First shots with new DA560. Backyard wildlife, shot through a double-pane insulated window on a dark, rainy day, with ISO cranked up to about 10K and terrible shutter speed. RAW straight out of camera was nearly finished quality; only minor Lightroom touches, mostly for noise reduction due to high ISO and some compositional cropping. I had expected to be manually tweaking the focus a lot, but the 560's AF was quick and right on target every time, even when locking on subjects at different distances. These little birds were moving quickly!

Please Note: these photos appear out of focus because they were taken at very low shutter speeds on a dark, rainy day, and through a double-paned insulated window, which blurred them significantly. I decided to post them because they highlight the lens' lovely color rendering and bokeh. They are not representative of the sharpness of this lens. Be sure to check out some of the great photos this lens has produced over at the 560 lens club: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/282825-da560-lens-club-let...-photos-3.html

My conclusion is that the K3II and 560 play very well together and I think we're all going to get along great. It's a real pleasure shooting with this fine lens. I can't wait to take it outside on a beautiful day in good light and see what it'll do without a window in between my wild buddies and me.

If you click on the photo below it'll take you to my Gallery. Click on the Gallery photo for the uploaded original, under 3MB's for this forum.

[eaglem]

It gets very good Bokeh.........

[slowpez]

Wow. You are a dab hand with that lens. The big surprise for me is the squirrel. I really like everything about it. Those berries. Just a great shot of a commonplace critter.

[Kath]

It gets very good Bokeh.........

It does indeed!

---------- Post added 12-31-15 at 05:04 PM ----------

Wow. You are a dab hand with that lens. The big surprise for me is the squirrel. I really like everything about it. Those berries. Just a great shot of a commonplace critter.

Thanks, Susan. The squirrel was very appreciative of the berries I put out to attract the birds. He devastated the props, but at least he made a good subject!

[bertwert]

Great photos!

It might be just me, but they all look out of focus slightly.

[Wild Mark]

Kath, I recently acquired a very long lens and learnt very quickly that the secret to good images is getting everything perfect ....... margin for error is very small.

These images are as good as it get as per conditions spoken of, if my lens is anything to go by in comparison. It would seem that you pushed everything to the max and the result is definitely nice considering.

My learning with such beasts of lenses was to use TAv mode with Auto ISO. You want a shutter speed at least as fast as the focal length (say 1/500 or 1/640), then select the most open aperture your willing to accept, then let the AUTO ISO determine sensitivity. While noise went up, image sharpness was definitely better.

My next learning path is to deal with image noise ...... DOH

[Kath]

Great photos!

It might be just me, but they all look out of focus slightly.

No, it's not you. It's two things: First, the insulated window I shot these through throws off the focus and makes it soft. It was also quite dark out, so I had to play off the ISO and shutter speed. I shot way slower than I would have liked... normally, I prefer to keep it closer to 1/1000 for quick-moving birds. These were shot in the 1/200 range. I knew the sharpness would suffer, but I wanted to see how the colors and depth would work out. I liked what the lens did with it.


I'm really looking forward to actual days outside, once this horrid rain stops, so I can use the lens under more normal conditions.

---------- Post added 12-31-15 at 05:29 PM ----------

Kath, I recently acquired a very long lens and learnt very quickly that the secret to good images is getting everything perfect ....... margin for error is very small.

These images are as good as it get as per conditions spoken of, if my lens is anything to go by in comparison. It would seem that you pushed everything to the max and the result is definitely nice considering.

My learning with such beasts of lenses was to use TAv mode with Auto ISO. You want a shutter speed at least as fast as the focal length (say 1/500 or 1/640), then select the most open aperture your willing to accept, then let the AUTO ISO determine sensitivity. While noise went up, image sharpness was definitely better.

My next learning path is to deal with image noise ...... DOH

Wild Mark, you read my mind! See my note to Bertwert above. It's supposed to be cold and clear this weekend, so I'm hoping to take the lens to some of my favorite spots and see what I can find in decent light.

[bertwert]

No, it's not you.

Oh, good!

once this horrid rain stops,

The 560 is AW... and your K-3II is as well...

[Kath]

Oh, good!

The 560 is AW... and your K-3II is as well...

Yeah, but I'm not.

[Wild Mark]

Wild Mark, you read my mind!

LOL

I am in the southern hemisphere so my problem is battling UV and heat. Light isn't an issue this time of year! I am looking forward to receiving my second long lens in a month or two after DCShooter waves his magic wand - then I can play some more at the 600mm mark and learn the art. Definitely a hard/ difficult focal length to get repeatedly good results - technique is critical and I don not have it .... yet

[Kerrowdown]

No, it's not you.

That's good, as I wasn't quite sure what to say and it's not very often the old Kerrowdown is stuck or hesitant for words.

Now we expect you to be out the all weathers shooting with this new acquisition, failure to do so and posting the resultant images on the forum, could end up with you in detention after school.

Lang may yer lum reek!

[Kath]

That's good, as I wasn't quite sure what to say and it's not very often the old Kerrowdown is stuck or hesitant for words.

Now we expect you to be out the all weathers shooting with this new acquisition, failure to do so and posting the resultant images on the forum, could end up with you in detention after school.

Lang may yer lum reek!

And a happy new year to you, @Kerrowdown! I'm looking forward to many happy days out with this lens, though I'm not one to enjoy standing out in the rain, All-Weather prepared as I am.

With regard to the focus in these shots, here's an interesting observation I thought I'd pass along...

Hesitantly, I posted this set of photos on Facebook for friends and family the other day. People liked them a lot and said so. Comments voiced were along the lines of, "Love this one! Look at how you can see the feathers. They look so deep. The colors are so rich. Wow! Beautiful!" , etc.

These folks are non-photographers, just regular people experiencing something in a purely sensory way. They have no idea these were shot with a very expensive lens that is expected to excel at sharpness. It made me wonder about my own quest for perfection, clarity, exactness, and our ever-increasing expectations of photography, as photographers, in this digital age.

Can I still appreciate the whole of a photograph? The colors, the composition, the presentation... Or have I lost my naivete to pixel peeping and a constant awareness of the technical nature of a shot? I'm not sure. Maybe you can't unsee things once you become aware of them.

[Kerrowdown]

And a happy new year to you, @Kerrowdown!

Thanks.