I would be grateful if anyone who has one of the genuine Pentax Takumar 2x teleconverters could answer a few questions:

1. What is the IQ like on this converter?

2. Are there any alternatives you would recommend that have good IQ (must be PK/A)

3. Is the Asahi Pentax Takumar 2x teleconverter 7 element or 4 element?

Many thanks in advance.

Regards
David

I've just bought a Pentax-M 28mm f3.5 from ebay for £28, including original hard case, Pentax Skylight filter and both lens caps. The lens hasn't arrived yet, but looked in good condition (fingers crossed). I would be interested for views on the price paid and the quality of this lens as I have read good things about it. Bought it specifcally for landscapes.

Regards
David

Lisali, the F1.4 just refers to the maximum aperture that the lens can achieve and therefore a f1.4 will let in more light for any given shutter speed than say a f3.5. However, the amount of light let in is a combination of the shutter speed and the aperture, so a correct exposure can be obtained by using any aperture, as long as the shutter speed is sufficiently long. A 'faster' lens (say F1.4 or f1.7) will allow you to use a higher shutter speed at lower light levels and therefore may help avoid 'camera shake' or may give you more flexibility for street photography. Don't confuse this with image quality; this is nothing to do with the maximum aperture of the lens and in fact your pictures will most probably turn out 'softer' if you use a really wide lens aperture. Best sharpness for most lenses is around f8 to f16; this is simply due to the laws of physics.

Best bet is to read some reviews and if possible try out some lenses, but concentrate first of all on getting your exposures accurate, then decide what lenses you may wish to buy.

Hope this makes sense.

Regards
David

I bought mine 2 months ago and have already 'sold' two others to people I know via recommendation, as well as buying a used K-M for my son who is doing photography at A-level. Quality sells.


Regards
David

I will leave that to others to decide. May the force be with you Myles.

Thanks to you both, I now understand. This means then that I can become a 'Master' simply by spouting off with my not necessarily valid opinions!! Perhaps I should aim to post 1,000 times and then I may become a Jedi Master rather than just a Master.

Regards
David

I agree very much with John; you don't really need a macro lens as flowers are normally large enough to take a great shot with any normal lens.

However, I have had great results with a Sigma 50mm f2.8 Macro, as well as with the 18-55 kit lens and the 55-300 lens. Take a look at my portfolio on the PU Gallery and all of the flower shots on there were taken with one of these three lenses. I would also recommend a bog standard 50mm prime lens for certain shots as these are usually very sharp.

Regards
David

I might be being a bit thick here, but as a relatively new member, could someone advise how the member status gets updated? When I first joined I was a 'New Member', but now I notice my status has changed to 'Member'. There are a lot of people who have been members longer than me who still have the status of 'New Member' and I am a bit confused about this. Clarification would be appreciated.

Regards
David

Hmmmn...... I am reading this thread with some interest and amusement. The bottom line is that it all depends on how you are going to use your tripod, how much abuse, how often, how heavy your kit is etc, etc. For me, only a very casual tripod user at the moment and usually shooting hand-held or with a monopod, it makes no sense whatsoever to spend big money on a tripod. I bought a cheap Hama Star 63 off Amazon for £13 (yes, £13, free delivery) and so far it seems sturdy, reasonably well screwed together and perfectly stable. It does not have wobbly legs. I have not seen any evidence of shake whatsoever on any pictures taken with it so far.

Let's say it breaks after 6 months use (which I don't think it will). Let's say also that I use tripods casually for another 20 years, meaning on average I will need 40 Hamas. That's about £500 quid. That'll do for me.

Regards
David

Blaze, I tend to agree with the gist of the replies above with regard to the Pentax 55-300 lens. I have the DA L 18-55 kit lens (came with my K-X) and bought the 55-300 to supplement it. I now rarely have the 55-300 off my camera - it is a stunningly good lens if you're on a budget. I also have a Sigma 70-300mm DG APO which is a direct comparison to the Pentax 55-300. The Sigma focusses faster, but for image quality the Pentax blows it away.

Also, I am interested as to why your photos were so bad. Were they out of focus or was it camera shake? If they were out of focus it may be worth seeing if your K-x requires an autofocus adjustment. If you were shooting with a tripod it rules out camera shake, so I would tend to check the focus. See link below.

Regards
David
http://ricehigh.blogspot.com/2010/01/k-x-debug-mode-tutorial-af-adjustment.html