First outing with the 150-450 to blow off some steam from work

The AF tracking seems a bit slow but it might just be me. Will do the AF fine tuning this wkend and get back with some more photos.

The images are not straight off the camera.

I have tried the 560 a few times and can't fault it. I did not test it yesterday unfortunately. It was out of my budget and lacked the versatility. My main aim was to find out what the 150-450 has to offer compared to my Sigma 500. I shouldn't have added it really. Ah well, i am sure some of he other members will be doing a comparison soon. Sorry about that.

The 500 has gone.

Thanks Nigel. I didn't go to the duckpond unfortunately. I decided to do an almost like for like comparison so I thought the best thing to do was to have a static subject I will take the lens to a few places .. now that I have it and post some more pictures. Cheers

I have never done AF adjustment on anything .. wouldn't know where to start. Will have to pick your brains in a few days please

Back from SRS and this is what happened ….

PS: Please excuse my poor reviewing / comparison skills. But, it’s the best I can do with my little knowledge. Hope it helps ☺

Note: I didn’t use the Pentax 560 at all as it wasn’t in my budget and more importantly, I know it ticks the additional boxes mentioned above already.

The 150-450 had already ticked a few the boxes for me with the specs, reviews on this and other Pentax forums. The few other things I wanted to check and convince myself was to
1. Compare the sharpness
2. 1SO handling
3. Contrast
4. Feel
5. Ease to work with a TC

My main question was should I part with my Sigma500 ? and why ?

I stopped by in Tesco the previous night and bought my near to life, wildlife subject. Almost worst case, high contrast, dark eyes deep-set and fur to check the details.


The series of images you see have been shot in RAW. Absolutely no re-touching. Converted to jpeg in PS. Weather was cloudy and the light was not very good. Perfect for the test. I shot all images with the 500 first and then did the same with the 150-450. To my advantage the light got slightly worse. So shows a true capability. All shots were handheld.
Subject was around 9 meters away.
Image 1
EXIF:
Lens: Sigma 500 F4.5
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 500 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400




Image 2
Lens: Pentax 150-450 F4.5 – 5.6
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 450 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400



Image 3
Lens: Sigma 500 F4.5
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 500 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 1600



Image 4
Lens: Pentax 150-450 F4.5 – 5.6
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 450 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 1600



Image 5
Lens: Sigma 500 F4.5
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 500 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200



Image 6
Lens: Pentax 150-450 F4.5 – 5.6
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 450 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200



Image 7
Lens: Pentax 150-450 F4.5 – 5.6 + 1.4X TC
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 630 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 800



Image 8
Lens: Pentax 150-450 F4.5 – 5.6 + 1.4X TC
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 630 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 1600



Image 9
Side by side comparison of the image from the Sigma 500 and Pentax 150-450 at 450. Cropped. Image 1 and 2. ISO 400



Image 10
Side by side comparison of the image from the Sigma 500 and Pentax 150-450 at 450. Cropped. Image 1 and 2. ISO 1600



Finally, I just wanted to see what the image from the TC would look like after PP and crop. Not much done. Spent probably 30 seconds on it. Excuse the quality here. Looks better on my computer

Lens: Pentax 150-450 F4.5 – 5.6 + 1.4X TC
Camera: PENTAX K-3
Focal Length: 630 mm
Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 1600



After the kind guys at SRS put up with me for over an hour, I made the decision and walked away with the Pentax 150-450 and a 1.4X TC. Happy ☺

The AF was quick but the test is not enough to show its full capability. It feels very sturdy in the hand. Still trying to work out the buttons on the lens but will get there eventually.

Now the lens is in my possession, I will do a good test run and put up more pictures as and when.

I should have been clearer in what I meant by comparison. I am not the technical expert on lenses but I know what I am looking for and some key tick in the boxes for me to convince myself to go from prime to zoom. Having said that, I have walked out of SRS with the 150-450

In the process of writing up and putting some pictures of the test comparison shots.

Haha .... nice timing ... nice sharp images. Will get my hands on one and try it out on Sat along with the Sig 500 and Pentax 560

Have you tried the lens out with theTC ?

Agreed. Sigma make good lenses and have a good reputation "BUT" the PK mounts are $h!T..!! I have had to change both the bayonets on the 100-300 and the 500 and trust me I do not use them half as rough as my C and N friends. Thats one that that is really putting me off third party lenses

Hello All,

I mainly photograph wildlife and the only camera system I have ever used is Pentax. Most of you who shoot the same might share my frustrations with the limitations to the available range of lenses from Pentax (in production) to suit my needs.
I currently own the Sigma 500 F4.5 and have to say… it is sweeeet but … and it comes with a "BUT", it comes with drawbacks:
1. Not weather sealed – I have been in extreme conditions photographing wildlife in different parts of the world from the rain forests of Rwanda and Borneo to the dry dusty safaris in India and Kenya and needless to say ever so lovely unpredictable British. I have to admit it is a pain to keep the lens covered with the rain and dust coat. However, this is not the biggest minus point. I can live with it
2. Lens movement – That’s the best way I would describe is the lens has a very slight movement (probably 1mm) enough to let the lens start searching (I have attached a pic of what ive seen happen on my 500 and 100-300). I have missed on some of the best action shots because of this. I have had this checked with Sigma and Richo and had the bayonet replaced spending £150. No much luck. The same thing seems to happen just not as much and I know that it will eventually get there. Happens only happens when handheld or on a beanbag. Tripod – no issues.



3. Doesn’t work well with 1.4x TC – well while many might argue that the TC works with the lens, it doesn’t work well enough for me ☺. I rather not use it at all.

Having said that, here are some shots form the 500. When it locks in …it is amazing.



















As much as I love the prime, I do like the versatility of a zoom lens and everything that the 150-450 promises to deliver on the above points. I think no one in this day and age ever uses an image just out of the camera without a crop or a slide of some of the buttons on a photo development software. Therefore, the trade off, if not blatantly noticeable can be made.

So, I have been trolling the interweb to get a comparison between the three lenses and TBH I haven’t found any. The members who have gone out and taken some pics with 150-450 have helped prove that the lens is very good at 150, 350 and every other focal length but the 450 wide open and high ISO. Something very relevant to my needs. And, if it really performs with the 1.4x TC. Therefore, I have decided to do my own. I am heading down to SRS this Saturday and do a back to back to back test on the three.

As for the Pentax 560 – I can’t not do a comparison just to convince myself considering the current price.

Have your say and wish me luck for the Saturday. I will post some comparison photos of the three.

Regards,

Karthik