FS: SMC Pentax-A* 300mm F2.8 ED [IF]

SMC Pentax-A* 300mm F2.8 ED [IF]

I'm tentatively listing my fast A Star series 300mm - it's has the best IQ of any 300mm I have ever used but it hardly ever gets used nowadays (except for in the garden) due to it's weight, it needs to go to a younger and/or stronger Pentaxian

This is definitely a User copy and not a collectors copy. It is complete (I believe) in that it has the original leatherette lens cover, filter holder and metal case.

Cosmetically it is fairly good, no dents or major scratches. Mechanically it's excellent - a nice, clean and snappy aperture.

Optically it performs beautifully, it has some minor coating marks on the front element (typical for age) and excellent coating on the rear element. There is some notable dust and internal coating marks throughout the lens elements. There is almost no damping of the focus - it is very "free" but it tends to stay where left probably due to the weight? There is a slight "rattle" when it is moved, I can't work out exactly what it is but seems to come from the filter holder (near the rear of the lens). Discussions with another owner several years ago revealed that his copy also rattled, but I don't know if this applies to all or not.

So I've probably not done a great job of "selling" the lens (but if you've bought from me before you'll know that my descriptions are accurate) - but the big plus points are all about the image quality. It is simply superb and of course that fast aperture allows low light use and thin depth of field.

Another great strength is the fact that there are 2 "matched" converters that work beautifully with this lens, the A-1.4xL and the A-2xL - IQ degradation is minimal with either of these. The F 1.7x AF adapter also works beautifully (making this a limited range AF 510mm lens) and the HD - 1.4x WR converter also works really well (MF only) on APS-C.

These are the User Reviews over at PF:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/SMC-Pentax-A-Star-300mm-F2.8-Lens.html

Here's a few photos of the lens:




















And here's a Flickr Album of images taken with it:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62460860@N05/albums/72157678371965434

Here's a small selection from that album:









These are withe the A-2x-L matched converter attached:






And with the A 1.4x-L converter





And with the HD WR 1.4x converter on the K5iiS



I also have the A 2x-L converter that I would be willing to sell with the lens if wanted.


Price: offers around the £1100 mark

UK Only, Bank Transfer, PayPal Gift, Postal Order or Cash on collection, Inspection Welcome

Wow!

Not one I can surreptitiously slip into the lens collection... excuse me while I buy a lottery ticket.

You could surreptitiously slip the lens collection into this instead!

Wah ! Not fair !

Just a note that the Rear Drop-in Filter slot has an original Pentax UV filter (in excellent condition), so the photo of the rear element is actually the filter!

I'm struggling to find decent information on whether there is any advantage/disadvantage of using the filter on a Digital body - if anyone can contribute their knowledge that would be helpful

Two more images of the Fuschia bush just outside the Patio window today (lazy photography)

1. at f2.8 for the Bokeh



2. at f7.1 for depth and sharpness

Sometimes the rear filter is actually part of the optical formula and might be necessary. Obviously it can be changed for a coloured filter, but some filter may need to be there.

When I had mine it had a Penfax rear filter although I'm pretty sure it wasn't a UV. I was under the impression it was needed for opitimal performance.

Fabulous lens, works very well with the 1.7x

Cheers Mike - Yes, the optimal performance thing is the impression I got when reading posts about the lens, but almost all comments seemed to relate to use with film, I couldn't find any info that showed performance differences on digital.

And yes, I've used it with the 1.7x very successfully


The filter is actually aa ASAHI Pentax 49mm L39 (Uv) - the coatings look in incredible condition and at first I thought it was a dedicated optic - but googling appears to show at lot of these around, so I assume it was the standard UV filter that was manufactured at the time :

The fact much newer lenses have been released since and they have rear filters would suggest they are needed for digital I would have thought.

Not sure if the 560mm has one?

I have an L39 - I think they are reasonably common but a nice filter in any case.

Does dropping the price to £999.99p tempt anyone

Bump

What’s this like compared to the newer da* 300mm f4 SDM?
Also is this 2.8 version weather resistant?

No - none of the A series lenses were weather resistant.

As to what's it like compared to the current DA* f4.0 version, well that's extremely difficult to answer!

There are the obvious differences of it being significantly heavier, manual focus, 1 full stop faster, etc. but in terms of image quality then you really have to read opinions already posted on various forums (the Reviews section over on PF can be very useful).

My personal opinion is that it is the best 300mm lens I have ever used. It is capable of rendering beautiful background with wafer thin depth of field and incredible detail. It works brilliantly with the A series converters that were designed at the same time (particularly the 1.4x-L and 2x-L).

I wouldn't use it as a day-to-day lens - it is simply too heavy - but if you have the time and strength it can deliver absolutely top quality results.