[luftfluss]

For people who are convinced they need 150-600 I just tell them to buy one of the cheaper bodies of the brand it goes on. That's way better than waiting for a company like Pentax to tickle your sweet spot, and possibly cheaper.

I've seriously considered this at times, a used Nikon D7500 + used 150-600 is around $1500 USD. A dedicated wildlife setup, use the Pentax gear for everything else.

[normhead]

Nikon has been producing a 55-300 for nearly as long as Pentax.

I'mnot completely sure, but I vaguely remember they came out with an 18-135 shortly after Pentax did as well. I wonder if the Nikon is as good as the Pentax 55-300 PLM. The PLM is a major upgrade from those early 55-300s.These are the kinds of questions that never seem to get answered.

---------- Post added 10-04-21 at 12:41 PM ----------

I've seriously considered this at times, a used Nikon D7500 + used 150-600 is around $1500 USD. A dedicated wildlife setup, use the Pentax gear for everything else.

150 to 600's are ƒ/6.3. I often end up shooting ƒ4 on APS-c in low light. I like that flexibility.

[luftfluss]

I'mnot completely sure, but I vaguely remember they came out with an 18-135 shortly after Pentax did as well. I wonder if the Nikon is as good as the Pentax 55-300 PLM. The PLM is a major upgrade from those early 55-300s.These are the kinds of questions that never seem to get answered.

I would guess not as good as the PLM, just because the Nikon 55-300 was considered to be OK but nothing more, and noted for slow AF.

I did own the PLM for a few weeks and while the output was OK, I just couldn't get along with how it handled.

Most of us don't compare similar lenses across platforms all that often, I think it opens of a can of worms regarding objectivity and measurebating and stuff.

150 to 600's are ƒ/6.3. I often end up shooting ƒ4 on APS-c in low light. I like that flexibility.

Yep, I'm used to 400mm f/4, and it's nice. But I also think it's a bit of vanity on my part, because modern cameras are pretty good at high ISO and noise reduction software works pretty well, too. But I like saying "400mm f/4"

[Des]

Most of us don't compare similar lenses across platforms all that often

Quite true, and it's a pity. I find it interesting to hear balanced and intelligent reflections from good photographers who have done so, like LeRolls or Riseform.

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Last edited by Des; 10-05-2021 at 02:42 PM.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

How do you think they stack up against the Nikon lenses, or do you know?

Each lens has its strengths for the 24 .14 sigma is nice for landscape and edge sharpness while the Nikon is much nice for everything else

---------- Post added 10-04-2021 at 07:37 PM ----------

Yep, I'm used to 400mm f/4, and it's nice. But I also think it's a bit of vanity on my part, because modern cameras are pretty good at high ISO and noise reduction software works pretty well, too.

The sport for me really shines on FF it gives me a 100-400 apsc ƒ 3.3 - 4.2
When compared to the sigma 300 2.8 on a cropped the 150-600 sport was around a 1 of a stop slower with the same angle of view, was it a deal breaker , no as for a lot of what I shot with the 300 2.8 was mostly around f 3.2 -4

[crobncarol]

Wow.. why the rantings ? I have 3 Pentax DSLR lenses and 3 vintage Pentax lenses for my old K1000. I got the bug to go with a lens with more reach when I bought a vintage 500mm mirror lens and started to experiment with my old K-x taking shots of the moon. I was hoping to find a lens that I can take shots of the moon, jupiter, saturn, birds, airplanes in flight, and fast enough to take shots of the r/c aircraft flying at my clubs airfield. I guess I can manually focus and use the green button for metering... and wait until the aircraft is performing a stunt and take the shot. A newer DSLR lens that I can use in Program mode would be a good to have. I started this thread because I of the limited choice of lenses. I take photos as a hobby, not a business. The current Pentax line of Telephoto lenses is too expensive. $4k for a 560mm lens! Another lens that would get the job done is Pentax F FA 150-450mm but it sells for $2k. That's why I bought an old 500mm mirror lens. It has a very narrow depth of field and a limited life because I see some fungus inside it. So I'm looking for a telephoto or prime DSLR lens with reach.

I may be forced to go old school and but an Orion Apex 90mm scope, attach it to the camera via a T adapter and call it a day.

I was looking to see if there a DSLR lens available 200-600mm @ F6 - F12 < $500.00

with old mirror or other pentax lenses i've often seen examples with fungus, I usually buy interesting examples because with white vinegar and ethanol mix I can remove fungus and get good results (plenty of instruction via the internet).....especially with the real oldies!!! I find it great fun, I use ks1 k30 and the old kx for digital & ME-F & ricoh xrx for film all with great results.....I stay away from the expensive stuff (it'd take the fun away for me)

[steve bastiman]

I use both Panasonic m43rds and Pentax - recently I've begun to invest in Laowa manul lenses as they are operationally the same for both formats and although there is not a terrific range (5 lenses) they are generally fast and rectilinear.

mpb have quite a few lenses from sigma and tamron, including a personal favourite the f1.4 50mm. I appreciate that's not what tou're looking for so in m43rds Panasonic lens range includes 50-200 (app £1k), 100-300 (app £500) and 100-400 (app £1K) and you really need a Panasonic G9 (app £ 850) to bring out the best in them. NB double the ranges for 'equivalence'.

[Mark Ransom]

If that's the case then the best solution for the third party lens makers is to create a new generation of Adaptall lenses.

The market for Adaptall lenses is probably 1/1000 of the market for K-mount. If the chances of getting new K-mount lenses is zero, the chances of getting Adaptall lenses is even lower.

About half my lenses are from Tamron and Sigma. If that wasn't enough to convince them to keep making more, there's not much more I can do.

[blankmampf]

Allow me to chime in as a user who's gotten into DSLR photography with a Pentax this year and also was looking for cheap but good tele options.

The cheapest glass would be vintage and manual, I've had good experiences with older 200mm and 300mm lenses that still held up well to more modern ones when stopped down by one or two stops.
Right now my setup for birding consists of a Tamron 400/4 with 1.4x TC, which I got for 450€, though I have to admit that's a rare find, and a Tamron 500/8 mirror lens which impressed me with its image quality, but needs Live View for accurate focus. A definite upside is that it can be found for 100€ or less if you are patient.

Both are Adaptall-2, and with a Pentax K/A adapter you can use the 400/4 (or any other Tamron A-2 with an aperture) in aperture or shutter priority. With both lenses I can get sharp images handheld at 1/250s reliably.

A budget option with autofocus would be a Tamron or Sigma 70-300mm zoom. I have a very old Sigma 70-300, not even DG era, that has worse image quality than my primes, but I would still consider okay for someone just starting out, and you can get one for less than 100€ when buying used; having the 1:2 macro at 300mm can also be handy for shy insects, making the zoom even more versatile.

[PapyCool]

There is no reason for third party to go on such a narrow market. We all know that.

However, a huge improvement for Pentax would be to add a D-fa 20mm for professionals. This absence of wide-angle for high end FF is very disappointing.
Why should I get an old tired 20mm, or adjust some other brand lens to fit on a K1? This is insane!

If I leave Pentax one day, this will be why.

[Pål Jensen]

There is no reason for third party to go on such a narrow market. We all know that.

However, a huge improvement for Pentax would be to add a D-fa 20mm for professionals. This absence of wide-angle for high end FF is very disappointing.
Why should I get an old tired 20mm, or adjust some other brand lens to fit on a K1? This is insane!

If I leave Pentax one day, this will be why.

Well they are. It is not a 20mm lens but a 21mm....

[PapyCool]

Well they are. It is not a 20mm lens but a 21mm....

There is no D-fa 21 mm.It is a DA, for APSC. It is not compatible with FF

[wadge22]

absence of wide-angle for high end FF

DFA 21 Limited is prominent among the most certain lenses to be released "soon" by Pentax.
Also, they do have a very recent pro-level zoom that covers that. DFA 15-30 2.8.
Additionally, there are third party options out there. From Sigma, from Irix, from Samyang, from Laowa, even rare beauties from Zeiss and from Voigtlander...
It's not entirely the same predicament as the long lenses.

[Pål Jensen]

There is no D-fa 21 mm.It is a DA, for APSC. It is not compatible with FF

You said Pentax should release a 20 mm lens and they will. Its called D-FA 21 Limited and will hopefully be released later this year.
More about it here: D FA 21 Limited is one of the three. - PentaxForums.com

[Owltown]

Hello, Jerry, and welcome! I may be so old that I've got algae growing on my shoes, but ... unless your type of photography demands fast-response autofocus lenses, you cannot fail but to find hundreds of great "legacy" lenses that are manual focus. The PK mount was in its heyday as popular as the M42, and Pentax is the only manufacturer whose flange focal distance allows mounting of M42 lenses to PK bodies (just be sure to acquire a genuine Asahi adapter for that task!) I believe that was part of the design requirement for the original K mount, the K moniker being chosen for its scientific meanings of "constant" or "universal". Asahi made the K mount dimensions open source with the hopes that the industry would happily adopt it. History proved otherwise, but not before a remarkable choice of lenses was manufactured.

Many Pentaxians are landscape / still life photographers at their core. Here, autofocus is next to irrelevant, especially with the focus confirmation offered by the K-1. Unless I'm contracted out to shoot an event that'll involve some action, I never use, nor need, autofocus. And the images you capture with 1960s thru early 1980s glass offer qualities not readily duplicated in any medium-priced AF lens. I suggest you shop the Bay for an Asahi M42/PK adapter and search out some Meyer / Zeiss / Komura / Tokina lenses - plus the great SMC-M and SMC-A glass from Asahi. A small investment is all it takes.