Please forgive my transgression

The Kingfisher shot, posted in the Gallery until someone pointed out it was shot on a Nikon...I thought I had taken it on my K-1 Da300 & 1.4x combo..hence DA*300 in the lens description....

Even both cameras (K1 & D500) were fitted with 300 mm lenses (1.4x plus crop on K-1 and 1.7x on the D500) in different positions the K-1 came out with cleaner shots than the D500 - it's just that the shot of her preening her wing was taken on the Nikon..

So rules being rules and wishing not to be chastised by Mr Riley I removed the photo

Take a detention and write 500 lines...
I must not be a silly billy

Better if he had posted his Pentax pic on the Nikon forum and his punishment would have been to write out once, "I must not be a silly billy".

You should post some of your recent B&W portrait shots taken with the K-1/60-250mm on here Peter, they are excellent.

Thanks for the compliment Mr Pursey. I might just do that.

Id be interested in the difference of the images taken By different cameras by the same photographer..
I appreciate you cant post them here so do you have somewhere you post your images ?

Well I'm glad I saw your delightful Kingfisher portrait before it vanished!

Regards
Mike

Slightly different vantage points - I did have the K-1 on crop mode too. I could've taken my K-3 as well as that could've provided a more meaningful comparison but I was fairly overloaded...

Just a quick comparison for you. Pentax K-5IIs vs Canon 7D MKI so both older cameras now but were of the same timeframe.. The Pentax shot is actually a little sharper but it was shot at f/8 whereas the Canon was f/6.7

Nothing in it at the time really

Pentax K-5 II s and Pentax HD D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 ED DC AW



RIAT 2015 by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr



Canon EOS 7D and Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary


RIAT 2015 by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

That K5 shot is top class. How does the 150-450 stack up against the Sigma?

At 450mm I would say Pentax has the edge but add the 1.4x to get 630mm and the Sigma pulls slightly ahead, also the Pentax AF really begins to hamper things. Trouble with the Sigma is that it's over 3KG and using that handheld at an airshow all day is no fun that's for sure. I recently purchased a Canon 100-400mm MKII to try and that is very impressive although 400mm is really the minimum for airshows these days as they are flying further from the crowdline.

Sort of tempted to buy a Nikon D500 and a 200-500mm to see how that compares but if I do then I'm going to have to start getting rid of something very soon after.

With all respect Mike, don't consider the 200-500mm.

I'd look at a Sigma 500mm on a K5 IIs first. The lens will shift to another Pentax user if you go to a D500 and even then, I'd get another Sigma 500mm for the Nikon over the 200-500mm

Best regards

I had a go on this combination last year and its excellent, a lot of pros are using this combo for festivals now, its so cheap for the convenience of a good zoom range.

I think you're alone in this regard.... The Nikkor 200-500 seems to have a better reputation than the 80-400 (new one) and the 200-400 f4. A fast prime, although a much better bet, is at least 3-4x more expensive than the 200-500 (or 150-450 at the 'special' price - I really hope I haven't missed the boat with the special offers...)

Hi Peter, one of our members of wildlife and recent Whitby Goth fame has tried the lens on a D500 and was non too happy. Maybe a second copy has proven better, I don't know. Friends I shot with in Australia were also not enthusiastic with the lens. I have considered it my self but gave it a pass.

My OP was not taking into account Mike does cover air shows where a zoom is much more desirable.

I'll be at the Free Flight Nationals at the end of May where I'll meet up with a good mate, Alex Whitaker who shoots professionally for Yachting magazines and RCM&E magazine. His weapons of choice are a DX1 MkII and a 100-400 MkII. I very rarely see him change lenses unless he's doing inside shots etc. All outdoor shots are with the above lens and a 1.4TC if needed.

I'm not pushing other brands here, rather than the situation of having kit that does just what is expected of it and lets you concentrate on shooting without consideration for minor issues of sharpness or focus speed etc.

I'm sure Mike will get sorted with kit that he has given much consideration to and proceeds to get a feel for it, both in evaluation and produced results.

Best regards