The colours in these are very natural, I agree with Tim's comments.

Regards
David

I wondered what I was doing wrong!

Regards
David

1 for me too, I think this subject works much better in colour.

Regards
David

Great shot, flipped or not!

Cheers
David

How does this explain my Pentax DFA 100 F2.8 WR Macro lens John that requires +9 adjustment of my K-5iis and +8 on my K-3? The factory tolerances didn't work too well on that one did they?

Regards
David

Not so Ken, the lens to body join is the most likely place for water to get in. I've had this happen several times when out in the rain, it is surprising how much water gets into this join, so the O ring here is a fundamental requirement for proper weather-sealing.

Regards
David

There is margin for error when adjusting and also different lighting conditions, different focal lengths, different focus distances all play a part. However, if a lens is consistently 'off' it makes sense that it needs calibrating. See above, what I've said about my Pentax DFA 100mm macro lens. It would not focus correctly in any conditions, at any focus distance, on any body. It needed + 9 adjustment on my K-5iis and +8 on the K-3. That is way different to any other lens I own and has made this lens usable when it was unusable. That may be an extreme example, but I would bet there are a lot of people out there with lenses like this who simply believe the lens is 'a poor copy'.

Regards
David

My Pentax WR 100mm F2.8 Macro, a lens that costs £800 when new, would have had to go in the bin if I hadn't calibrated it. As I bought it second hand, I could not send it back to the shop for exchange or refund. It was useless before I adjusted the AF on all my bodies, bearing in mind this is a macro lens and is used in situations where focus depth is wafer-thin. It produced plain blurred results. It's now great, there's nothing wrong with the optics, it just needed calibrating.

You are lucky Alan! I love my 55-300 and it produces very accurate and consistent results, but I have calibrated it and once calibrated I haven't had to return it back to zero, I'm very happy with it the calibrated setting.

I disagree John. How can it 'be calibrated at the factory' when the manufacturer cannot account for the combination of camera body and lens that we use? It is the interaction between the two that produces the accuracy or inaccuracy. I'm not trying to claim that you can calibrate for all eventualities, just that you can make the best of a particular camera and lens combination. How would you have dealt with the situation I have described on my Pentax 100mm macro? Would it just have been left on the shelf?

Regards
David

You can calibrate a zoom to an extent. Calibrate it for an average focal length / focus distance. Some lens / camera combinations can be so far out that they will not focus accurately at any focal length or focus distance. Ask AndrewA about the situation with his K-5 and all of his lenses, primes and zooms. I had a similar situation with my first K-5, it was miles out with all lenses. The second one was great, not much adjustment needed.

I bought a mint DA 100mm WR Macro off a forum member about 8 months ago. Lovely lens, but when I tried to use it the focus was appalling, even on bodies that focussed accurately with other lenses. It needs +9 adjustment on my K-5iis and almost as much on my K-3 and now it focusses accurately. I wonder if this is why it was so 'mint'? Did the previous owner not use it because of this?

I repeat what I said before, if lenses are not calibrated to each body they will not work at their best unless you are very, very lucky. There is tolerance in both camera and lens manufacture, so this is just plain common sense. It applies to zooms as much as it does to primes, the only thing is that the calibration on zooms will not be spot on at all focal lengths.

Regards
David

As mentioned above, my K-x failed due to being out in rainy conditions. I had to have the insides completely replaced.

Regards
David