| Review of: HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW by Oktyabr on Mon July 8, 2019 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 159555
Reviews: 33
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This lens is built like a tank but it weighs about as much as one too! VERY sharp, at all focal lengths, although did you expect it wouldn't be at that price?!?! Yes, you can "hand hold" it and get some decent shots. I actually found the extra weight seems to stabilize the "micro" movements that I tend to do with much lighter lenses, hand held. It takes some getting used to; and finding your own technique (REMEMBER! Support the lens+body by the lens, NOT the camera body!!!), but pays off nice dividends once you grow accustomed to it. Eat your spinach... this lens isn't intended for those that don't want to work for their shots.
All of these are hand held.
I shot this sparrow through about 3m of heavy brush on AV mode, AF-C, "spot" focus. I was actually quite pleased at how quickly it found the focus point I wanted and stayed there.
 OKTY2519 by oktyabr, on Flickr
Good enough for macro work, in a pinch?
 OKTY2549 by oktyabr, on Flickr
Bokeh?
 OKTY2486 by oktyabr, on Flickr
 OKTY2464 by oktyabr, on Flickr
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR by Oktyabr on Thu December 20, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 622371
Reviews: 140
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First off, this lens is often compared to the excellent, and much more expensive, Pentax HD PENTAX DA 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 ED DC WR. I own BOTH, at the time of this review.
Yes, I get a few more "keepers" with the 16-85. Yes, under ideal conditions, the 16-85 is sharper, especially in the corners, where the 18-135 can tend to get to be pretty soft. BUT, the 16-85 is MUCH larger and heavier and around TWICE the price! Yes, the extra 2mm at the wide end is more than it might seem at first, but the difference between 85 and 135 at the long end makes the 18-135 much more practical in my bag, and if I had to leave the house with only one lens, this is the one that would make the cut, 9 out of 10 times.
Mine came bundled as a kit, with the K-70, which I purchased lightly used. After a couple of months and a couple thousand snaps of the shutter, if I had to buy a kit brand new today? I'd buy the K-70 and 18-135 all over again. Wide enough to get most of that sort of work done, long enough to be a very usable lens for wildlife, landscapes, and even portraits, affordable, and weather sealed. If it were just a little sharper in the corners, I could have easily given this one a 10.
 IMGP4160 by oktyabr, on Flickr
 Sunset by oktyabr, on Flickr
 IMGP4210 by oktyabr, on Flickr
 IMGP2596_result by oktyabr, on Flickr
 IMGP4730_01 by oktyabr, on Flickr
 IMGP4709_01 by oktyabr, on Flickr
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-D FA 100mm F2.8 Macro WR by Oktyabr on Sun November 11, 2018 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 460135
Reviews: 106
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Probably the sharpest lens in my kit and with a f/2.8 it's plenty fast too. Extremely solid, well built, like a tank. Superb macro with a little more working distance than some of the shorter macros and it does a very good job with landscapes and portraits too.
Only possible draw back (on APS-C) is in an urban environment, shooting landscape, street photography and architecture, etc. It's just too long a lens to be ideal in this sort of relative close quarters, forcing me to stand at least a block away to get the shot I want. But that's not what this lens is for anyway! ;)
ADDENDUM (9/03/2019): I recently had the opportunity to shoot three different music acts in the same "day" (overcast and dark, as the sun was setting), without flash. I took the K-1 and the 100mm WR. This is my third copy of this lens, all purchased used, and all have been consistently excellent. I have a couple of other fast primes I could have used but the 100mm let me keep a little more distance and shooting in manual mode, close to wide open, and in RAW, allowed me to push exposure in post quite easily. This lens is a treat on the full frame it was designed for. Scroll down for a few extra shots:
This stick is about the size of your little finger. See the spider?!? When I took this photo, I hadn't even noticed it!
 
This one I had to stand approx. a city block away to get the entirety of the larger boat in the frame... sharp, though!
K-1 in poorly lit conditions, manual mode, close to wide open, RAW, exposure corrected in post:
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-M 50mm F1.7 by Oktyabr on Sun October 21, 2018 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 941352
Reviews: 246
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My first manual prime! It's been a very fun learning experience (that still continues), trying to learn the techniques to get the most out of this lens on a modern camera. Faults in my photos are due to lack of skill on my part, not a failure inherent in the lens itself. At the prices these can be found for, every photographer should have one to play (learn) with, at least once.
Quick and dirty, handheld, no PP:
100% crop
Quick and dirty, handheld, no PP:
100% crop
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