SMC Pentax-FA 80-320 zoom lens question

[scott-devon]

I've an opportunity to pick up a Pentax SMC Fa 80-320 zoom lens for under 150.00 U.S. today. I've been looking for a good 400 mm zoom for my Ist Ds but this seems a real sweet deal and 400mm lens' for the Ist seem pretty hard to come by used. Some questions though...

I think the FA series will fit a k mount...am I right?
This price will leave me with enough to shop around for a teleconverter, question is.. are there teleconverters that will keep the autofocus operation?
Is this price good?

Hoping for some quick advice here as I must decide today.

[Photo-John]

Did you buy it? I took a look around and can't find that lens listed on the Pentax site or KEH.com. $150 is awfully cheap for a lens that long. What's the maximum aperture? When you get into lenses longer than 200mm, the prices get pretty steep for the good stuff. And people who buy them are pretty serious and know what they want. That's why you won't find much for sale. People make a commitment when they buy them and then don't let them go.

I'm curious about the outcome of this. Let us know if you bought the lens and give us some more information on it.

Have you posted a review for your *ist DS? I'm sure we need more reviews for that camera.

[scott-devon]

Photo-John, I made the purchase. It was off ebay but he seems an honest type and the price was so low I couldn't say no (even though it's a silver lens and my camera is black). I'm expecting the lens in any day now and I'll post the specifics you are looking for when I get it.

[trog100]

F5.6 i think which is pretty good for a long lens that dosnt cost thousands.. sounds like a very nice buy..

the *ist DS has a reasonable ISO performance which is basically what makes these lenses very usable.. the shake reduction on my k100d makes them even more usable.. sr and a usable nearly noise free ISO 800 makes all the difference..

definitely a tripod job with tele converter on thow.. i doubt the feasability to be honest.. a 2 x tele will lose 2 f-stops and i think the auto focus as well..

trog

ps.. i dont have the lens mentioned just two or three third party long zooms.. a tamron 18-200.. tokina 35-300 and a sigma 28-300.. the first one is digital only and a nice walk around lens.. the second two are older film lenses and new but cheap experimental bargains.. he he

[scott-devon]

I just got it in and I think you are absolutely right about the tripod Trog. It's dark out and temps are dropping fast here today so I'm not sure when I'll get this outdoors to try but snapping shots around the house I find it really hunts for focus on autofocus and that any camera shake on full zoom is very noticeable. Still, for the price..this is going to be fun to play with. I can see that my days of leaving my monopod and tripod at home on my walks will have to end though. Pity, I hate carrying too much.

[Photo-John]

Someone posted a review for this lens today:

Read and write reviews for the Pentax 80-320mm lens >>

[spacey]

The 80-320 isn't regarded greatly as one of Pentax's best but certainly not the worst. For future reference, any lens with the "K-Mount" type is compatible with the *ist & K-D digital series, as with the 35mm line also. That's the beauty of Pentax... so Type A, M, FA, DA so on and so forth - all compatible.