealistic expectations for Pentax. It's just a reality that with Pentax you have limited current-product lens options, particularly when you're looking for state-of-the-art quality on digital sensors for longer focal lengths. I don't have a 150-450 (would be nice to have!) but if I bought such a lens it would be for wildlife, and if I wanted to do much in that arena I would at least consider bodies with more capable AF than Pentax and more choices in longer lenses. Of course nobody knows what the K3iii will bring but we can only compare products that are actually available, and you still won't be able to choose from as wide a range of current longer lenses as you can buy for (or adapt to) other platforms.

**Lowell Goudge** · 02-11-2021, 04:50 PM

Originally posted by Paul the Sunman

My DFA 150-450 also extends under gravity. I think it's common, but not ideal. You can lock it at 150mm for carriage, but unfortunately not at other focal lengths. It's really the only negative I can find with this lens, and it's only a minor annoyance.

This is a problem with many lenses that change length as part of the zoom . It was a problem with my vivitar series 1 70-210/3.5 bought in 1981, and a problem with my tamron 28-75/2.8 bought in 2005.

You might wonder what these lenses have in common one being a wide to slight tele, with a rotating zoom ring, the other being a tele zoom with a push pull zoom action. The answer is, the front moving group is extremely heavy due to the relatively fast / large aperture and front elements.

Although not ideal, unless you go for a design that simply does not change its length to focus, or zoom you will likely always have to deal with this, unless the lens has a brake that can be applied anywhere in the focus/zoom range, as apposed to a lock at the minimum length like my tamron.

Of course, designing a lens with a fixed outside dimension, as a zoom, involves bother compromises including increasing the weight, but also perhaps optically as well

automorphism · 02-11-2021, 07:04 PM

Originally posted by Lowell Goudge

This is a problem with many lenses that change length as part of the zoom . It was a problem with my vivitar series 1 70-210/3.5 bought in 1981, and a problem with my tamron 28-75/2.8 bought in 2005.

You might wonder what these lenses have in common one being a wide to slight tele, with a rotating zoom ring, the other being a tele zoom with a push pull zoom action. The answer is, the front moving group is extremely heavy due to the relatively fast / large aperture and front elements.

Although not ideal, unless you go for a design that simply does not change its length to focus, or zoom you will likely always have to deal with this, unless the lens has a brake that can be applied anywhere in the focus/zoom range, as apposed to a lock at the minimum length like my tamron.

For my zoom needs I have the Tamron 150-600 G2. It has a soft lock at any focal length. It can be engaged by a slight push of the focus ring. It is actually quite stiff and the lens just does not move at all with it locked. I wish more lenses had this feature.

02-10-2021, 10:14 PM	#1
87Duckfan Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2020 Photos: Albums Posts: 397	Looking for 200-400mm Lens I spent some time looking thru all the lens reviews and could not even find a 200-400mm lens. I would like a quality zoom with a little more reach than 300mm if possible. Does anyone have a suggestion? TIA!

02-11-2021, 05:02 AM	#8
allanmh Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: København, Danmark Posts: 156	Teleconverter How about the 1.4 teleconverter? It'l give you 420mm reach from any Pentax 300mm lens, and the price will be a fraction of the 150 - 450mm

02-11-2021, 05:43 AM	#9
dlhawes Guest	The one problem with the 150-400 is that the barrel retracts by itself if you point the lens upward. There's no focal-distance locking mechanism. I put a 1/8x3" rubber band on it that I move up and down by hand in order to prevent retraction by gravity. Otherwise, it's a most wonderful lens, and the best image quality of any zoom I've ever seen - and much better than lots of primes. As to the cost, keep in mind that this isn't gasoline or eggs, something you need to buy repetitively such that you need to keep an eye on the price tag. It's a one-time investment, presumably. Me ol' Dad, raised on depression-food (though he was two or three when the depression began) and diining by kerosene lamp, had the notion that if he needed something, he'd buy the cheapest available product that purported to fill the bill, on the theory that it was "more economical". So he bought cheapo junk that crapped out after a few uses, and he never caught on that the increase in price for a high-quality product was disproportional to the increase in value, and thus represented the truly more economical purchase. The lesson I learned from his experience was this: go for value, not inexpensiveness. The moral of the story is that you should buy something you're really going to be happy with over time, and not bitching and moaning because you bought something that saved you a few bucks at the expense of having to wrestle with product deficiencies over time. If you truly can't afford it, don't buy at all, and if you need to, save your pennies for the day when you'll have enough to get what will really satisfy your need. Last edited by dlhawes; 02-11-2021 at 05:50 AM.

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02-10-2021, 10:23 PM - 2 Likes	#2
tduell Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,514	The DFA 150-450 fits the bill. Excellent image quality, but not cheap. Cheers, Terry

02-10-2021, 11:08 PM	#3
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,401	Is autofocus required? And what is the budget? https://www.pentaxforums.com/lenssearch/?minfl=132&type=Zoom&inproduction=0

02-10-2021, 11:25 PM	#4
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,843	You may like to leaf through the pages of the DFA 150-450 lens club. It's a brilliant lens. However, it is very expensive. The Sigma 50-500 or 150-500 are also pretty good, if you can find them second hand.

02-11-2021, 12:14 AM	#5
Macario Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Hoek van Holland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,393	if you can find it second hand, the sigma 100-300 F4 is also a good choice, pair it with the sigma 1.4 converter, and you are good to go.

02-11-2021, 12:53 AM	#6
termy Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 1,154	Originally posted by 87Duckfan I spent some time looking thru all the lens reviews and could not even find a 200-400mm lens. I would like a quality zoom with a little more reach than 300mm if possible. Does anyone have a suggestion? TIA! This is most odd. There are so many zooms that cover till 400mm (am assuming you are looking at zooms), i am left wondering which section of the lens review you went to and could not find a lens covering the 300mm to 400mm side. (Unless, you are specifically looking for a 200mm to 400mm zoom?) Here are some of the (AF) zooms that go at least 400mm that i am aware of (since you indicated wanting more reach than 300mm) >> 1) Sigma 50-500mm (There's a couple of versions) 2) Sigma 150-500mm (Think there's two versions) 3) pentax DFA 150-450mm 4) sigma 135-400mm (DG and non-DG) 5) Tokina ATX 80-400mm 6) sigma 120-400mm (There appears to be quite a few versions of this 120-400) 7) pentax 250-600mm 8) sigma 170-500mm (A few versions as well)

02-11-2021, 04:50 AM	#7
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,886	Originally posted by Macario if you can find it second hand, the sigma 100-300 F4 is also a good choice, pair it with the sigma 1.4 converter, and you are good to go. In the sigma line up, aside from the 100-300, I believe there is a 120-400/5.6. both these lenses are older lenses and only available used. In addition, if you can find one, the screw drive sigma APO 70-200/2.8 EX (in either DG or non DG version, but avoid the macro version) plus the sigma 2X TC is a very good combo, although now after using mine for 20 years, and also using recently the DA560/5.6, with HSM focusing, I find the precision of the AF of the screw drive lens a little wanting. This is more just my impression having been recently spoiled by newer technology. I now have the same feeling about my old *istD, as I progressed through K10, K7, K5 and now K1 MKII. Everything is relative. In manual focus, although it is a beast, there is also the tamron 200-500/5.6 but you will be tripod bound

02-11-2021, 02:25 PM	#10
tduell Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,514	Originally posted by dlhawes The one problem with the 150-400 is that the barrel retracts by itself if you point the lens upward. That problem may be specific to your lens, not sure. I'd be surprised if that is the norm for a new lens. It isn't an issue I have with mine, so it could be a bit of a variable, and possibly related to how well the internal seals fit. Some time ago my lens had to be sent off over the sea for the lock switch to be repaired, and when it returned the zoom motion was much more stiff, and the barrel wouldn't retract by itself when pointed upwards. Now that it has had a lot of use since then it is less stiff, but still OK when pointed upwards. Cheers, Terry

02-11-2021, 02:56 PM	#11
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,843	My DFA 150-450 also extends under gravity. I think it's common, but not ideal. You can lock it at 150mm for carriage, but unfortunately not at other focal lengths. It's really the only negative I can find with this lens, and it's only a minor annoyance.

02-11-2021, 03:35 PM	#12
automorphism Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Ontario, Canada Photos: Albums Posts: 791	The 150-450 really is the best option. I have seen some good shots taken with the 120-400 but I believe the 150-450 is superior (it should be).

02-11-2021, 04:39 PM	#13
tibbitts Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Oklahoma USA Posts: 2,193	When you express surprise that "not a single" 100-400 is listed, that suggests you may be coming from another platform and have unrealistic expectations for Pentax. It's just a reality that with Pentax you have limited current-product lens options, particularly when you're looking for state-of-the-art quality on digital sensors for longer focal lengths. I don't have a 150-450 (would be nice to have!) but if I bought such a lens it would be for wildlife, and if I wanted to do much in that arena I would at least consider bodies with more capable AF than Pentax and more choices in longer lenses. Of course nobody knows what the K3iii will bring but we can only compare products that are actually available, and you still won't be able to choose from as wide a range of current longer lenses as you can buy for (or adapt to) other platforms.

02-11-2021, 04:50 PM	#14
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,886	Originally posted by Paul the Sunman My DFA 150-450 also extends under gravity. I think it's common, but not ideal. You can lock it at 150mm for carriage, but unfortunately not at other focal lengths. It's really the only negative I can find with this lens, and it's only a minor annoyance. This is a problem with many lenses that change length as part of the zoom . It was a problem with my vivitar series 1 70-210/3.5 bought in 1981, and a problem with my tamron 28-75/2.8 bought in 2005. You might wonder what these lenses have in common one being a wide to slight tele, with a rotating zoom ring, the other being a tele zoom with a push pull zoom action. The answer is, the front moving group is extremely heavy due to the relatively fast / large aperture and front elements. Although not ideal, unless you go for a design that simply does not change its length to focus, or zoom you will likely always have to deal with this, unless the lens has a brake that can be applied anywhere in the focus/zoom range, as apposed to a lock at the minimum length like my tamron. Of course, designing a lens with a fixed outside dimension, as a zoom, involves bother compromises including increasing the weight, but also perhaps optically as well

02-11-2021, 07:04 PM	#15
automorphism Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Ontario, Canada Photos: Albums Posts: 791	Originally posted by Lowell Goudge This is a problem with many lenses that change length as part of the zoom . It was a problem with my vivitar series 1 70-210/3.5 bought in 1981, and a problem with my tamron 28-75/2.8 bought in 2005. You might wonder what these lenses have in common one being a wide to slight tele, with a rotating zoom ring, the other being a tele zoom with a push pull zoom action. The answer is, the front moving group is extremely heavy due to the relatively fast / large aperture and front elements. Although not ideal, unless you go for a design that simply does not change its length to focus, or zoom you will likely always have to deal with this, unless the lens has a brake that can be applied anywhere in the focus/zoom range, as apposed to a lock at the minimum length like my tamron. For my zoom needs I have the Tamron 150-600 G2. It has a soft lock at any focal length. It can be engaged by a slight push of the focus ring. It is actually quite stiff and the lens just does not move at all with it locked. I wish more lenses had this feature.