I noticed a bit of CA in the tail area of the foreground duck and down the back of the rightmost one.

Try PTLens to correct.

Otherwise fantastic shots, I hope to get my K10D next weekend as long as SRS gets their delivery this week.

I've just been browsing the Pentax Imaging web site and discovered the K10D manual for anyone who might be interested.

These are some comparison shots of the moon. Taken on different dates, the first is from the *istD, the other two taken today (30/01/2007), at ISO 400 & 1600 respectively, are from the K10D.




K10D + Pentax 135-600mm (@600mm) ISO 400



K10D + Pentax 135-600mm (@600mm) ISO 1600

Dan,

I have tried the 'ole faithful' shot o' the full moon using this monster on my *istD with mixed results. The biggest problem, apart from its weight and bulk, is keeping the thing still on the tripod.

I use a Manfrotto 055PROB + 488RC2 ball head. The first modification was to remove the rubber pad from the quick release plate. That was an enormous improvement, but it wasn't enough. I didn't try hanging a weight on the underside, but I suspect that it wouldn't have made much difference. The movement seems to be in the head itself.

For my best result I used the 135-600mm + Takumar 2X converter (non SMC) mounted on camera and tripod. I used cable release with mirror lockup. I'm pretty pleased with it but now I have the K10D . . . so watch this space. When I see the moon again I'll do another shot, same rig but using K10D, and post them both for all to see.

Re: the lens. It wasn't in the listing but it had its attachment lens fitted which facilitates focussing down to 3.5 mtrs. I wondered why it wouldn't focus at infinity until I discovered this additional lens fitted to the front. Problem was, when I unscrewed it, the front lens group came off as well. Sounds scary, but it wasn't. Once i'd removed the attachment lens I just screwed the front group back in. The next problem really was a problem. The lens, without its attachment lens, still wouldn't focus at infinity. Undaunted, I slackened the three small screws surrounding a ring at the 'fat end' of the lens, set the focus barrel to infinity anfd gave it a twist. Hey presto. After 10 minutes of confidence building I got it adjusted perfectly and tightened the screws. Some of the lens elements were a bit dirty, but no fungus.

This really is a terrific lens and I will post results here soon. I have taken a few sample shots of distant objects and I am amazed at the sharpness that is achievable in decent light. It's an excellent 'twitchers' lens but I cannot see how any additional support could work unless you forego some of the zoom range. A rock steady tripod is best, and mine isn't it seems.

Cheers,

Ah, yes, but . . . I've done my share of cold and wet. It gets the same here you know, but only for 2 months in the year, not 11 like UK

When it rains here it rains & rains & rains . . . then nothing, not a drop, for several months, and cold . . . these houses were built to be cool in the summer which means they are freezing in the winter. We even put the central heating on for a few minutes a couple of days ago . . .

Wimp, I'll bet he doesn't even go out in the cold or rain either

I've found that Manfrotto make the 293 TELEPHOTO LENS SUPPORT.

Does anybody have anything to say about this item, good or bad. It looks as if it might solve the balance issue of the 135-600mm lens. It looks a bit Heath Robinson, but if it does the job . . .

EDIT:

I think I've decided that this isn't what I need for this lens as the Monfrotto product extends to only 29.5 cm, less than half the length of the lens

Cheers,

Fraser,

The 359 long lens support looks interesting but I'm not sure that it'll suit this lens. The problem is that the tripod mount on the lens is situated to far rearwards leaving not much space between it and the camera's tripod socket for it to be effective.

I might just try fitting the lens to my tripod, then supporting the camera with a monopod. I still think that the nose heavy situation will prevent that from working also.

I'll have to try and come up with something . . . in true Blue Peter fashion.

Cheers,

Thanks for that John. It is not likely that I will use this lens at it's short end unless framing the subject dictates it as I have other lenses covering this range which are much lighter. I anticipate using it mostly between the 400-600mm range, and only then when I'm secreted in the woods somewhere as it's not exactly a portable lens considering lens + camera body + grip + tripod + ball head is going to weigh in at around 8 - 9Kg. Suddenly a carbon fibre tripod is looking attractive.

Even the K mount version seems to be a bit of a rarity, information about it is even more rare it seems, and I'm surprised it sold so cheaply at < £200 + postage.

Regards,

Fraser,

Welcome to the best Pentax forum on the planet.

Info about this lens is certainly scarce. I even checked out the screw mount version but found little more. I'm guessing that this is the K mount version of the same lens.

I'll certainly post some samples and my summary here when I've had time to play with it.

Cheers,