My older lenses AF just fine with the screw drive. here is not even any sound. When an SDM lens is mounted, the camera is already in MF mode so no focusing is even attempted.

Went looking up the TC I found that I paid a little less than half price of the cheapest price I've seen. So not too bad. A bit disappointed, but I don't feel totally ripped off for digging in the consignment bin.

The guys in the store used to sell and even push Pentax 10 years ago. (last time I was in that store -- not quite in the neighborhood anymore) Now they know nothing about and carry a single Pentax-fit lens by Tamron. ugh!

Ayway, had to hook it up to my macro (AF works, but who relies on auto focus with macro anyway?).

I think I'll still end up having fun with the TC.
https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/Tamron-2x-on-Tamron-90mm-Macro-997

he, he, forgot that image tags don't work.

Yep, it has all electrical contacts.
Well, it has the two gold tabs just around the glass which should be for the DSM. At least the only lenses I have with those that have SDM.

The tele also has the screw pass through.
Hoping I could get the screw drive to work, I tried taping over the SDM contacts but the camera then started flashing the "-MF-" symbol. So there must be some communication from the lens that says "Hey I have SDM, if the contacts are blocked give a warning".

Hmmm...so it seems the contacts are functional, perhaps just dirty?? They look clean. Everything looks clean. It is about as god as new condition as one could hope.

I just picked up a Tamron-F 2X Pz-AF BBAR MC7 Tele-converter for cheap.
Haven't put it though comparison tests, but it seems OK at first sight.

It appears to have pass-through for all electrical connections but my DA* lenses lose auto focus. Any one familiar with this tele-converter and know if/why that might be expected? Or did I get a broken item?

Unfortunately the store was an impulse stop, so I didn't have my camera there to test in advance.

The 55-300 is running about $400 here. Not a bad price as the lens seems to be getting decent reviews for the most part.

Not sure that would make for the most exciting photo, but a single leg rotating like the hands on a clock could certainly be an interesting result.

If you have the luxury of staging the photo then the same principal could be used for most movements other than actual jumps/flips, where gravity has its own rules about how fast something must travel.

Of course, for that, just have the person perform the same stunt a few times and get the pieces you need to fill in the blanks. You're using Photoshop anyway, so exact positioning is not necessarily a critical issue.

Good luck. I'd be interested to find out how things turn out.


Daniel, Strobe flash is a brilliant idea. Not sure how that would work out, but I supposed if the area is small it should work well. Otherwise I believe the common case is to use multiple strobes on a synchronized timer. Still worth a try.

3 frames per second should give your some acceptable results, but if the subject is moving with any real speed, at least 6 to 10 would be quite a bit more helpful. Although it really depends on how fast the subject is moving in the frame.

Don't know what sort of situation you plan to photograph your friend, I don't do the acrobatic end of martial arts at my age, but I can do quite a lot in 1/3 of a second.

You're quite likely to get the start of a jump and the landing at only three frames per second, for example. Last time I shot such events was with my istD at 2 frames per sec (not much difference). I ended up not using rapid fire shooting at all and concentrated on timing of individual shots.

But I'm old and slow on the camera too... It certainly could not hurt to try. If it is not for a surprise, ask if your friend can perform some of the moves or stunts you want to photograph and see if the camera will work for you. Although I'm betting you'll need to see about renting a camera with a faster frame rate for the day.

Besides, remember 1/4000 second is only 1/4000 per slice as the shutter travels across the sensor plane. It still takes much longer for the entire sensor to be fully exposed, so you will not really get the high speed you want.

The af360gz flash at, lets say 1/64th power, is about 1/20000. Plenty fast to stop any action you want. You just need to be in a dark enough room and have the flash close enough to light your subject.

So like Don says just set your shutter speed to what ever you need to kill the ambient light, if any, and use the flash to stop the action.

The affect depends on the environment and angle to the sun. But with wide angle you're going to get gradients of dark-light-dark or light-dark-light from one side to the other.
Other than the few times I tried to make a panorama image, I never found it all that problematic or distracting. (if you're making panoramas, take the filter off. )


I have a $250 polarizer and a $60 polarizer. I have yet to see much difference between the two. Of course I never used both for the same scene. One 62mm the other 77mm for different lenses so comparison is wacked to start.
I suppose side by side I'd notice, but for the images I have I do not see much in regards to added flare or other quality issues.
I guess I'll have to test that some day.

Yep, more photoshop than DSLR.
Mere multiple exposure will result in exposing the background in all areas, meaning your subject will look like semi-transparent ghosts - at best.

Not to mention that the camera's internal multi-exposure processing will not be able to keep up much of a frame rate and you'll miss most of the action between shots.

Personally I prefer the red glow of the embers. It appears the ambient light is too bright to get a good feel of the heat that is likely to be in there. I do like the red glow/reflection in the very center, so a good cropping in might help.
With lower ambient light, you'll probably pick up more flame not otherwise visible as well. I think if you have the chance, try again later in the day.