[jcdoss]

Such an interesting and unique lens, I'm surprised it took me so long to go get one.


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Portrait of Kawai
Pentax K-1 mII, K400-600 Reflex Zoom @600mm, handheld

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Last edited by jcdoss; 03-01-2023 at 10:25 AM.

[luftfluss]

Kawai is beautiful.

What's it like looking through the viewfinder at f/12?

[jcdoss]

It's a little dark, but I don't have a ton of experience with it just yet. I have only used it in bright light.

[jcdoss]

Pentax K-1 mII Limited Silver and K400-600 Reflex Zoom at 400mm

[jcdoss]

Pentax K-1 mII Limited Silver and K400-600 Reflex Zoom at 550mm

[jcdoss]

Pentax K-1 mII and K400-600 Reflex Zoom at 400mm

[jcdoss]

Photos of and by the K 400-600 Reflex Zoom for today.



Pentax K-1 mII Limited Silver and K30f2.8 with 12mm auto-extension tube and Godox TT350 bounced off the ceiling at f5.6, 1/125s, and ISO 100
This is pretty much the closest focus distance, and I think I missed focus just slightly. I find it frustrating sometimes to focus on small details (like the lettering on the rim of the lens here) in the viewfinder, and it's times like these I think about the Nikon Z6ii and an adapter.

also...



Pentax K-1 mII and K400-600 Reflex Zoom at 400mm, f8.0, 1/125s, and ISO 6400
I like the small size, great close focusing ability, and reach of this lens, but I'm not too crazy about the dark viewfinder image. Again thinking about the automatic brightness adjustment I'd get with an EVF-equipped camera like the Z6ii. Oh well, who doesn't want a challenge? This image was the third of three attempts at this shot, so 33% keeper rate in very dark, overcast conditions. Good thing the chicken cooperated with my fiddling around.

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Last edited by jcdoss; 07-23-2023 at 12:05 PM.

[pres589]

Why not shoot in Live View and utilize the back LCD? I do agree about mirrorless bodies having an EVF ramp up brightness to deal with stopped down & dark scenes making focusing easier.

I bet this lens, the 400-600 Reflex, can produce some crazy "soap bubble bokeh" as the kids might say.

[jcdoss]

Why not shoot in Live View and utilize the back LCD? ...

Good idea. The answer is that although I use live view sometimes, usually for high/low angles and waist level shooting, this time it just didn't occur to me. 🙄

[jcdoss]

Two shots from today, both at 600mm. The viewfinder was fairly dark in bright sun, and again I thought of the potential benefits of an EVF but only briefly. I considered using live view, but holding the camera steady at such a long focal length seemed so hopeless that I didn't even try. On a monopod though... like the one I just bought but didn't take with me... maybe that would be different. These two show the difference in quality between shots at close range and at a distance. I'm still not sure whether the problem is my manual focusing skills or if it's just the lens isn't that good at distance. Anyway, here's the shots...


Pentax K-1 mII Limited Silver and K400-600 Reflex Zoom at 600mm, f12, 1/500s, and ISO 800

and much closer to the lens...


Pentax K-1 mII Limited Silver and K400-600 Reflex Zoom at 600mm, f12, 1/1000s, and ISO 3200

[jcdoss]

Pentax K-1 mII and Pentax-K 400-600mm Reflex Zoom at 400mm, f8.0, 1/250s, and ISO 560, in-camera jpg with Gold profile