DA 17-70mm f4 sdm

[lbam]

Pentax SMC DA 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM - Review / Test Report

Take what you will from this..

..

[asdf]

RAW->PNG->scaled and cropped PNG->flickr.
Av, 70mm, auto-exposure +2.0, built-in flash, ISO100, f/4, 1/180s. (with Tiffen clear filter)

I cropped very little.

Here's the flickr version:



EDIT: One more (through a car windshield ):

[Mallee Boy]

K200D & Pentax 17-70. Minor crop on the right, but nothing else. Shot in RAW converted in LightroomV2.

I like it.

[builttospill]

I received my 17-70 last week and what little time I've had to play with it I've really liked it. Much better than my 18-55, which I'll probably sell now.

I also considered the 50-135, but because the 17-70 was so much cheaper I went with it instead (besides, it fits my lineup better, because I don't have any * lenses yet).

I also don't have any samples with me, but I'll get some and post them soon.

[dylansalt]

Hi

Personally I think the 17-70 is a bit of a rip off compared in price/performance to the standard kit lens.

It is only offering a marginal increase in IQ (well with what I have seen anyway) performance.

This lens costs R 8000 and the kit R 1 600 over here.

If I could see IQ similar to the 12-24/16-50 I could possibly justify it's price as an all purpose lens.

Don't get me wrong - I was really excited when this lens came out, as I wanted to have the 17-70 over the kit but I found the IQ more a less the same as the kit - if it had been priced at R 6000 I would have probably bought it.

Dyl

[AndrewG NY]

Originally Posted by dylansalt

Personally I think the 17-70 is a bit of a rip off compared in price/performance to the standard kit lens.

It is only offering a marginal increase in IQ (well with what I have seen anyway) performance.

This lens costs R 8000 and the kit R 1 600 over here.

If I could see IQ similar to the 12-24/16-50 I could possibly justify it's price as an all purpose lens.

Law of diminishing returns. Honestly from a value perspective nothing comes close to the kit lens. It takes excellent pictures within its performance envelope that will in many circumstances be tough to distinguish from pictures taken using lenses that cost much, much more. If you avoid using the kit lens at its weakest points, you could say that it deserves a B+ and you're spending hundreds of dollars trying to get into the A-, A, or A+ range.

This is all opinion too, but I haven't seen much that convinces me that the DA* 16-50/2.8 is so much better than the 17-70/4, which is itself only a little better than the also-quite-good DA16-45/4. Tests show that the DA* has somewhat higher peak performance, especially in the center of the frame at some focal lengths but is a somewhat less steady performer across the focal length and aperture range.

Where the 17-70 is better (for me) is the 45-70 range where it outreaches and/or is faster than the other standard zooms. I've also found the quality here to be better than the short end of the tele zooms I've tried and it focuses much closer. Build quality is very good too--perhaps not quite DA* level but nearly as good as the DA12-24/4. I also didn't particularly like the handling of the DA* 16-50 I tried, either--kind of front-heavy and the zoom ring was quite stiff. If I need the extra speed or want the smaller size, I have primes for that. DA17-70 also shares the smaller 67mm filter size with the DA* 50-135 and DA* 60-250 if you end up pairing it with one of these.

I completely understand how some people will opt for f/2.8 speed, especially if they don't supplement their zooms with primes, or maybe weather-sealing for just a little more $ but the 17-70 is a pretty good at what it does too. Like "there's no replacement for displacement" in the car world, sometimes there's no replacement for f/2.8.

[hs57]

I have bought 2 weeks before the lens used in mint condition (360 Euro, approximately $ 500) in Germany.
I use it as my walk-around lens because of the zoom range, well as it's a sharp lens (enough for my needs) from f4.0.
The lens has a good built quality, sharp wide open, pratical zoom range.
This lens is much better than my bad copy of the DA * 16-55/2.8.
Some examples with my K200D and the DA 17-70/4.

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Regards,
Hartmut from Berlin/Germany