Fantastic, what a great link! I've only ever seen Peregrines once in the wild, it's great to see them nesting only a few miles from my house!

Regards
David

Hi Dennis

It really depends what you want to use the lens for. If it is for macro work then I would highly recommend the Pentax 100mm F2.8 WR Macro, but I would not recommend this or the 50mm macro for general use, they are not really suitable.

For general use I would recommend upgrading from the kit lens to a better zoom, like the Pentax DA 17-70 for example. This is a very sharp zoom and is a big step up from the kit lens, here's a couple of landscape examples taken with it, both with the K-5IIs:







I'm not sure why you can't get sharp enough images from the 55-300, this is a sharp lens if calibrated properly to the camera and I wouldn't really recommend changing it unless you spend a lot more money, or go to a prime telephoto instead, in which case you would lose the flexibility.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards
David

Sincere thanks to everyone who has commented on this set, I enjoyed taking / processing these and I think I will return to this location to do some more later in the year. Pity it's not open in the Winter!

Regards
David

TC Paid for, thanks very much Samson!

Regards
David

PM Sent.

Regards
David

No, but I have compared the SMC Takumar 135 F3.5 with the SMC K135 F2.5. For outright IQ and colour rendering the SMC Tak is right up there with the K135, possibly even beats it. For out of focus rendering, particularly highlights, the SMC K135 F2.5 is much better.

I don't have any direct comparison pics to show you because I deleted them, but here's one image from each lens:

SMC Takumar 135mm F3.5, Pentax K-x





SMC K135 F2.5, Pentax K-5IIs




Regards
David

Hi David

It's a difficult one to answer, the behaviour with the IR filter is a little unpredictable, also it behaves differently on different camera bodies. The grass is already green, so I don't think there would be much difference there, but the trees would certainly be different. On the second image you can see that some of the trees on the right are brighter, these are the ones in leaf, I think they are holly.

The IR filter didn't work too well on the K-5, it was good on the K-x and seems to be good on the K-3 too, so I would guess that different cameras have different strengths of IR filtering. Also, the IR filter is quite a subtle effect compared to a full IR camera, but I quite like the subtlety as the images retain some normality. It's not easy to use and requires a very long exposure, but it's worth experimenting with it. It is also great on sunny days as it turns blue sky jet black and this can be very effective behind a natural stone building.

Regards
David

Here's the image in BW Gareth, also another one I've just processed, this one in portrait mode:

Ruins in BW





Ruins in Portrait




Regards
David

Sounds like a great idea to me Stuey, personally I would love to see Anglesey but I would be up for any location in North Wales, dates permitting.

Cheers
David

Now then Nigel, stop trying to provoke us!! Drew used to own a K7 so I'm sure he's well aware of its capabilities! Of course, some may say that with a K-5 you don't need 5 exposures!

I like these images Drew, the skies look particularly good. I think the land could do with the levels bringing up a little more as it looks a little dark in comparison with the sky. My favourite is the second one as it leads the eye into the scene so well.

Regards
David