Pentax SMC-FA 300mm f/4.5 ED (IF) Reviews

Very Good Lens. Light and sharp.

An outstanding and light 300mm lens. Very sharp wide open and exceptional 1/2 stop below. Works very well with the Tamron 1.4x converter with virtually no appreciable loss of quality (on 6MP anyway, may change at 10MP!)

I searched for 18 months to find this lens after owning the A* 300/f4.0 for a couple of years. I was very lucky to find one sitting unsold on a small dealers shelf! I would say that it's an even better lens than the A*300, and that is saying something.

I hope that Pentax will re-introduce this lens shortly in their newer D-FA Quick Shift design.

Excellent sharpness, great colour rendition and contrast, and superb build quality. An absolute must for wildlife. I also hope Pentax reintroduce this lens for the digital era.

Sharp from wide open. Contrasty with good colour.

Exceptionally low CA and PF (Zero so far as I can see).

It is as light as it can possibly be. A really fntastic lens.

My only complaint is that there is a distance range where the bokeh could be smoother.

Very sharp lens,small and well built.Great lens,i hope Pentax will do some more lenses like that one!

Just got it for a ridiculous price of $450. The lens is fantastic in every regard. Unbelievably small for what it is, light and balances well as a handheld on a medium size body (K20D without battery booster). Focus on K20D is extremely fast and quiet enough. Got multiple shots of a chipmunk from 2 yard distnace and the noise didn't scare it. Extremely sharp with excellent contrast from wide open and I can't detect any CA or purple fringing pixel-peeping at 14.5 megapixel image. Didn't have a chance to check for flare yet. Communicates to the camera the full name of the lens - how comes?
Deficiencies: no tripod collar and the post-market one which I was given on purchase is very ugly, I wouldn't dare to use it. The lens is old and the hood bayonet shows some wear, but so far working perfectly. Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to get it again from ebay for $1000 - and for half a price it was an unbelieveable bargain!