READ ME! Pentax Tips from the Community (55-300mm Giveaway)

**BigMackCam** · 08-09-2016, 01:25 PM

Originally posted by nanhi

a) the lens extends hell of a lot. And with the hood attached a tripod is a MUST at 300mm, not unless you are a superman and can hold it steady. Use the 2 or 3 second delay.

Are we talking about the same 55-300?!

Seriously, I have the HD version and I'd say it's light-weight (hood installed or otherwise) and easy to shoot hand-held at 300mm so long as you practice good, standard technique and hold, and keep the shutter speed at 1/500s or faster (actually, with SR on you can shoot it at much longer shutter speeds, but 1/500s pretty much guarantees a good shot)...

unixrevolution · 08-09-2016, 01:44 PM

Originally posted by BigMackCam

Are we talking about the same 55-300?!

Seriously, I have the HD version and I'd say it's light-weight (hood installed or otherwise) and easy to shoot hand-held at 300mm so long as you practice good, standard technique and hold, and keep the shutter speed at 1/500s or faster (actually, with SR on you can shoot it at much longer shutter speeds, but 1/500s pretty much guarantees a good shot)...

I shoot a much bigger, MUCH heavier 100-300 f/4 manual focus push-pull zoom handheld, at 300 with no real issues, so I agree, I see no problem shooting the 55-300 handheld.

**AggieDad** · 11-02-2016, 04:08 PM - **3 Likes**

Okay. I just realized that I have posted to a long-completed contest. When you are old and retired you often don't pay much attention to dates - just three days, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So I am late and the party is over. But the tips won't change.

I have read all of the tips and suggestions, and there are so many of them that I can't remember them all. So there may be one or two repeats here.

DO NOT take your camera with you all the time! If you do, you will soon become very lonely. Of course, you can always curl up at night with your 500px account.
The same can be said for the tip about reading your manual in bed!
DIY: Do It Yourself. Make a thing - some piece of gear. It can be a light box, an extension tube, etc. You will have ownership and work hard with it, learning technique. You will also most likely build it at least twice. I built a groundpod using a $9 frying pan and some bits from Lowes rather than buying the $100 plastic one. I find getting low gives me a new perspective with shore birds.
TRY A VEST. Go to Bass Pro Shops (or similar) and buy a vest with lots of pockets (approx. $40). Carry stuff without carrying a bag. And the weight is evenly distributed.
DIGITAL FILM IS CHEAP. While I don't advocate "spray and pray," I do believe in the car dealer who says, "We make it up in volume." So do I. Turn on the Continuous Shooting and take several shots - generally the ones in the middle of the burst are the best.
DO NOT carry a pump spray bottle of DEET near plastic things in your camera bag. Just trust me on this one.

unixrevolution · 11-05-2016, 12:38 PM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by AggieDad

Okay. I just realized that I have posted to a long-completed contest. When you are old and retired you often don't pay much attention to dates - just three days, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So I am late and the party is over. But the tips won't change.

I have read all of the tips and suggestions, and there are so many of them that I can't remember them all. So there may be one or two repeats here.

DO NOT take your camera with you all the time! If you do, you will soon become very lonely. Of course, you can always curl up at night with your 500px account.
The same can be said for the tip about reading your manual in bed!
DIY: Do It Yourself. Make a thing - some piece of gear. It can be a light box, an extension tube, etc. You will have ownership and work hard with it, learning technique. You will also most likely build it at least twice. I built a groundpod using a $9 frying pan and some bits from Lowes rather than buying the $100 plastic one. I find getting low gives me a new perspective with shore birds.
TRY A VEST. Go to Bass Pro Shops (or similar) and buy a vest with lots of pockets (approx. $40). Carry stuff without carrying a bag. And the weight is evenly distributed.
DIGITAL FILM IS CHEAP. While I don't advocate "spray and pray," I do believe in the car dealer who says, "We make it up in volume." So do I. Turn on the Continuous Shooting and take several shots - generally the ones in the middle of the burst are the best.
DO NOT carry a pump spray bottle of DEET near plastic things in your camera bag. Just trust me on this one.

Good tips here, but I disagree strongly with your first one. While you shouldn't perhaps carry your DSLR with you all the time, you should ALWAYS have a camera on you. ALWAYS. Unless prohibited by law. I have my pocket camera with me everywhere, and I would never leave the house without it now. A Cellphone camera is always on you, also; as long as it's decent, that can be your carry-everywhere. My cellphone is decent, but it's not anywhere near as good as my pocket cam, so I carry both all the time.

Mundj · 01-12-2017, 06:28 AM

Get in the habit of preparing your camera for the next photo shoot when putting it away. One suggestion is to clean the lens if needed, change or charge the battery, set the camera to shutter priority, shutter speed to 1/500 sec. , ISO to 1600 and press the Green reset button to return settings to their default values. These settings allow you to guickly capture the next shot when an opportunity presents itself.

fumanchu1 · 01-27-2017, 02:20 PM

Originally posted by Mundj

Get in the habit of preparing your camera for the next photo shoot when putting it away. One suggestion is to clean the lens if needed, change or charge the battery, set the camera to shutter priority, shutter speed to 1/500 sec. , ISO to 1600 and press the Green reset button to return settings to their default values. These settings allow you to guickly capture the next shot when an opportunity presents itself.

I think he meant in the sense that if you take it literally everywhere, the people you are with, if not photographers also, will soon get tired and annoyed with you and your camera (say roadtrip 2hrs away but take like 3.5-4hrs because you kept stopping for half an hour to take landscape photos so everyone is annoyed with you because they dont enjoy photography and they just wait around twiddling their thumbs)... then again, I may be reading way too much into this one

**Des** · 01-27-2017, 03:45 PM

Originally posted by AggieDad

DO NOT carry a pump spray bottle of DEET near plastic things in your camera bag. Just trust me on this one.

Yep, I once wrecked the plastic on some binoculars with DEET on the fingers. And it's horrible stuff anyway.

arkav · 01-29-2017, 03:40 PM

Originally posted by Des

Yep, I once wrecked the plastic on some binoculars with DEET on the fingers. And it's horrible stuff anyway.

I've started using picardin for blackflies/deerflies. Not nearly as nasty. And I treat my cloths with permethrin for ticks. I usually have Deet with me, but I almost never use it.

**Canada_Rockies** · 01-29-2017, 04:07 PM - **1 Like**

I stopped using DEET after it ate part of the dash in our Toyota van.

unixrevolution · 02-06-2017, 06:56 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by fumanchu1

I think he meant in the sense that if you take it literally everywhere, the people you are with, if not photographers also, will soon get tired and annoyed with you and your camera (say roadtrip 2hrs away but take like 3.5-4hrs because you kept stopping for half an hour to take landscape photos so everyone is annoyed with you because they dont enjoy photography and they just wait around twiddling their thumbs)... then again, I may be reading way too much into this one

You are. Though not having to fiddle with it for several minutes when it comes out of the bag to take a photo so you and your group of non-photographers will also be appreciated.

I am a take-a-camera-everywhere photographer, and though I ask to take photos and sometimes even stop to take one, I'm always as quick as I can be and thank them for stopping.

11-02-2016, 04:08 PM - 3 Likes	#768
AggieDad Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Houston, TX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,453	Okay. I just realized that I have posted to a long-completed contest. When you are old and retired you often don't pay much attention to dates - just three days, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So I am late and the party is over. But the tips won't change. I have read all of the tips and suggestions, and there are so many of them that I can't remember them all. So there may be one or two repeats here. DO NOT take your camera with you all the time! If you do, you will soon become very lonely. Of course, you can always curl up at night with your 500px account. The same can be said for the tip about reading your manual in bed! DIY: Do It Yourself. Make a thing - some piece of gear. It can be a light box, an extension tube, etc. You will have ownership and work hard with it, learning technique. You will also most likely build it at least twice. I built a groundpod using a $9 frying pan and some bits from Lowes rather than buying the $100 plastic one. I find getting low gives me a new perspective with shore birds. TRY A VEST. Go to Bass Pro Shops (or similar) and buy a vest with lots of pockets (approx. $40). Carry stuff without carrying a bag. And the weight is evenly distributed. DIGITAL FILM IS CHEAP. While I don't advocate "spray and pray," I do believe in the car dealer who says, "We make it up in volume." So do I. Turn on the Continuous Shooting and take several shots - generally the ones in the middle of the burst are the best. DO NOT carry a pump spray bottle of DEET near plastic things in your camera bag. Just trust me on this one. Last edited by AggieDad; 11-02-2016 at 04:20 PM.

11-05-2016, 12:38 PM - 2 Likes	#769
unixrevolution Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Waldorf, MD Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,861	Originally posted by AggieDad Okay. I just realized that I have posted to a long-completed contest. When you are old and retired you often don't pay much attention to dates - just three days, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So I am late and the party is over. But the tips won't change. I have read all of the tips and suggestions, and there are so many of them that I can't remember them all. So there may be one or two repeats here. DO NOT take your camera with you all the time! If you do, you will soon become very lonely. Of course, you can always curl up at night with your 500px account. The same can be said for the tip about reading your manual in bed! DIY: Do It Yourself. Make a thing - some piece of gear. It can be a light box, an extension tube, etc. You will have ownership and work hard with it, learning technique. You will also most likely build it at least twice. I built a groundpod using a $9 frying pan and some bits from Lowes rather than buying the $100 plastic one. I find getting low gives me a new perspective with shore birds. TRY A VEST. Go to Bass Pro Shops (or similar) and buy a vest with lots of pockets (approx. $40). Carry stuff without carrying a bag. And the weight is evenly distributed. DIGITAL FILM IS CHEAP. While I don't advocate "spray and pray," I do believe in the car dealer who says, "We make it up in volume." So do I. Turn on the Continuous Shooting and take several shots - generally the ones in the middle of the burst are the best. DO NOT carry a pump spray bottle of DEET near plastic things in your camera bag. Just trust me on this one. Good tips here, but I disagree strongly with your first one. While you shouldn't perhaps carry your DSLR with you all the time, you should ALWAYS have a camera on you. ALWAYS. Unless prohibited by law. I have my pocket camera with me everywhere, and I would never leave the house without it now. A Cellphone camera is always on you, also; as long as it's decent, that can be your carry-everywhere. My cellphone is decent, but it's not anywhere near as good as my pocket cam, so I carry both all the time.

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08-09-2016, 01:25 PM	#766
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,671	Originally posted by nanhi a) the lens extends hell of a lot. And with the hood attached a tripod is a MUST at 300mm, not unless you are a superman and can hold it steady. Use the 2 or 3 second delay. Are we talking about the same 55-300?! Seriously, I have the HD version and I'd say it's light-weight (hood installed or otherwise) and easy to shoot hand-held at 300mm so long as you practice good, standard technique and hold, and keep the shutter speed at 1/500s or faster (actually, with SR on you can shoot it at much longer shutter speeds, but 1/500s pretty much guarantees a good shot)...

08-09-2016, 01:44 PM	#767
unixrevolution Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Waldorf, MD Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,861	Originally posted by BigMackCam Are we talking about the same 55-300?! Seriously, I have the HD version and I'd say it's light-weight (hood installed or otherwise) and easy to shoot hand-held at 300mm so long as you practice good, standard technique and hold, and keep the shutter speed at 1/500s or faster (actually, with SR on you can shoot it at much longer shutter speeds, but 1/500s pretty much guarantees a good shot)... I shoot a much bigger, MUCH heavier 100-300 f/4 manual focus push-pull zoom handheld, at 300 with no real issues, so I agree, I see no problem shooting the 55-300 handheld.

01-12-2017, 06:28 AM	#770
Mundj Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Richmond, TX Posts: 76	Get in the habit of preparing your camera for the next photo shoot when putting it away. One suggestion is to clean the lens if needed, change or charge the battery, set the camera to shutter priority, shutter speed to 1/500 sec. , ISO to 1600 and press the Green reset button to return settings to their default values. These settings allow you to guickly capture the next shot when an opportunity presents itself.

01-27-2017, 02:20 PM	#771
fumanchu1 Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Posts: 64	Originally posted by Mundj Get in the habit of preparing your camera for the next photo shoot when putting it away. One suggestion is to clean the lens if needed, change or charge the battery, set the camera to shutter priority, shutter speed to 1/500 sec. , ISO to 1600 and press the Green reset button to return settings to their default values. These settings allow you to guickly capture the next shot when an opportunity presents itself. I think he meant in the sense that if you take it literally everywhere, the people you are with, if not photographers also, will soon get tired and annoyed with you and your camera (say roadtrip 2hrs away but take like 3.5-4hrs because you kept stopping for half an hour to take landscape photos so everyone is annoyed with you because they dont enjoy photography and they just wait around twiddling their thumbs)... then again, I may be reading way too much into this one

01-27-2017, 03:45 PM	#772
Des Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Victoria Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 6,423	Originally posted by AggieDad DO NOT carry a pump spray bottle of DEET near plastic things in your camera bag. Just trust me on this one. Yep, I once wrecked the plastic on some binoculars with DEET on the fingers. And it's horrible stuff anyway.

01-29-2017, 03:40 PM	#773
arkav Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 366	Originally posted by Des Yep, I once wrecked the plastic on some binoculars with DEET on the fingers. And it's horrible stuff anyway. I've started using picardin for blackflies/deerflies. Not nearly as nasty. And I treat my cloths with permethrin for ticks. I usually have Deet with me, but I almost never use it.

01-29-2017, 04:07 PM - 1 Like	#774
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	I stopped using DEET after it ate part of the dash in our Toyota van.

02-06-2017, 06:56 AM - 1 Like	#775
unixrevolution Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Waldorf, MD Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,861	Originally posted by fumanchu1 I think he meant in the sense that if you take it literally everywhere, the people you are with, if not photographers also, will soon get tired and annoyed with you and your camera (say roadtrip 2hrs away but take like 3.5-4hrs because you kept stopping for half an hour to take landscape photos so everyone is annoyed with you because they dont enjoy photography and they just wait around twiddling their thumbs)... then again, I may be reading way too much into this one You are. Though not having to fiddle with it for several minutes when it comes out of the bag to take a photo so you and your group of non-photographers will also be appreciated. I am a take-a-camera-everywhere photographer, and though I ask to take photos and sometimes even stop to take one, I'm always as quick as I can be and thank them for stopping.