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02-27-2015, 09:21 AM - 2 Likes   #31
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I had the DA*300, tried the 60-250 for a while, and now am back to the 300. It is incomparable for birds/wildlife. I take mine kayaking often and it gets splashed a lot.
And since you said Hummingbirds, I can say that it is a wonderful Hummer chaser. With the k3 you can do some insane cropping and still get a nice image.

Small birds:


Big birds:


As for flashes, I dunno. I picked up a Sigma 500 super for 40 bucks and it does ttl. I should probably learn how to use it one of these days.....

Have fun!

02-27-2015, 11:51 AM   #32
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have been using Pentax system for some years, and now it's time to upgrade.
current setup is k-5, 18-135, 55-300, 40/f2.8 ltd and 70/f2.4 ltd.
I initially started planning in upgrading to k-3, but then started thinking if getting better glass would be nicer option.
60-250 f4 seems to be a nice lens, or 300 f4. both are light and provide good quality. then again, is the focusing good enough with k-5?

the new lens lineup is also interesting, espec. 70-200 f2.8 especially with the teleconverter, it would provide some flexibility (low light setup vs. more range). Then again, it's heavier than the oldies. I'm kind of sceptic concerning the focusing performance of k-5. however it's quite good with 18-135, so I would guess it would be reasonable too with f2.8 glass. k-5 is a fine camera expect low light focusing is rather poor.

I'm photographing random stuff in nature, not anything specific (in which I guess zoom is quite convenient). Usually having 1hr walks in nearby forest, and put one lens in camera and then live with it.

maybe get new glass now and then upgrade camera when k3 replacement arrives (if ever...?)
wish there would be a possibility to test 70-200 f2.8 focusing performance with current camera to get more experience in which situations it performs. There's some lens rentals for nikon and canon but not much for pentax, that would surely be best way to test new gear!
03-04-2015, 01:42 PM - 2 Likes   #33
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Went to B&H yesterday and got the K-3 with battery grip and a DA* 300 f/4. Today I was able to go out for some shooting. Overall I'm very impressed. The files are so much sharper and more contrasty than what I ever got with my D7000. The AF performance feels very different from my nikon. Not bad, just has a different feel. In some ways it's definitely better. For example with the D7000, I would never use anything besides single point or nine point AF, anything else wasn't precise enough, whereas with the K-3, even using the full array of points gave me accurate focus where I wanted it. I still need more practice, but I was having trouble tracking some gulls in flight. They weren't being very cooperative in the first place, so I'll have to postpone my judgement for now. Here are two shots from today:



The ergonomics are great, as expected.
03-04-2015, 06:11 PM   #34
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QuoteOriginally posted by Thomas Cantwell Quote
Went to B&H yesterday and got the K-3 with battery grip and a DA* 300 f/4. Today I was able to go out for some shooting. Overall I'm very impressed. The files are so much sharper and more contrasty than what I ever got with my D7000. The AF performance feels very different from my nikon. Not bad, just has a different feel. In some ways it's definitely better. For example with the D7000, I would never use anything besides single point or nine point AF, anything else wasn't precise enough, whereas with the K-3, even using the full array of points gave me accurate focus where I wanted it. I still need more practice, but I was having trouble tracking some gulls in flight. They weren't being very cooperative in the first place, so I'll have to postpone my judgement for now. Here are two shots from today:



The ergonomics are great, as expected.
Congrats! You wil enjoy it.

03-05-2015, 08:56 AM   #35
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QuoteOriginally posted by Thomas Cantwell Quote
Went to B&H yesterday and got the K-3 with battery grip and a DA* 300 f/4. Today I was able to go out for some shooting. Overall I'm very impressed. The files are so much sharper and more contrasty than what I ever got with my D7000. The AF performance feels very different from my nikon. Not bad, just has a different feel. In some ways it's definitely better. For example with the D7000, I would never use anything besides single point or nine point AF, anything else wasn't precise enough, whereas with the K-3, even using the full array of points gave me accurate focus where I wanted it. I still need more practice, but I was having trouble tracking some gulls in flight. They weren't being very cooperative in the first place, so I'll have to postpone my judgement for now. Here are two shots from today:

The ergonomics are great, as expected.
Excellent! Those are some nice shots. I especially like the tight framing around the ring-billed gull. I hope your new gear works out for your trip.
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