2- First hands-on
The smc DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM is an impressive piece of manufacturing. It's heavy, dense, solid.
It shares the same rings as the
SMC DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM and the
SMC DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM : one green, another gold
What a name! This lens is packed with so much technology!
SMC = super multi coating
ED = Extra-low Dispersion
IF = Internal Focus
SDM = Supersonic Direct-drive Motor
The lens comes with a rear cap, a front cap (of a new and better kind, with inner handling), a hood, a tripod mount and a soft case.
There are 3 rings: a first ring is for manual focus, the second for zooming. Both rings are large and comfortable. The third and last one is closer to the camera and allows position shifting when the lens is mounted on a tripod.
Due to its heavyness, the 60-250 requires great care when fixing and unfixing it to the K10D. That's not easy, since the fixed part between the two ring is not very large. The usual
orange dot is here.
When fixed, the center of gravity is no longer on the K10D, but on the lens. The lens features a tripod mount, close to center of gravity. The tripod mount could set apart, with a 1 ¢ coin.
When the tripod mount is fixed, the camera and the lens are well centered on the tripod.
Shifting the position is easy with the third ring: here is the result. A screw secures the position.
Contrary to the 50-135 but as the 16-50, the lens moves outside.
A dedicated button switches the auto-focus on and off and is logically connected with the AF selector on the K10D (continuous, single, off). Once again, Pentax ergonomics are great.
The SDM motor is quiet and fast. Actually so quiet that I strongly recommend to set the bip on for focus, through MENU > Preferences > Sound > Focus.
A small windows gives the distance in metric and imperial units.
All this comes at a price. The weight of the K10D and the 60-250mm combined reaches 1.9 kg / 4.2 lb. Because the center of gravity is on the lens, operating the camera with one hand is not that easy. You may use both hands or, better, you may require the BG2 grip, pushing the weight up to 2.1 kg / 4,6 lb! Another consequence is the need of a stronger bag.
Needless to remind that K10D firmware needs to be updated to 1.30.
Stay tuned
_________________
--- rei_vilo
Pentax K-5 + BG4 + DA* 16-50 + DA* 50-135 + DA* 60-250 + AF-540FGZ
reivilophotography.weebly.com
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, I proceed to some depth of field test, fisrt in-house and then outdoor.
