Mid to Long Telephoto
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Posted 01/08/2013 - 13:30
Before the 55-300 came out the FA 80-320 was reckoned Pentax's best effort in this area, not sure what the current going rate for those is second hand but I quite like mine.
It isn't as good as the 55-300, being a little softer at the long end (at least mine is compared to my Dad's DA), but it is very usable, particularly stopped down to f/8, and may save you some pennies.
I seem to recall that John Riley used to get very good results from his FAJ 75-300 so that may also be worth a look.
you don't have to be mad to post here
but it does help
It isn't as good as the 55-300, being a little softer at the long end (at least mine is compared to my Dad's DA), but it is very usable, particularly stopped down to f/8, and may save you some pennies.
I seem to recall that John Riley used to get very good results from his FAJ 75-300 so that may also be worth a look.
you don't have to be mad to post here
but it does help
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Posted 01/08/2013 - 13:54
The FAJ was surprisingly good for flower portraits and other close ups, but the 55-300mm is better.
Best regards, John
Best regards, John
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Posted 01/08/2013 - 17:13
Mongoose wrote:
Before the 55-300 came out the FA 80-320 was reckoned Pentax's best effort in this area, not sure what the current going rate for those is second hand but I quite like mine.
It isn't as good as the 55-300, being a little softer at the long end (at least mine is compared to my Dad's DA), but it is very usable, particularly stopped down to f/8, and may save you some pennies.
I seem to recall that John Riley used to get very good results from his FAJ 75-300 so that may also be worth a look.
Before the 55-300 came out the FA 80-320 was reckoned Pentax's best effort in this area, not sure what the current going rate for those is second hand but I quite like mine.
It isn't as good as the 55-300, being a little softer at the long end (at least mine is compared to my Dad's DA), but it is very usable, particularly stopped down to f/8, and may save you some pennies.
I seem to recall that John Riley used to get very good results from his FAJ 75-300 so that may also be worth a look.
Depending on condition - you can pick both of these up for around the £60-£80 mark.
I agree with John - the FAJ is surprisingly good - especially for a lens that is so light it must be made out of a cardboard tube painted silver with cling film at each end

Joking aside - a strength of this lens is the lack of weight - a weakness is the flimsy build quality - but the IQ is very acceptable - I used one for years on an MZ.
Carl
No matter how many lenses I have owned - I have always needed just one more
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Posted 03/08/2013 - 17:39
I've an immaculate 55-300 DA-L for sale. If you are interested pm me and we can discuss price.
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Posted 10/01/2014 - 15:09
A bit of Necro here as someone has lent me their 55-300 to try out over the weekend. Having seen a link to the Tamron 70-200 2.8 in the 'leads to deals' forum it has made me wonder about what other offers there may be out there (again!) and how they rate optically and optically for price paid. i.e. 55-300 might be optically 7/10 but for the price paid it might be 9/10. Appreciate there might be other factors for people like weight.
I imagine using this lens primarily more for landscapes at sunrise / sunset so would guess low light capabilities to be more useful to me than say AF speed.
I thought it might help to post a shot of the sort of picture I would like to take
First picture of trees and winter sun
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/samplesearch.php?do=photos&lens=67&sort=likes...
Thanks again
I imagine using this lens primarily more for landscapes at sunrise / sunset so would guess low light capabilities to be more useful to me than say AF speed.
I thought it might help to post a shot of the sort of picture I would like to take
First picture of trees and winter sun
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/samplesearch.php?do=photos&lens=67&sort=likes...
Thanks again
Link
Posted 10/01/2014 - 18:17
Harlequin wrote:
55-300 might be optically 7/10 but for the price paid it might be 9/10. Appreciate there might be other factors for people like weight.
I imagine using this lens primarily more for landscapes at sunrise / sunset so would guess low light capabilities to be more useful to me than say AF speed.
55-300 might be optically 7/10 but for the price paid it might be 9/10. Appreciate there might be other factors for people like weight.
I imagine using this lens primarily more for landscapes at sunrise / sunset so would guess low light capabilities to be more useful to me than say AF speed.
I would rate the 55-300 higher than 7/10 optically, it's a very sharp lens and ideally suited to isolating portions of a landscape, which is I think the use you are describing. If you take a look at my Gallery portfolio on this site there are a fair few landscapes shot with the DA L 55-300, some examples are:



Regards
David
Flickr
Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs

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Posted 10/01/2014 - 18:46
until late this year when I managed to snag a bigma, the DA L 55-300 was my lens for airshows and it did well. it hunted a bit due to the low contrast of sky etc but got some great shots.
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you can't go far wrong with a 55-300, if you can stretch to the DA, get it over the DA L as it has the metal mount and faster focus.
Pentax K3, DA 18-55 WR, Sigma 50-500 EX DG HSM, Pentax M-50, a bucket load of SD cards, some lights and a lightbox
link
you can't go far wrong with a 55-300, if you can stretch to the DA, get it over the DA L as it has the metal mount and faster focus.
Pentax K3, DA 18-55 WR, Sigma 50-500 EX DG HSM, Pentax M-50, a bucket load of SD cards, some lights and a lightbox
Link
Posted 10/01/2014 - 19:02
55-300 is a no brainer, great IQ for the money. It does have some limitations, I found that at 300mm then it didn't handle strong contrasts that well. But for the money it is a bargain and at its sweet spot it is right up there.
You can see some of my photos here if you are so inclined
You can see some of my photos here if you are so inclined
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Posted 10/01/2014 - 21:42
Hi,
much as I like my DA15mm LTD I too think the 55-300 DA great for landscapes (or seascapes)
https://www.pentaxuser.com/images/comment_pictures/10782/10782_1389390088.jpg
This on K5 at 300mm F11 ISO 320 in Girvan Ayrshire last June in between rain showers.

much as I like my DA15mm LTD I too think the 55-300 DA great for landscapes (or seascapes)
https://www.pentaxuser.com/images/comment_pictures/10782/10782_1389390088.jpg
This on K5 at 300mm F11 ISO 320 in Girvan Ayrshire last June in between rain showers.

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Posted 10/01/2014 - 23:05
The DA55-300 is not bad, but from a quick look through my shots it appears that I've never actually taken a sunset picture with it. This is more like what I tend to use it for

Blonde by kh1234567890, on Flickr
There is always the DA50-200 WR - greatly under-rated for some reason. And all those cheap old manual lenses such as the M135/3.5, M75-200/4 etc.
Flickr Stream


Blonde by kh1234567890, on Flickr
There is always the DA50-200 WR - greatly under-rated for some reason. And all those cheap old manual lenses such as the M135/3.5, M75-200/4 etc.
Flickr Stream
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Posted 14/01/2014 - 11:44
Sorry for the delay in responding and thank you all for your comments. There's a lot of love for the 55-300!
The weather wasn't that great last weekend and I only had a little time to put the borrowed 55-300 through it's paces. As David surmised (loved your photos) the subject isolation from distance is what I'm after so think I will see what the guy wants price wise.
There really does seem to be a big leap in price to get the next level of quality
The weather wasn't that great last weekend and I only had a little time to put the borrowed 55-300 through it's paces. As David surmised (loved your photos) the subject isolation from distance is what I'm after so think I will see what the guy wants price wise.
There really does seem to be a big leap in price to get the next level of quality
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Harlequin
Member
My longest focal length is 100mm so I'm looking for some suggestions for something with nice reach. My expenditure has been astronomical recently so something like a DA300 is off limits
Thanks in Advance