| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: March, 2017 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 521 | | Review Date: March 19, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $135.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Low cost option for long zoom. Sharp when stopped down. | | Cons: | Push/pull zoom causes creep, short focus rotation, need to be some distance from your subject to get focus. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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I was looking for a replacement for my FA 100-300 which was softer than I prefer and didn't have the reach I wanted. I saw this pop up in the marketplace and after some internal debate decided to get it. I am glad I did.
This lens takes some getting used to to pull the best images from it. Wide open it is a bit soft and images are somewhat flat and lacking contrast. I shoot RAW so that's less of an issue than others might have.
This also has some significant CA, mostly on the purple side, but that's easily mitigated in post processing.
Stopping down the lens to f/9 - f/11 brings out the sharpness this lens is capable of.
I'm thankful for the K-1 having in body image stabilization, otherwise this lens would be a tripod only lens. It is difficult hold steady especially at 400mm.
This brings me to my one major problem with the lens. It is a push/pull zoom. Meaning that you push the lens out to zoom in and pull it back towards the body to get the wider field of view. When walking with this lens it has a tendency to zoom all the way out and can get bumped. The hood isn't the most secure fitting either.
Here's some samples taken with the K-1. The hawk was the first shot I took with this lens.
 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2010 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: December 26, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | 400mm, Light weight option for range, can be sharp, decent focus speed, Bargain price | | Cons: | Build Quality not the greatest | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 8
Value: 8
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Well, this lens has for me been a bit of a star performer. For something that cost me £65 via auction it has performed well above the price range,
I've lugged it through extreme rain conditions at motorsport events, Captured Aviation with it and used it with animal photography with results that really I never expected from it. it does a far better job then it is given credit for.
Just to give an idea of how the lens has turned out for me, here are some examples
Eye of the Tiger by Avro Vulcan, on Flickr
Fedex Panda Express by Avro Vulcan, on Flickr
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: December, 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Posts: 16,475 | | Review Date: July 20, 2011 | Not Recommended | Price: $84.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Cheap, Can produce a decent picture in good light | | Cons: | Front heavy, Zoom creap, Low contrast, Slow at long end | | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 4
Handling: 1
Value: 6
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First long zoom I purchased. The cheapest way to get to 400mm. Needs post-processing to get a decent picture. I haven't used it since I got the DA L 55-300.
IMGP0428 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
IMGP0573 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
IMGP0748 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
IMGP0785 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
IMGP0781 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
IMGP0819 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
Some newer photos. Paired with a Vivitar 1.4x TC, view full sized in Flickr to see the fringing...
_IGP4573 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
_IGP4681 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
_IGP4682 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
_IGP4689 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
_IGP4690 by bmcgann1, on Flickr
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2011 Location: Louisiana Posts: 102 | | Review Date: June 7, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $99.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, Cheap, 400mm | | Cons: | Plastic, probably not durable | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-r and K3-2
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I posted a review for this lens in the Vivitar section and then found out it's probably not made by Vivitar after all.
Since I bought this on the popular auction site I've seen a lot of negative about this lens, from it being slow (6.7 @ 400mm), needing to be stopped down to increase sharpness and/or reduce PF/CA, etc.
To me, a hundred dollar 400mm @ 6.7 isn't all that slow, compared to one or two stops faster for some of the "better" 300mm zooms at many times the cost and I believe it's about f5.6@350mm.
I will agree that it feels like a big ol' chunk of plastic but it seems to do a bangup job if you avoid high contrast wide open 400mm shots. I use a silicon wrist band behind the zoom barrel and lightly pull back to just under the max 400mm. This seems to steady up the various tube parts when shooting hand held. For a budget 100-400 zoom I am happy with this one.
Here's one shot, reduced, and a 100%crop from the original.
Shot with my K-r and the Vivitar at about 350mm, f8, 1/250,ISO 800, AF/AE (-0.5 stop), open shade, handheld.
 
11 years later.
Wore out this one. Plastic barrel drags a little, focus gears making noise. Can still be used. Bought in 2011, used.
Just replaced with another auction bargain, Oct 2022. Like new, in box and original paper, for less than $100, shipped.
Will take a couple pics with it and post.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 2,275 | | Review Date: March 19, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $125.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, cheap, reasonably sharp. | | Cons: | Cheesy build quality, sticky focusing ring past 300mm, purple fringing. | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 5
Value: 8
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A lot of lenses are made entirely of plastic these days, and some still have a quality feel. This is not one of them.
The image quality is decent, (see attached samples) but the build quality is cheesy. The biggest complaint I have with this lens is that it's lousy for manual focus. Zoom out past 300mm, and the focusing ring grinds and sticks, making it impractical for wildlife shooting, which is what I do a lot of, so that's the big dealbreaker. I've had two other copies of this lens, and they both have the same problem. It's a design flaw. When you zoom out past 300mm or so, there's more lens barrel hanging over the end than there is inside the lens. This puts a "worm" on the mechanism, and the ring sticks and stutters. Plus, this lens gives you the general tactile experience of having an empty yogurt cup screwed to your camera.
Here are a few lo-res samples taken with this lens on a K100D:
   
The image quality is pretty good, especially considering you can pick one up on the used market for around $125.
I would not recommend this lens for a manual focus long tele shooter at all. It's horrible for that purpose.
But if you're primarily an autofocus shooter, this lens offers relatively good image quality for little money. Hard to do better for $125.
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