Customer Reviews

Pentax smc DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM telephoto prime lens for Pentax DSLR

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I had been lusting over one of these for a short while after reading the reviews on forums and seeing some of the outstanding results I was very impressed and have at last got one and I am not a long standing photogrpher with decades of experience but am one of these people that do tend to buy all the gear.
In the hope that this great piece of kit would enhance my humble offerings I went ahead and bought this.I found it just right for my K20D well balanced the sdm is almost silent and really quite fast the images so far have been very satisfying indeed if you are pondering this purchase I am no expert but this is one lens which I use almost daily if particular for birds and wildlife.

A recent trip to Whipsnade Zoo to test this sure was rewarding I am really over the moon with this lens and would recommend it to anyone

This is an excellent lens. The image quality from this lens is superb and it is comparible in sharpness to my 31mm f1.8 FA lens.

I absolutely love this lens. It's pin sharp (pixel peeping level). Fantastic colours, contrast and bokeh. Yes it is a biggish lens, but compare this to s similar Nikon or Canon and this is a light lens and it balances beautifully on the Pentax K5. Well worth it.

I have read reviews of this product praising it's excellence and have tried unsuccessfully to acquire one before. Now I have this lens and it is all that I was hoping.

Although you can't expect a 300mm lens to be as sharp as a good 50mm lens, there's no reason why it can't produce excellent colors, contrast, bokeh, etc. It is precisely in those "subjective" categories that the DA* 300 performs most flawlessly. Resolution is also outstanding in a lens of this focal length, which makes this an outstanding critter lens for those who can't afford the immense prices for quality supertelephotos. In many ways, a 300 f4 lens hits kind of the sweet spot in terms of usuability and price. A faster 300mm lens, or a long f4 lens, or a zoom lens of comparable quality, would cost and weigh at least twice as much. It works superbly as a critter lens for larger animals, such as elk, moose, seals, feral children, etc. Because of its ability to focus to nearly 4.5 feet, it could, at least theoretically, be used for birds as well -- assuming you could get close enough to the nervous little critters. Of course, because of stunning IQ, it can be used in other types of work as well, including landscapes.

Focusing was accurate and AF-C works well as long as you can steadily track the moving object. Focusing ring has approximately 220�travel which makes manual focusing feel like in the good old times. The ring does not spin when performing AF so you can hold the lens as you please.

Finally a lens that should put an end on bidding wars over older F* and FA* 300/4.5 lenses

Really well built lens,pin sharp the autofocus is silent also weather sealed. Like the rubber end on lens hood all in all joy to use