[Kevin1961]

not trying to hijack the thread. i have read this in the manual and try to make it a practice to turn off SR whenever using a tripod...BUT...what if your tripod is getting jiggled by heavy wind or if the tripod is set up on a vibrating surface (on a stage or other surface where it is subject to some motion)? Is there benefit to switching SR on in these situations? thx

Hi I will let someone who has used pentax for longer than me to answer this one. Nice HDR work on the house shot by the way!!. All the best. Kevin

I really like my 55-300 Zoom. Great value for the money.
Pictures attached.

Bike handlebar
300MM
ISO 100
F5.8
1/750 sec

Oak
210MM
ISO 200
F5.6
1?750 sec

Daughter on Horse
77.5MM
ISO 200
F8
1/1000 sec

[Marc Sabatella]

I did not engage the 2-timer for mirror lockup.

You should when using a tripod, if at all possible. Not overly convenient for portraits, of course, but for landscapes & architectures, absolutely. I suspect that's why one of your shots (70mm, I think?) was noticeably softer than the rest. Oh, and engaging the 2-second timer has the side effect of disabling SR for you. Also, I forget what aperture you were at, but most lenses do better stopped down a bit.

Between all that and what could be some atmospheric effects, I don't doubt that the lens is capable of a bit better.

One thing I did notice that the pentax does seem a little more open to haze.

Haze is haze - no camera can eliminate something that is really there. Ditto with heat effects. If they are there, your camera will record it. If it didn't, it wouldn't be very good! You wouldn't the camera similarly deciding it just didn't like the nose on one of your portrait subejcts similarly deciding not to include it in the picture, either.

I think you just had the misfortune of doing test shots on days when atmospheric effects were especially problematic.

[deadwolfbones]

If you're really dissatisfied with it, there's always the Tamron or Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8's as a potential replacement.

[alohadave]

not trying to hijack the thread. i have read this in the manual and try to make it a practice to turn off SR whenever using a tripod...BUT...what if your tripod is getting jiggled by heavy wind or if the tripod is set up on a vibrating surface (on a stage or other surface where it is subject to some motion)? Is there benefit to switching SR on in these situations? thx

SR is programmed for handholding, so if the tripod is moving similar how your hands would be moving the camera, then conceivably it should help. Most of the time, my tripod oscillates in the wind much differently than I hold it.

[mikeSF]

SR is programmed for handholding, so if the tripod is moving similar how your hands would be moving the camera, then conceivably it should help. Most of the time, my tripod oscillates in the wind much differently than I hold it.

good to know. mahalo, dave.
i've also noticed that if i am aiming upward, there is a point at which the SR mechanism is teetering and in my hands will start rattling like a teacup against a saucer. i assume, at this point it would be unwise to snap the shot and instead recompose to avoid that angle. know anything about this??
thx

[georgecape]

Kevin,
Re our cat, its as is (no crop) at 300mm ISO 400 1/60 and f5.8

And my planespotting is again 300mm ISO 100 1/350 at f5.8 (a little cropping - if I understand cropping correctly I used the cropping tool in LR and took about an inch off the borders - is that correct? = a little cropping?)
George

Attached Images

 

[georgecape]

Mmmmmmm.....now that its posted it doesn't look so good anymore.....I save at 29% quality to lower the Kb's.....but I think this will probably do more harm than good meaning it'll put you off the lens......sorry bout that
George

[asdf]

Mmmmmmm.....now that its posted it doesn't look so good anymore.....I save at 29% quality to lower the Kb's.....but I think this will probably do more harm than good meaning it'll put you off the lens......sorry bout that
George

pentaxforums compresses uploaded images further. I created a flickr account just so that the photos I post on pentaxforums don't look like crap.

[georgecape]

Thks asdf, that makes me feel better.

What I do know is that my planespotting photos are degrees better than those taken with the FA 80-320 and that certainly gives me a very satisfying feeling for swopping it for the DA.
George

[Bramela]

I fully agree with ASDF, attaching images does degrade the quality somewhat. I only download from Flickr now and find the quality of the shot is not compromised.

I own the 55-300 myself and am really happy with the results, considering it is really a budget lens. Here is one of my examples :




Personally, I would not be that satisfied with the photos you took. but I would not jump in and take drastic action immediately.
Give it another go, try all that has been suggested above and draw conclusions after you have really put it to the test.
Trust I have been of some assistance.

[Kevin1961]

I really like my 55-300 Zoom. Great value for the money.
Pictures attached.

Bike handlebar
300MM
ISO 100
F5.8
1/750 sec

Oak
210MM
ISO 200
F5.6
1?750 sec

Daughter on Horse
77.5MM
ISO 200
F8
1/1000 sec

Hola Julianactive. Nice shots. Not sure what part of the world you live in but you don't seem to have much haze etc. In Spain with the heat we have some very bad weather conditions for using the 300mm length and as others have said if you can see it the camera will pick it up. I think I will have to pick some clear days. All the best and thanks for posting your photos. Kevin

[Kevin1961]

You should when using a tripod, if at all possible. Not overly convenient for portraits, of course, but for landscapes & architectures, absolutely. I suspect that's why one of your shots (70mm, I think?) was noticeably softer than the rest. Oh, and engaging the 2-second timer has the side effect of disabling SR for you. Also, I forget what aperture you were at, but most lenses do better stopped down a bit.

Between all that and what could be some atmospheric effects, I don't doubt that the lens is capable of a bit better.



Haze is haze - no camera can eliminate something that is really there. Ditto with heat effects. If they are there, your camera will record it. If it didn't, it wouldn't be very good! You wouldn't the camera similarly deciding it just didn't like the nose on one of your portrait subejcts similarly deciding not to include it in the picture, either.

I think you just had the misfortune of doing test shots on days when atmospheric effects were especially problematic.

The aperture was f6.7 and was is Green mode I thought I would just let the camera do it's own thing!. I am buying this week a remote control to use and this could avoid any shake as well, good idea about the 2nd timer will try that later. I will post this afternoon a couple of shots I tok of planes taking off and you will se what i mean about distortion. I had the camera set on continuous shooting in "H" NOT "L" so would be good to get some feedback from you guys. hahhaha....the Nose on one of the portraits was with the Canon 5D and a canon 24/105 USM lens. What dull images that camera took compared to the Pentax although the G9 is a good little back up camera and has a great Macro. In Southern spain the haze from now untill let's say the end of september is terrible. It is like one of those films you see on the telly where a plane is landing and the guy is recording from the end of the runway and all you can see is the plane because everything else is just a big shimmer 40 to 43 O'c. Nice for the beach NO good fro the camera. All the very best and thanks for your help. Will post some pics from the 55-300 and also a few from the 16-50 this afternoon. Cheers. Kevin

[Kevin1961]

If you're really dissatisfied with it, there's always the Tamron or Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8's as a potential replacement.

Hi. NO I am not that dissatisfied with it, I just think and am learning thanks to the effort and time put in by you and the other forum users that I need to: 1). use this lens more. 2). take into consideration the haze I have here. 3). Understand that the money I paid for it and the results are not that bad. All the best. Kevin

[Kevin1961]

Kevin,
Re our cat, its as is (no crop) at 300mm ISO 400 1/60 and f5.8

And my planespotting is again 300mm ISO 100 1/350 at f5.8 (a little cropping - if I understand cropping correctly I used the cropping tool in LR and took about an inch off the borders - is that correct? = a little cropping?)
George

And my planespotting is again 300mm ISO 100 1/350 at f5.8 (a little cropping - if I understand cropping correctly I used the cropping tool in LR and took about an inch off the borders - is that correct? = a little cropping?)
George[/QUOTE]

Hi George. My cropping is to say the least aggresive. I take the image into CS3 bring it up to 100% full size and crop direct from that, then bring the crop up to 100% sound bad but is shows a good or bad shot!!. I will post some shots I took of some planes the other day in my gallery this afternoon so you can have a look and see what you think. I use Adobe web loader to compress images before loading them into the pentax Gallery that way there should not be to much reduction in quality....I hope. All the best. Kevin