Male
The friendlier one





Female
The more cautious one

They are very strong and it can be scary to pass them by on the street; there are few passer by who were really scared to pass by the two dobermans even though the owner had them on leash. And it is also my reasons in using a longer lens to stay in a safe distance. They are very intelligent animals and here is one picture that I may be off focus a bit or the shallow DOF doesn't show clearly on the nose.

The friendlier one is the male and I think he is younger as his ears are always standing up while the other female is not and her ears are not always up. Another close up that I have problem with the shadow on one side of the face.

It is a valuable experience and I learned that I need to work on the framing on the shots subject to lighting conditions to less shadow and I also make many framing errors in cutting the ear and legs -- I have a bad habit in not paying attention to the whole frame but the eyes.

• harsh lighting around 9:30am create a lot of shadows
• can't get too close due to safety
• black color while the gravel are shinning bright
• dogs get tired after 10 minutes into shooting
• I lack experience in framing the shot, have shots clipping ears and legs

• The DA* zoom has done the job for me. I don't think I can do better with my other zoom in Tamron 28-70mm f/2.8 or Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5
• I learn from the shooting that I can count on DA* zoom for portraits work in the outdoor
• Lighting and timing is important as I will attempt sunset lighting to go with the black color
• I need to work with finding a suitable toy object that can get their attention
  

Kiron made 2x TC is quite decent

• very sharp, even wide open are sharp
• though 2-touch is bigger, but still relatively small to cover a useful range
• close focus is quite good due to good sharpness, when paired with diopter, it is like a 1:2 close up zoom lens
• f/3.8 is very capable for this zoom
• bokeh is alright, will be nice if softer
• slight tendency for bluish color
• built-in lens hood but not deep enough

Some close up with
Cosina 1:1 matched macro adapter
roughly 1:2 in the combo







Some casual street shots

• Pentax K-x and M42 Lens
  
• Vivitar 70-150mm f/3.8 from Kiron in K mount
• Vivitar 70-150mm f/3.8 in 1-touch zoom
• Cosina 1:1 matched macro adapter
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

I don't have a comparative shot for the lens but I can assure everyone that this is a small and compact in size for that focal length. Rose may be stunned to see the paint loss. I go easy on the cosmetic and compromise for this lens. I still wonder if it is worthwhile to touch up with paint from a toy shop as in model plane and others.

This is a random casual test shot in f/5.0, it is very sharp taken for indoor

#1

And I did some random shots yesterday around sunset time and this morning

#2

I learned from others that I ran into this morning are Black Crowned Nighted Heron. And I started turning SR off after reading up Daniel Tong's suggestion on Birds In Flight (BIF) using high shutter speed with SR off.

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

And now I wish all my other lens this small and compact in size. I am pretty happy with the lens. I debated with myself a couple of times whether to get the DA* 300mm f/4.0 and it is a tough call. I chose it based on my intuition on size and weight. Kerrick James sold his F* after he got DA* 300mm f/4.0.

Impressions & Notes

• Weight is 880g, very light as compared to other 300mm
  
• Size is absolutely compact, a joy to hold and use in the field
  
• Filter size is 67mm
• F* lens come with ED glass that work better than the A* lens on PF/CA
  
• I dislike the default tripod mount that seems to get in the way to hand-holding the lens
• Shots at indoor at f/5.0 turn out amazingly sharp. I am yet to test it wide open
• Color is amazing with this lens
• Built in lens hood very nice and practical
  
• Auto vs Menu focus has a push and pull toggle ring very similar to Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG EX Macro, manual focus ring is well dampened for fast focusing need
  
• Bokeh is excellent as soft and creamy
  
• The best value in this prime is in the ease of use
• AF is reasonable and in general, I find the initial AF from close to infinity very bothersome to get first shot in focus. This is not the lens' fault but rather how Pentax bodies work. It is slow to get to first shot in focus.
• I am experimenting on turning SR off in shutter speed about and faster than 1/800 sec to make room for faster reaction in between shots and less overcompensation in panning.
• Many of my test shots are done in f/5.6 and sharpness is excellent even in that aperture

Related:

• Fleetweek Air Shows
  
• Photosniper Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 Purchase
• Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 BIF Pratice Shots
• Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Humming Birds
• Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Terns
• Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 On Pelicans with Kenko 2x AF TC
  
• Pentax-F 1.7x AF TC
• Tamron Pz-AF 1.4x AF TC
  
• Pentax 300mm f/4.0
  
• Search of 400mm prime in Pentax
  
• Hin's Camera Gear

• three puppies licking my lens in turn
• they played tug of war on my camera bag
• they ran to greet strangers by the minute
  
• they laid low on their head
• they out-run me with a camera in the green lawn

Related:

• Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 Initial Test Shots
• Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 On Dogs Portraits
• Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 On Squirrels
• Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 On Dance Rehearsal
  
• Tamron 28-75mm Di Macro f/2.8
• Hin's Camera Gear

I brought in my Pentax F-1.7x AF TC to work with the Photosniper. I also attempted to use my cheapo Dynatran AT CF992 from Amvona . My tripod came with a tripod head that is supposed to hold the weight of the combo but it seems to move quite a bit due to the heavy weight.

First my set up, I use my camera bag to stabilize my tripod

Foil to get F-1.7x to work with M42

Focus trap also kicks in

I changed the T-mount to cover the contacts

and K locking pin

I can only use wide open

due to focusing (explain later in detail)

Red knob cocking the lens wider than f/4.5

likely f/4.0

Toilet Plunger lens hood

The magical AF mechanics from Pentax F-1.7x AF TC works quite well in the set. Unfortunately, I can't stop down to f/8.0 or smaller as the AF from the TC will kick in again after stop down and I can't release shutter due to inability to obtain focus after stopping down

I will need to re-set AF button to cancel AF and use combination of AF and shutter release button to release shutter without AF after stopping down.

First two test shots are done on tripod with SR off and cropped in the middle, the bird is quite far away, I don't think my tripod head is very stable for the shot. Also the wide open shot and TC can degrade on detail as expected. All shots wide open.

#1

#2

And next three are done hand-held, I manage to get closer to the bird without the tripod. All shots are cropped middle with some sharpening in iPhoto.

#3

#4

#5

Related:

• Photosniper Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 Purchase
• Initial Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 Test Shots
• Humming Bird Test Shots
  
• Kiron 2x doubler M42
  
• Pentax F-1.7x AF TC
• Genuine Pentax M42 to K adapter
• Dynatran AT CF992 from Amvona
• Search of 400mm prime in Pentax
  
• Hin's Camera Gear

Some test shots on hummingbirds with this lens wide open in f/4.5 in using the lens alone without the gun stock. This lens is the most difficult lens that I have used

• Due to blades in manual diaphragm, I can't confirm focus at f/8.0 and bigger apertures.
• The focusing knob is underneath the lens barrel.
• The preset ring serves as a cocking mechanism for the lens.
• Once cocked, the aperture is wide open, slighter wider than f/4.5, maybe f/4.0, and I can focus but the catch is having to rely on the gun trigger to stop down the lens
• Without the gun stock, I can still stop down by tapping the diagram release bar underneath the lens barrel

#1



#2
shadow and too dark to freeze the motion




#3
user focus error
again a bit too dark




#4




#5

Related:

• Photosniper Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 Purchase
• Initial Tair-3 PhS 300mm f/4.5 Test Shots
• Test Shots with Pentax-F 1.7x AF TC
  
• Kiron 2x doubler M42
  
• Pentax F-1.7x AF TC
• Genuine Pentax M42 to K adapter
• Search of 400mm prime in Pentax
  
• Hin's Camera Gear