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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-07-2016, 10:35 AM
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An example of sharpness @300 I have already shown here - also very good IMO.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-06-2016, 07:46 AM
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For those who are interested in another sharpness example:
Treetop  K-1, APSC mode, DA55-300PLM@150 - ISO100, 1/320s, f6.3 100% crop - 800 x 533px 
Do you find the crop in the original image? In the crop you can even see the small insects flying around the tree crown on pixel level. Only a little bit sharpening in CaptureOne (input sharpening) - not much room for improvement IMO. :) |
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-01-2016, 10:51 AM
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Nice!
Here's another one from me  K-1, Mode APS-C, 170mm, f/6.3 |
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-13-2016, 12:03 PM
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Thank you! - Yes, it is really compact, delivers very good image quality and a lot more. Great for hiking.
At the long end using FF mode you only need to crop a little bit and you get a nice image - an example.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-02-2016, 06:06 AM
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It's raining outside.
So why not just test the new lens further? Until now I didn't put my Macro Achromat on it. First try:
Pile of Books.  DA55-300PLM f4.5/63 + StepUp 58-62 + Macro Achromat 330(+3), near distance
To develop my skills on photography I use the internet, read books about different topics and of course the most important - practice. A good understanding of how things work helps me to get the results I'm imagining. :)
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
10-01-2016, 10:44 AM
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Thank you for the kind words! I don't own the older Version and sigma 70-300 - so I surely cannot. :confused:
Why there may be a difference between the new lens and the older ones I must leave to speculation. You have to consider the new one IMO is a new optical design and as you know there are differences between the copies of models.
Today I was at the Munich Zoo "Tierpark Hellabrunn" and tested K-1 plus lens further, especially at the long end and open aperature and with DA TC 1.4x. As far as I can say this lens delivers magnificent. Of course not every capture is spot on. There are so many other factors that influence sharpness. Here's one shot where you can see, what the lens can do if everything fits - at least I don't expect more from a lens like this.
Chimp on high trunk (Tierpark Hellabrunn, Munich)  DA55-300@300, ISO 100, f/6.3 (open aperture), 1/250, Monopod  100% crop
More attributes of the new lens:- I like the retractable mechanism
- Extremly noiseless (big difference to the older versions)
- Very often I use quick shift in combination with the autofocus. Quick shift works very very smooth - easier than on DA18-135
- Good chromatic aberration control IMO
- Seems to work flawlessly with DA TC1.4x
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2016, 01:11 PM
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Another couple   |
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-30-2016, 09:25 AM
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 DA55-300PLM f/8@55  DA55-300PLM f/8@120
---------- Post added 2016-09-30 at 17:40 ----------
 f/6.3@300  f5.6@190 |
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-28-2016, 01:18 PM
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A f4/100-300 that also would be a nice option will be too heavy. I think the DA55-300PLM is a nice lens. So I don't need other options. Unfortunately it can only be used at open aperture on my K-5, AF works. I get great results with the DA18-135 and this new lens also delivers. Hard to say which one is better concerning sharpness. There are others on PF who know how to measure and assess. AF was the reason I didn't buy the HD DA55-300 some time ago. The new PLM seems a lot better. Although from near to far also takes some time.
At the moment I try to understand and learn what I can do with this lens. I also see applications using it with the DA TC. It's not only interesting for reach but also because of its closeup capabilities - nearest distance 95 cm. Here an example f9.5@420mm - I used a flash:
After I saw what normhead does using DA* 200 plus TCs - simply great IMO - I also considered the DA* 200. But I was more interested in a convenient zoom. I suppose I will like the DA15-300PLM. But it's definitely not even near to FF compatible - unfortunately hopes not fulfilled. Some images of my lightbox - K-1 FF mode all open aperture:
 f/4.5@55  f/4.5@70  f/4.5@98  f/5.6@190  f/6.3@300 |
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-28-2016, 10:47 AM
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Some of you may be interested in more infos about open aperture at different focal lengths and what happens if we use the DA 1.4 TC in addition.
Here are the results:
| Focal length | Open Aperture | + DA TC1.4 | Open Aperture55 | 4.5 | 77 | 6.763 | 4.5 | 88 | 6.770 | 4.5 | 98 | 6.778 | 4.5 | 109 | 6.788 | 4.5 | 123 | 6.798 | 4.5 | 137 | 6.7108 | 4.5 | 151 | 6.7120 | 4.5 | 168 | 6.7135 | 4.5 | 189 | 6.7150 | 5.6 | 210 | 8.0170 | 5.6 | 238 | 8.0190 | 5.6 | 266 | 8.0210 | 5.6 | 294 | 8.0230 | 5.6 | 322 | 8.0260 | 5.6 | 364 | 8.0300 | 6.3 | 420 | 9.5 |
My Conclusion:
- DA18-135 shows at 31 - 68mm f/4.5, above until 135mm f/5.6 - in comparison DA55-300PLM looks not that bad IMO!
- At 78mm we can change from DA18-135 to DA55-300PLM if we like to get a more open aperture (f/4.5). Of course there may be other reasons not to do so.
If anybody is interested I'll post a bit more about my experiences provided I find the time to practice the next days.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-27-2016, 09:42 AM
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f/9.5
---------- Post added 2016-09-27 at 18:29 ----------
I wanted a long FL zoom lens for hiking up to more than 20 kilometers. For me the DFA150-450 and DA60-250 are simply too heavy for this purpose - although I really would like to have the DFA150-450. The older versions of the 55-300 I tried and didn't like it because of its autofocus. Autofocus changed with the new one and the hands on review seemed promising to me. So I ordered the new one.
IMO the lens is well made and it's incredibly lightweight compared to the DFA150-450 and DA60-250. Simply nice to handle and image quality good and sufficient for my purpose. And it seems to work with the DA 1.4x TC :) ... but I didn't try seriously until now.
First day pictures - all handheld  K1 - FF mode - f/6.3@300 - "DA dark corners"  K1 - APSC mode - f/7.1@230 - bokeh  K1 - APSC mode - f/6.3@300 - hairy details  K1 - APSC mode - f/5.6@230 - rosy color  K1 - APSC mode - f/8.0@300 - squirrel, cropped to frame 2828 x 4242px |
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-12-2016, 11:24 AM
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Thank you for these series!
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