Here are some test shots. These look quite a bit better in high res, but I think that the power of the DA* lenses still shows up Still using my faithful Pentax K100D! (non-super, so no HSM)

I believe all these were taken at F2.8, and were slightly edited for brightness and color in Photoshop Elements.













Comments and/or suggestions welcome!

[roentarre]

Quite nice bokeh - creamy and buttery. I like the shots.

Any backfocusing?

[NaClH2O]

Looks like you got a good one Jon. I certainly can't see any of the de-centering issues others were talking about. How's the focus?

NaCl(still leery of getting this lens)H2O

[selar]

If only my copy would shoot like this at 2.8! Peccavi, I have sinned, to be cursed with a bad copy.

[Ash]

Selar! Not you too.
This is starting to become a sore spot for Pentax.
Has it been addressed yet? Have the Pentax bosses had anything to say about it?
Faaaaar too many duds being reported here, and for a set of glassware that highly esteemed and with the price tag it has, I would have expected better.

But good for you dugrant, I can't see any flaw in your shots here. Congrats.
I too would go for one of these babies if I could be reassured I'll get a good one from B&H the first time... (forget about trying to pick one up locally!)

[Techiechick]

Looks like the lens is working great. That second orchid shot is stunning.

[dugrant153]

Quite nice bokeh - creamy and buttery. I like the shots.

Any backfocusing?

Creamy and buttery... mmmm.... now I want some icecream... lol

Uh... nothing noticeable like the last 3-4 copies I tried out (and subsequently didn't purchase). Those ones horribly backfocused and almost NEVER got the focus properly. This one has been pretty dead on. Note that it's on my K100D, so it's using the screw drive, not the HSM.

But just want to note that my copy is a used copy that was actually recalibrated by Pentax. So far so good. It looks like the recalibration did the trick.

Looks like you got a good one Jon. I certainly can't see any of the de-centering issues others were talking about. How's the focus?

NaCl(still leery of getting this lens)H2O

In terms of focus points, I usually use single spot focusing or manual spot focusing as sometimes the auto focus points are off (I use single spot focus so I aim at the spot I want focused, then shift my camera to what picture I want to take... a strange technique I use!). However, that's only sometimes, and in very complex situations (ex: 45 degree angle shooting some words from a book).

I would love to use the HSM as it's a little bit faster (and amazingly quiet. I make more noise breathing), but the screw drive focus seems to work pretty well too.

But good for you dugrant, I can't see any flaw in your shots here. Congrats.
I too would go for one of these babies if I could be reassured I'll get a good one from B&H the first time... (forget about trying to pick one up locally!)

I'd definitely go the route of trying it out first. I played with this thing for maybe 45 minutes at the store, and have been continuosly putting this lens through the paces to test it in all mannerisms.

With the AF540FGZ, I find this lens to be really really good and sharp.

Looks like the lens is working great. That second orchid shot is stunning.

Thanks My dad wanted some orchid shots. I'd probably go to an aperture of F4 next time as F2.8 is a bit soft (the edges are a little on the creamy side). But then again, the creaminess adds a bit of a 'dreaminess' to the image.