[jacamar]

The other thing about goldeneye, as with the two scaup and some other duck,s is getting lucky so the sun shines properly on their head to show off the iridescent colo, rather than just being black. Of those you've posted, two out of three is better than I did last time photographing (lesser?) scaup.

Thanks Walter. It was also nice that the sunlight was fairly hazy and not too harsh. A couple of Greater Scaup from today (I have another shot that shows the wider head, otherwise I have trouble telling Greater from Lesser),

[WPRESTO]

Yes, mallards too. Structural colors, usually blue-purple-green, produced by scattering sunlight by a natural diffraction grating. Grind up the feathers and all you get is black.

---------- Post added 01-21-18 at 04:49 PM ----------

Thanks Walter. It was also nice that the sunlight was fairly hazy and not too harsh. A couple of Greater Scaup from today (I have another shot that shows the wider head, otherwise I have trouble telling Greater from Lesser),

The two are hard to distinguish, hence the question mark I put after "lesser."

I haven't posted, or even looked at these images for a long time as I was disappointed with the poor IQ. I think now they are Greater Scaup with the "more obvious corner" at the back of the head. Shovelers are another duck where capturing the head color requires a bit of luck.

[rgknief60]

Congrats on the screwdrive conversion! That adult eagle is very nice.

Something additional I think I should add, as Des asked me about it. This is the "discuss your long lenses" part!

If you use the 1.4x AF adapter with the DA* 300mm and K-1, there is definite vignetting. The 1.4x allows the lens to focus, instead of the adapter. That's why I used the 1.4x instead of my 1.7x.

It is my understanding that the f series 1.7x adapter does all the focus work, and one needs to manually focus close to your subject in order for it to function properly. I've not tested it
with my DA* 300mm to verify that yet.

Before someone rushes out to get the Pentax DA 1.4x adapter to use with the the DA* 300mm and K-1, please look at the view below to see if this is acceptable to you.

This is the original unprocessed image. You can see thumbnails of some of the images I took, along with the processed thumbnail of the image I posted earlier here.

[boriscleto]

Very nice shots.

Poor Kookaburra is thinking, "What am I doing here? January used to be hot, with an abundance of reptiles to catch."

It was actually a very nice day for January. The temperature was in the 40s F and the sun was out. Last weekend it was 15 F and it snowed...

The only thing keeping it from being really enjoyable was I forgot my monopod. So I had to carry that monster lens (and shoot handheld) with nothing to use for a rest.

[calculator01]

...This is the "discuss your long lenses" part! ...

This answered pretty much every question I ever had.

To me, the TC + DA*300 + K-1 looks awesome. Am I correct in assuming this is in FF mode and not crop mode?

[rgknief60]

This answered pretty much every question I ever had. To me, the TC + DA*300 + K-1 looks awesome. Am I correct in assuming this is in FF mode and not crop mode?

Yes, this is FF mode. While I could put the K-1 into crop mode, I prefer to get as much real estate off the K-1 as possible.
After all, I paid extra for those pixels!

It also gives more flexibility for the crop as I don't always frame well. I thought it best that I post the vignette because not
everyone might realize that the 1.4x AF is a DA, not DFA lens. I'd hate for someone to rush out and purchase the 1.4x
based on my crop without knowing "the rest of the story."

Addendum:

And for the inevitable question for the pixel peepers out there...here is a actual pixel crop. This was handheld, I shake,
so a tripod would probably do a touch better.



DA* 300, 1.4x, K-1 actual pixel crop

[Des]

Very helpful Roger.

There are few AF TC alternatives to the DA 1.4x TC for the DA*300. There are the Kenko/Tamron twins with the pz contacts that should theoretically drive the SDM motor, but users seem to report that AF performance with this combination is somewhere between mediocre and unacceptable. At least they should cover FF anyway. If the lens has been converted to screw-drive AF, as Roger's has, there are other third-party TC options too. Of course none of these is WR, and none will pass the correct effective focal length to the camera for SR or EXIF purposes.

If you want a 300mm lens + TC AF combination that doesn't vignette on the K-1, another route is the F*/FA*300 f4.5 with a decent TC. One-third stop slower (effectively 420mm f6.3 with a 1.4x TC), but the image quality is excellent.

---

Last edited by Des; 01-21-2018 at 10:08 PM.

[rgknief60]

Most of you probably know this: vignetting with the K-1 and DA* 300mm without
a teleconverter is minimal, and easily corrected in post processing.

OOC JPG taken at f4, resized to 1024x683.


Vignetting with K-1, DA* 300mm

[calculator01]

Well, I guess I will be buying a K-1 soon

I have a Takumar 2x TC. I have never tried the DA*300 on it, but it did okay with the 55-300 IIRC. I think it would probably be an injustice to put it on the DA*.

I guess I will be buying the DA 1.4x TC as well

[rgknief60]

I have a Takumar 2x TC. I have never tried the DA*300 on it, but it did okay with the 55-300 IIRC. I think it would probably be an injustice to put it on the DA*.

I must be guilty of grave sacrilege then!

I love to experiment. Don't know how the DA* 300 works, but I'd probably make sure you have it set at F4 before turning off the camera,
and putting the Takumar in the stack, unless it has A contacts. Never seen one or researched one.

This is the K-1, DA* 300mm, a 2x teleconverter (probably Pentax with A contacts), 1.7x AF, and 1.4x AF adapter in a situation where vignette does not matter!
Don't know if I gained a thing, but the experiment was fun.

Pardon the dust spot on the first image. When you start stacking converters, the dust spots really show. That's probably enough on
converters for now. Somebody post some more of the good stuff!

[zzeitg]

Well, I guess I will be buying a K-1 soon

I have a Takumar 2x TC. I have never tried the DA*300 on it, but it did okay with the 55-300 IIRC. I think it would probably be an injustice to put it on the DA*.

I guess I will be buying the DA 1.4x TC as well

Hmmm, seems like I need a new APS-C flagship instead


My K-3 never parts with DA560. K-7 does not offer acceptable high-ISO performance. And K-1 (FF) I don't regard as optimal camera for birding (focusing speed, fps, reach (lower pixel amount in APS-C mode)).

[ventaxian]

Last thursday a severe storm hit the Netherlands. A tree landed in our front garden. The next day, to my surprise, a sparrow hawk landed in the former treetops, right in front of our house. I managed to get some shots through the front window. K-3 en Sigma 300mm are excellent compagnions.

Cheers, Ron

1. Sparrow hawk and remnant of the tree trunk

2. Crop

[zzeitg]

DA560

[Chris Mak]

Hmmm, seems like I need a new APS-C flagship instead


My K-3 never parts with DA560. K-7 does not offer acceptable high-ISO performance. And K-1 (FF) I don't regard as optimal camera for birding (focusing speed, fps, reach (lower pixel amount in APS-C mode)).

I am in the same boat. I am not that happy with my K3 anymore: I had some mirror flappings and lockups, and AF tends to hunt a bit at the last stage. Also, I always have to take good care that I start out with a fully charged battery, otherwise I will get AF inconsistency. Also, I am not that fond of iso above 800. All these little things add up, and make me feel that the DA560 deserves an improved flagship camera. I have two doubts though:
-to what extent will the AF motor in the DA560 limit the possibility of better AF with a new improved body?
-is Ricoh at all planning to release a K3 successor, or is the KP the last station due to collapsing sales?

Chris

[stihlmania]

Right before the big freeze here this buck was resting, worn out from a night defending the herd of females. I rarely see the big males except during the rut, then they are in my front yard!