P400ED

 
Pentax 400mm f/4 ED(IF)
AManageableMedium Format Super-Telephoto

Buying a large and expensive lens is a lot like going out on a blind-date. Because dealers typically don't stock them, and except for certain Nikon and Canon big-guns they are rarely available for rental, (I'm referring to lenses‚ not blind-dates), buying a super-telephoto is usually done based solely on reputation and faith. And, as with a blind-date, sometimes you go home with a smile on your face and sometimes you can't wait for it to end.
In the Fall of 2001 I had purchased a600mm f/4lens for myPentax 67II. Though I liked the lens, and I found that it produced very nice results (once I learned how to deal with its inherent chromaticaberration), in the end it simply turned out to be too big and too heavy for realistic use in the field. I like a challenge, but middle age and a chronic bad back made this monster lens a bit more of a challenge that I was willing to assume on a regular basis.
I had bought the len...