| Showing all 3 reviews by stanb | |
| Review of: SMC Pentax-F* 600mm F4 ED [IF] by stanb on Tue March 4, 2008 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 47898
Reviews: 4
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Mr. Ron Boggs offered a great review of the same lens under FA name. I think the difference is only in color. He is absolutely 100% on target with everything. I can't better his review.
Why do I offer a 9 rating? You need strength and stamina. I can walk with this lens for a few hours, but it kills my shoulder (ask any 600 owner).
Because of the magnification factor (18x with digital bodies) you need a perfect technique to get the results. If there is something wrong with the images, it is the yours truly who is at fault.
Yes, it is soft at 4.0, but very usable. I have some shots of spoonbills taken at bad light and the images after some USM are just great.
Personally, I prefer to use it at f8.0. This way, because of shallow depth of field, my images are sharp. Also, I like to use ISO 400 so I can get a good shutter speed. K10D performs very well at 400. To improve the quality, I can run the image through the Noise Ninja (love it) and I get a super sharp picture with no grain. But on many occasions I can get absolutely sharp images of non-moving objects at 1/160 sec only without using a remote. Seems that SR is not a factor here at all. I hardly ever use it. It took me time to learn, a long time, to finally be satisfied with the results. The learning curve because if the weight, magnification and sensitivity to any movement is steep. It is not a lens for everybody. For example, even your breathing can be sensed by the lens through your fingers. I put some samples of the images from the lens here on the forum, one is at f 4.0 without any USM.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-FA 28mm F2.8 AL by stanb on Tue March 4, 2008 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 162833
Reviews: 31
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How anybody would give this lens a 7? It is perfect! I used it for landscapes with my slides and it produced fantastic results. I compared it to my 28-70 Canon L lens, and the Pentax is sooo much better. I sold it lately, but miss it.
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| Review of: SMC Pentax-FA 50mm F1.4 by stanb on Tue March 4, 2008 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 530418
Reviews: 160
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As others stated, very sharp at about 2.0. Produces great portraits. My favorite Pentax lens next to FA 100mm Macro. My 1300 (once I paid that much) dollars Canon L zoom is not close at 50mm to this lens.
And yes, I have always used a hood. Still, at f1.4 it is not as sharp. Usable, but not that great.
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