Senior Member Registered: April, 2012 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 232 | | Review Date: March 22, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Portable, good optics + mechanics | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: K3
| |
I got mine at a local camera shop, with a K1000 and a bunch of other lenses for a steal. It was in pristine condition and came in the original case.
This is a great telephoto prime if you don't mind that it's manual focus only. It is quite sharp and the colours have a nice punch to it. There is a very small amount of fringing in certain situations, but nothing too bad in the photos I took.
The handling is good for such a long lens. Focus and aperture mechanisms are smooth. Despite this, it can be difficult to attain focus given the shallow depth of field at 300mm f4.5.
Overall, I can highly recommend this lens, particularly at the price I got it for.
 The moon by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
 Duck at Lancaster University by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
 Duck at Lancaster University by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
 Duck at Lancaster University by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
 Duck at Lancaster University by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
 Lovebirds in Morecambe - close up by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
For comparison only, the same picture from the perspective of the FA31.
 Lovebirds in Morecambe - from the distance by Christian Kliesch, on Flickr
| |
Veteran Member Registered: June, 2008 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,165 | | Review Date: May 2, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $180.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Build quality, Built-in hood, Built-in tripod collar, relatively close focus, fast | | Cons: | Difficult to get manual focus right; PF or CA in high contrast | |
I like this lens. Got mine almost like new with box, case, straps and UV filter. Hard to focus, although better with an S type screen or with live view & zoom. Probably a little soft at wide apertures, although missed focus confuses the issue. Focuses more closely than most other manual 300mm lenses, although not a macro lens by any stretch. Built in hood and tripod collar are very convenient, as really you want this on a tripod for best results. It is light enough to hand-hold. Works in good light on the AFA 1.7X adapter, for about the cheapest AF 500mm lens solution you can get. Surprisingly, for an "Apochromat" lens, it shows quite a bit of purple fringing/CA at wide apertures. This does improve stopped down, but can be limiting shooting branches against open sky, for instance. It isn't a focal length I use much, but when needed it does the trick.
| |
New Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Oldham Posts: 8 | | Review Date: October 22, 2010 | Not Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Solid, sharp, built in tripod collar | | Cons: | Blue/purple fringing | |
Bought this on Ebay. It is heavy and feels very solid. It is sharp, but exhibits noticeable blue/purple fringing at high contrast edges when used with a Pentax K200D. The fringing is obvious at f8 & wider when pixel-peeping but improves at f11.
Very promising, but flawed when used with a DSLR.
| |
Site Supporter Registered: January, 2009 Location: Springe Posts: 3,693 | | Review Date: April 4, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $130.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | build quality, sharp | | Cons: | not a 2.8 | |
I got this lens for a really good price. The build quality is impressive. The optical quality absolutely ok, but I recommend to use a monopod for really sharp shots. The "Green Button" makes it easy to use with with digital bodies. Manual focussing can be a challenge at times. But all in all its great value for money.
| |
