Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
05-02-2010, 04:26 PM   #31
Veteran Member
BlueBubbleBoy's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Alabama
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 642
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by Perrumpo Quote
Weary?

I haven't had very good luck with this lens indoors. It's been fine outdoors with a smaller aperture, but most shots wide open aren't sharp at all, even with a tripod. I realize this isn't one of the general characteristics of this lens, but no matter how careful I am to focus (AF is pretty bad, too), they're not sharp. Not sure what else to try.
Maybe I was weary. I did work out that morning, maybe I was too fatigued to lift a camera because of it.

I have a friend that also has a K-x and 55-300 lens. He wasn't getting sharp images either and actually sent it in to Pentax to get it tuned up (is this the correct expression for lens maintenance?). This was obviously not a free solution, but he said when it came back he was able to get the sharpness he was looking for.

Does anyone else have similar experience with this lens?

05-02-2010, 08:35 PM   #32
Senior Member
Perrumpo's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 207
QuoteOriginally posted by BlueBubbleBoy Quote
Maybe I was weary. I did work out that morning, maybe I was too fatigued to lift a camera because of it.

I have a friend that also has a K-x and 55-300 lens. He wasn't getting sharp images either and actually sent it in to Pentax to get it tuned up (is this the correct expression for lens maintenance?). This was obviously not a free solution, but he said when it came back he was able to get the sharpness he was looking for.

Does anyone else have similar experience with this lens?
Interesting. I still have a few weeks to test it out before I have to decide to keep, get a replacement, or return to Amazon, at least. We'll see how the coming weeks turn out.
05-02-2010, 10:48 PM   #33
Veteran Member
Marc Sabatella's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Denver, CO
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 10,685
That's not a large enough image to judge sharpness, and the EXIF info is missing - could you post a crop of the in focus area, and make sure the EXIF is present?
05-02-2010, 11:20 PM   #34
Inactive Account




Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: California
Photos: Albums
Posts: 55
I have been getting some very sharp pictures with the k-x and da 55-300m ... that last one looks better ...

remember the dof is very thin
test shots at the zoo with the da 55-300mm






05-07-2010, 02:19 AM   #35
Ash
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
Ash's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Toowoomba, Queensland
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 23,920
QuoteOriginally posted by Perrumpo Quote
Sure thing. I can't remember if this was AF or manual, but either way, I was getting the same results at 200mm and longer. Sometimes the petals were more focused-looking, but still not sharp. This was on a tripod with remote. I don't think that I simply needed to be further away because the focusing ring was not at one extreme or the other. Btw, my 50-200mm was clear during the same shot at 200mm.
I wonder whether that shot was focused correctly - are you zooming first, then holding steady before engaging AF and locking focus? If you're certain of no user factors causing the softness, then it may be a slight front-focusing issue, which can be sorted out with the fine AF adjustment feature. But exhaust all other possibilities first before resorting to any AF adjustments.
05-07-2010, 04:16 AM   #36
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Gladys, Virginia
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 27,603
Perrumpo, it looks to me like you lens isn't calibrated right. I probably would send it with the camera to Pentax and have them look at it. If you are on a stable tripod and in the focus range, the photos should be sharp. It should be covered by Pentax (unless you dropped it or did something to it).

This is another photo with the DA 55-300, this one hand held on the K20, iso 1600.

05-07-2010, 08:41 AM   #37
Senior Member
Perrumpo's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 207
QuoteOriginally posted by Ash Quote
I wonder whether that shot was focused correctly - are you zooming first, then holding steady before engaging AF and locking focus? If you're certain of no user factors causing the softness, then it may be a slight front-focusing issue, which can be sorted out with the fine AF adjustment feature. But exhaust all other possibilities first before resorting to any AF adjustments.
I agree that that is exactly what it looks like: not in focus anywhere as though it wasn't in the proper range. But I tried several times and am quite sure I used the lens correctly. Yes, I zoomed first and then gave AF its time to focus. I tried fine-tuning it with the focusing ring, even. Also, I used the center focal-point setting so that it wouldn't grab random parts of the plants.

I used the Raynox 150 on it, too, with the same results. Clear up to 200mm, then not sharp at all no matter how I fine-tune the focus. That was manual and on a tripod.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
Perrumpo, it looks to me like you lens isn't calibrated right. I probably would send it with the camera to Pentax and have them look at it. If you are on a stable tripod and in the focus range, the photos should be sharp. It should be covered by Pentax (unless you dropped it or did something to it).
Very clear image. After your responses, I'm going to order a replacement from Amazon. That's the easiest thing for me to do to see if it makes a difference since Amazon's policy is so great. I'll be sure to post back.

Here are large clickable photos. Sorry about the EXIF, Marc. I checked these, but I'll type it anyway.

97.5mm, f/4, 1/25, ISO 200


210mm, f/7.1, 1/8, ISO 200


70mm w/Raynox 150, f/5.6, 1/6, ISO 200


210mm w/ Raynox 150, f/5.6, 1/13, ISO 200


05-24-2010, 09:00 PM   #38
Veteran Member
BlueBubbleBoy's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Alabama
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 642
Original Poster
Sorry, just want to revisit this again. I had just a few minutes to take a few test shots today. My old tripod sucks, so I set up my camera sitting on a mat outside so there would be no hand shaking when taking the pictures. I've posted a couple of examples with the EXIF info. As expected, at a wide open aperture the picture is softer, but is it normally this soft? Only PP work was adjusting exposure, cropping, and resizing the image in GIMP. Just want to make sure my results are typical. Thanks for any input.

1st shot: f/5.6, 1/200s, ISO-800, 260mm
2nd shot: f/9, 1/80s, ISO-800, 260mm

Last edited by BlueBubbleBoy; 02-08-2011 at 11:32 AM.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
advice, camera, issues, lens, pentax help, photography
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
55-300mm DA vs DAL Gregor Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 35 10-05-2013 07:22 PM
Macro Macro with DAL 55-300mm? ismaelg Post Your Photos! 14 04-15-2010 03:29 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:01 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top