[Ozclick]

Hi guys

First time posting but been absorbing the knowledge in these forums for a while.
I`ve just managed to win the aforementioned lens through ebay.
Not really knowing much about the lens I quickly went through the reviews you guys had left and was convinced I needed it!
My only long lens is a Tamron 28-300 3.5-6.3 not a bad lens but since the FA* are big dollars and hard to come by I thought, why not try a faster prime and see what develops....Pun sort off intended

Chris

[Jake21209]

I have that lens in an M42 mount and love it. Nice piece of glass. Enjoy

[SpecialK]

I bought one from KEH but returned it due to poor performance (red halo and front focusing...) and it took about 270 degrees to fully focus from close to far - much twisting.

Here's a sample of problems...

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/KylePix/Tests/ugly.jpg

Perhaps yours will be better.

[rfortson]

I have one. It's sort of finicky. I can get some great shots, but then others look bad with chromatic abberations. I've taken some of my best shots with it, though. It handles well on the K100D. Some people complain that it's too heavy, but I don't really mind the weight. I also have a problem manually focusing, but that's not the lens' fault.

Don't know what you paid, but I think the lens is one of the rare deals out there given the demand for long, fast(ish) Pentax lenses.

[Ozclick]

I can see it`s about 50-50 when it comes to this lens....all the info I have on it comes down to the same cons. You either get the shot or you get pretty bad CA. I`m willing to learn with this lens and see what I can accomplish.
Being my first Pentax lens (not the last!) I`ll see how it goes.

Still waiting for it to arrive....
Chris

[Lowell Goudge]

Hi guys

First time posting but been absorbing the knowledge in these forums for a while.
I`ve just managed to win the aforementioned lens through ebay.
Not really knowing much about the lens I quickly went through the reviews you guys had left and was convinced I needed it!
My only long lens is a Tamron 28-300 3.5-6.3 not a bad lens but since the FA* are big dollars and hard to come by I thought, why not try a faster prime and see what develops....Pun sort off intended

Chris

I have had one of these since 1991. I bought it used, for a steal.

I use it with my 1.7x autoficus TC as well as with a 2x TC. Most use is with a flash on my *istD using the TTL metering.

Results are mixed. As many have mentioned, you get some of the best shots with it and others are disappointments. What I have found is that with the 1.7x TC the autofocus seems to near focus on distant objects. probably more to do with the precision of the AF TC as opposed to anything else. I think someone else has raised issues about this also

If you check under my name in the photo galery, you will see a home made tripod mount which I use to mount lens plus TC. that is the biggest drawback with the lens, no tripod mount.

[larrycook99]

Just to clarify, is the lens you are talking about the M* or A* or the K?

Also for those who know, aren't the M* and the A* the same except for the A setting?

[Ozclick]

It`s the K.
It`s a manual lens so I`m a bit confused as to how the AF converter can work with it??

[Lowell Goudge]

It`s the K.
It`s a manual lens so I`m a bit confused as to how the AF converter can work with it??

I have the SMC 300 F4.0 lens. Strictly K mount, no automatic apature.

Although the manuals all say the 1.7x AF adaptor can only work on F2.8 and faster it works just fine on F4.0 lenses. I bought the adaptor when I bought my PZ-1 in 1991, and tested it on my 100mm F4 macro and my 70-210 f3.5 vivitar before buying it.

When I bought the 300mmF4.0 I again checked to make sure the AF worked on my PZ-1.

I have since used this combination on both my *istD and my K10D and it works fine in manual exposure mode. For flash, since there is no apature info, it can only work on my K10D with the AF540FGZ in the "auto" mode using the sensor in the flash. On the *istD it works with the TTL flash metering using either the AF540 FGZ or the AF500 FTZ flash.

The only thing the lens cannot do with the autofocus adaptor is work in auto exposure modes due to lack of apature information.

With the AF adaptor it works out to something like an F6.7 500 mm autofocus lens.

[NaClH2O]

I like mine. Like all long telephoto's it's a bit hard to focus, but I find it easier to focus than the DA 50-200. I have not found it any more prone to CA or PF than any other long tele, actually better than my Sigma 75-300. I would say it's biggest negative is no tripod mount. But you can buy a universal telephoto mount at Adorama. At F4 it's fairly fast for a long tele. Here's a shot I took with it this morning:


NaCl(really good "bang for the buck" lens)H2O

[borno]

Nice boat saltwater, I see you put your money in camera gear

[NaClH2O]

Nice boat saltwater, I see you put your money in camera gear

I would NEVER treat a lady that way

NaCl(if you take of your boat, your boat will take care of you)H2O

[borno]

Just kidding LOL , I had a mahogany plywood fireball once and man am I a lousy sailor (I got wet a lot) other than that it was fun, the varnishing I mean

[Ozclick]

I finally got the lens. Bit of a shock when I mounted it on the K10D.
There sure is alot of weight there.
Gave it a good look over and was impressed by the condition, very little marks on it and the glass has just a sprinkling of dust, no fungus or abnormal lifeforms inside
The only letdown is the aperture...when off the camera it`s clean and moves accordingly but once it`s on, the aperture is locked wide open. It goes to wide open even if I have set it before going onto the camera. Looking backwards through the lens nothing moves when the aperture ring is turned. Sometimes moving the aperture lever on the back of the lens, the blades will get stuck in a certain position and takes a couple of more flicks to make them work again.
Is it mechanical or just my inexperience with a full manual lens?

[Lowell Goudge]

with respect to weight and mounting, look under my name in the image galery and you will see a homemade mount which solves the weight issue.

for the apature, a full manual lens will always be wide open on the camera, untill you press the shutter release, then it stops down. Note that the lens will only stop down in manual mode, not in any of the program modes. If you put the camera in program mode, you will get shutter speed set to full apature exposure,

https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/photo-849.html