Originally posted by zkarj First outing today for my brand new DA55-300 PLM WR RE. I decided to set it on f/8 and carry on as I used to with the WR (which was at f/11). The main difference was of course the insane focusing speed, which seems to have nailed every single shot I took — exposing my dodgy tracking with some motion blur on a handful of shots. I blame the bright conditions and sunglasses for that problem. I think the results are plenty sharp at f/8, though with more light, the shutter speed is quicker
Great images!
---------- Post added 09-30-21 at 01:05 PM ----------
Originally posted by richandfleur Great shots, very impressive.
Hi Richard,
I think you're the first one to draw attention to the quick focusing of the lens.
I worked out for my use case scenario, I probably won't use the lens often enough to justify the expense to get faster focusing so I'm happy to have acquired an older screw drive version.
You also mentioned you have the 16-85 though, and one of the reasons I didn't want to spend too much at the longer end is I found I actually take quite a lot of photos at the wide end so if I'm going to spend up on anything, this would be a better area to invest.
What are your thoughts on this lens? It's not PLM, although has a motor rather than screwdrive, but I notice a few reviewers mention some quirky focusing behaviour at the wider end with a tendency to miss focus a bit too often.
Some day when I'm feeling wealthier, the DA* 11-18/2.8 is tempting, but it's up there with the K-3 III price wise, whereas the 16-85 is priced within reach of mere mortals, and it covers my most used focal lengths.
Apart from AF in general, what's close focusing like? I use my D-FA 100/2.8 macro quite a bit but a non-macro lens with reasonable minimum focus distance and magnification could well be sufficient most of the time for stuff like fungi that often aren't all that small.