Hi all, I've just purchased my first "big glass". Well, big for me anyway:
A* 300/4 "Carl Zeiss Jena" 100-500/5.6-8 (PK) I managed to buy BOTH of the above, without a scratch on them, plus a Hoya 77mm skylight and M 135/3.5, all for UK�90 (about US$130) - what a bargain! Anyway, I've got a few questions for you lot: 1. I've heard that people like the A* (even without a tripod collar!), but does anyone know about the "Zeiss" lens? It says it's made in Japan under licence, and I suspect it might be a Sigma or similar, but it's got a 72mm filter thread - all the aftermarket lenses I've seen listed seem to take 67mm filters. It's a great big beast that weighs about 1.5kg. 2. I've not had much time to play, but the A* 300/4 plus a cheap 2x teleconvertor (thrown in with an eBay auction) seems to be slower than the 100-500 at the end of its range (500mm, f8). Well, that's what my trusty Program A reckons, anyway. Can I conclude that the zoom's more like a 100-500/5.6-7.6? 3. I need the cash, so I'm thinking of selling one of the lenses - I'm a wide-angle-to-medium-telephoto kind of guy, so I doubt I'd get proper use out of one big lens, never mind two. Do I part with the 100-500 and get a better teleconvertor, or just sell the A*? I don't know how much image degradation I'd get, even with a "decent" 7-element teleconvertor, but given that the A*'s a decent prime lens, it's unlikely to end up worse than the 100-500, is it? 4. I do a bit of rifle shooting, and am wondering about using whichever lens I keep as a 'scope - what are the differences between the telescope and monocular adaptors mentioned on Boz's (excellent) site? How much do they fetch second-hand (assuming I can find one), and are there cheap alternatives from aftermarket producers? At the moment I'm considering just taking my old P30 to the range and using that! Phew! Any ideas, you lot? Cheers, Mahinda Mahinda S. Kularatne Technical Author Nautilus Documentation Thermo LabSystems Tel: +44 (0)161 942 3162 Fax: +44 (0)161 942 3001 http://www.thermolabsystems.com mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Thermo LabSystems is a Thermo Electron business - 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 .
