Just last week, I received an SMC F 70-210/4-5.6 that I purchased on eBay.
First, I shot a few test shots at home using my *ist DS and this lens, comparing it to my Tamron AF 70-300/4-5.6. I was surprised that at the same settings (70 and 210 /4, /8) the resolution was very comparable. On the weekend we went on a whale watching tour, so I thought it would be a good test for this lens to see how it behaves with different lighting conditions. (I thought SMC can show its advantage in the case of a "complicated" light.) Here are a few shots: http://www.komkon.org/~igor/PHOTOS/WhaleWatch/ IMGP2888 ISO 800, 1/1500, f/6.7, 210 (70-210) IMGP2943 ISO 200, 1/750, f/11, 85 IMGP2945 ISO 200, 1/750, f/16, 210 (70-210) IMGP2966 ISO 200, 1/750, f/6.7 210 (70-210) (minimum manipulations in Photoshop: exposure correction, removal of a dust speckle from the sky by the "clone stamp" tool in photoshop, PEF->jpg, resizing). For the 2nd and the 3rd shots I made two different exposures - "l" is for brighter (lightened) images. BTW, I wonder which version/mood people prefer between the two version (w vs wl). Interesting that the Tamron seems to show less purple on IMGP2943, compared to SMCP on IMGP2945. Ghm... it looks like the SMCP F 70-210 is not better compared to my Tamron lens. The only difference I've noticed (but didn't measure) is that the AF with the Pentax lens is a bit faster. Igor PS. Rather interesting effect on IMGP2945: two horizontal lines, better noticeable on the island.
