is new DA 55-300 WR PLM full frame compatible ?

trumanusa · 08-22-2016, 10:57 AM

Just wanted to know if new PLM lens will be FF compatible or just crop mode on K-1 . I have read in other threads that the old DA 55-300 was compatible om full frame. I guess the new one also should be... Or it is to early to ask as the lens started shipping from last week.

Adam · 08-22-2016, 11:07 AM - **3 Likes**

It's a crop lens. We'll have FF samples along with other DA lenses in a collective review, coming soon!

**acoufap** · 08-22-2016, 11:13 AM

Originally posted by Adam

It's a crop lens. We'll have FF samples along with other DA lenses in a collective review, coming soon!

I'm interested in how much crop is needed within the FF area depending on FL and if it's optically better than the older versions. Thank you for announcing a soon test!

trumanusa · 08-22-2016, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by Adam

It's a crop lens. We'll have FF samples along with other DA lenses in a collective review, coming soon!

Thanks Adam.

Metsuari · 12-28-2016, 10:57 PM

Originally posted by acoufap

I'm interested in how much crop is needed within the FF area depending on FL and if it's optically better than the older versions. Thank you for announcing a soon test!

Hi, any news on this one? I'm in a bit of a rush to buy... any news or links... would be grateful. :-)

KX5 · 12-29-2016, 02:14 AM

i doubt the new PLM version would be FF compatible. Older version is not.
RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Compatibility of DA Lenses on Full Frame

Sandy Hancock · 12-29-2016, 02:57 AM - **1 Like**

Frankly, I don't understand why you would want use this sort of lens in full frame mode. Embrace the reach advantage that APS-C offers.

Adam · 12-29-2016, 03:12 AM

Originally posted by Metsuari

Hi, any news on this one? I'm in a bit of a rush to buy... any news or links... would be grateful. :-)

Still working on getting the pics up, but the coverage ja definitely APS-C. It covers more of the FF area at the long end than at the wide end.

Metsuari · 12-30-2016, 07:58 AM

Thanks for info. Some more info on https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/334977-new-55-300-a.html
To those who are wondering the usage. The main purpose is/was not to use the lens with K-1. The main purpose was to find small and light zoom lens with good autofocus to shoot flying birds while on hiking&hunting.
Typically I will use this lens with K-50, but wanted to know how much vingetting is with K-1. Good pictures&links on thread linke above. With my bird shooting skills, there is plenty of place for cropping cornes...

Any other lighter, smaller but longer mm lens to recommend? I got some advice to get used FA*300mm4.5?
Any idea or thought will there be update for K-5 for PLM lenses? Or is it technically impossible?
Cheers, and happy new year!

beholder3 · 12-30-2016, 10:42 AM - **1 Like**

Here are full res images on K-1:
Pentax HD DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE | Flickr

I bough this lens specifically for the K-1 as very small, cheap, silent and fast focussing WR travel zoom to 300mm. There simply is no competition product out there.
It also does offer the x0,3 magnfication for semi macro work.

You can get a minimum 24 MPx square at any focal length, so the vignetting is a total non issue. When I grab this lens I do so for tele reach and there I do tend to crop even more than the vignetted part. Never in my life I have used a 300mm lens and put anything important in the image corners.

Metsuari · 01-01-2017, 12:48 AM

Originally posted by beholder3

Here are full res images on K-1:
Pentax HD DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE | Flickr

I bough this lens specifically for the K-1 as very small, cheap, silent and fast focussing WR travel zoom to 300mm. There simply is no competition product out there.
It also does offer the x0,3 magnfication for semi macro work.

You can get a minimum 24 MPx square at any focal length, so the vignetting is a total non issue. When I grab this lens I do so for tele reach and there I do tend to crop even more than the vignetted part. Never in my life I have used a 300mm lens and put anything important in the image corners.

Thanks. This was what I was looking for. Same here. When hiking/hunting, one tends to shoot from the hips i.e. quick action shots. Those events/shoots with out cropping are rare... Happy new year to PentaxForum ppl!

**acoufap** · 01-09-2017, 11:10 AM

Originally posted by Metsuari

Hi, any news on this one? I'm in a bit of a rush to buy... any news or links... would be grateful. :-)

Sorry, I totally missed to answer your question.

Although it's not FF compatible I bought this lens to use it with my K-1. Before I tested the K-1 with the DA15. Even this small image circle lens with it's flare resistence and without lens hood offers some advantages compared to using it with an APS-C camera. A very welcome new use case.

With the DA55-300PLM I did some simple tests concerning FF compatibility and different focal lengths based on dng raw captures. At the end I have to say that this lens is by no means FF compatible. Stopping down aperture shows even more vignetting / restricting image circle.

Really critical FL are 70 up to 120mm. I'd say from ~130 up to 260mm you can handle vignetting in PP to get the full FF sensor area or near the mark. At 300 you have to crop a little bit. If you give up using the lens hood it's getting better.

When I bought the lens, I new I couldn't expect more and I'm really really happy with it. Very good sharpness and IQ in general, silent AF, short distance capability, versatility and lightweight - love it!

I use it a lot in K-1 square or FF mode. Despite of it's restrictions it's no problem for me since I always shoot raw and can crop in PP as I like. You get a lot more as if you'd only use it in APS-C mode or with an APS-C camera! A really big advantage of K-1 (FF) ... IMO, of course other opinions may exist.

Some of my images taken with this lens you can find in the following threads accompanied by some notes.

Opinions on the 55-300 RE...
Post your K-1 pictures!
Just Black and White-ur B/W Monochrome photos here
The Bokeh Club
The 300mm plus lens Club discuss your long lenses.

You can also have a look at my lens dedicated album. Some of the first images show vingnetting at different focal lengths.

mee · 01-31-2017, 07:35 AM

Originally posted by beholder3

Here are full res images on K-1:
Pentax HD DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE | Flickr

I bough this lens specifically for the K-1 as very small, cheap, silent and fast focussing WR travel zoom to 300mm. There simply is no competition product out there.
It also does offer the x0,3 magnfication for semi macro work.

You can get a minimum 24 MPx square at any focal length, so the vignetting is a total non issue. When I grab this lens I do so for tele reach and there I do tend to crop even more than the vignetted part. Never in my life I have used a 300mm lens and put anything important in the image corners.

Nice. It looks like it would still allow higher res images than a K-3 if one manually cropped the vignetted portions of the shot out at most focal lengths.

Thank you for taking the time to test this lens. It was super helpful to me!

Now, does anyone have the HD 55-300 WR and a K-1? I'd be interested in seeing a comparison of focal lengths of it too.

Sandy Hancock · 02-13-2017, 09:45 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by mee

Does anyone have the HD 55-300 WR and a K-1?

I have, and I used the combination quite a bit on a trip to England and Ireland last July. Like the PLM version, it doesn't cover the full frame adequately at any focal length. It gets closer at the long end, but it is a much more useful lens in crop mode.

08-22-2016, 10:57 AM	#1
trumanusa Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 87	is new DA 55-300 WR PLM full frame compatible ? Just wanted to know if new PLM lens will be FF compatible or just crop mode on K-1 . I have read in other threads that the old DA 55-300 was compatible om full frame. I guess the new one also should be... Or it is to early to ask as the lens started shipping from last week.

08-22-2016, 11:07 AM - 3 Likes	#2
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,595	It's a crop lens. We'll have FF samples along with other DA lenses in a collective review, coming soon! Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

12-29-2016, 03:12 AM	#8
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,595	Originally posted by Metsuari Hi, any news on this one? I'm in a bit of a rush to buy... any news or links... would be grateful. :-) Still working on getting the pics up, but the coverage ja definitely APS-C. It covers more of the FF area at the long end than at the wide end. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

01-09-2017, 11:10 AM	#12
acoufap Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Munich, Germany Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,187	Originally posted by Metsuari Hi, any news on this one? I'm in a bit of a rush to buy... any news or links... would be grateful. :-) Sorry, I totally missed to answer your question. Although it's not FF compatible I bought this lens to use it with my K-1. Before I tested the K-1 with the DA15. Even this small image circle lens with it's flare resistence and without lens hood offers some advantages compared to using it with an APS-C camera. A very welcome new use case. With the DA55-300PLM I did some simple tests concerning FF compatibility and different focal lengths based on dng raw captures. At the end I have to say that this lens is by no means FF compatible. Stopping down aperture shows even more vignetting / restricting image circle. Really critical FL are 70 up to 120mm. I'd say from ~130 up to 260mm you can handle vignetting in PP to get the full FF sensor area or near the mark. At 300 you have to crop a little bit. If you give up using the lens hood it's getting better. When I bought the lens, I new I couldn't expect more and I'm really really happy with it. Very good sharpness and IQ in general, silent AF, short distance capability, versatility and lightweight - love it! I use it a lot in K-1 square or FF mode. Despite of it's restrictions it's no problem for me since I always shoot raw and can crop in PP as I like. You get a lot more as if you'd only use it in APS-C mode or with an APS-C camera! A really big advantage of K-1 (FF) ... IMO, of course other opinions may exist. Some of my images taken with this lens you can find in the following threads accompanied by some notes. Opinions on the 55-300 RE... Post your K-1 pictures! Just Black and White-ur B/W Monochrome photos here The Bokeh Club The 300mm plus lens Club discuss your long lenses. You can also have a look at my lens dedicated album. Some of the first images show vingnetting at different focal lengths. Last edited by acoufap; 01-09-2017 at 11:19 AM.

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08-22-2016, 11:13 AM	#3
acoufap Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Munich, Germany Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,187	Originally posted by Adam It's a crop lens. We'll have FF samples along with other DA lenses in a collective review, coming soon! I'm interested in how much crop is needed within the FF area depending on FL and if it's optically better than the older versions. Thank you for announcing a soon test!

08-22-2016, 11:16 AM	#4
trumanusa Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 87 Original Poster	Originally posted by Adam It's a crop lens. We'll have FF samples along with other DA lenses in a collective review, coming soon! Thanks Adam.

12-28-2016, 10:57 PM	#5
Metsuari New Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 3	Originally posted by acoufap I'm interested in how much crop is needed within the FF area depending on FL and if it's optically better than the older versions. Thank you for announcing a soon test! Hi, any news on this one? I'm in a bit of a rush to buy... any news or links... would be grateful. :-)

12-29-2016, 02:14 AM	#6
KX5 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Belgium Posts: 72	i doubt the new PLM version would be FF compatible. Older version is not. RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Compatibility of DA Lenses on Full Frame

12-29-2016, 02:57 AM - 1 Like	#7
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,272	Frankly, I don't understand why you would want use this sort of lens in full frame mode. Embrace the reach advantage that APS-C offers.

12-30-2016, 07:58 AM	#9
Metsuari New Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 3	Thanks for info. Some more info on https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/334977-new-55-300-a.html To those who are wondering the usage. The main purpose is/was not to use the lens with K-1. The main purpose was to find small and light zoom lens with good autofocus to shoot flying birds while on hiking&hunting. Typically I will use this lens with K-50, but wanted to know how much vingetting is with K-1. Good pictures&links on thread linke above. With my bird shooting skills, there is plenty of place for cropping cornes... Any other lighter, smaller but longer mm lens to recommend? I got some advice to get used FA*300mm4.5? Any idea or thought will there be update for K-5 for PLM lenses? Or is it technically impossible? Cheers, and happy new year!

12-30-2016, 10:42 AM - 1 Like	#10
beholder3 Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 3,112	Here are full res images on K-1: Pentax HD DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE \| Flickr I bough this lens specifically for the K-1 as very small, cheap, silent and fast focussing WR travel zoom to 300mm. There simply is no competition product out there. It also does offer the x0,3 magnfication for semi macro work. You can get a minimum 24 MPx square at any focal length, so the vignetting is a total non issue. When I grab this lens I do so for tele reach and there I do tend to crop even more than the vignetted part. Never in my life I have used a 300mm lens and put anything important in the image corners.

01-01-2017, 12:48 AM	#11
Metsuari New Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 3	Originally posted by beholder3 Here are full res images on K-1: Pentax HD DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE \| Flickr I bough this lens specifically for the K-1 as very small, cheap, silent and fast focussing WR travel zoom to 300mm. There simply is no competition product out there. It also does offer the x0,3 magnfication for semi macro work. You can get a minimum 24 MPx square at any focal length, so the vignetting is a total non issue. When I grab this lens I do so for tele reach and there I do tend to crop even more than the vignetted part. Never in my life I have used a 300mm lens and put anything important in the image corners. Thanks. This was what I was looking for. Same here. When hiking/hunting, one tends to shoot from the hips i.e. quick action shots. Those events/shoots with out cropping are rare... Happy new year to PentaxForum ppl!

01-31-2017, 07:35 AM	#13
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by beholder3 Here are full res images on K-1: Pentax HD DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE \| Flickr I bough this lens specifically for the K-1 as very small, cheap, silent and fast focussing WR travel zoom to 300mm. There simply is no competition product out there. It also does offer the x0,3 magnfication for semi macro work. You can get a minimum 24 MPx square at any focal length, so the vignetting is a total non issue. When I grab this lens I do so for tele reach and there I do tend to crop even more than the vignetted part. Never in my life I have used a 300mm lens and put anything important in the image corners. Nice. It looks like it would still allow higher res images than a K-3 if one manually cropped the vignetted portions of the shot out at most focal lengths. Thank you for taking the time to test this lens. It was super helpful to me! Now, does anyone have the HD 55-300 WR and a K-1? I'd be interested in seeing a comparison of focal lengths of it too.

02-13-2017, 09:45 PM - 1 Like	#14
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,272	Originally posted by mee Does anyone have the HD 55-300 WR and a K-1? I have, and I used the combination quite a bit on a trip to England and Ireland last July. Like the PLM version, it doesn't cover the full frame adequately at any focal length. It gets closer at the long end, but it is a much more useful lens in crop mode.