Although long since discontinued, I still use my trusty Pentax Q7 for a lot of my cycle tour travel photography (although my smart phone does get used more and more often these days).
So, I'd be interested to hear from anyone who took the plunge and invested in the Q 08 lens to know if they felt the upgrade to the Q 02 as very worthwhile - and would they make that same choice to invest in the Q 08 today ?
To my surprise, the prices of the Q 08 have never really dropped, despite the demise of the Q series bodies, so, I've so far never been prepared to invest.

(Although I can totally understand their business reasons, I am disappointed that Pentax never continued the Q series - as I'm sure that with current sensor technology a Q size sensor could be quite outstanding).

I'd be interested in peoples thoughts ?

I know its an old post that I'm resurrecting, but it has taken me this long to get my first shot. I know it's no competition winner, but I was lucky enough to press the shutter at just the right moment to capture not just one, but two, in the very first usable image I've ever managed to capture. It's a shame that a few branches got in the way, but I think the chances of ever getting a repeat opportunity are pretty unlikely !

It was exactly the same process for me when I sent my DA 12-24mm to be checked out and repaired.

From memory, I think it took about 4 weeks turnaround from when they shipped it to France.

Richard

Brilliant!

You are one step ahead of me, I've only seen a kingfisher in flight so far, I've yet to see one even land. So not even got close to getting a photo.

I'm so jealous of some of the fabulous kingfisher shots posted on this site, but I've known for a long time, there's a lot more to it than having a 500mm lens.......

(I too will be looking out for the much more photogenic "bigger" version, as mentioned above :wink

Hi,

I'm definitley interested, but as I'm a new member, it seems I can't yet have access to PM. Do you have a guide price that you are after ? - or do you just want me to make you an offer ?

Thanks for all the advice.

I didn't know the importance of the rear filter - so first thing I did this eveneng was check that there is one fitted (which thankfully there is).

But, now that I've seen examples like the picture above of the "Jay in Garden" I know that this SP500 lens is perfectly capable of getting much sharper images than I've achieved so far - so I'll be searching out all the mentioned entries on how to get the best from long lenses.

I've been using Pentax gear for years - so I can't believe I've only just joined this forum (But this is my first venture beyond a 200mm lens - hence why the focus accuracy and shallow depth of field have caught me out).

I totally appreciate what you are saying about needing sound technique - as I've been asking myself that exact question - is it me? or is it the lens?

So today I have been taking a few shots of static subjects, using a tripod and flash to try and remove any possibility of it being subject movement or camera shake.

I'm now coming to the conclusion that as a fixed F8 lens at 500mm - the depth of field is increadibly shallow - much less than I expected.

But I do accept that my focus accuracy does need to improve - as again, being an F8 lens - the focus confirmation indicator in the viewfinder does not always seem to be able to lock-on - so I'm relying on my eyesight to focus.

But, as the Tamron lens is just on loan, I am in the market for a long-telephoto - and although the mirror lens is compact and light - I'm tending towards a "normal" telephoto design instead.

Hi, I've recently borrowed a Tamron SP 500mm F8 mirror lens from a friend - to assess if its the type of telephoto I'm looking for - but I'll be honest I'm struggling to get many good shots, due to the very narrow depth of field.

In peoples opinion, would the sharpness of the Pentax-A 400mm F5.6 be significantly better than the Tamron SP 500mm ?. If so, it will give me the ability to use smaller aperture (and I don't mind sacrificing the extra 100mm and cropping more photo's if it means more in-focus shots).

Also - any history of poor copy A400 F5.6 lenses ?(They do seem to come up fairly often on e-bay - but I must admit that I'm a bit nervous of buying such an expensive lens from e-bay, without knowing the full history.....)