| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-FA 645 150-300mm F5.6 ED [IF]
My Fuji GFX 50R serves mainly as a medium format back on a Toyo VX23D camera. I’m using Pentax 645 lenses with this setup because they’re excellent and provide a large enough image circle for shifting and tilting. I also occasionally use my Pentax 645 lenses with a Fotodiox P645 to GFX tilt-shift adapter.
Overall, this is an excellent lens. The extremely negative review it received from one reviewer is wildly out of line with my experience.
Given the focal lengths it covers, it’s a “light” 645 zoom lens. The hood mounts reversed, and the case is well made, so it transports well. Packed in its case it is a bit bulky, but that’s relative to the smaller Pentax 645 lenses I also use. When I’m not planning to do long lens work, but want a “just in case” telephoto option, I carry my tiny SMC Pentax-A 645 150mm f/3.5. Otherwise this is now my go-to telephoto option.
At the time of writing this review, my other Pentax 645 lenses are manual A lenses. I was concerned that manual focus would be a problem on this FA lens. It’s not. The focus ring isn’t as smooth and pleasant to use as the A lenses, but it’s perfectly fine. It has hard stops at either end, which I appreciate in the age of focus-by-wire lenses. I wouldn’t mind a slightly stiffer zoom ring like the one on my SMC Pentax-A 645 45-85mm f/4.5. The zoom ring on the 150-300mm is not loose, but I have accidentally zoomed when changing the aperture in the tight space of my recessed VX23D board.
In the focal lengths covered by... |
