Maestro.

The tulip pales beside the other two, mainly due to the sheer detail you have crammed into them. Wonderful images.

Why is 'nailing the focus' important? ... With conventional lenses, you can get away with a minor misfocus by, for example, sharpening it a bit more. With these it HAS to be bang on. There is no leeway at all and even with a long throw the tiniest movement will throw it out. You are right Aitch, gum trees and tripods don't mix.

These were taken with a K5 on a tripod. ISO 80, f8 @1/25th and 1/15th respectively.

I'm slowly learning how to use this amazing beast. As with mirror lenses in general nailing the focus is crucial.
I didn't get it quite right on the first shot - I could only see the rearmost leaf clearly. That left the nearest leaf
slightly out of focus. The second shot focused on the front leaf. At 600mm the smallest touch of the focus ring
produces a huge result.




Same subject with camera position moved 6ft forwards and 3ft to the left. It made for a very different shot.




You can use the viewfinder but ideally, you need Live View. But if the rear screen is fixed and the light is bouncing
straight off it you are up a gum tree!

It's still the lack of a flippy screen for me. I have deliberately been using my K5 recently rather than the K1. In most cases it has been extremely difficult, necessitating dragging the wheelie bin out so I can place the subject at a suitable height to actually see it! Leaving that out was a very bad idea.

Super purchase. It's like a number of the later Takumars with 'jammed' irises. People don't know about the tiny pin that can only be depressed by a sharp object or by mounting the lens on a camera. There are some good buys there!

What a magnificent tree! I agree with Flan about the B&W being the better capture and for the same reasons.

That's a super field!

The A series 50mm is a stunning performer. I've had mine for years and I'm keeping it !

There is one on Ebay right now.