Thomas, I have the A* 300/2.8 and I simply love it. Before I got mine I tried the Tamron 300/2.8 manual focus (ugly green color) with the adaptall PKA adapter. I think the Pentax is slightly better optically but the main point why I prefer the Pentax is I don't like using any adapter mechanics when using such a heavy lens. The camera body attached to the Tamron with the PKA adapter made the mount feel wobbly which I did not like at all.
I don't really know a fair price for the lens on today's market, but I got mine for about EUR 1600 way back in the last century... Handhelding is pretty nice with this lens, even though it weights close to 3kg. I have gotten better pictures handheld with this than with "lighter" lenses of similar focal length. Believe it or not, the mass of the lens helps keeping the camera more steady than with a lighter lens of similar focal length (like using a massive tripod instead of a lightweight tripod). I've gotten perfect handheld shots at 1/250s with my Z-1 and LX cameras. Sometimes I use the A* 300/2.8 together with the A 2X-L teleconverter, also handheld, with great results. The 300/2.8 + LX is a heavy combination to carry around but the good point is one does not need to visit the gym that often ;-). Using a monopod would help to prevent your hands getting weak if you need to track your subjects for a long time. AF could be nice but so far I have been satisfied with the manual focus and the occasional 1.7X AF-adapter "AF assisted manual focus" approach. You will face the same kinds of "ISO" problems with digital (more noise instead of more grain when you go to higher sensitivity)... and you will want as fast lens as you can afford and which is available. Antti-Pekka --- Antti-Pekka Virjonen Computec Oy, Turku Finland Gsm: +358-500-789 753 www.computec.fi * www.estera.fi > -----Original Message----- > From: Th. Stach [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 10:56 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: WTB in the future: 300mm f/2.8 > > > Hello all you big glass experts, > > what do you think would be a fair price for such a lens? > > I've seen the SMC-A version for 1.800 EUR > and the newer SMC-FA for about 2.700 EUR. > > I'd also take a Sigma or Tokina, but I'm not sure if these were ever > done for Pentax. > AF preferred. > > I've done some terrific shots with my F*300 f/4.5 this year- but these > shots were only possible with ISO 400 or ISO 800 film. > > If I could have used the f/2.8 and ISO 100 film, well... > > Another question is: > Can shots be done handheld with the f/2.8 ? Any chance? > I'm always trying to go for the 1/4000s (fast moving objects) or even > faster, but the weight could be an issue, what do you think? > > I'd love to check out such a lens, but I've never seen one "live". > Or I should wait for digital, where ISO is not an issue... > > Thanks in advance for your appreciated advise, > > Thomas >
