| Latest Review Posted | HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR
Couple of things need saying. Camera bodies cause a lens to focus, and it is clear that this lens reaches focus faster with newer bodies. The means of getting to focus, under command of the camera, happens to be a very reliable, albeit audible, mechanical linkage. And trust me, when you are hearing this, or any other lens "hunt", it is because the active focusing point(s) are not happy with what they see -- you are shaking the camera, the subject is moving, or the focusing matrix choice may be inappropriate for the subject, etc.
Focus hunting may say something about your technique at that moment. Spot meter a hummingbird in flight with blue sky as the background and yeah, you are going to hear this lens hunt. Add a contrasty closer background, and things improve. Widen the metering slightly from spot, and all of a sudden this "lens focusses" the elusive hummingbird just fine. There are well-documented limitations in the Pentax focusing algorithms and sensor configuration that hopefully will improve, but shouldn't be protrayed as lens issues, per se. I suspect if you hung this lens from a Nikon D500 its focusing would be stellar. The newer PLM variant of this lens seems to be a step in the right direction with greater speed and low noise, assuming your camera is compatible. |
