| Author: | | Showing Reviews 1-15 of 47 | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: Ile-Aux-Noix, QC Posts: 1,527
4 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: February 6, 2010 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $10.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great sharpness, great colour rendition, amazing value, very fast focus, useful macro feature, small size and weight | | Cons: | Cheap build quality, focusing rotates front element, terrible focus ring, cheap zoom ring, crappy aperture ring | |
This is quite the find, I can't believe I got it so cheap. I found it on eBay listed under the name "Pentak 35mm to 70mm lenes", and unsurprisingly, no-one else bid on it.
My first impression upon receiving it was underwhelming. It's quite small compared to my K-7's kit lens, and it weighs very little. There's a strange rubber inlay along the bottom periphery where the serial number is mounted, and this inlay is starting to peel off. The whole construction is cheap plastic, much cheaper-feeling than my kit lens.I think it's supposed to be black, but it's more like a dull dark gray, perhaps from age. The focus ring is the plastic joke of the century. Clearly this lens was never meant for manual focus. It has a 90 degree sweep, it's really loose, and good luck getting a grip on it; it's ridiculously thin. The extending barrel wobbles almost 1mm in every direction when I hold it in my hands. The aperture ring is yet more cheap plastic, and only has full stops, nothing in-between. All in all, a very typical cheap Pentax early-90's effort. I understand this was a kit lens on some high-end cameras. I guess a kit lens will always be a kit lens no matter which camera it comes on. Maybe I'm just spoiled by my M42 Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 (a true gem), or my DA* 50-135mm. But even my own kit lens seems like a cut above compared to this ugly thing.
Ok, enough of the bad stuff. Now for the important part: the optics of this lens are amazing. Sharpness throughout is incredible. When I use it, I tend to be outside in daylight and stay around f8 or so. Everything in the frame is perfectly sharp. In terms of image quality, this lens is a few solid steps above my K-7's kit lens. The colour rendition is gorgeous, the bokeh is excellent, everything looks outstanding. I'd even compare this favourably to my DA* 50-135mm in terms of image quality. I think I've found my new walk-around lens.
The cheap aperture ring doesn't really matter much since I just leave set to "A" anyways. The range of apertures is very wide, and one stop above the minimum seems to eliminate any initial softness in the image (as is common with most lenses)
The cheap focus ring matters even less. Probably due to the short and loose focus sweep, this lens focuses faster than any lens I currently own. It SNAPS into focus at insane speed. I'm actually concerned that it might damage something inside, it's that quick. It puts my DA* 50-135mm to shame in terms of focusing speed and accuracy. However, it's understandably a lot noisier due to the use of screw-drive instead of SDM.
This lens has the honor of being my first macro lens. While the 6" minimum focusing may not rank up there with the macro superstars, it's perfectly usable and gives me outstanding results. It's a little odd to use, not quite the method I expected from a macro lens. The zoom ring has a range beyond 70mm which is used for macro mode, and the minimum focus distance is adjustable within this range. In any case, it works as intended and I've been having a lot of fun with it.
Zoom creep hasn't been an issue so far, perhaps because everything on this lens is so light. I really appreciate the lightness. According to my scale, this lens weighs in at a paltry 225 grams (as opposed to my kit lens at 300 grams) This makes it not only the most versatile lens in my collection right now, but also the lightest. A great combination!
$10 is not typical for this lens, but even at $50 to $100, I think this lens is a steal. If the focal range is within your needs, this lens totally blows away any current kit lens in terms of image quality, and adds a decent macro mode to boot. It's light, it's small and it's fast (focusing).
One last note: if you use a circular polarizing filter, the front lens element does rotate on focusing, which can be annoying.
edit: here are some sample shots:
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 346
4 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: January 24, 2009 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, good color, price | | Cons: | Limited zoom range? | |
A very good lens with macro focusing ability at 70mm. I had this lens once before. I was lucky enough to find another one recently. It works very well at all focal lengths and produces sharp images with very nice "pentax" colors. I think this lens is one of the best bargains in the used pentax market, if for nothing more than it's macro focusing ability. These are 2 crops of same image. First one cropped a little, second one at close to 100%, taken hand held in Jpg, adjusted in gimp.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2009 Location: USA Posts: 308
3 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: September 17, 2010 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharpness, macro capabilities | | Cons: | none at the price | |
Just adding my voice to those who love this little lens - I got it for a song, thrown in with a camera and another lens, and have shot with it all day.
Here are a couple of samples:
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: MD Posts: 161
2 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: August 8, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $22.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | clarity, contrast, useful range, macro | | Cons: | soft wide open | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 10
| |
[FONT="]I really like this lens, and it has come to replace the DAL 18-55 much of the time on my K-x.
I have done some comparison shots, and this is what I have determined.
Compared to the DAL 18-55 where I made shots at 35 and 50mm:[/FONT]
- [FONT="]At comparable focal lengths, the 35-70 is brighter (by which I mean I can take faster shots or lower ISO)[/FONT]
- [FONT="]Comparing shots at both 35 and 50mm, the 35-70 is a bit softer when both are wide open, but that also is because the 35-70 is shooting a whole stop faster. When I match the stops (I tried both lenses out at both 4.5 and 9), the 35-70 was significantly sharper.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]Color on the 35-70 was a bit warmer and contrast was similar.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Compared to the DAL 50-300 where I made shots at 50 and 70mm:[/FONT]
- [FONT="]At all comparable settings, the 50-300 is sharper and brighter.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]Color on the 35-70 was a bit warmer and contrast was similar.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]One big advantage that the 35-70 does have is that it can focus on objects much closer than the 50-300 can. (I.e., at 50mm, I can focus on something about 2' away with the 35-70, but I need about 5' for the 50-300.)[/FONT]
[FONT="]For me, what this means is that when I'm shooting in the 35-50 range, I will be using this 35-70 lens. If I plan to do anything in the 50+ range, I will use the 50-300 lens. The pics in the 50-70 range on this 35-70 lens are certainly acceptable, so it will work as a versatile, easy to use lens in a range I seem to take a lot of pics in. Of course, I'll have to use my 18-55 when I want anything more wide angle than this 35-70 lens can do.
More specifically about this lens:[/FONT]
- [FONT="]It's quite compact, significantly smaller than the 18-55, and so it's easy to leave on the camera and use as a walk around lens.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]It is a bit noisy as it focusing, but it focuses fast enough for me and at a similar quickness to my other lenses.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]The 2x zoom of the 35-70 is a bit restricting, but I find it to be a range in which I can get a lot of use.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]It has macro capability. At its lower range, I can get w/in a foot of the subject. That's a handy feature...[/FONT]
- [FONT="]It has ended up being a great lens for theater shots w/ their challenging lighting.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Conclusion: While the lens is limited by its 35-70mm range, it is still a fantastic lens that is remarkably versatile and cheap. I'd rate it about an 8.5 but given its cost and value, I marked it a 9.
HERE is a Flickr set using this lens.
[/FONT]
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2008 Location: Glossop Posts: 6
2 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: August 14, 2009 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Awesome macro, sharp at almost all settings, great price, small size. | | Cons: | 35mm is not exactly wide on an APS-C sensor DSLR | |
A wonderful little gem of a lens, I paid £32 on Ebay for this, and since then I've seen a few sell for less, and one go for £4.50!
Here are some sample shots:
I've been blown away by how sharp and detailed this lens is, and I've loved the macro end of the scale.
The downside is a fairly long minimum distance at 35mm, and the fact that 35mm is really not at all wide, and I do need to swap back to the kit lens for some shots. The 2x zoom means that the price seems to be very low with a lot of people just ignoring it. Why, if a prime is okay, why is a 2x zoom with near prime quality a problem? I'm giving it a 9, as for the money it is really great.
The set of all the pictures I have taken with this lens is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/smcpf3570mmf3545/ so please look if you want more samples.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2011 Posts: 66
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: January 11, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $60.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast focus, light, bright, cheap | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
| |
This is lens one little gem, very sharp, nice colors, fast focus, for this money I highly recommend it. Sharper, lighter and smaller then the kit 18-55 and it has better auto focus 
100% crop:
Bridge:
100% crop:
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 981
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: November 2, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Small, neat, sharp, light and AF | | Cons: | None - Maybe not too fast, but does not matter | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| |
I bought this lens from KEH about a year and a half ago after looking at some photos taken with this lens. Also, after I learned that someone used to copy documents and archive them. This lens is great for that, it doesnot distort the document. Besides, I take it quite often out and take nice sharp photos. It is the best of the cheapo AF zoom. I really like it.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: August, 2010 Location: Winnipeg MB Posts: 337
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: May 4, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, sharp, good color reproduction | | Cons: | Plastic construction | |
I use this lens on my K-x for traveling. It has the right focal length for all my shootings outdoors and inside the museum. I use a 3rd party rubber lens hood. I think it is necessary because the lens is more sensitive to flare. This lens is getting more attention, one was sold for $96 recently on ebay. This is a sample photo taken with MZ-5N:
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/a...ots-winnie.jpg | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2010 Posts: 17
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: April 6, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Great for portraits, very compact, little to no CA | | Cons: | Color for landscapes (although most will disagree with me), flare | |
[FONT=Georgia]First of all, this is a super sharp lens at all focal lengths. It is essentially prime quality in that respect. However, I have found that I end up discarding most landscape pictures by this lens as I do not like the coloration of the sky or anything that is yellow-colored in the picture like dead grass. That is just a preference thing as most people in this post list the color as a plus. I really wish I liked the color more, as I would use it a lot! [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia]On the flip side, it does excellent with people-shots, and city night scenes, in my opinion. Unfortunately I don’t take a whole lot of people shots. The focus on mine is very quick and accurate. Low to no CA present.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia]That is my opinion, take it for what it is worth.. based on everyone else’s review, you very well may love the color it produces for landscapes! I will definitely be hanging on to it for portrait and night, though.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia][/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia]I forgot to add, I have used this on a k10d and k7, not a film camera.[/FONT]
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: July, 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 1,223
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: December 5, 2010 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, Cheap and Sharp with Nice Contrast | | Cons: | Placticy zoom ring feels cheap... | |
[FONT=Verdana]I’ve had this lens now for a couple days. Found (and can be found...) on ebay very cheaply and after reading other reviews of the F-series-35-70mm I went on the hunt for one.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Straight out the box I got a good feeling about this lens... It looks a little retro but you instantly get a feeling that it was worth the money.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Past F4 this lens is considerably sharper than that of the DA-L 18-55mm kit lens... It is however not really in the same range in terms of focal length on my K-x due to the cropped sensor of the K-x. This is pentax’s F-series and as far as I can tell designed for their 35mm full-fram SLR’s...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]So not a Kit lens replacement... more an addition to your arsenal :-) For example if you have a K-x with 18-55mm kit lens the F35-70mm will cover the range of 52.5mm through to 105mm at its tele-end...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Although not what most would consider a 'macro' lens... Its macro function isn't half bad, allowing good focus at around 6 inches...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]It focuses fairly quickly but hunts in low light more than the 18-55mm kit lens... This said it hunts less than my DA50-200mm and gives much better results![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Build quality is generally good but the zoom ring feels a little cheap and mine sticks a little as it moves through the mid (50mm) range... That said I don’t think there’s any chance I’ll break it... I not rough with my gear.. But I do use it every single day..[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]It has good contast, vibrant colours and as yet I have not noticed any CA that I would worry about... In fact in terms of colours... I really do think that they are nicer and brighter than those that come from the 18-55mm... They seem to have more ‘POP’ [/FONT][FONT=Wingdings][FONT=Wingdings]J[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Like I said it is sharp! If you're after a mid-tele-zoom lens that can handle portraits under decent light... Or a walk around for street photography...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Or just a cheap lens that is pretty damn sharp... You can't really go wrong here...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Very pleased indeed![/FONT]
EDIT... This is now my 'go to' lens for street photography and I have become very happy with it... Have bumped from an 8 to a 9 due to frequent usage and the fact that it stays in my bag having replaced the 50-200mm I used to carry always...
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2009 Location: Worcestershire Posts: 980
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: March 13, 2010 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Surprisingly sharp at >f4.5, compact, works fully with all K mount cameras/DSLRs. | | Cons: | Slow (but it wouldn't be so small and cheap if it wasn't). The appearance of the lens does not reflect its quality! | |
I wanted a zoom ens for my P30n which I could also use on my K200d. For a trifling £22 I got this little gem which I have found offers a very nice range of focal lengths, the convenience of autofocus, and very decent IQ.
My first impression of the lens was 'wow, that's small!' followed by 'wow, that looks weird'. Strange use of dark grey plastic and green and orange markings. But it looks 'right' on my K200d.
I have found the focal range of the lens less limiting than I expected. I am used to using primes, and it was nice to have a little extra leeway when composing my shots. 35mm encourages you to make more 'concise' images than the cram-it-all-in approach on a 16 or 18mm wide lens. The 70mm end is long enough to isolate details, and the 'macro' function which is engaged at this end is very useful. The range is very good for shooting candid street shots (and the unobtrusiveness of the lens helps here too).
Wide open, I have noticed a bit of ghosting and glowing highlights, and fairly noticeable CA at the edges. But at f4.5 things are much better, and at f5.6 and above the impression of sharpness this lens gives is quite striking. Unlike DA zooms I have owned, the sharpness is uniform across the image - no softness in the extreme corners. I have tested it against an A 50mm f2 at f4.5, and this lens won in terms of sharpness.
Taking into account the very low price, and the fact this lens was only ever meant as a consumer zoom, I think this lens is a little cracker, and would recommend it as a lens to share between your film and digital slr (it's not ideal for manual focus due to its thin focus ring, but it more than makes up for this by having AF and communicating focal length to your digital SLR body, which makes the SR more effective). It would make a cost effective complementary lens to the 16-45mm when you want a bit more reach - the IQ is comparable.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2008 Location: Prince George
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: July 28, 2008 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | light, cheap and sharp | | Cons: | not currently made | |
I am constantly surprised as to how sharp this lens is. I put it on a K100 body when I'm hunting, fishing, canoeing or in other situations where I have need for a high quality optic that won't cost an arm an a leg to replace.
The zoom range is limited, it's not really fast, and like using a prime, you often have to move your derriere a step or two to get a better picture rather than zooming in and out to frame. But these reasons are probably why the pictures I take with it are usually excellent.
These 2:1 ratio zooms seem a bit old fashioned these days, but they are sharper, smaller and lighter than their modern compatriots. I hope we see a return to this more modest mentality.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 151
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: May 16, 2008 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Small, inexpensive, relatively sharp. | | Cons: | Rotating front barrel. Little light on contrast. | |
A lot of people have commented on this lens being quite sharp, so I had high expectations when I got it. I think it should be qualified as "this lens is quite sharp for a low priced zoom". It is definitely not "prime" lens sharp, however it is decently sharp. Contrast could be a bit better.
I think the greatest strengths of this lens is its compact size and light weight. It is just a tad larger than a standard 50mm, but it encompasses a focal range of 35mm (which is normal on DSLR) to 70mm (which is a good length for portraits on DSLR). For casual daytime outings, this is much handier than a 50mm lens. Plus it has limited macro capabilities to boot. With portraits, it doesn't isolate the subject as well as a faster lens, but it'll do in a pinch.
The focusing is fast, the build is plasticky, but still solid.
I really enjoy finding and using inexpensive and relatively "good" lenses. This lens would qualify as such. Obtainable at around $60 or less, this lens provides reasonable quality at a very reasonable price. It is a handy lens to have and a must for anyone looking to put together a low priced kit.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: SGP Posts: 8 | | Lens Review Date: May 2, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Value, IQ and Size | | Cons: | Rotating front barrel | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K7
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Bought thislens with a mind-set of trying an affordable zoom lens after reading the reviews here. Although the lens comes in less than nice condition, a good cleaning of the glass and polishing of the exterior improves the look tremendously.
Size
The size of this lens is good,about the size of my FA50/1.4 when collapsed to the shortest length. The35-70mm focal length is useful as a walk about lens.
Built
Good weight and metal lens barrel is a plus. The exterior of the lens felt plasticky and the grey colour(typical of the F series) of the lens body does not help to improve the feel of the exterior either. The rotating barrel makes using a polarising filter a challenge.
Image Quality
As a prime shooter and for the price of this lens, I must say I am happy with both IQ and colour.Good for a zoom and is relatively sharp wide open and sharp when stopped down a little more. Focus is quick although a bit noisy. As with most lenses, this lens benefits from using a hood especially the front element is not recessed enough to go without a hood. The result from the macro function is pretty good too.
Overall
The focal length of this lens is good as a walkabout lens and it performs surprisingly well. A little gem considering the image quality and the hard to beat price. Recommended if you can find one at a good price. | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2011 Posts: 1 | | Lens Review Date: April 1, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Price, Useful focal range, Very good from F/5.6 | | Cons: | So-so build quality, A little bit fiddly, Not a prime zoom, Word is getting around how good it is | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-r
| |
Very useful walk around lens. Hits a sweet spot at 5.6, but reasonably sharp throughout. Macro is much more useable alhough perhaps not quite as good as on the manual focus A zoom equivalent, and CA is far less noticeable on this one too.
Size wise, this is comparable to the primes of the same series, and lends a nice weight balance to the K-r. Also, although obviously a mere cosmetic trifle that absolutely no-one considers when buying a lens, these lenses look right on the black digital bodies. It has a pleasingly chunky 80's tech design, but this is in turns a blessing and a curse. Aesthetically it pleases the eye, but ergonomically it lacks. Autofocus is swift, but manual focus requires a lot more patience thanks in part to the small and fiddly focusing ring and an unfeasibly tight throw. Compared to M and A series lenses, it loses points on feel and handling in a big way.
If you're looking for a cheap lens to complement the zoom range on your DSLR kit lens (and in many ways outperform it), this is the one for you. If you're looking for a cheap lens to give you a tiny bit more reach and the best optical performance for the price, look at the SMC-A F/1.7 50mm prime. It beats the DAL 18-55, and this lens hands down. In terms of bang for buck, they're the ultimate bargain of the 50mm A clan. And if you haven't already, you'll learn to manually focus with a lens designed to do so! | | |
