Well done, going out without credit card I mean, but beware it ‘ll make you want it more.

I sold mine a littlevwhile ago and replaced it with Sigma Art f1.4, DG 35mm, which is quite a lot faster and is supr on FF and APS too.

Nb. Mine is used less than once per month (just to put a token number on it)

Typical uses ;

Urban / street
Interiors
Indoor events ( weddings, family celebrations etc)
Landscape
Travel

But for indoor court sports it is indispensible and enables me to sit in the court ( usually on the floor) and shoot without a flash. right upbagsinst the action

I have recently built up an image catalogue and website archive for our University Sports Village including the gyms, inter-university sports events and indoor sports tournaments - 90% of the indoor competitoon is shot on this lens and I have over 1000 indoor images archived, so for me it is “the lens” for this

Also I think using a lens infrequently is not really an argument against buying it because most of us will have a “ battery” of lenses to accomodate a very diverse range of subjects and that can mean some lenses are used less than others.

Zooms are very convenient and these days are “almost optically as good as primes” but a prime will usually have a bigger max aperture with little degradation in quality; the most significant advantage by a mile, is in shooting speed due to the that bigger aperture

That point alone makes my 35mm a crucial part of my kit.

The question is, if the lens is worth buying if you have no idea if you will ever use it and have not (at that point) ever had a need for such a lens.

If that is the case it is probably not a good idea to spend your hard earned “dosh.

Some lenses are so special you have to have a special interest or need to justify it’s purchase - but a 35 fast prime is so useful and versatile it is essential for me .

If you can afford it (without to much pain) I would buy a fast 35 mm, it will nevet just sit on a shelf.

Thats a good omen; it is great to see them spreading out; in the last five years the Red Kite has become as common as buzzards in some parts of Wales.

Now we have Golden Eagles being re- introduced in Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons let's hope they will reestablish themselves at a sustainable level too.

InTresting bit of trivia;The rec kite is the national bird of Wales

Happy Captures

Daronl

Go for it Lenny - I have supllimented my birding gear with a used D500 body on a used Nikon 500mm for some months but at nearly 9 times the price of the HD 150-450, the Nikon is only marginally better despite being a prime and honestly on prints I prefer the HD150-450.

So if the long awaited “K3 II mk 2, K3 II S, K3 III ” (or whatever it is called ) comes along with only slightly improved autofocus, tracking and buffer performance we will be in a good place for BIF given the quality of the DA* 300 and this lovely 150-450 zoom

Great set Barrie, great time for them and we are seeing them now as frequently on the seashore as in the uplands over here in West Wales.

That lens is super, I have used mine on everything from insects to landscapes as well as normal wildlife and it is such a piece of work.

I was shooting otters last week in weird light wirh horrible, intenses glare on the water facing me and low incident light with the sun at my back and it was faultless.

( as sharp as a prime at 450mm f5.6 - f

Hi John,

Thanks for your comments and I do enjoy the capability of the D500 but I don't like the name on it:.

I have been a committed Pentax man for many,many years and remain so, but to have to buy a Nikon to pursue my particular photographic interests is very sad, given I have the 4 top current Pentax bodies in my kit including a complete FF outfit with 6 lenses and a battery of DA* s too.

The saddest fact however is that Pentax don't get it ; and they keep doing it; apart from the universal deficiency in autofocus, hi speed Tracking and buffering, even on the K1MkII we now have a lesser IQ due to the "baked in noise reduction on raw files"

"DP Review Extract on the K1 MkII: [i]as the ISO increases baked-in noise reduction results in slightly less Raw detail capture than the K-1 and some artifacts (worse in JPEG). This noise reduction can not be turned off.

These are not "foibles" John they are downright deficiencies that make investments in these wonderful Pentax lenses a waste of time for wildlife and action photographers: a ponderous flypast from a large Heron can be caught on an Iphone but for the wild life enthusiast or pro, fast moving small subjects (not too small either) are really not a practical possibility.

These "Foibles" render the highest spec Pentax cameras not up to the designation "Professional spec"

I won't post on it again John, but have done so to try and bring attention, regarding these deficiencies to Pentax, who I assume might read PU.

We are losing ground with every new iteration from "Cannikon" and the the other top brands who are advancing at a "rate of knots"

In the mean time, I will wait in hope that one day I can leave my D500 in the cupboard when going on a field trip.

Hopefully the solution will come soon in the form of a Pentax Body that can live in the same bag as a D500 for birding trips;

[i]Not looking for a challenger for a Nikon Z6 just a good working wildlife/action camera with a Pentax badge on it

(By the way for "Perched birds", the the K1 and the K3 II outperform the D500 IQ - when using Pentax lenses at the same price point as the Nikon lenses).

Thanks again for your response John and as I said I won't post on it again and I trust the issue will be addressed and solved by Pentax soon.

A “Camera Road map” would be most useful just to cofirm that Pentax are working on a camera with
decent hi-speed autofocus, tracking and buffering so we can better use the lenses in the “Lens Roadmap” for action, wildlife and other forms of high speed photography, whatever it may be.

As I said in my other posts , I have bought a 2nd hand Nikon D 500 just for birding but I wish I could have bought a Pentax with the same capability to track and buffer high speed continuous shooting so I could use my big Pentax lenses on BIF and other fast moving wild life.

The Nikon D500 is a medium priced APS DSLR not a horrendously expensive hi-tech marvel.

I feel I can’t go on clinging to the hope that we will get a Pentax that could just keep up with even this modest Nikon in the field.

A “Camera Road Map” would clarify if it is worth waiting or are we doing so in vain.





Daronl

Not to repeat myself

This lens map looks great and we all know that Pentax lenses are truly wonderful lenses for sure; however why can’t you spend money and time on giving us decent hi-speed autofocus, tracking and buffering so we can better use the lenses for action, wildlife and other forms of high speed photography, whatever it may be.

Just one body that can handle birds in flight for example or high speed sport is all that is needed.

There’s always rumours about the precarious position of the Pentax brand but in my view it is not about lens quality; we are simply not able to compete against Nikon (in particular) and Canon when it comes to action and wild life photography.

I have bought a 2nd hand Nikon D 500 just for birding but I wish I could have bought a Pentax with the same capability to track and buffer high speed continuous shooting so I could use my big Pentax lenses on BIF and other fast moving wild life.

The Nikon D500 is a medium priced APS DSLR not a horrendously expensive hi-tech marvel.

Having used it for a couple of months I am quite sad I bought the entire Pentax FF range of lenses and two bodies ovet the last three years .

I feel I can’t go on clinging to the hope we will get a Pentax that could just keep up with even this modest Nikon in the field.

I can ‘t see it happening and for wildlife I see Pentax going so far behind it will really accelerate their demlse which will be a very sad day for me.

I beleive this is a hole you should fill before we get anymore lenses.

I for one want to keep this brand and it’s wonderful glass alive going forward into the long term future.

Wake up Pentax the gap is getting wider and wider.
Daronl
Daronl

Well Adrian,
Every now and again a lens comes along that is frankly quite remarkable for the money; the 55/300 PLM is simply just that.

Do I am glad you are over the initial scare ‘cos now you will be very happy with this gem of a lens