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Forum: Lens Clubs
02-20-2016, 04:47 PM
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After pondering for months what I want in a long lens, I finally decided to sell my 60-250 and 300 f4 to fund a 150-450mm. Well, so far I am very pleased with my decision.,
These are spme shots from the first day with this lens. Some hand held, some with a monopod. I really like this lens and do not consider it any more difficult to manage than the 50-500mm Sigmas I have owned in the past.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-30-2015, 08:58 AM
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Pelican 1514 with dividers and a Pelican 1504 with dividers. I have silica gel packs in each case. I store 19 lenses and three bodies in these.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
05-27-2015, 12:21 PM
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I just ordered the 16-85 today and plan to use it for travel. Hoping that it will be wide enough so that I can leave the 12-24mm home. I found that sometimes the 18-135 is not wide enough and can get kind of ugly at the edges. Especially when your main subject is not centered. Time will tell whether or not the 16-85 will be enough. I could also carry the 55-300 with it for a pretty light two lens kit.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-20-2015, 05:43 PM
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thanks for your effort in reviewing this lens. Looks like a winner. Just can't decide if 16mm is more valuable to me than 135mm.....
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
12-18-2014, 07:10 PM
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That is normal for the DA* lenses
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-17-2011, 05:32 AM
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I have been shooting with the Bigma (50-500mm non OS) for almost two years now. There was a learning curve with it.
here are some things I most always do when shooting with the Bigma.
1. Always use a monopod
2. Use TAV on my K5 (I set aperture and shutter speed and the camera sets ISO for exposure) I would like to keep the ISO below 1600 but sometimes nature does not cooperate.
3. Set shutter to 1/750 and aperture to f8.... F11 if it is bright and sunny.
4. I keep the SR turned on even for monopod. (turned off for tripod)
I get similar results to yours at times. It generally happens when I take a similar shot of a Egret at 3-400 feet and then crop it. I have found that even with 500mm to play with, your results are still much better if you can get as close as possible. When I first got this lens, I was trying to take pics of birds and animals 2 kilometers away and was never happy with the results. Winter set in and I started taking pictures out my of backyard birds on our fence at about 10 ft and the results were great. I then realized that the closer I can get the better. Also, the brighter the light, the better for that lens. It seems to really help capture more details.
good luck with your lens.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-10-2014, 12:43 PM
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Sorry about your lens. Bummer.
I had a deer experience Sunday at our cabin in the Poconos. At about 6am I got up to put our two dogs (Jack Russell female 3 yrs old and Chihuahua male 14 yrs old 5 lbs) out to do their thing. There was a deer in the front yard so I took them out back. Almost immediately, the deer (a large doe) came bounding around the side of the house. She stopped and looked at us and I thought she was going to leave. She started stomping. Her tail went up and flared. She started towards us. The Jack russell growled and came to me. The Chihuahua decided to confront the deer despite my yelling at at him. He walked up to the doe. She bent down and they touched noses. (cute). Then she proceeded to start stomping him. He was screaming. I ran up to her yelling and waving my arms and she finally stopped and bolted when I was about 5 feet from her. The Chihuahua was ok but it will make me more prepared next time.
I used to carry a canned air horn for boats on my bike. It worked better than anything else for stopping dogs from chasing us while on a ride. I suspect it will work on deer too. Just a precaution in case we have another confrontation. I got a shot of another doe and her newborn in the front yard the previous morning.
First pic is out a window with the DA* 60-250 with new 1.4x TC
Second is actually through a window screen.
You will like the 55-300 HD. I had bought the original version 2 or 3 times and had always wanted WR. Now that they have added it, I use the 18-135 and 55-300 as a travel kit.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-04-2014, 04:29 PM
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looks like lucky 13 after selling a couple
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
12-07-2013, 06:27 AM
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Nice list . There ARE options to Pentax ......
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-03-2013, 05:09 PM
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After reading the latest article on the K3 with images posted, I have some thoughts I would like to share.
After owning all of the Pentax flagship cameras since the k10 I can say that any improvements from one generation to the other has much more to do with features than general IQ. The high ISO performance has been the largest improvement in IQ while other improvements are related to mechanical and handling aspects of the camera. for instance form factor from K10/20 to K7/5/5II's. Some people prefer the handling of the K7/ K5 bodies and some miss the K10/K20 handling. When I look at the new K3 and compare to the K5IIS, I see a better, faster processor, faster FPS shutter, FLU card capabilities, better video recording capabilities, better SR performance, better AF performance and the switchable AA filter. I am sure there are some things I missed but bottom line, IQ is really about the same with the 24mp sensor. Maybe even a little step backward at high ISO. There were discussions about the sweet spot for number of megapixels on an APSC sensor when the K5 came out and a lot of people felt that the Sony sensor in the K5 was about optimum. However, the average consumer is so caught up in megapixel count, the camera manufacturers have identified that the MP number is the most important selling point to them. the manufacturers are willing to sacrifice a little IQ in order to be able to claim more megapixels. That is really a shame but I feel that ultimately, besides IQ, we are going to have to choose a camera based on our peripheral needs as IQ is pretty much maxed out.
I do have the K5IIs and my K3 will deliver Tuesday. I will for sure be doing some comparisons between the two.
Regards
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-23-2013, 04:03 AM
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Mine is in the shop now. Waiting on parts that are on back order from Pentax. It has been there two months with no indication of when parts will be in. $220
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-06-2013, 03:18 PM
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you could buy a DA*300 and a AFA 1.7x for 510mm f6.8 and lighter weight than the Bigma. That and a 16 or 17-50mm or the 18-135mm WR, and you have a decent lightweight setup. Otherwise the wide angle zoom and the Bigma. (the new model with OS and HSM) It will give you fine results at F8 and just short of 500mm. I find mine much better at the long end than the old EX model was.
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
11-07-2011, 05:12 AM
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Here is a couple with the teleconverter and the DA*60-250. I brought this combination on our cruise to avoid having the extra weight of the Bigma. It worked nicely.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-23-2011, 09:39 AM
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I spent 17 years with my son and his swimming career. It was before we had Digital SLR cameras. I mostly used video but in his later years swimming in large events, I used my camera some with a Takumar 135mm lens. It was great for the indoor pools 90% of the time. In looking at what is available today, I would suggest considering the Pentax 50-135, Sigma 50-150, and the 70-200 f2.8 from Sigma and Tamron. If you have a K5, I think the 60-250 would be very useful both at the pool and in other areas of your photography too considering the k5's very good high ISO performance.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-18-2010, 12:28 PM
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I own the 18-250, Bigma and 55-300 and bought them in that order. I will offer these thoughts.
The Bigma is decently sharp but requires a monopod in most situations when shooting at 500mm.
It does for me at least. Its heavy and can be clumsy to haul around but I generally use it specifically for wildlife and keep it attached to my K20.
The 55-300 I bought last because I wanted some reach and better image quality than the 18-250 had to offer in a lighter package for travel . I keep it in a bag with my 16-50 and use them for traveling light . The 55-300 takes very nice and sharp photos and I feel good about the purchase of it. I find it easier to get BIF pics with it than I do with the Bigma.
In my opinion, the two lenses have very different uses and I use them with my outing and equipment needs in mind. It would always be great to have 500mm at your disposal but you have to remember how much different the outing would be while hauling it around.
So far the KX/55-300 combo is great for times when I want to travel light.
I have kept the 18-250 to use solely for vacations or travel when photography is not the main goal but I would like to be able to come back with some decent pictures.
Overall the 55-300 is a decent lens that can do many of the things the Bigma can up to 300mm....
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