| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 476 | | Review Date: February 18, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $420.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Lightweigth, excellent optical quality | | Cons: | Lens shade, no tripod collar | | New or Used: New
| |
I have found this lens at a fair. It was in a sorry state: some of the paint was harmed, it took me a while to get it focussing properly and it had a dent in the front element. The seller lowered the price, and eventually I bought it...
I can but confirm what others already said about this FA*: its' optical quality is excellent with a very nice bokeh. It's tag sharp wide open and makes an excellent combination with the AF 1,7x adapter.
The only downside is that on my version the lens shade will not mount easily and that there is no tripod collar.
Other than that: highly recommended!
This is a photo made in combination with the AF 1,7x:
(Non working link removed)
And another one without teleconverter:
(Non working link removed)
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 3,202
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 11, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | small, light, excellent optical quality | | Cons: | the barral surface painting gets scratched too easily | |
This lens simply makes me a better photographer w/ great keeper ratio. I use it wide open almost all the time. If you are looking for a 300mm lens but can't afford the F2.8 one, this is THE ONE!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783 | | Review Date: January 28, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $900.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light | | Cons: | Inconsistent Bokeh | | New or Used: New
| |
Light, consistent image quality.
Sharp, good contrast wide open. A good close up lens to isolate subject.
The only problem is its inconsistent bokeh with branches and highlights that can be ugly at times.
My sample shots here
My FA* 300mm f4.5 shots | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: February, 2007 Location: Gloucester UK Posts: 441 | | Review Date: April 2, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact, super sharp at all apertures, superb build, fast AF, works well with TC's | | Cons: | None | |
What can I say about this beauty? It's just the finest long lens I've ever had! Sadly, it's as rare as rocking horse **** to find these days, Let's hope the new DA*300 doesn't dissapoint!
If you can find one, and want 300mm (or more with a TC) buy it, just don't hesitate. You will have a  for a long time!
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: Chicago suburb, IL, USA Posts: 1,535 | | Review Date: January 11, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $650.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | very sharp wide open, good CA/PF control | | Cons: | fiddly lens hood (nitpicking) | |
My favorite lens for birding and nature, most often paired with the Pentax F 1.7x AFA for a 2 lb 510mm f7.7. The lens is apparently sharp and contrasty enough wide open to allow this TC to AF easily even though its max aperture is 1.5 stops slower than Pentax recommends. This combo is very easy for me to handhold, and I have gotten a surprising percentage of "keepers" with my DS (no SR!) with shutter speeds as slow as 1/125 sec !! It can only get better with the new K10.
This is an exceptional lens in every way. Min focusing distance of @ 6 ft allows for very nice "tele macro" shots of things like dragonflies and flowers.
Build quality is very robust, and the hood is very deep and protects the front element well -- both from stray light and from anything that might physically damage it. The hood mounting was a little hard to get used to, but then again, maybe I'm a little slow -- the hood actually has little leaf springs installed in it that hold on to ribs on the lens -- easily the most secure hood attachment mechanism I've ever seen or used.
For me, at least, it doesn't get any better than this . . . but I will be taking a close look at the upcoming DFA 300  | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 593 | | Review Date: January 8, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Super sharp even wide open. | | Cons: | None really | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
| |
This lens has exceptional image quality. Excellent sharpness, lovely bokeh and excellent colour rendition. Highly recommended.
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