| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-A 400mm F5.6
A good sharp super-tele that is easily hand-holdable, although of course with a 400mm lens a tripod is necessary to get the best results. While it's true you can't instantly change focus between near and far objects, the long focus throw and solid focus damping help to achieve precise focus, and are a good match for a MF super-tele.
The short minimum focus distance is excellent for those occasions when you can get really close to your subject. This is a slight crop:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/41742-baro-nite/albums/4363-my-friend-george/picture36321.jpg
High-contrast subjects can produce some purple fringing. Another mild crop:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/41742-baro-nite/albums/3667-wild-things/picture38604.jpg
A busy high-contrast background can result in nervous bokeh with bokeh CA -- here's a 100% crop from the above image, showing both purple fringing on the subject, and bokeh CA (green and purple background highlights):
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/41742-baro-nite/albums/4600-lens-samples/picture38624.jpg
I think that is something of a worst-case scenario, and in practice this is very manageable. Another example showing strong backlighting, first uncropped and then a 100% crop:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/41742-baro-nite/albums/3667-wild-things/picture38598.jpg
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/41742-baro-nite/albums/4600-lens-samples/picture38625.jpg |
