10 August 2007

Bird Park Images: Who Needs AF?

Some pictures taken at the Jurong Bird Park. here in Singapore. All taken with the K100D. Manual focus, handheld.

Scarlet Ibis Voigtlander Macro Apo Lanthar 125mm


Flamingo gathering Tokina 60-300mm


Crowned Pigeon Tokina 60-300mm


Shoebill Voigtlander Macro Apo Lanthar 125mm


Stork Voigtlander Macro Apo Lanthar 125mm


Red Macaw Tokina 60-300mm


Considering I paid less than US$50 for the Tokina SZ-X 60-300mm telezoom, I can safely say I got a bargain for this new but older manual focus lens. No AF but I can live with that.

For those who shoot manual focus or want a better view of the viewfinder, my suggestion is to replace the existing factory eyepiece with the Pentax O-M53 eyepiece magnifier. Increases magnification 1.2X and works on the K10D and K100D. A little hard to find but very useful because once you've use it, you don't want to go back to the original eyepiece that comes with the camera.

For Pentax users, there is literally a treasure trove of older manual focus lenses that can and will work with the Pentax. This backward compatibility is really a great advantage, given that Pentax is only slowly rolling out its range of new lenses.

Whereas other camera manufactures have compatibility/functionality issues for older lenses on newer cameras, some like Canon have completely abandoned the use of their older lenses (Canon's FD mount). That limits their current bodies to newer and probably more expensive new lenses. Pentax has continued to extend a new lease of life for the older K mount and M42 lenses. A good thing in my book because it saves me money.

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