> Yes, someone who used to give input to the list had a tripod > collar for this lens custom-machined by a metal shop, and even > posted jpegs to this list of the completed product actually on the > lens. It looked good. There was an offer to the list I think > for about $75.00, if I recall correctly. I did not have the lens > at the time so i did not save the name, jpegs, or the contact. > Perhaps someone else
I don't know anything about the custom tripod bracket that you are referring to, Mark, but as a recent owner of the F* version of this lens, I can see why an FA* 300/4.5 owner might want to have such a tripod bracket. (Similarly, I do wish that a tripod collar was available for the M* and A* 300/4 lenses, but there just simply isn't any "space" to attach a collar to on these lenses.) I will say that the tripod collar on the F* 300/4.5 seems to be somewhat of a mixed blessing. Its size (at least to me) seems a bit of overkill. The design of the bracket in the A* 200/4 Macro lens seems much nicer, both in size and in ease of mounting and dismounting - the A* 200/4 Macro's collar nicely attaches and detaches with a knob similar to its locking/unlocking knob, while the F* 300/4.5's collar requires a coin to attach or detach it. It does seem a shame to me that the M*/A* 300/4 and FA* 300/4.5 designs really should have been equipped with tripod collars. While the lenses are quite hand-holdable (and here I'm assuming that the FA* lens is about the same as the F* lens) under bright conditions, 300mm is a lot of focal length to not have a tripod/monopod collar instantly available when needed, in my opinion. Fred - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
