[LindsayP]

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Interesting stuff. I don't think I'll be trading in my D500 as it's not had a lot of use, and I've built a lens outfit around a D850 that I can use with it. However my newly acquired K3iiiM has made a bigf impact and I am looking to get some Pentax glass for it that might want to be FA rather than DA against the risk that a K1iii might come out to tempt me!

[gatorguy]

Interesting stuff. I don't think I'll be trading in my D500 as it's not had a lot of use, and I've built a lens outfit around a D850 that I can use with it. However my newly acquired K3iiiM has made a bigf impact and I am looking to get some Pentax glass for it that might want to be FA rather than DA against the risk that a K1iii might come out to tempt me!

The 150-450 is a full-frame, but I always use it on the K3III. The very good performing and fast focus 70-300 PLM is a crop lens, but you know as I do that as a wildlife photographer we crop a lot anyway. In the meantime it does make a budget-friendly, very fast-focus and tracking, birding lens for your current Pentax.

[UncleVanya]

Another user with the Sigma 500 and 150-450 (both on Pentax) recently said they sold the Sigma because the Pentax was better. That wasn’t what I expected to hear. Given the da 560 and Sigma 500 are often compared and it’s said to be a toss up - does this mean the 150-450 is a better choice than the 560?

[kayasaman]

Another user with the Sigma 500 and 150-450 (both on Pentax) recently said they sold the Sigma because the Pentax was better. That wasn’t what I expected to hear. Given the da 560 and Sigma 500 are often compared and it’s said to be a toss up - does this mean the 150-450 is a better choice than the 560?

I can't exactly make any useful comment regarding the DFA150-450 and Sigma lenses but one thing that happened to me recently was that I showed a friend some images taken using my FA*300. He has the DFA150-450 and the initial observation was that the DFA zoom was sharper and has better contrast detail. We are both using the same body in the K1 - ok not exactly relevant here.

In light of this I wouldn't be surprised if the DFA150-450 out performs many older gen lenses including the 560.


Somethings that I have heard are that the new Sigma 500 is optically fantastic for the Nikon. I think the consensus was that it was better then the 500PF and on the same level as the 500 f/4 E lens.


It is probably off-topic and out of discussion context but the 200-500mm f/5.6 would be an excellent contender and match for the DFA150-450mm. My personal take is that on the D500 AF is fine but can be slow or not work at all in harsh lighting conditions. It is a good and sharp lens and works very well! Though if you're like me, and shooting from locations such as bird hides or restricted in how close you can get then it can easily come up far too short in certain circumstances.
Here's an album taken with the 200-500, though there are Sigma 105mm shots in there as well:

Warburg 04/03 - Google Photos

[biz-engineer]

Another user with the Sigma 500 and 150-450 (both on Pentax) recently said they sold the Sigma because the Pentax was better. That wasn’t what I expected to hear. Given the da 560 and Sigma 500 are often compared and it’s said to be a toss up - does this mean the 150-450 is a better choice than the 560?

The DFA 150-450 is, IMO, the most advanced lens in the Pentax line-up, not optically, but as a system. It has a solid AF motor + precise AF memory function that remember the exact position of focus. I don't think the Sigma 500 4.5 or DA 560 are in the same league. Sigma 500 is screw drive AF, DA 560 is SDM AF. Except some users had reliability issues for the few years after its release to market. But so far no issue with mine, taking good care of it whenever I use it. I used it a lot with the K3, so I guess it must be a killer combo paired with the K3 III.

[redpit]

I have posted before on the DA560 and DFA 150-450 performance on the K-1 and now I'm also using them on the K-3iii. Long story short the DA560 when used properly and when the focus is nailed the IQ is clearly better then the zoom. The extra focal length also helps. The DFA is a great zoom and when stopped down a bit it really shines. It focuses much faster and more reliable in comparison to the DA560 and it lacks the CAs that quite often are quite disturbing on the prime lens. To sum it up, if I would recommend only one long lens the DFA 150-450 would be it, as it is more reliable and easy to use and get the shot. The DA560 is a strange animal. Very long and a bit awkward in use (the strange focus limiter, the not so fast DC motor and some image rendering characteristics like the strange OOF areas that look like a catoptric lens and excessive CAs) but once you learn how to utilize it you get some images that you simply can't with the DFA zoom. I believe that with some upgrading and updating the DA560 would become a super lens, as it is light and an object of desire, but there is a reason that Pentax stopped its production. Another thing I noticed is that the DA560 works better on the slow AF K-1 than the fast K-3iii and I really don't know why.

[LindsayP]

Hmm, the D FA HD 150-450 is selling at £1979 in the UK (around $2500) so not really something I can consider in the foreseeable future. In any case, I think I have birding covered with my D500 combo even if it's not necessarily better than the Pentax alternative. It's goo to know about though.

[gatorguy]

Hmm, the D FA HD 150-450 is selling at £1979 in the UK (around $2500) so not really something I can consider in the foreseeable future. In any case, I think I have birding covered with my D500 combo even if it's not necessarily better than the Pentax alternative. It's goo to know about though.

New HD PENTAX D FA150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW Lens for K Mount RICOH 4549212286933 | eBay
Approximately £1,414.41 New

[LindsayP]

New HD PENTAX D FA150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW Lens for K Mount RICOH 4549212286933 | eBay
Approximately £1,414.41 New

Checking that out now!

** But bringing it over from NY would cause duty and tax to be added, around a 30% increase in price by the time it arrived with me. Might be worth a cheap flight over though...

[zapp]

The real advantage of the D500 are the available lenses. PF300/500, and some really fast tele primes young and led (used). K3iii does well with DFA150-450, but what do you do when you outgrow the Pentax zoom?

[gatorguy]

The real advantage of the D500 are the available lenses. PF300/500, and some really fast tele primes young and led (used). K3iii does well with DFA150-450, but what do you do when you outgrow the Pentax zoom?

Tele primes? I had a Sigma 500mm but unless I'm photographing a non-moving bird/animal, it was not very useful, definitely not a satisfying experience. It's tough to locate a subject at 500mm, so it was sold. I currently have a 300 2.8 which is fine, and with the 2xTC it becomes a 600 5.6. That's long enough for about anything I want to shoot, but then it's the same issue: Locating a subject in a 600mm view is tough. For flitting birds or in flight a long prime is less than ideal IMO.

So I keep coming back to the 150-450. Zoom out to locate if I need to and zoom in to shoot. It's much faster than swinging a long prime around trying to figure out where the bird is, particularly if it's moving around. I had and still have options for longer lenses, but they stay home most of the time. Bonus: the zooms allow a lot closer focusing, good pseudo-macros, than those long primes that on occasion are just TOO long to find or frame a subject properly. But yes, if there were a quality 600mm 5.6 zoom for Pentax that actually performed well at the far end, something better than either the Tamron or Sigma lenses, I'd absolutely consider it as would others. Options are nice, but for such a lens it will be at least $2500 IMHO, and "better than the 150-450" isn't going to be easy.

Note from personal experience: The 150-450, sharp across the entire range, resolves better than the Tammy 150-600 on the D500. I found anything above 500 too soft with the Tamron, and the 25% higher pixel count on the Pentax K3III compared to the D500 allowed sharper crops and better distance images anyway.

So I haven't outgrown the 150-450 (the HD 1.4 TC is here if I need it) and can't imagine I would, but I do toy with longer options. For what I use one for, there's not been anything better yet.

[Weevil]

if there were a quality 600mm 5.6 zoom for Pentax that actually performed well at the far end, something better than either the Tamron or Sigma lenses, I'd absolutely consider it as would others.

Why reinvent the wheel ? They Just should copy the FA*250-600 f5.6 and make it current with lighter materials (like the DA*560) so it can be handheld, I mean at least a bit easier than this heavy lens (it's never evident to handheld a long range like that). looks simple enough, but maybe it is not...? idk

[redpit]

Why reinvent the wheel ? They Just should copy the FA*250-600 f5.6 and make it current with lighter materials (like the DA*560) so it can be handheld, I mean at least a bit easier than this heavy lens (it's never evident to handheld a long range like that). looks simple enough, but maybe it is not...? idk

I have written it before. This would also be a dream lens/move from Pentax, but the FA*250-600 was the most complicated lens to manufacture and it is quite impossible we see a new version of it. Moreover if you think about it the DFA 150-450 is the APS-C version of the FA*.

[snappyhoffy]

Checking that out now!

** But bringing it over from NY would cause duty and tax to be added, around a 30% increase in price by the time it arrived with me. Might be worth a cheap flight over though...

For a random 'bedtime' search on Amazon last week it suddenly came up for around £ 1449 as a limitied deal and by the time I went back in the morning they were all gone!

Worth keeping an eye out for 'specials'!

[cmohr]

Moreover if you think about it the DFA 150-450 is the APS-C version of the FA*.

I completely agree with this statement, and have said before pretty much the same thing, The DFA 150-450 is to the K-3 what the FA*250-600 was to the MZ-S.


But, we do need a new Pentax FF Long lens, IE zoom or prime to 600mm and or a high quality 1.4xTC in these times, We have had FF K-1 for some 8years, now, as every other manufacturer leaves Optical veiwfinders, Third party lens support only caters for the newer MILC releases, Pentax AF now in the K-3iii rivals it's competitors, and will be in any new K-1 FF version, a longer Lens is needed. Anyone that says people won't pay for it is wrong, over the past decade, we have seen , first hand here on the forum, Pentax owners "jump ship" to other brands, and spend twice as much on bodies and lenses than their Pentax systems, if Pentax offered the choices............

If you are reading on from this point ,its just me Waxing lyrical

I would buy into a DFA* lens, 400mm ( prime or zoom) with a big aperture, internal zoom and focus, and a matching FF teleconverter. I firmly believe others would as well.

Wish list item, already placed in my BUY NOW cart.

Pentax DFA* 200-400mm/ F4 , bundled with dedicated DFA*1.4xTeleconverter (lens and teleconverter are made and sold as a matching pair in the one box) Internal Zoom and Focus, both increases AW , as there is no breathing when zooming, and makes balance on a Gimbal possible. ( my only critical issues I have with the wonderful DFA 150-450, honestly, If it had been made internal Zoom, we wouldn't be having this discussion , we would just be asking for the FF TC)

Thanks for watching

cmohr