AFRAID TO SAY IT!

so is the auto focus good on the k5 ii then? I think i read somewhere someone saying that you CAN auto focus with the da 300 and the converter. i didn't think you could

I had a good try at this a couple of weeks back. With the DA*300mm and Kenko Pz-AF 1.5x TC, there was still a lot of hunting, even in good light. In live view, using CD-AF, it locked focus every time. Not so good though for wildlife a lot of the time! I do have the Pentax AFA 1.7x as well so it's not all bad news.

It appears to be down to SDM primes though as I have read elsewhere that the DA* zooms all seem to work ok with TC's. Even my Bigma locks focus ok with the Kenko 1.5x TC.

[quote]
eenymac ..."It appears to be down to SDM primes though as I have read elsewhere that the DA* zooms all seem to work ok with TC's. Even my Bigma locks focus ok with the Kenko 1.5x TC.."[quote]

Mine work 17-70 F4, 60-250F4, 100wr macro , and 100-300 f4 with kenko 1.5x tc
and locks with the k-5iis with no hunting...

There seems to be something odd with the Kenko TC's
even among the same models some work with the DA*300mm
some don't. They all nearly all seem to work with the
Sigma 150-500mm, but they do vary with regards to how
well they work.

None of the the Kenko 2x's I've tried have worked with SDM.

I have the DA*300 and the Pentax x1.7 AF Adapter. Both fairly recently acquired. AF works pretty well. Now I've got used to them. It really speeds things up and stops the hunting if you give the combination a bit of a helping hand. If you focus fairly closely but on the far side of your object then AF will work quite quickly. It's all about learning the pros and cons of your lenses and working with them.

Yes, I know, live objects can move quickly, but stuey has given good examples of why AF isn't strictly necessary, but nice to have.

Here's one I took this morning with the combination on a K-r, ISO 400, f9, 1/500s. Cropped to 2200px long side.

wow
I am amazed. always thought it wasn't possible. can you guys show me a link for the converter and how i get it to work. Are you saying auto focus is possible but slow comparable to Siggy 500mm?

You have to buy it 2nd hand. I recently bought one on here off mannesty, so have a look at that thread.

link

I don't know how fast it is compared to the Siggy, but Mike-P probably does. But, like I say, if you give it a bit of help it makes a big difference.

For what it's worth I'd say stick with Pentax and if you've some money to spare change to a K5II or K5IIs. I'd imagine you're talking about a fair bit of money to switch systems for questionable gain. At the very least either borrow or rent the Canon/Nikon equipment you're thinking of changing to (and use it!) as there are bound to be downsides.

Mine are K30+Sigma 150-500, mostly. Some also with DA*300mm. Nearly all birds.
Dave
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcweather/

What do you think of the K30 DAVE?

Im not bothered really about cameras - its the lenses that bug me. If the 300 worked great with a teleconverter id stay...no brainer.
But Im getting the impression its bothersome and thats no good out in the field.
The amount of shots I have missed with the Siggy 150 500 hunting back and forth has sent me in a rage on too many ocassions this year.

I nearly bought a K-5 this evening but apart from less noise at higher ISO's its not really worth it is it???

PLEASE take a look at the Treecreeper (first image) on my flickstream this evening. This was taken today in crappy poor light with my K-x. Its a great performer - this was taken at 1600 ISO - can it really get any better?

I guess you have to dance with the girl you bring to the dance.

I cant afford to change and it will kill me but going for a D7000 and 300mm F4 tele combo is looking more realistic

sniffs

Hi Alastair, hope you are well! I cannot confirm the behaviour of K-5 vs. K-x with the Sigma 150-500, but I can give you a direct comparison of the AF performance between the two cameras with both a Pentax 55-300 and a Sigma 50-500.

In both cases, the AF performance on the K-5 is significantly better than the K-x, both in terms of accuracy and speed. If this is true of the K-5 (mk1) I am pretty certain it will be even more pronounced with a K-5 mk2. I notice the biggest improvement with the 55-300 rather than the Sigma, but both are better. Whether a K-5 will meet your expectations is another matter, but upgrading to a K-5 mk2 would probably be more cost effective than changing systems.

Regards
David

Focussing on the mkii is a vast improvement on the mki, very little hunting on the mkii

I was of course meaning by comparison to buying a whole new set up where the body alone might be thousands and the total cost would far exceed the K-5/560mm options.

Add all the lenses up and the 560mm starts to look reasonable.