This was the first lens I bought for my K10D after the kit lens which came with it. It is very sharp indeed and generally a great lens, although quite bulky.

For macro work manual focus is the way to go. Best on a tripod although you can set it at the magnification you want and then slowly sway a little back and forth snapping as you go. With the latter method you will waste lots of shots but provided it is a static subject that doesn't matter, just be harsh with yourself when editing. Remember that focus confirmation is the green hexagon not the red spot.

If you look at my "Tattered cover" shots in "Your Photos" and the poppy in my gallery, they were all shot with this lens.

Best wishes, Kris.

Well there isn't a "it's a good lens but I have already got four 135mm prime lenses" option so I ticked the must have box. I used to have one (it got nicked on the Paris metro) but now have an Auto-Takumar 135mm preset, a S-M-C 135mm Takumar f/3.5, a K series 135mm f/2.5 and a Hoya jobbie I have never used. I cannot see myself investing in yet another 135mm lens unless I happen across an A* 135mm f/1.8 in a junk shop going for silly money.

Best wishes, Kris.

Hi Joe,

Not sure why you aren't getting a reply. I was asking Dave about viewfinders as well when he first listed this lot. I'm afraid he had already sold them in an earlier sale when he first turned to the dark side. I have nabbed his motordrive and nicad battery pack.

Best wishes, Kris.

Excellent shot and nice conversion. One minor nitpick (and this is really minor!) but it is a shame you clipped the the chair leg in the foreground. Don't know why that catches my eye but it does. Have you tried cropping the top to below the railings? I am not sure they add anything to the shot.

Best wishes, Kris.

It is a lovely lens. You have the earlier SMC version rather than the smc version but AFAIK the only difference is the lettering!

Perhaps this is why you are so good with that fisheye lens... endless DOF to play with.

Seriously though, I hope your eyes are not too bad and the sale goes well.

K.

Cute!

K.

I was just thinking about this and realised that in just under 30 years of photography the only lens I have sold was the Samsung 12-24mm which I bought from Heathrow T5 with the specific intent of selling on. I have had some nicked, I have broken one or two and I have even given one or two away, but only ever sold that one. Mind you, I now have a small batch I have been meaning to put on ebay for a couple of months. I just need to find that roundtoit someone once gave me...

K.

Using older manual glass the shoot - check histogram - adjust - reshoot is pretty much a necessity. With "easy" lighting they can be as much as 2EV over exposed if stopped down, with difficult lighting it can obviously go horribly wrong.

I have my camera set so that when you turn it off everything resets itself (i.e., bracketing, EV compensation ISO etc.) and sometimes it is quicker to flick the camera off and on again than manually reset it all.

Best wishes, Kris.

Sorry Andrew, I am rather with Mike on this one. I much prefer the other shots and those two seemed the weakest to me. The first almost works for me, but the last doesn't do much for me. I can see there is a nice contrast between the white and the blue, but I would have tried (not possible I know) to get much closer and make an abstract of it with just white and blue.

Personally I find Mike picking holes in my shots very useful, and discussions like this very interesting. I may not always agree with Mike, but to hear why some people like a shot, why other people don't, and why the photographer took the shot in the first place, very illuminating.

I was going through a batch of my photos from two years ago and on the whole my reaction was boooorrrrriiinnngggg! It made me realise that a couple of years here at the fora, and other photo sites online, have made me much more critical of my own shots. I am not sure they have got any better, but at least I am starting to be a touch more critical of my own work.

Best wishes, Kris.