Thanks Tony
That definitely helps, makes it even more tempting, and as you say £300 is a no brainer.

My second question is going to be about the video capabilities. Will post separately

Peter

I'm tempted by current K01 prices, and want to check out a couple of things before taking the plunge

No. 1

I currently use a Samsung GX10, sometimes with old 50mm f1.7, and 28mm f2.8 manual focus lenses, with no 'A' position on the aperture ring. I set exposure by setting required aperture on the ring, pushing On Off button past On to DoF preview, and adjusting speed with thumb wheel to correct exposure. This seems to work well.
I have read somewhere the mount on the K01 is not coupled to the aperture ring. Would I still be able to use this technique, or some other method with the green button, to take photos at less than maximum aperture e.g. f8, with these lenses on the K01, accepting a bit of trial and error to get exposure right?

Anyone any experience of doing this?

Thanks

Peter

Pikaholic

I agree with everything Pentaxophile says, and if you are comparing shots stopped down at say f8, you are not going to see much improvement with the prime lens. Best to compare them at f4.5 which is wide open for the zoom, any superior sharpness of the DAL 35 will be maximised in this comparison. some people suggest a picture of a brick wall to try this test.

As you go wider than f4.5 with your new lens, it will be less sharp (bear in mind it is something you can't do at all with the kit zoom), but reduced depth of field gives you the opportunity for nice bokeh

Sadly, I found that both my DAL 35s were slightly less sharp than my kit lens and Tamron 18-200 at f8, with the lack of sharpness increasing at f4.5, and they were unusable at f2.4 so they went back

I hope when you compare at f4.5 you see a bigger improvement than you have seen so far, and get years of pleasure from your new lens

Peter

ChrisA
Thankyou for your suggestions & advice, much appreciated, as always on on this forum.
To adjust front or back focus on GX10 (K10D equivalent) I think you have to hack into debug, & it affects all lenses. I'm happy with AF on all my other lenses so don't want to tinker.
I've boxed them both up & they're going back to Amazon.
On the plus side, I'm pleased with the 55-300 I got at the same time

First comparison against Tamron used tripod, 2 second self timer & no SR.
Other shots hand held with SR, as I stop down it gets sharper & shutter speed slower, so I think I can exclude camera shake

No live view on GX10, or DL2 but thanks for the suggestion. Not had a single sharp shot wide open

I bought one of these in the Amazon offer. I was disappointed with initial results, especially at f2.4, so I tested it against my Tamron 18-200 & Samsung 18-55. They were both sharper at f4 (4.5 for Samsung) & to a lesser extent f8.
I assumed there was a fault, & ordered a replacement, which is no better. Re-reading this thread I tried MF, & the AF setting where the camera uses all the spots instead of just the centre,with no improvement. I guess I've just been unlucky, twice.

If you tell SRS you are on this forum when you order, you get free delivery. The 150-500 weighs over 1.8kg so that's worth having.

Surfseen. I see your history of sold lenses contains a Samyang 500mm mirror, how did the pre-set lens compare to the mirror version?
Thanks
Peter

Ian

I really like all your pictures, with both Tamron lenses, and would be more than happy to display them if I had taken them.

Bret

I admit I do prefer the air show pictures on the other thread (no offence Ian), however you describe the Sigma lens used on the other thread as a relatively cheap one. Well the OP there says its the 120-400 HSM, which is £719 from SRS, if you consider that relatively cheap, all I can say is, lucky you!
To put it in perspective, it's more than six times the £119 SRS ask for the Tamron 70-300, so you're hardly comparing eggs with eggs, and I think your criticism of Ian's pictures is harsh.

Blaze

I have the Tamron 18-200 and I'm very pleased with it. It get's a very bad press here, but it only comes off my camera if I want to go wider than 18, or longer than 200. When I bought mine, the 55-300 did not exist, and my 18-200 replaced a 18-55 Mk1 and 50-200 f4-5.6, I still have them both, but don't use them because for me, any (too marginal for me to spot)optical benefit from them is outweighed by the 18-200 avoiding changing lenses, risking dust getting in. However, if the 55-300 had been available, I'm sure that's what I would have gone for instead, if you can get that at a fair price, much as I like my Tamron, that's what I'd recommend.
I note you say you're finding your old Tamron SP 70-210 lens very heavy, the Sigma 120-400 HSM weighs 1.64kg

Peter