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11-07-2013, 06:33 AM   #16
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'Yes'...'No' and 'Yes' (perhaps)

QuoteOriginally posted by jpzk Quote

Since the K3 allows for "better cropping" while using a given lens,
what would make more sense:

1. Keep the K5 and buy longer glass?
2. Buy the K3 and keep using the DA*300/4 and crop ?
1, Yes (keep K5 for now) and No (buy longer glass)
2. Yes... (eventually, perhaps)

Even the "big boys" (A Adams, W Evans, HCB, etc) cropped to compose. The trick toward making this work is having world class post-processing skills and the tools to execute. What's great about today is all of these pieces are easy to assemble and it's increasingly easier to learn. If you were to dedicate (say) six months to becoming a pp wizard using your K5/DA*300, you'll have a ton of fun, plus discover ways to improve your buying questions/decisions.

My 2-cents and a wish for the best of success... M

11-07-2013, 06:50 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
In my humble experience, the DA*300 is a bajillion times better than the DA*60-250.
Wow - that's the first time I've heard that......I have tested a very good copy of the DA* 300 against my DA* 60-250 and the difference was negligible - to the point that I opted to keep the 60-250 and sell the 300.
11-07-2013, 07:15 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by stormtech Quote
Wow - that's the first time I've heard that......I have tested a very good copy of the DA* 300 against my DA* 60-250 and the difference was negligible - to the point that I opted to keep the 60-250 and sell the 300.
Whew...I was worried I made the wrong choice after considering both at length. Thanks for making me feel better.
11-07-2013, 07:24 AM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by halfspin Quote
Whew...I was worried I made the wrong choice after considering both at length. Thanks for making me feel better.
Yes you did DA*300 f/4 owner

11-07-2013, 07:31 AM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
In my humble experience, the DA*300 is a bajillion times better than the DA*60-250. I can't wait to see how it goes on the K-3, and comparing images cropped to match the same lens on the Q7.
Easy there pardoner… not that you are totally wrong. The 60-250 is an amazing landscape type lens. But because of the internal focusing, for wildlife it's functionally much shorter, compared to my Sigma 70-300. When I point it at the ridges across the river, it behaves like a 250mm lens in magnification. For my porch birds it magnifies like a 135mm lens.

And used in that situation, it's a damn heavy 135 mm lens.

It's still a great lens, just for birding, it's a disappointment. On a birding trip if you can only bring one heavy lens, my 18-135 does as well at fraction the weight. I often bring the 18-135 and the A-400 and leave the 60-250 home. But there have been a few times when I was glad I had it.

The DA 300 doesn't seem to suffer from the same limitation.
11-07-2013, 08:43 AM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
just for birding, it's a disappointment
11-07-2013, 08:48 AM - 1 Like   #22
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^^ what he said.......


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11-07-2013, 08:49 AM   #23
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Those are great shots, however they don't prove that normhead might have lost shots while birding with DA 60-250, that he might have gotten had he used the DA 300 (someone other than normhead proving it is not possible anyway).

Both are valid points though, the 60-250 can be used for birding, but has its issues with focal shortening.
11-07-2013, 08:53 AM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by Andi Lo Quote
Those are great shots, however they don't prove that normhead might have lost shots while birding with DA 60-250, that he might have gotten had he used the DA 300 (not someone other than normhead proving such a thing is possible anyway).

Both are valid points though, the 60-250 can be used for birding, but has its issues with focal shortening.
I've taken nice bird shots with the 135.. I didn't say it couldn't be done, just that the lens isn't suited to it, because of it's internal focusing system. We have some great bird shots taken with a Tamron 90… if the birds are close enough you could probably get great shots with a 50, in fact I recently saw one on the forum. That doesn't mean I'd recommend either as a birding lens.

Shot with my Sigma 70-300, a noticeably soft lens… but the superior magnification of the 70-300 more than makes up for the higher resoluion of the DA* 60-250. Or , to put it another way, even though the 60-250 will give me higher resolution over the frame, the 70-300 gives me higher resolution on the subject, because it's so much bigger at the same distance.


Last edited by normhead; 11-07-2013 at 09:23 AM.
11-07-2013, 09:33 AM   #25
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I've heard it all now......

My apologies to JP for my part in getting your thread off track. I'm out of here now.
11-07-2013, 09:43 AM   #26
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One bonus to getting the K3 is that you have the K5 as a second body. K3+300mm and the K5+wide eliminates the need to change lenses if you want to mix wildlife and landscape photos. Having said that, upgrading to the Sigma 500 fixed focal now will work with your K5 and future bodies, but it's much more expensive.
11-07-2013, 09:44 AM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by stormtech Quote
I've heard it all now......

My apologies to JP for my part in getting your thread off track. I'm out of here now.
If you compared the 300 and found it wasn't much better, that's even worse. I can take your word for that. I wonder if the F 300 4.5 would be better, or maybe the 55-300?

Actually, my reaction to that, was a lot more extreme…

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/144003-lens...h-rip-off.html
11-07-2013, 12:31 PM   #28
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Back to the first question…

A Sigma 70-300 taken on a K-3 -@300mm cropped to K-5 size….


An A-400 image taken on a K-5 (the darn bird took off.)



A k-3 400 copped to K-5 image size…



So, my Sigma 70-300 @ 300 on a K-3 is very similar to the same size image as an A 400 on a K-5…. so you would assume that my A-400 5.6 on a K-3 is similar to a 500 5.6 mm lens on a K-5, only a lot cheaper.

The problem being, once you get the K-3, you're going to think, "well, think what a 500mm lens would look like on a K-3."

Last edited by normhead; 11-07-2013 at 12:43 PM.
11-07-2013, 01:08 PM   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
If you compared the 300 and found it wasn't much better
The DA*300 is an IF lens, but it does not compress range at closer focal lengths as much as a zoom does.
11-07-2013, 01:48 PM   #30
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OK, try again…

Sigma 70-300 @ 300mm uncropped on K-3



A-400 uncropped on K-5


K-3 with Sigma 70-300 cropped to K-5 image size.


While the 300 on the K3 is marginally bigger than the K-3 image, the K-5 and 400 image is still the biggest.

Crop both to 2200 pixels, then export at 1024

K-5 - 400mm


K-3 300mm


Conclusion:
You can't make up the difference between shooting with a 300mm lens and a 400mm lens by shooting with a K-3, maybe a 300 to a 350.

Last edited by normhead; 11-07-2013 at 02:12 PM.
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