[UncleVanya]

I shoot a K-3 in the wild. I used to use the 55-300, great, light, but needed more light. I moved up to the 60-250 F4 DA*. Exceptional lens in all ways, light, small (for what it is), world class IQ. Wanted more light, moved up to 70-200 DFA*. Similar IQ to the 60-250 DA*, better at low light. Heavy.. no make that HEAVY. But for work afield, no ZOOM creep (extending from gravity) while walking. I wanted the larger aperture, was willing to trade off weight. If you don't plan on going to FF or use a TC a lot, I'd look at the 60-250 DA*. Great price too. NEVER had any issues with it.

A friend once said the 60-250 was the perfect soccer lens. Wide enough to shoot from the sidelines when the action was near and long enough to get the shot from cross field. He never found the SDM speed an issue but then again he and I grew up shooting manual focus on sports.

[BATMON]

Im usually doing indoor and outdoor portraits`and want night time (low light) capabilities.

[GlassJunkie]

A friend once said the 60-250 was the perfect soccer lens. Wide enough to shoot from the sidelines when the action was near and long enough to get the shot from cross field. He never found the SDM speed an issue but then again he and I grew up shooting manual focus on sports.

Absolutely. The 60-250 only had one maintenance stop, every 2-3 years I send my main lenses to CRIS for calibration (preventative). SDM was perfect (not like my 16-50 3 motors in 5 years and a front barrel replaced/jammed), would work quite well with HDTC1.4x (my urban lower profile combo). if it was F2.8 (but DA size), wouldn't have swapped it out. For me, I spend a lot of time in deep woods/ tropics where ambient/ conditions don't always allow for flash easily. MF/ QF helps a lot...

[KiloHotelphoto]

Does anybody know where you can see test results for the DFA 70-200 2.8? I'm looking to get a 70-200 but not sure what one to get and the only site I know of is DXO Mark and they haven't tested the Pentax.

[aslyfox]

Does anybody know where you can see test results for the DFA 70-200 2.8? I'm looking to get a 70-200 but not sure what one to get and the only site I know of is DXO Mark and they haven't tested the Pentax.

not sure what you mean by test results

have you seen the in depth review

HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

https://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/hd-pentax-d-fa-star-70-200mm-f28/vs-oth...00-lenses.html

Pentax DA* 60-250mm ED SDM AW

Canon EF L IS II USM

Tamron SP Di VC USD

Tamron Di LD (IF) Macro

Nikon AF-S G ED VR II

Sigma EX DG APO

Sony OS FE GM OSS








Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/hd-pentax-d-fa-star-70-200mm-f28/vs-oth...#ixzz4xIvJghJN

[microlight]

Thanks for the clarity of the insights, gents (Kunzite especially), and apologies to the OP for any misleading statements. I was doing really well until I got my abacus out!

Maybe it would be less confusing in general if lens manufacturers gave equivalent fields of view for use on different sensor sizes? Just a thought.

[KiloHotelphoto]

not sure what you mean by test results

How DXO Mark does every other brands lenses.

[surfar]

HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW Reviews - D FA Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

17 opinions by people who own the lens and know how to use a Pentax camera.[COLOR="Silver"]

[aslyfox]

How DXO Mark does every other brands lenses.

still not sure that they do to test but I did find this

Pentax HD D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW

https://www.dxomark.com/pentax-lenses-preview-three-new-zooms-for-the-pentax-k-mount

does that help

[gm4life]

The D FA 70-200 * works really well on a crop body - gives you about a 100mm-300mm approx. lens. Which is a pretty useful focal length IMHO but as frequently stated on PF YMMV. The only thing that I can say for sure is that the 70-200 * is a lens that demands you hold the camera with two hands, you better either use the supplied camera neck strap or one from BlackRapid or similar on the tripod mount on the lens. I typically just hold it carefully with the neck strap but have the BlackRapid one just in case. Also keep in mind when using my K-3 II or my KP, I always have the battery grip on when handling this lens - it isn't a light one. It makes the DA 300 * feel like a light-weight, which it is a pretty large lens in its own right.

My K-3 II required some micro focus adjustments but once completed performs well on either of my two camera bodies. It is an AWESOME piece of equipment, NOT cheap but worth the $1,600 price of admission. Shooting at F2.8 is actually just plain FUN, it is a GREAT piece of glass and runs circles around my DA 55-300 HD literally. But they are slight different in sized and from two different price brackets.

I think if you end up with the D FA 70-200 * only a few trips with it on the K70 and you will be hooked!

[mikesbike]

Having the DFA 70-200mm f/2.8 for use on APS-C bodies is like having an excellent 100-300mm lens with f/2.8 constant aperture capability on a full-frame body, which is very cool. During the 35mm film era, advanced photographers would have killed for such a lens. But that comes with a substantial cost, size, and weight factor (though not the impossible size/weight/cost of a 100-300 f/2.8 for full-frame). You also lose quite a bit at the wide end of the zoom range compared to 55mm. Also, your 55-300mm does go out to 300mm, which is like 450mm on a full-frame body.

So it boils down to how much you need that f/2.8 aperture capability. Sometimes I do need that, so instead of such a very weighty lens, I opted for the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 and also the DA* 200mm f/2.8 which I can jump to when needing more reach while still having the f/2.8 ability. More room in the bag, but handles much easier on-camera. And that does not "replace" my DA 55-300 HD WR, a very good lens which I still turn to when I need the greater zoom range and not the wider aperture.

Then there's the fine DA* 60-250mm f/4, so you do have some very good options to choose from to meet your needs.

[ffking]

Does anybody know where you can see test results for the DFA 70-200 2.8? I'm looking to get a 70-200 but not sure what one to get and the only site I know of is DXO Mark and they haven't tested the Pentax.

there's also this if you want something less in-house

Pentax HD PENTAX-D FA* 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW Review

[gm4life]

Having the DFA 70-200mm f/2.8 for use on APS-C bodies is like having an excellent 100-300mm lens with f/2.8 constant aperture capability on a full-frame body, which is very cool. During the 35mm film era, advanced photographers would have killed for such a lens. But that comes with a substantial cost, size, and weight factor (though not the impossible size/weight/cost of a 100-300 f/2.8 for full-frame). You also lose quite a bit at the wide end of the zoom range compared to 55mm. Also, your 55-300mm does go out to 300mm, which is like 450mm on a full-frame body.

So it boils down to how much you need that f/2.8 aperture capability. Sometimes I do need that, so instead of such a very weighty lens, I opted for the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 and also the DA* 200mm f/2.8 which I can jump to when needing more reach while still having the f/2.8 ability. More room in the bag, but handles much easier on-camera. And that does not "replace" my DA 55-300 HD WR, a very good lens which I still turn to when I need the greater zoom range and not the wider aperture.

Then there's the fine DA* 60-250mm f/4, so you do have some very good options to choose from to meet your needs.

All very true!

The thing you realize very quickly is if you pixel peep you will notice a distinct difference between a DA * 200, DA * 300 and D FA * 70-200 and say any DA 55-300. The optics just aren't there, not to say it is a bad consumer grade zoom, just not up to the standards of the three * lenses previously mentioned.