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04-27-2021, 04:43 PM - 1 Like   #121
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QuoteOriginally posted by photoptimist Quote
The silver FA 100-300 f/4.7-5.8. Cheap-o plastic mount, loosey-goosey barrel, sloppy focus, wobbly zoom, & everything. Images softer than meringue. Oh, but at least it provides pretty purple fringe coloration if you like that sort of thing.

Maybe I got a defective unit. It did come from a garage sale. Or maybe the cheap build makes it defective by design. LOL!
I have to agree, I got one free and passed it on free fairly quickly!

04-28-2021, 08:46 AM   #122
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My worst Pentax lens was the Pentax HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR. It was really soft at 300mm even at f8, and my bodies refused to focus with it unless it was a bright day.
04-28-2021, 01:39 PM   #123
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QuoteOriginally posted by sbc Quote
I don't have many lenses, but my vote would be the DA 18-55WR. Had 2 of them. The image was very soft at 55mm unless I stopped down to F11.
And I don't mean the normal unsharp kind. This lens produced stacked double image kind of fuzziness. The kind that gives you headache if you stared at it for too long. Complained and exchanged for another copy with the distributor. Same exact problem. Sold it off cheap after a week. (We don't have 30 days return policy here)
Sounds like bad copies. My WR version gives me the same IQ as my original mark II I got with the K200D. I sold that and went WR for my honeymoon in Cambodia and Vietnam - back then if you wanted WR it was the kit lens or a DA*. The IQ isn't great but I usually just stop it down to f/8 in Av mode and use it like that, hoping the light doesn't get too low.

QuoteOriginally posted by jopenmx Quote
No doubt : the FA 28-80 3,5-4,7 PZ was the worst. Shortly after getting my Z-1p , I was curious to learn and test the "Power zoom " function, and in a travel I´ve found out a second hand copy in one photo store. ¡ A cheap and almost mint 28-80 PZ.¡ I didn´t like it anything , and decided that the power zoom had no interest for me. Therefore, after 3-4 months I´ve sold the 28-80 PZ and got a second hand wonderful K 28 f/3,5, discovering new worlds .
I had one of these a few weeks back from a purchase of my second Z1 body. I gave it a brief try and sold it off cheap. Very poor indeed and add to that ugly, fragile and with the clumsy power zoom feature and it's a recipe for disaster.
04-28-2021, 05:42 PM   #124
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mbaez Quote
My worst Pentax lens was the Pentax HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR. It was really soft at 300mm even at f8, and my bodies refused to focus with it unless it was a bright day.
I'd say you had a bad copy, Mbaez, decentred, and not representative of others.

Mine was very serviceable, a very good consumer lens.

04-28-2021, 06:21 PM - 1 Like   #125
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mbaez Quote
My worst Pentax lens was the Pentax HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR. It was really soft at 300mm even at f8, and my bodies refused to focus with it unless it was a bright day.
The performance of my (bought used) copy never ceases to amaze me on a K3. (100 ISO, 1/200 sec @ f/8, 300 mm FL)

04-28-2021, 08:48 PM   #126
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Pentax M 50mm f/2.
04-29-2021, 03:50 PM - 2 Likes   #127
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
I'd say you had a bad copy, Mbaez, decentred, and not representative of others.

Mine was very serviceable, a very good consumer lens.
Maybe, but I'll never know because it was replaced by the PLM that is perfect.

04-29-2021, 04:24 PM - 1 Like   #128
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mbaez Quote
Maybe, but I'll never know because it was replaced by the PLM that is perfect.
Yeah, I've had both!

I think you should test every lens you purchase during their return period (don't discard the packaging!), and only buy from vendors who offer returns.

A focus calibration with your body and a decentreing test should be compulsory when you first take it home, because the longer you go without doing them, the more the seller will argue something must've happened after shipping.

FWIW, other DA55-300 owners rated the lens 8.2 out of 10 on this site.

And this site's official review said:

"Overall, sharpness was very good ... As can be seen from the pictures; images at 55mm, 100mm, and even 200mm are a little soft on the edges when the aperture is wide open. However, as you begin to stop down, they sharpen up nicely. Compare any of these focal lengths and see how the edges and corners sharpen up as the lens is stopped down.

Surprisingly, the images at 300mm, wide open are incredibly sharp. Granted, 300mm wide open is f5.8. But the images are tack sharp, corner to corner. Examine the mortar on the edges in the f5.8 image taken at 300mm. Check out those individual sand grains! WOW!"
04-29-2021, 07:50 PM   #129
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I recall when the PLM first came out there was talk by a few early users of it being softer at 300 than the HD DA 55-300 that preceded it. These days no one seems to say that - I'm unclear that there's much if any difference other than focus speed/accuracy.
04-30-2021, 07:44 AM   #130
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
Another line of thinking: the worst Pentax lens is one that mysteriously doesn't seem to actually exist. That would the M 35mm F1.4:

SMC Pentax-M 35mm F1.4 Reviews - M Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
And now I want to find one.
04-30-2021, 10:01 AM   #131
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mbaez Quote
My worst Pentax lens was the Pentax HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR. It was really soft at 300mm even at f8, and my bodies refused to focus with it unless it was a bright day.
I noticed mine had a lot of quality control issues too, sometimes it would take very sharp photos and other times half the shot was blurry for no reason.
04-30-2021, 11:33 AM - 1 Like   #132
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
I recall when the PLM first came out there was talk by a few early users of it being softer at 300 than the HD DA 55-300 that preceded it. These days no one seems to say that - I'm unclear that there's much if any difference other than focus speed/accuracy.
My PLM did seem "slightly fuzzy" from 270-300mm on both the hacked K-30 and the K-70 - but I think it's a bit better now since I did a Front/Back focus calibration on the K-70 (with the very latest f/w) a couple of days ago.
04-30-2021, 12:18 PM   #133
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I've never been very impressed with my F 100-300mm but under the right circumstances it can deliver the goods.

I have two copies of the F 35-70mm that I got for dirt cheap. My expectations are so low that I have never actually used them.

As for the M 200mm that disappointed the OP, I really like mine.
04-30-2021, 01:06 PM   #134
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wasp Quote
I've never been very impressed with my F 100-300mm but under the right circumstances it can deliver the goods.

I have two copies of the F 35-70mm that I got for dirt cheap. My expectations are so low that I have never actually used them.

As for the M 200mm that disappointed the OP, I really like mine.
The F 35-70 was my main lens on my K1 for a year or so. It’s better than it should be for what I paid for it...

-Eric
04-30-2021, 01:45 PM - 1 Like   #135
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Here is one that I made with that F 100-300mm. Not too bad...


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