[davidmanze]

Hi guys,

             Finally the review of the DA 560mm 5.6 lens is out on Pentax Forums. The lens has had a controversial reception from Pentaxians,many,especially "birders" have welcomed it's introduction,others have bemoaned the large gap between it and the DA*300 F4 and it's rather unwieldy length,while the majority have to reconcile themselves to the fact that they will never be able to afford one, myself included.

       Is it good?  Here's the link.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pent...ction.html

 

   Dave's clichés

[Klaus]

Honestly ... I would go for the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO instead.

Faster, cheaper, better. So what's exactly the fuzz other than the Pentax tag ?

It doesn't really matter here but the border performance of the big P is downright poor ... and this a 7000$ lens.

[soLong]

Honestly ... I would go for the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO instead.

Faster, cheaper, better. So what's exactly the fuzz other than the Pentax tag ?

It doesn't really matter here but the border performance of the big P is downright poor ... and this a 7000$ lens.

....indeed the Sigma might look good on a Canon too @ (-)$2000 at least on this price....if only i could see one:-(

....  who me hijack a pentax topic :-)

[davidmanze]

Hi,

I don't know what it is about Pentax marketing, it's almost like they want to get into the Guinness book of records,smallest interchangeable lens camera, largest APSc mirror-less, longest telephoto lens, the biggest choice of colours, everything seems to have a gimmick quality,not that their cameras aren't very good,they are, but there's always an "air of novelty". This lens slots in well in that category,most expensive, longest, lightest, to the point where stability is a problem along with sales, this limits it to wildlife and birding on a tripod. Pentaxians are gagging for a 250-500mm zoom that could do all,surely this should have come first!

Kudos for Pentax? well maybe, good business product? no! Good bokeh though.


Dave's clichés

[Rover]

Am I the only one to think that they wanted to make a 400/4 lens but accidentally welded the 1.4x TC to the prototype and then said "Whatever, let it stick there".

[davidmanze]

Honestly ... I would go for the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO instead.

Faster, cheaper, better. So what's exactly the fuzz other than the Pentax tag ?

It doesn't really matter here but the border performance of the big P is downright poor ... and this a 7000$ lens.

I totally agree,the Sigma makes more sense although no WR..The "fuzz" is; that it does  represent a sort of commitment statement from Pentax that they're serious about their range of lenses and also Pentaxians don't have an awful lot to shout about in the way of new optics other than plastic fantastics and rebadged  Tamrons at increased prices. This to me was all about "prestige" for prestige's sake. 

     Personally, I cannot accurately  gauge it's sharpness from this review,but do you really think it's border quality is downright poor?

       Dave's clichés

[Brightcolours]

Honestly ... I would go for the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 APO instead.

Faster, cheaper, better. So what's exactly the fuzz other than the Pentax tag ?

It doesn't really matter here but the border performance of the big P is downright poor ... and this a 7000$ lens.

Woah, the corner performance in those corps (resolution crops) nosedives from f5.6 to f8. The CA gets worse and worse the smaller the aperture is!

I wonder what is going on there. 

[Guest]

Guys



I am not sure why you think this lens did not do well at the corners... per teh forum results....

"At F5.6 corner resolution is visibly below that of the center. At F8 -

F22 corner resolution is at par with the center. We recommend using F8 ,

F11 and F16 where possible over F5.6 to get a bit more resolution and

more depth of field thus better masking focusing errors."



Can someone explain the claim state above:

I agree the lens is too expensive for what it is, but it does perform well.

[Klaus]

The point is that other 7000$ lenses are tack sharp at max aperture already.

[Guest]

well it wasnt too bad at 5.6...Pentax forum does some pretty decent reviews and I dont sense they are very biased.

 

But the issue is the price... Given that this is a telescope design with less optical elements, it has to cost less than the Sigma f4.5 500mm.  Had they released this lens at about $4K, it would make more sense. I cannot fathom who would buy this at $6-7K