Good deal ?

Came across this ....


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pentax-SMC-F-SMC-Pentax-F-300mm-f-4-5-ED-IF-Lens-Excel...

I Don't Know but if i had the money id Buy it

I paid £599 delivered for a used mint DA star 300mm F4 recently from Park Cameras. I don't know how they compare.

Just found out that the coating on the front element is damaged so my guess is that it'll be useless and flare like a wild thing .

Sean

By the time you've added import duties, handling and VAT, IMHO you're better off buying the DA* 300mm f/4 that's current.

Yes John i reckon your right ,The sellers description is even more unappealing on a second read.

Sean

This is a cracking lens and on par with the DA*300 in so far as IQ. This was/is a much sought after lens. Just a shame that the tripod foot is missing! As for the seller's description, well the lens seems to have some dust and a few wear marks but overall, looks in good shape. I would have bought it - but I already have one - and the DA* version.

This is the best Pentax 300mm I have owned (out of the K, A*, F* and DA*) - it is beautifully built, compact, sharp at maximum aperture - it's absolutely top-notch all round. I find the tripod foot really useful, although there are times when I'm more than happy to shoot handheld with the foot removed.

However it is not the best buy Pentax 300mm! The DA* is slightly faster, has SDM and WR - all significant plus points (the F* focus is really quite noisy) - and the DA* can sometimes be found for around the £600 mark in excellent condition. Prices of the F* probably peaked a few years ago (when I bought mine), but they are definitely much harder to find nowadays

It's a 1/3rd slower than the DA* and when I had one I found it
better stopped down slightly. The DA* seems to be the same
in sharpness terms from f/4 to f.8

Both lenses are about the same from about f/5.6.

I can't remember what the angle of view was like.
The 300mm A* is about 15% longer than the DA*

EDIT:
Just had a look at the Photozone test of the DA*
They also found it to be sharper at f/4 than f/8
So the F* isn't in the same league

http://www.photozone.de/pentax/643-pentax300f4?start=1

The Photozone test will have been done in perfect lighting,
but the DA* stands out in poor lighting.

--

It seems that the smc coating is damaged

Sean

What I should have made clear is that the DA* is superb optically too!

There is very little between the lenses in terms of IQ IMO (and if you read the reviews over at the US forum you'll see they both score very highly). It comes down to personal preferences (and needs)