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06-23-2009, 09:41 PM   #46
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If you are ok with manual focus, pick up a takumar 200mm f/4 for next to nothing just to see if you like the length. I paid $4 dollars for mine at goodwill and it is amazingly sharp fully open.

06-24-2009, 06:26 AM   #47
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QuoteOriginally posted by bwield Quote
And I suppose on that the da* 200mm has some good competition in the Sigma 180 3.5 Macro which by all accounts is a good performer as well.
Having owned the Sigma 180mm Macro...I liked it just OK as a tele. As a macro it was amazing but as a tele it never was a fav for me.
06-24-2009, 06:52 AM   #48
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Would Love a DA 200mm f2.8 but ..

I have a FA 200mm f2.8 :-0


wll
06-24-2009, 09:43 AM   #49
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LBA is raising its ugly head again. Sigh. I just bought the DA*300 f/4 so the 200 will have to wait awhile.

06-24-2009, 10:18 AM   #50
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Wow, nice shots posted in this thread. I have DA* 200mm and don't use it much right now. However, when I was doing more indoor concert/practice shots, F2.8 was a must. When I was in Canon mount, I even have the 135mm F2.

There is no question about it, DA* 200mm is a sharp fast and relatively small lens. You can always fault a prime as not being versatile enough though. My experience is that when you really need F2.8, you probably don't really need a zoom. The problem with a 70-200mm F2.8 is normally 1. it's huge; and 2. it's not so fast at wide end at all.

And agree on the teleconverter part, the pentax 1.7x is my next gear to aquire.
06-24-2009, 12:06 PM   #51
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QuoteOriginally posted by pdxbmw Quote
If you are ok with manual focus, pick up a takumar 200mm f/4 for next to nothing just to see if you like the length. I paid $4 dollars for mine at goodwill and it is amazingly sharp fully open.


Agreed, here's a shot from the S-M-C Takumar 200 f/4:



06-24-2009, 04:55 PM   #52
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Something I noticed last night when looking up the specs on this lens is that the length (~5") is well under (with hood reversed or however it works on a Pentax) the max length limit at more sports venues here in the US. Most, like MLB have a length limit of 6"...heck adding a 1.7 TC would make this a nice lens for heading to a game now and then.

07-01-2009, 06:20 AM   #53
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QuoteOriginally posted by brecklundin Quote
Something I noticed last night when looking up the specs on this lens is that the length (~5") is well under (with hood reversed or however it works on a Pentax) the max length limit at more sports venues here in the US. Most, like MLB have a length limit of 6"...heck adding a 1.7 TC would make this a nice lens for heading to a game now and then.
I am a stealth (non-hood) shooter and my DA200mm hood is stored in the box only. Never bother to use it at all. Using the petal shaped hood to me is very threatening to my subject

The minor advantage that comes from the hood is vastly superseded. For minor protection I have a 77mm blue/brown filter at the front with glass taken out.






Daniel

Last edited by danielchtong; 07-01-2009 at 06:31 AM.
07-01-2009, 04:24 PM   #54
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QuoteOriginally posted by danielchtong Quote
I am a stealth (non-hood) shooter and my DA200mm hood is stored in the box only. Never bother to use it at all. Using the petal shaped hood to me is very threatening to my subject

The minor advantage that comes from the hood is vastly superseded. For minor protection I have a 77mm blue/brown filter at the front with glass taken out.

Daniel
I am hood agnostic but when out on hike I tent to leave it on just for added protection for the front element. I mentioned reversing the hood in my post because it's important that you reverse or do not even mount it when entering a sports venue here in the US as the folks who check the size of the lens look only at the total length at the moment they see it. Some do not even understand the hood is really not part of the lens once they see it mounted. So, to save the headache, best to just reverse it and if you use it, add it on once inside...though I know folks who have had ushers ask them to remove the hood or even try and tell them the lens is too long. That part I understand for a safety as well as other licensing issues. Not like on can take a big lens into a Broadway show and snap off a bunch of shots...same difference.

But, this lens is on my must-have list for sure!!
05-03-2010, 02:05 AM   #55
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Might as well revive this old thread as this happens to my main portrait lens. Took a couple of wide open shots this weekend with DA200mm. Outdoor with fill flash

































Daniel

p.s. 3rd image added in later

Last edited by danielchtong; 05-03-2010 at 02:40 PM.
05-03-2010, 03:01 AM   #56
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This lens is top on my lust-list right now.
05-03-2010, 08:46 AM   #57
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I love it!

Most of the shots I took in Africa were with the DA*200mm f2.8. It stayed on my K20D all of the time. I was shooting either early morning or late afternoon.
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05-03-2010, 09:52 AM   #58
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This DA*200 is amazingly IQ'd!
When I chose the Tamron 70-200/2.8 to "fill the gap" between the DA*16-50 and the DA*300, I was also considering the DA*200.
Those who posted those great photos here, taken with the DA*200 ... congratulations!

JP
05-03-2010, 09:59 AM   #59
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QuoteOriginally posted by danielchtong Quote
I am a stealth (non-hood) shooter and my DA200mm hood is stored in the box only. Never bother to use it at all. Using the petal shaped hood to me is very threatening to my subject

The minor advantage that comes from the hood is vastly superseded. For minor protection I have a 77mm blue/brown filter at the front with glass taken out.

Daniel

I've felt that way about hoods as well. It is one of the reasons I like the DA ltd primes. They are so non-threatening that they aren't even taken seriously by observers or subjects.

Gorgeous shot, by the way.
05-03-2010, 12:13 PM   #60
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QuoteOriginally posted by danielchtong Quote
It is confirmed as it has exactly the FA* optics

Sorry it is in Chinese and I am sure there are numerous comparison with the FA* version


[PENTAX DA?200F2.8???]DA?200F2.8?FA?200F2.8????? - Pentax Fans Club

















Daniel
Daniel;
I thought I read somewhere in an ad or a review when the lens first came out that the rear element had been re-designed to allow the light to hit the sensor perpendicularly on dSLR's, although it does not really show on the diagrams above. Otherwise is it in fact the same optical formula. Not that it really matters, this lens is superb!

Love your work!

xGene
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