[bertwert]

Yet another thread about long lens options... So I've been thinking of upgrading from my A 400/5.6 (or rather complementing it), as while it's an excellent lens there's a few modern amenities that would be nice to have...

I've thought through a couple ideas...

Getting the DA*300 and 1.4x but I'm a tad worried of AF reliability as well as speed/volume (if screw drive converted).
Getting an older Adaptall 300/2.8 and some TCs including the 1.7x for a bit of an AF experience - would be nice to have the wider aperture for close evening birds, but apart from that it shares several similar issues (or should I say qualities?) with the A 400.
A Sigma 300/2.8 and TCs - not very common to see for sale, expensive, reports of slow AF.
The raved about 55-300 PLM - need more speed and reach really.
Bigmas of various sorts - some better than others with regards to quality, and supposedly not sharp on the far end.

I don't think I'm missing any substantial option here?

Anyways, going through all those I think I'll be disappointed over time for some reason or other and wish I'd just gone for the 150-450... It fits the bill as to what I am currently missing, and as far as I can see it's only pros:

- Sharper, especially wide open
- WR
- AF, which I've heard is pretty decent
- Option of 150-449 range as well for landscapes and closer wildlife
- Nice and heavy to build upper body strength when shooting
- Expensive to stop the money burning a hole in my pocket, and therefore stopping the possibility of a house fire catching

Okay, those last two might be cons but you get the point...

Really I'm looking for something that will help with wildlife photography of everything from songbirds on nearby branches to bears strolling through the distant fields - and landscapes are also a favourite of mine, including longer focal length ones. I guess I'm just looking for confirmation that the 150-450 is worth spending 1800 of my hard earned dollars (the Canadian variety) on...

[steephill]

Since I bought mine I have rarely used any other lens in the same focal range including my FA*300f4.5. Just buy it.

[ramseybuckeye]

If you can afford the 150-450 I would say go for it. I have the 55-300PLM, DA*300, and the DA 1.4 converter. The converter and DA*300 are an excellent combo, the converter and PLM are a very good combo (with good light). It is amazing how much closer you can get with 420mm over 300mm, 450 has got to be even better, and with a converter 630 must be really nice. I have seen many very good photos taken with the 150-450, and you can always add the DA converter for even more length, and you can never really have too much. And if there is much IQ drop off with the converter, you would have to try real hard to see it. I would be nice to have that extra length and be able to zoom back too.

[pschlute]

and wish I'd just gone for the 150-450

Just get it

[luftfluss]

Getting an older Adaptall 300/2.8 and some TCs including the 1.7x for a bit of an AF experience - would be nice to have the wider aperture for close evening birds, but apart from that it shares several similar issues (or should I say qualities?) with the A 400.

Speaking from experience, the 300/2.8 + AFA 1.7x would require you to stop down a bit to get really good sharpness, negating any benefit over the DFA 150-450 for shooting evening birds (unless you remove the 1.7x of course). And the semi-AF provided by the 1.7x doesn't work reliably in poor light.

That said, if you go out to shoot larger critters in poor light with the bare 300/2.8, there is a certain liberation when using that lens.

Nice and heavy to build upper body strength when shooting

I guess I'm just looking for confirmation that the 150-450 is worth spending 1800 of my hard earned dollars (the Canadian variety) on...

$1800 CDN seems an excellent price.

A few random thoughts:

- A comparison between the DFA 150-450 and the DA*300/4 + 1.4x TC, seeing if the exposures match at the same settings, would be interesting. I've read several statements from DFA 150-450 owners that the lens really sucks light - big zooms tend to, IME - and I wonder if the T-stop is closer to f/8 than f/5.6.

- Shooting the Tamron SP 400/4 65B really boosted my ability to shoot birds and terrestrial (more often) critters in the evening. F4 is pretty sweet, and then adding a 1.4x TC for 560/5.6 and a 2x TC for 800/8 gives that combo its own kind of versatility. But of course no AF and WR.

- You can get the DFA 150-450 now and in the future acquire the 300/4 for when you need a more agile instrument. Perhaps an updated 300/4 will be out by then.

[aslyfox]

Yet another thread about long lens options... So I've been thinking . . . 150-450... It fits the bill as to what I am currently missing, and as far as I can see it's only pros:. . . Really I'm looking for something that will help with wildlife photography of everything from songbirds on nearby branches to bears strolling through the distant fields - and landscapes are also a favourite of mine, including longer focal length ones. I guess I'm just looking for confirmation that the 150-450 is worth spending 1800 of my hard earned dollars (the Canadian variety) on...

I have no doubt it is worth spending your money

what else are you going to do with your money

another bagpipe or more bagpipe lessons ?

_____________________


please remember that I claim no " photographic expertise " I'm some guy who posts a lot

I first rented a 150-450 from LensRental to see if I wanted one for a planned trip to Tanzania

turns out I liked it and I found a guy who wanted to get rid of an almost new one at a slight discount from retail and I got it

since then, it is my go to lens for wildlife: in Gran Tetons National Park and Yellowstone NP twice, Tanzania twice, Rocky Mountain National Park and other places

yes the 55-300 PLM saved me in Tanzania when the big guy fell apart on the second trip - [ DFA 150-450mm needs repair - Page 4 - PentaxForums.com ]

but clearly the 150-450mm is superior, and the reported cases of its separation like what happened to me when internal screws stripped and pulled loose seem very small

practice hint, try keeping it fully retracted as much as possible especially if standing while bouncing in a moving safari vehicle on a rough road in a place like Tanzania

I think you would like it and it will serve you for a long long time

can you hand hold it

yes

it builds character and muscle if you try

would the use of a tripod/monopod help

without a doubt if you have the time or in the right situation

and if you really want to " reach out and touch someone " add the 1.4 converter

don't forget it is for both ASP-C and full frame Sensor

good luck

[normhead]

I'd say go for the 150-450. If I were your age I would. I've several times considered selling what I have to defray the cost. It's the lens of the future. I wish it had been available when I was buying.

That being said, for a weight sensitive guy like I've become over the last few years, the DA 55-300 PLM is just an amazing lens, and if you get a good copy you can use it with the 1.4 TC.

Much as I love my Tammy 300 2.8, especially with the 1.4 or 1.7 on it, the value of the flexibility of a zoom can never be under-estimated. It can be the difference between a great shot, and nothing. Even the my 60-250 and 1.4 TC, find myself shooting well short of 350mm quite often.

[UncleVanya]

Getting the DA*300 and 1.4x but I'm a tad worried of AF reliability as well as speed/volume (if screw drive converted).

Anyways, going through all those I think I'll be disappointed over time for some reason or other and wish I'd just gone for the 150-450... It fits the bill as to what I am currently missing, and as far as I can see it's only pros:

- Sharper, especially wide open
- WR
- AF, which I've heard is pretty decent
- Option of 150-449 range as well for landscapes and closer wildlife
- Nice and heavy to build upper body strength when shooting
- Expensive to stop the money burning a hole in my pocket, and therefore stopping the possibility of a house fire catching.

Okay, those last two might be cons but you get the point...

Really I'm looking for something that will help with wildlife photography of everything from songbirds on nearby branches to bears strolling through the distant fields - and landscapes are also a favourite of mine, including longer focal length ones. I guess I'm just looking for confirmation that the 150-450 is worth spending 1800 of my hard earned dollars (the Canadian variety) on...

Everything I read about it and see says with your requirements - you should buy that lens.

Minor correction: the da 300 f4 plus the HD DA 1.4x gives 420mm not 450mm so you get 150-419, and 421-450 as additional range not 150-449 - LOL. Which isn’t of any real relevance honestly.

[Serkevan]

I was gonna say that it's the first time I see the 150-450's weight listed as a pro :P

I don't have experience with the lens (or super teles, really, for that matter), but I think it does fit the bill for all your requirements...
Maybe another option - if you can find one - would be the Sigma 100-300 f/4 APO . It looks (from what I've seen) to be a very sharp lens from wide open, with good rendering. With a 1.4xTC you'd get to 420mm f/5.6 which isn't all that far away from the DFA (again, this is me reading spec sheets as I don't own it, always too expensive for the use I'd give it... actual users of the lens please chime in!)

[bertwert]

Lots of positive talk and points towards the 150-450 here... I should just go for it, money is only numbers at the end of the day, right?

- A comparison between the DFA 150-450 and the DA*300/4 + 1.4x TC, seeing if the exposures match at the same settings, would be interesting. I've read several statements from DFA 150-450 owners that the lens really sucks light - big zooms tend to, IME - and I wonder if the T-stop is closer to f/8 than f/5.6.

That's an interesting idea - I think I've read that here too.

I seem to recall our friend @aslyfox; has both... Allen do you think you could take a couple shots, preferable indoors with controlled light levels and shots quickly one after the other: One with the DA*300 and 1.4x at f/5.6 and one with the 150-450 at f/5.6 - with ISO and SS the same... Could tell if there's some truth to that statement, or if it just feels as though it "sucks light"?

[Lowell Goudge]

I’ll add a wrinkle.

I shoot the DA560 but am looking to replace my APO 70-200 F2.8 EX (pre digital coatings version) and 2X TC, I want smaller lighter than the DA560, but retain WR and at the same time get a close focus option.

Note I also shoot the K300/4 and 1.7x AF converter. And have a MF Adaptall 2 200-500/5.6

I don’t see an issue of poor focus in low light with the AFA even with an F4 prime.

What I do notice is that since owning the DA 560 I expect more from my other long options, and the screw drive with the old sigma lens, hunts at the fine focus point on my K1.

For me the 150-450 is in the future, just don’t know when

[Sandy Hancock]

Carpe diem.
That's Latin for "buy the 150-450"
The modern term would be "YOLO"

[Paul the Sunman]

The DFA 150-450 is one of my most used lenses, both on K1 and K3iii. I use it hand-held almost exclusively, and frequently wide open. It really is a beautiful lens for wildlife. If I didn't have it, it would be an immediate purchase. A DFA 150-450 album, mostly with K1 and K3.

[tduell]

I seem to recall our friend @aslyfox; has both... Allen do you think you could take a couple shots, preferable indoors with controlled light levels and shots quickly one after the other: One with the DA*300 and 1.4x at f/5.6 and one with the 150-450 at f/5.6 - with ISO and SS the same... Could tell if there's some truth to that statement, or if it just feels as though it "sucks light"?/

I have both and my subjective opinion is that the DFA 150-450 does 'suck light'.
I'll try to get some comparative shots, as you have suggested, but it may not be immediately...hopefully sometime in the next 24 hrs.
It will be useful to have more than just opinion on this question.

Cheers,
Terry

[Lowell Goudge]

I have both and my subjective opinion is that the DFA 150-450 does 'suck light'.
I'll try to get some comparative shots, as you have suggested, but it may not be immediately...hopefully sometime in the next 24 hrs.
It will be useful to have more than just opinion on this question.

Cheers,
Terry

That’s something I also wonder about, I seem to think I am about 1 stop faster with the DA560 and my sigma 70-200/2.8 and 2x Tc, shooting at equivalent apertures.