Well I posted on PU about the SDM in my DA*300 failing 2-3 months back ... and it failed again, after being repaired, last weekend. Makes a strong case for the FA* !

Having disposed of my K5 and Q I now have no more Pentax cameras until the price of the K5IIs drops to a price I want to pay (or Pentax bring out a FF camera) ! Therefore I am disposing of most of my remaining lenses (keeping 5 though) and in fact sold 6 lenses yesterday to add to the other 15 I've sold already. However I know that people in PU are often looking out for this lens so I thought I'd offer it there rather than dispose of it over here. I'm not prepared to take a hit on it though so no lo-ball offers which will be ignored.

Note that I live in Shanghai so that the DHL/UPS whatever cost must be added (I guess around US$50 but have to confirm the price if there is any interest) and I can describe the lens on the Customs Dec. as NCV (no commercial value) or with a nominal value or returned after repair. China Post can be unpredictable (but reliable) and can take a week or a month, so I'm ignoring that cheaper post option.

This lens has been a workhorse for me over the past two years, it has gone everywhere with me and shot everything from Street to Rugby. Fast, near silent, HSM AF, good low light capability via the bright f2.8, IMHO a better lens than Pentax' 50-135 but it doesn't have WR. And of course Sigma no longer make this in PK mount so there are very limited quantities available that go quickly.

Condition.
Glass : A One slight mark, that may be coating only, however I didn't even notice it until yesterday - has no effect at all on photographs. You do have to look hard to find it - I may even be unable to photograph it !
Body : A I can find one slight mark on the rubber grip if I look hard ! Virtually undetectable.
Hood : B shows a number of marks, but there are no cracks, and is sometimes a right %&$*& to get off as it sticks and needs some elbow grease !

Includes Sigma caps (top & bottom). No Sigma padded bag unless I happen to find it, it seems to have grown legs. Includes original box and paperwork (in English).

I can post photos later and will throw in some goodies too, a Spiderpod and other Pentax bits and pieces (copy IR remote and things like that) I no longer use and are worthless to me but would bump the value considerably for the right person.

If you wanted it professionally serviced before dispatch then add GBP25 to your offer. Servicing is very professional and relatively cheap over here.

I'm asking for offers (via PM) rather than state a price because if the offer (and P&P) doesn't meet the price I can get here then of course there is no point. If there is any one interested just let me know - I'll leave this up for a week or two before selling the lens here. I have bought and sold lenses on both PU and Pentax Forums and have only positive feedback.

N.B. I also have a Tamron 1.4X Pz-AF MC4 ( the good one !) for sale. Same as above applies. In As New condition. Perfect in fact. Boxed. Open to Offers.

A 4 day birding trip to the amazing area of the huge Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, China, to see Oriental Cranes (90-95% of the world population winter here), Hooded Cranes, Common Cranes, White Naped Cranes and Oriental Storks went from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again. All target birds achieved (and 95-100 species in total, I'm still counting and IDing) but on Day 2 (when still shooting alone before my friends arrived that night) we (meaning with my taxi driver) had a puncture in the dark on the causeway, got stuck in mud on the massive mudflats, had my D800 refuse to recognise the Sigma 500mm, and Zeiss 21mm - my landscape lens, after a few shots on Day 2, then found the SDM on my backup, the Pentax DA*300 on a K5, had decided to surrender again leaving me with a 300 that wouldn't even MF focus and was stuck at infinity, the AFA x1.7 saved the day allowing AF shots at infinity and the next day at least the lens had started to permit MF again and that saved the trip - but have you ever had TWO lenses (or in this case a camera and a lens) break down within minutes of each other ? Never mind on the same day, same trip/holiday, same week or month even !!

My taxi driver (Thurs/Fri) was great and really got into birding once he saw what it was all about. His enthusiasm for this new found hobby inspired by this crazy foreigner, saw us stuck in mud on the mudflats though, when he decided he could ignore the advice of the nature reserve manager and get us closer in the taxi than I could on foot ! Surreal stuff to see the bright green and yellow taxi trapped in the middle of that vast expanse of mud, water and short tufted grass! I've a shot of us stuck in the mud I'll upload later.

It was lucky that it snowed in the Nanchang/Poyang Lake area last week because that encouraged my driver to buy himself a set of snow chains (well two - or his front tyres ) and that is what extracted us from this face-pack smooth mud, nothing else would have done as pure muscle was never going to be enough

A sad note was we found a 10M high illegal net set up to catch birds. We tore it down and freed the birds that were still alive - however I've no doubt it'll be up again next week.

All in all though it was an exhausting (up at 05.30 every day and birding for 12 hours before driving back to the hotel each evening) but very satisfying trip, topped off by a 1.5 flight delay back to Shanghai !

Amazing location - never mind landscapes .. let's see your bird and U/W shots !

Welcome !

Excellent lens.

What John said above.

On my FF camera I've found that a 35mm is by far my favourite lens - and that equates to the 21mm in Pentaxland. An excellent all rounder for everything from people, places and landscapes.

With the K5 the 15mm (22.5 on FF) and 77mm (115.5 on FF) are the ones that go everywhere with me though the Sigma 30 is my 'normal' lens.

BTW - download 'Photome' and follow the instructions to let it check your image folders - it'll tell you which FL you shoot at most.

I bloody hope not ! That would fry the electrics !

#1 and #4 are superb and up to your usual level Alan.

The DA300* is a 'must have' lens for anyone in the Pentax world that needs a slightly longer lens than a 135/150mm. The WR is superb and IQ top notch .... but for birding it is a touch on the short side unless you can get close and the AF isn't the fastest (but good enough for most shots, every camera misses some).

Excellent shot Hullman.

By coincidence I downloaded the iPhone app (free) last night but haven't had a chance to try it yet (I was thinking of using it as a 'bird trap' and setting up a camera close to my target birds) so it's great to hear it works well. All the major cameras have dongles for them - go the the Triggertrap website to find yours.

Looks like an excellent design - an improvement on the Black Rapid.