| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-DA* 60-250mm F4 ED [IF] SDM
I got what I paid for. Excellent general telephoto zoom.
I have previously had/tried the FA 28-200mm, DA 50-200mm, DA 55-300mm and briefly the Tamron 70-300mm. The DA 55-300mm is a good lens, but the AF drove me crazy. The Tamron has PF issues, the 50-200mm is good at mid-range, but is a bit short and slow, and the FA has a lot of distortion issues.
The lens is very sharp from F4, required no focus adjustment on my camera (unlike the 18-135mm), and the micro-contrast and colours remind me of the FA 43mm. There is no creep, the MF override works well. The zoom control is a little small, but works fine. There is a little purple CA, and I have also seen yellow/blue edges, depending on the angle. Generally very well controlled, though.
My copy was bought second-hand off a reluctant seller, and has slightly squeaky AF, and the ridge that the lens hood clips onto on the barrel of the lens has been partially broken. None of which seem to affect the operation of the AF or prevent me from using a hood.
The removable foot works well, I use a black-rapid sling strap on mine, which makes me a little nervous, given the whole thing is attached by one screw, but makes travel very comfortable.
Taking the foot off, I am able to use the K-5IIs and the lens hand-held in good to reasonable light. The weight also means that I often turn off the shake reduction and am comfortable shooting down to 1/160th.
I don't carry things around for long these days, so by the time a couple of ... |
