From AF to Manual Focus

[Ian McHenry]

I was recently unfortunate enough to badly damage my number one birding lens a Tamron 70-300 AF.
With loss of Insurance excess It is probably uneconomic to claim.
Have a 20 year plus Tokina 100-300 F5.6 manual and after testing @ wildlife park today it appears that provided there is front lighting the AF is probably not a requirement.
Here is an image taken with the Tokina wide open @ F5.6 with a Tamron 1.4 TC.
Slightly cropped but otherwise unedited.
Comments appreciated.
My SLR is a Pentax K10D.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Peter
Insurance excess which I have to pay is $250. Cost of new lens about $370 but if claim made, then any further insurance claim in about next 7 months would mean loss of no claims bonus ie much higher insurance next year.
Viewfinder viewing only but camera beeps and green lights when in focus even with ordinary PK lenses.
Only see 2 drawbacks 1. Getting eye into sharp focus. 2. Close up BIF.
Cheers: Ian Mc