They put the blame squarely on camera phones, have tried moving up towards the pro end of the market but are hampered by being stuck with the M4/3 format whereas the likes of Sony compete with larger sensors in compact bodies. Personally I don’t get the appeal of camera phones but too many photographers only want to put their snaps on Instagram to collect likes rather than produce decent prints.

Very informative, thanks for taking the trouble to explain the biology it is absolutely fascinating. Great photos too!

Sorry Quvamane I missed that you are US based, but I dare say that there will be stockists there, B&H has one and it might be worth trying eBay for a clean one.

Pentax make a special eyepiece, the Pentax PF CA35 Camera Adaptor, I have copied the following from the Wex website where they are available to special order. Тhе Реntах РF СА35 аllоwѕ уоu tо соnnесt а Реntах К mоunt Dіgіtаl ЅLR tо уоur Реntах РF ѕеrіеѕ ѕроttіng ѕсоре tо сrеаtе а ѕuреr tеlерhоtо lеnѕ. Тhе аdарtоr hаѕ а tоtаl оf 5 lеnѕеѕ іn 4 grоuрѕ, аll оf thеm fullу multі-соаtеd, rеѕultіng іn brіllіаnt еdgе-tо-еdgе ѕhаrрnеѕѕ аnd truе соlоur іmаgе rерrоduсtіоn.
Кеу Fеаturеѕ: Реntах РF СА35 Саmеrа Аdарtоr
Тhе dеѕіgn оf thе fосuѕ ѕуѕtеm іѕ ѕuсh thаt уоu саn еаѕіlу ехсhаngе thе аdарtоr аnd саmеrа fоr аn еуеріесе wіthоut hаvіng tо rеаdјuѕt thе ѕсоре ѕеttіngѕ.

Саmеrа соnnесtоr, Реntах-К
Ѕіzе 59х149mm
Wеіght: 250g
Wоrkѕ bеѕt оn thе РF 80 ѕсоре
Аlѕо соmраtіblе wіth ЕF аnd F mоuntѕ

I have tried a bespoke adaptor on my Hawke spotting scope but the biggest issue with such fittings, which attach to the eyepiece, is that the camera interior is not sealed so dust on the sensor becomes a real issue. I like the idea of the Pentax solution as it replaces the standard eyepiece so everything is sealed like a normal lens, also Pentax telescope eyepieces are considered amongst the best available today so the optics should be good.

Sorry Jonathan, it is the HD FA 35mm f2.0. The only comparisons I can find after a quick browse are with the older version where flare was an issue but the latest one has the coating to deal with that. There was also discussion about the difference between six and nine aperture blades giving better bokeh on the 31mm, but that on it's own wouldn't justify to me nearly 3x the price. The build quality is another matter which would be the icing on the cake and would tip the scales for a closer price difference but I am more interested in actual performance.

Mike, the forthcoming new APS-C camera promises improved autofocus so that might prove interesting. Don't spend all the money yet!

I bought this on Ebay about four years ago but at the time I wasn't happy with the sharpness of the results so it has stayed in the cupboard, until now. I decided to experiment with it on the 100mm macro handheld in the garden and the last two with a HD DFA 150-450mm on a tripod at 450mm from an upstairs window; the results aren't anything spectacular or even particularly good but there is a really nice dreamy quality to them which I could explore more. All manual focus of course but the contacts on the mount meant that I could use a semi-automatic exposure. I have done some basic post processing and the no cropping other than reducing the sides to a square.















Does anyone else have one of these and if so how do you find it?

Care to explain why? Do you prefer the Pentax or is there another range you are looking at?

I have finally scratched a long-suffering itch and ordered a 77mm Limited. I was hanging on for the new 85mm but have decided I cannot justify the expense, also it looks pretty hefty and I am getting some primes as lightweight alternatives to the F2.8 zooms.

At present I have the recent 35mm f1.8 and 50mm F2.8 macro, both of which give excellent results but I am wondering whether the nearly equivalent FF Limiteds 31mm and 43mm would be worth exchanging for, as my OCD mind thinks it would be nice to make the set!