| | |  | Telephoto | Home » » » » Pentax DA 300mm F/4 ED (IF) SDM Lens | | | | | | | Description: | | High performance Pentax 300mm telephoto lens | | | Features: | |
• SDM system creates smoother, quieter auto focus
• Weather resistant and dust resistant body
• Pentax SP coating protects the exposed lens elements
• ED elements compensate for chromatic aberration
• Focal length equivalent to 450mm in the 35mm format
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 9.7 inches | | Product Width:
| 7.1 inches | | Product Height:
| 5.0 inches | | Product Weight:
| 2.36 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.84 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.24 inches | | Package Height:
| 5.43 inches | | Package Weight:
| 3.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 6 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 6 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Legendary Lens in the MakingMay 17, 2008
By Tbear
This lens is built to last a lifetime. Auto-focus is very fast, accurate and nearly silent on my K10D. Sharpness is excellent wide-open at f4 and continues through at least f16 before diffraction begins to take a toll. The tripod mount is very well made and allows the photographer to flip the camera from landscape to portrait position with great ease. Color rendition is superb and the bokeh is like the finest creamery butter. I've already used it in mild rainy conditions with no adverse effects, thanks to its weather-sealing. Vignetting and chromatic aberrations are very well-controlled. I predict this lens will achieve legendary status in the years to come.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Simply SuperbFeb 23, 2010
By Ryan Freeman
This lens embodies Pentax classic workmanship with the newest technology. Color rendition is true to life and the sharpness is amazing, even wide open. (The reason for this may be assisted by the fact that everything you shoot with this lens is fairly far away and often in the same infinite focal plane.) The SDM makes for a fast, quiet focus. Shifting on the fly to manual is a convenient touch, especially when you find yourself having to shoot through branches, tall grass, or shrubs to catch that elusive creature. I bought this lens for a safari in Africa. I couldn't have been happier, filling my frame with the entire head of a giraffe.
While the f/4 max aperture isn't as quick as an f/2.8, it still does an excellent job of catching the action. In fact, this is a better purchase than the 300mm f/2.8 for three reasons:
-Price: The f/2.8 is 2.5x-3x more expensive and the larger glass weighs more.
-Actual use: There is a good chance that this lens will be used primarily outside, where there is plenty of natural light, so shooting at fast speeds typically isn't a problem.
-Compensation of technology: Let's face it, noise reduction, especially that offered in the newer bodies like the K-7 allow shooting at the 1600-2000 ISO range without too much guilt. Also, shake reduction is an excellent cheat in shaving off speed.
All in all, this lens is designed to do one thing and do it well. It succeeds. This shouldn't be the first lens in your kit, but if you need to reach long, do it with this beautiful glass and you will be amazed at the results.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Top of The LineMay 27, 2009
By J. Gilbert
"memory-catcher"
Auto-focus is very fast, accurate and practically silent on my K10D and K20D. Excellent Sharpness. Colors are great on either camera but superb when used on the K20D in Landscape Mode. Bokeh is smooth and creamery. Great on a tripod or hand held. I have used this lens to capture eagles in flight at Real Foot Lake in Kentucky, Bears in the Great Smokey Mountains, and as a macro in the Rose Garden of Cape Girardeau all with fantastic results. Cropping to zero in on my Bears left little or no distortion and maintained the creamy bokeh. I have not noticed any Vignetting and chromatic aberrations yet. I highly recommend this lens to all Pentax users. This has to be the best lens Pentax has made and I own six Pentax lens so far.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Pentax delivers quality lensMay 13, 2010
By K. Azhytskyi
I picked this lens for bird and wildlife photography. Prime lenses have appeal to me over Zooms for imposing certain framework and for better delivery of colors. Pentax 300mm does not disappoint. With Pentax K10D body and Sigma 1.4x Teleconverter I have been able to take sharp photos of birds at 50m distance and full-screen capture of a dragonfly at 1,5m distance. It is a solid alternative to the 100mm macro prime. Another factor for me was that this lens is relatively light-weight if compared to quality telephoto zooms.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Fantastic Long Telephoto - Wonderful IQDec 16, 2010
By J. Blilie
"Naturalist-Skeptic"
This is the best long telephoto I've used. The build quality is superb and the image quality is eye-popping. Really great sharpness, contrast, color, essentially no chromatic aberration or purple fringing. Luscious bokeh. Very fast and nearly silent AF (I thought the AF was broken when I first used this lens! I'm so used to the whirr of the body-screw driven AF on the Pentax line.) Very little hunting by the AF. Fast and accurate AF.
I'm really impressed with all aspects of IQ on this lens, that's the main thing. It almost looks like you are using a "normal" prime, from the IQ. Amazing. I have used a lot of different telephotos over the last 30 years and this one is a gem. Worth every penny of the price.
The lens is very small, given that it is 300mm, f/4, and IF. This is where having the APS-C sub-size sensor really shines: In savings in size, speed, weight, and cost where it really counts and adds up: At the telephoto end of the lens range. I love my APS-C sensors!
77mm filter matches most of my other lenses, which is nice. The lens hood is excellent and very nicely designed and built. The rubber front edge it nice for protecting the hood or anything it may come into contact with. The hood is smaller than than your typical petal-type hood and stows neatly and relatively small over the barrel of the lens (reversed and re-mounted on the hood bayonet mount.) How nice to have the 35mm equivalent reach of 450mm for the PENTAX bodies (APS-C sensor) in such a small package! I remember my rather slow and cumbersome SMC PENTAX-A 400mm f/5.6. This lens blows the doors off that lens in every way.
Things I love about this lens:
SHARPNESS!
Contrast
Color
Bokeh
BUILD QUALITY!
Weather sealing
Size
Fast, accurate, ~silent AF
Quick shift manual focus on the fly
f/4
Very little CA
Close minimum focus distance
Lens hood
Lens pouch with handle
Tripod mount and overall design/balance
Price for the quality of the lens, it's very reasonably priced
This lens is a real winner. If you want a really sharp and well-built long tele, this is your lens!
Now, PENTAX, how about 1.4X and 2.0X ED/APO fully functional teleconverters to go with it? (Since you don't seem to be coming out with any teles longer than 300mm for your DSLRs.)
See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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