So yesterday I said goodbye to an old friend, my Pentax DA*300mm F4 lens. It has been sent off for repair and will be sold on to another owner, which I have to admit makes me a little sad. I I have many great memories and favourite photos taken with that lens.
And don’t worry about the use of ode in the title, none of this post is in poem form!
The story starts back in July 2011, when my good friend of mine, Daniel Bridge, lent me his copy for a week or so and I used it while photographing butterflies in a wood in Sussex.
I was so impressed I went out and got my own not too long after. I took it on holiday to Lanzarote where I photographed a hoopoe.
When a tame wheatear turned up at Wat Tyler CP, the lens was just the job.
Perhaps the pinnacle of the lens’s ‘career’ was taking this shot of a fox in a bin, as it got highly commended in the BWPA national competiton.
As far as I’m aware this shot is the only shot that has been highly commended (or even featured?) in the BWPA that was taken with Pentax gear.
It was with me on my first (and subsequent) trips to the Highlands of Scotland, where it was used to photograph this wonderful capercaillie.
When a tame water rail appeared at Rainham Marshes, it performed well in the winter sun.
While the Pentax set up was never at its best with moving subjects, the lens coupled with a K-3 did Ok, certainly good enough for this ptarmigan walking through the snow.
I took the lens on many trips, including one to the Farnes.
The slower SDM motor often meant it wasn’t quick enough to track bird in flight well enough to focus and follow them. When coupled with the K-5 (after my k-3 went off for repair) I really struggled, but managed one (out of many attempts!) of this Mediterranean gull
One memorable evening was spent watching and photographing this grass snake eating a great crested newt.
The close focus and sharp images from this lens meant it was great for photos of larger invertebrates, such as this Fen raft spider.
Truth be told the AF was never fast or accurate enough for the difficult subjects like flying dragonflies, though it did manage a few shots of them hovering, such as the southern migrant hawker, for which I used the excellent quick shift manual focus override to tweak the focus.
Last year I took it out on a boat trip off the Yorkshire coast, where we saw my first ever great whale, a minke!
Finally this year I got a shot of an adder I was happy with, using the DA*300mm coupled with an extension tube.
Looking back, although it had it short comings, the DA*300mm was worth lens of choice for the last 6 years, it certainly was well used. Lightroom shows 45000 shots in my library taken with the lens and I would have deleted many, many more. The lens mount was so worn it needs to be replaced (hence the repair), so its fair to say I got my money’s worth out of it!
Yesterday however it was traded in with much of my other Pentax gear and hopefully it will bring as much joy to its next owner and my new Olympus 300mm will have as many happy memories for me in the future!
