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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-22-2013, 03:47 AM
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I tried to make up for the reduced flexibility by traveling with three bodies: K-5 Tamron 17-50, K-5 DA* 50-135 and K-5 IIs DA* 300. Changing focal length is of course not at the same speed compared to useing the Sigma all in one lenses. I agree that in a sport situation where players sometimes come very close to you it would be better to have it all in one lens.
And sometimes the gap between 135 and 300 mm was too big. A 70-200 would've been better on the second body.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-22-2013, 03:37 AM
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I did a lot of testing with the OS (50-500) VS the in body SR. I found that the OS was better than the SR at the long end.
On the other hand the SR works really well with the DA* 300mm. In fact I was surprised how good the shots could be even in less than ideal lighting situations.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-22-2013, 03:06 AM
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mamethot,
I've been on three Safaris in the south of Africa in the last three years. The first two times I used a Sigma 50-500 OS and the general consensus is that it's a better lens than the 150-500. I went for the longer focal length and dismissed the DA* 300. I've to say that the 50-500 OS gave me some nice shots that I'm proud of.
This year I finally bought a DA* 300 anyway because I needed a telephoto lens that I can carry on a hike and can shoot handheld quickly. On my K-5 IIs the DA* 300 blew me away. I literally put my Sigma 50-500 OS in the trunk. I never used the 50-500 OS again and now I'm going to sell it. I don't want to put the 50-500 OS down. It has a lot of vesatility and you lose the incredible freedom with a prime lens.
Yes, the DA* 300 has less reach but the detail with the K-5 IIs makes easily up for it. I rather use the DA* 300mm and get pro grade shots and have less flexibility than use the 50-500 OS and get pictures that only sometimes can fool you as pro grade. I'm eagerly looking forward to use a K-3 with this lens in the same circumstances and make use of the extra cropability. I'm positive that the DA* 300 will have enough resolution to give us just that.
Bottom line I highly recommend the DA* 300. It is at a good price for what it is capable of.
If Ricoh could just FINALLY release that DA TC 1.4x in superb quality.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 & K-3 II
11-14-2013, 02:44 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-13-2012, 04:48 AM
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If the pictures in the lens database (SMC Pentax-DA 560mm F5.6 Reviews - DA Prime Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database) are not a mockup I think it's safe to say that the DA 560 will be able to telescope.
In the first picture we see the DA 560 with retracted lens hood and extended front section. In the second picture we see it with retracted lens hood and collapsed front section. In both pictures the lens hood is never extended unlike in the pictures posted before in this thread. You can clearly see that the second picture shows a more compacted DA 560 compared to those where just the lens hood is retracted. Also it's easy to spot that the thumb screw which secures the front section is pulled back to the lens colar.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-09-2011, 05:00 PM
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Today I took a picture from 20 meters away. I actually measured the distance. I thought the three dimensional painted wooden mask doubles well as a more realistic lens test subject. The attached picture is an unsharpened 100% crop from the center. I'm satisfied with the result. The retained detail responds well to sharpening in post processing.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-09-2011, 04:41 PM
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@Clinton
I've heard about the LensAlign system and it's DIY versions. I didn't bother with micro focus adjustments yet since I mainly did landscape photography with high F numbers. I'll look further into this subject.
I updated my K-5 to firmware version to v1.03 today. I instantly got better auto focus results in my "test". I really don't want to bore you guys with boring test pictures. I just had to stick with the same test conditions to see if the firmware version made a difference.
I think it's easy to recognize that it did! I read that not everyone is satisfied with the low light focus functionality in the latest firmware. At least in my case it really does work better under the light conditions of my "test".
1. 500mm, F6.3, ISO 200, AF, FW 1.03, 100% center crop
2. 500mm, F8, ISO 200, AF, FW 1.03, 100% center crop
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-07-2011, 04:45 PM
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@Adam
Thank you for pointing me to the review. I didn't know about it yet. I'll check the differences at 450mm and 500mm this weekend.
@Clinton
This was actually a very good idea. I tried to focus in live view and touched the focus a little up manually. See the results below.
@Ash
Yes, the crops are close to the center.
@Edgar_in_Indy
It really seems to be a focus issue. The object distance was 3-4 meters which isn't really a telephoto distance but this lens is able to focus from as close as half a meter (1:3.1 macros at ~200mm) away. I probably should upgrade the K-5 firmware to get better focusing in poor lighting.
I'll check out the lens under more realistic conditions this weekend.
This looks already much better to me :
LV + manual focus, 500mm, ISO 200, F6.3
LV + manual focus, 500mm, ISO 200, F8.0
Thank you very much for your suggestions. I love coming here and logging off as a happier person. :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-06-2011, 04:01 PM
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Hello,
I just took some quick test shots to see how good this copy of the Sigma 50-500 OS is at 500mm. All pictures are 100% crops from shots taken in very bad light with a K-5 body at ISO 200 in JPG format. I added a shot with my DA* 50-135 as a point of reference.
1. Sigma 50-500 OS, 500mm, F6.3 - pretty soft
Attachment 87960
2. Sigma 50-500 OS, 500mm, F7.1 - clearing a little up
Attachment 87961
3. Sigma 50-500 OS, 500mm, F8.0 - not too bad
Attachment 87962
4. DA* 50-135, 135mm, F6.3
Attachment 87963
I suspect that I'm a little spoiled by the DA*50-135. I knew in advance that the bigma is a little soft wide open at 500mm. I'm just wondering if this is what I can expect from this lens or if I should rather look for a better copy? Thanks!
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
12-08-2010, 12:46 PM
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Pentax K-5 has been rated as the best DSLR (in the up to 2000 € league) by the german photography magazine ColorFoto. Olympus E5 scored 2nd and Canon 60D/Nikon D7000 are tied in 3rd place.
Such tests don't matter much to me but it's definitively not bad for this competitive market if Pentax is ahead of the rest for once.
overview (English translation)
test result(English translation)
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