The Big Glass Comparison Pages for Pentax AF
See also The 300mm f2.8 Comparison Page for Pentax AF and The 600mm f4 Comparison Page for Pentax AF
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Isn't It Time YOU Owned Some Big Glass? Left: Shooting with the FA* 600/4 (with hood retracted) at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Other essential equipment: PZ1p, Wimberly head, Bogen 3021 tripod, St. Louis Cardinals ball cap. Somewhere in there is a off-camera release cord. Note the lily-white legs starting to turn red from sunburn. |
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| So you
consider yourself a serious amateur photographer, and now
you are ready for that long, fast, expensive lens - but
your pocketbook is not the deepest in the world. Well, rejoice. I have the answer: Just drag out that
charge card, up the limit, and go for it. |
Tell the wife that you plan to own the Big Glass for a year (or two at the most). Tell her you will sell it later and get back 80% of the purchase price. Tell her the cost of ownership will only be $54.16 per month. Tell her you will save that much by keeping your old Corolla for a couple more years instead of a getting a new car. Tell her you'll start brown-bagging lunch... you get the idea. | Seriously, there is real joy in owning fine photographic equipment. Some purchases are lifetime investments, others are stop-gap measures designed to do a job at the least possible cost. In either case, it is wise to get the best, most useful lens possible with the money one has to spend. These pages will present some information designed to help readers make an informed decision. |
Let's bypass the smaller lenses like the F* and FA* 300/4.5, FA* 400/5.6, third-party lenses, and screw-mount lenses for now. That leaves us with four choices from Pentax: Should I get a 300/2.8, 400/2.8, or 600/4? Or, maybe even the versatile FA* 250-600/5.6 zoom? Well, the choice is not too simple. My only clear recommendation is to avoid the 400/2.8 because (a) it is manual focus, and (b) the cost, weight, and size of it is essentially the same as a 600/4, but you only get 2/3 the focal length of a 600/4.
I own an FA* 600/4, but there were extenuating circumstance to getting my 600. If I were buying new, I would probably still get the 600.
| Lens | Angle of View |
Groups/ Elements |
Min. Focus | Filter | Diameter x Length | Weight | Cost, 1999 US Dollars |
| FA* 300mm f/2.8 ED[IF] | 8.2 | 7/10 | 6.6' (2m) | 43mm internal | 4.8" x 9.7" (123mm x 247mm) |
5.5 lb (88.2 oz) (2495 g) |
$4699 new ($3600 used) |
| SMCP-A* 400mm f/2.8 ED[IF] | 6.2 | 8/8 | 13.3' (4m) | 49mm internal | 6.5" x 12.8" 164mm x 325mm |
13.25 lb (212 oz) (6000g) |
$6597 new Special Order Only ($3200-3800 used) |
| FA* 600mm f/4 ED[IF] | 4.1 | 7/9 | 16.4' (5m) | 43mm internal | 6.9" x 18" (176mm x 457mm) |
15 lb 240 oz (6800g) |
$6482 new ($4600 used) |
| FA* Zoom 250-600mm f/5.6 ED[IF] | 9.9-4.1 | 16/18 | 11.5' (3.5m) | 43mm internal | 5.3" x 17.4" (134mm x 442mm) |
12 lb (191 oz) (5400g) |
$7589 new |
Pros and Cons
| FA* 300mm f/2.8 ED[IF] | Pros: Much lighter,
smaller, and less expensive than the other lenses listed
on this page. Works well with Pentax 1.4XL and 2.0 XL
Teleconverters. Cons: Can't get really long - say 800mm - without stacking teleconverters. Requires third-party AF teleconverter to get AF beyond 300mm. |
| SMCP-A* 400mm f/2.8 ED[IF] | Pros: Perfect focal
length for some sports applications. Some prefer the
focal lengths offered (400/560/800) with teleconvertors
to those available with other lens/TC combinations. Works
well with Pentax 1.4XL and 2.0 XL Teleconverters. Cons: As with all Big Glass, this baby is large, heavy, and expensive, and generally requires a heavy-duty tripod head and tripod. Manual focus. Essentially the same size and cost as the FA* 600/4, but only 2/3 the focal length. Unable to use Pentax 1.7x AF Adapter, but this is not a big detraction because the XL teleconvertors are excellent. |
| FA* 600mm f/4 ED[IF] | Pros: This is the
least expensive autofocus 600/4 lens from any
manufacturer. Generally regarded as being sharp at all
apertures (although at least one owner reports his is
soft at f4). Works well with Pentax 1.4XL and 2.0 XL
Teleconverters, but they are manual focus only. Minor
light fall-off in the corners when using some third-party
AF teleconverters such as the Kenko Teleplus AF 1.5x.
Allows decent photos when stacking teleconverters, to
2400mm. Able to mount on a monopod with good results (at
1/180 and faster shutter speeds). Comes with a secure
metal case, a shoulder strap for the lens, and a wallet
holding several useful 43mm internal filters. Has a focus
limit slider which is used to limit the range of AF
focusing. Easy to use in manual focus mode. Excellent
built-in lens hood. Closest focus is 16.4 feet,
significantly shorter than the 600/4 lenses from Nikon (19.5'),
Canon (18'), and Minolta (20'). Cons: As with all Big Glass, this baby is large, heavy, and expensive, and generally requires a heavy-duty tripod head and tripod. The filter holder latch is poorly designed, and the holder can fall out if the latch is snagged just right (some people tape theirs in place). |
| FA* Zoom 250-600mm f/5.6 ED[IF] | Pros: Definitely
lighter and smaller than a 600/4, but still a large,
heavy lens. Works well with Pentax 1.4XL and 2.0 XL
Teleconverters. A remarkably useful zoom range for
certain applications - if you need 250-600 and f5.6 and
autofocus, no one else offers a comparable lens. Cons: As with all Big Glass, this baby is large, heavy, and expensive, and generally requires a heavy-duty tripod head and tripod. Maximum aperture is f5.6. Adding a teleconverter makes this a fairly slow lens. The FA* 250-600 is an expensive lens compared to even the FA* 600/4. One user reports using this lens mostly at 600mm, which is to say a 600/4 might have been a better choice. |
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Last updated 12-Mar-2000. All images © John Mustarde.All opinions are my own. Information for this article was gathered from a variety of sources - please comment if you find a significant error. Pentax, Nikon, Minolta, Canon, and Sigma are copyrighted trademarks of the respective companies, and I am in no way affiliated with them nor have they authorized or verified any of this information.