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| sent on 04 Marzo 2021
Pros: robust construction and tropicalization, good overall sharpness, precise autofocus and improved speed, some very useful functions
Cons: weight, footprint, slightly hard zoom ring, maybe even the price
Opinion: I took this lens essentially for motorsport because on the long focal points I was discovered on the K1, and I reserve the right to eventually integrate the review as soon as it is possible to watch some live races, since now it is only run behind closed doors. I have tried it in other situations, especially on bird life or testing it on cars that pass under the house, and the first thing you notice is certainly the most reactive autofocus compared to the Pentax SDM (to be clear that of 200 and 300 mm), manages to follow the subject better while maintaining a more than good precision, especially using the central focus point. Also taking advantage of the peripheral points on some rare occasion hesitates a little if the background is confused, but this I believe also happens for other optics. I believe that the limiter, which Pentax has decided to install, contributes to this improvement. It was definitely time! Another merit is the good overall sharpness. Buying it I expected a situation a little compromise given the not indifferent focal excursion, instead even at 450 mm and at full opening the frame is appreciably sharp especially in the center. At the edges it is a little less, but just close by 2/3 stop and the situation improves a lot. Moreover, given the excellent dynamic range of the K1 sensor (the only body I use it on) you can unraam without fear of raising ISOs. Obviously no problem at shorter focal points, where it can compete with 300 mm, and aberrations appear only in very rare cases on the margins between the very closed shadows and the lights at the edge of the burn, but nothing that cannot be solved in PP. Certainly useful the zoom lock at the minimum focal point, even if on my specimen the ring is a bit hard so it is difficult that it can extend during transport, and very intelligent the preset of the autofocus, with which through the buttons on the barrel you can set a focus distance and recall it in case of need, a valuable function for example in racetrack races where cars pass more or less always on the same trajectory, therefore at the same distance. A nod to the construction, rocky and tropicalized as per Pentax tradition, and very well studied the graft/disengagement system of the (robust) bracket for the tripod, impossible to accidentally remove. A little light but all in all adequate the lampshade, with the front covered in rubber. Among the "cons" there is definitely the weight. It is useless to turn around, it is really heavy, with the K1 you exceed 3 kg and this, combined with the fact that the lens stretches quite zooming in, quite limits the handling. We need sturdy arms because after half an hour of freehand use you begin to feel various sores and pains, so a monopid is practically a must, or at least a support for elbows (wall, balustrade, table, etc...). Personally for the transport I exhumed a large and robust padded strap whose lower plate screws firmly to the bracket for the tripod, so that I can hold it crossbody without weighing it on the neck (and the cervical thanks!). Having said the relative hardness of the zoom ring, a reference to the price, which seems to me a little high again. I bought it during pentax's "cashback" campaign, so with a 10% discount, plus an additional small discount from my shopkeeper, for a sum of very little more than 2000€, and in my opinion this should be the right price, adapted to the quality and certainly remarkable performance of the optics. Vote 8 full. |
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