Testing the DA AF 1.4x AW teleconverter(pic heavy)

[joelbolden]

Attached my newly acquired DA AF 1.4x AW tele-converter to my K3iii and added the 55-300PLM and took it out for a walk. While the 1.4's main purpose is to add "legs" to my lenses, I was curious how it would act in a general purpose kind of way. Went down to my favorite creek trail and started shooting what I'd normally shoot if I was just using the 55-300PLM. First off was a Cloudless Sulfur butterfly feeding on Pannicled Asters. Then I almost stepped on a Northern Water Snake who was snoozing on the nice warm gravel trail. It woke up a trife shot tempered(can't blame it). I was between it and the creek so it kept crawling towards me and challenging me to get the hell out of it's way. I was down on my elbows and knees, and kept having to scootch back to keep it in focus. Almost ended up going off the bank when one of the interested bystanders mentioned it. I stood up and went to grab my film camera (Minolta a7) out of my bag and it took off like a shot, slithered down the bank and into the water and safety. That was fun. I did manage a shot of a jetliner leaving our local airport and some distant landscape stuff to check it's ability at full zoom. The shots came out nice and clear. I do believe this will spend a lot of time on the camera.

 

[Jeff15]

Nice set.....

 

[Space Face]

I like snakes but dunno if fancy such a close encounter in the wild albeit nonvenomous. Well captured.

 

[smoke665]

Nice set, looks like its doing the job for you. Years ago I had a couple of Pentax converters, they performed admirably. Back then they were an inexpensive option when you needed some exta reach. Now like everything else they've gone up in price to the point that I just haven't been able to justify the cost. Plus in the case of the HD DA FA 70-200 I'm already pushing the boundaries for weight on the K1 let only the K3, so having something else in the mix just didn't seem feasible.

 

[joelbolden]

Nice set, looks like its doing the job for you. Years ago I had a couple of Pentax converters, they performed admirably. Back then they were an inexpensive option when you needed some exta reach. Now like everything else they've gone up in price to the point that I just haven't been able to justify the cost. Plus in the case of the HD DA FA 70-200 I'm already pushing the boundaries for weight on the K1 let only the K3, so having something else in the mix just didn't seem feasible.

The price is a bit stiff, but I found this one on KEH in "excellent" condition for $353. Considering the technology involved and the fact that that is considerably cheaper than either the 300 or the 150-450 primes, and that the pic quality is excellent, I consider it money well spent. For my purposes anyway. Out of curiosity I weighed my K3iii with the 55-300PLM and the TC both attached and not and it came to 45.3 oz without the TC and 50.0oz with it on. I've never held a K-1, but I hear they are a beast. On a crop camera, depending on your normal carry lenses, 5 ounces isn't all that bad. I've carried a couple where the weight difference was greater. Since I shoot just about 99% outdoors/nature the extra legs in a relatively lightweight attachment that doesn't quite break the bank works for me.

 

[smoke665]

I've never held a K-1, but I hear they are

I do a lot of portrait work, so the K1Mii and the 70-200 combination get a lot of use, all told it's close to 6 1/2lbs. I have several primes that are much lighter, but don't give me the flexibility on focal length. That's why the K3ii and the 18-135 combo gets used frequently as my walk around.