| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2011 Location: Berlin Posts: 1,149
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 4, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $139.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp at wide open, light weight, fast AF | | Cons: | close focus is limited to 1.5m. Bokeh has slight "nervous" appearance | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: 645z
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I've been hesitating on buying this lens for some time and last week pressed the "buy" button. I was quite surprised at how small and compact this lens is. It fits really well with the 645z.
The lens is somewhat ambivalent, it is neither a wide angle nor a 645 telephoto, it is sort of in-between, which makes it a very versatile companion for the 645z as a carry-around lens. Great for head portraits, close-ups and landscapes.
As expected the depth of field is shallow at f/4 and is only useful for clear visibility in the viewfinder, fast focus and selected scenes where a very shallow depth of field is desired.
The lens does not pair very well with the teleconverters, which I expected, since the TC 1.4 is custom made for the 300mm lens.
For landscapes I would recommend a minimum aperture of f/8 or even f/11 to increase the depth of field sufficiently. Sharpness might benefit as well by stopping down the aperture, but I have found sharpness to be great even at f/4.
I have not found CA or fringing to be a problem as one could expect with older non "D" lenses.
I would say the 200mm is a tad less sharp than the 80-160mm, but sharp enough to be a serious consideration. The market is somehow falling apart and whilst this lens is sold new at over USD 1000 on B&H, on the used market is goes for less than USD 200.
I attach a picture I took through our bedroom window of a mountain about 5km away, with the inset cropped at about 250%.
645z + P645 FA 200mm IF (f/4 1/125 ISO 2200)
The second picture is one of our cat sleeping at close range.
645z + P645 FA 200mm IF (f/4 1/1500 ISO 400)
UPDATE Nov 10 2021
After using this lens for a while now I can confirm that it is a very nice and practical lens. However the honeymoon is over and I updated my ratings according to my latest observations.
The only aspect I don't like with this lens is that the bokeh has a "nervous" look to it. It seems as if the bokeh areas has a blurred edging instead of blurring the objects intact. I hope this makes sense. Take a look at this image of a Hibiscus flower. The flower itself is very clear and sharp. The vertically shaped leaves in the background shows this "nervous" look instead of a creamy bokeh I have become used to on my other 645 lenses. The effect can be softened and improved in editing but it does add another step in post processing.
 | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2016 Location: Paris Posts: 124
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 6, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | iq, size, weight, fast af, hood | | Cons: | ... | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| |
if you think you need a 200mm 645 lens for your digital or film camera... go for it.
it's a great performer. for a little price.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: August, 2019 Posts: 25 | | Review Date: September 24, 2019 | Recommended
| Rating: N/A |
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 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,573
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 4, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp lens. Benefits from the use of a tripod for optimum detail gathering. A darling of a lens. | | Cons: | None. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax 645Z
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Extremely sharp short telephoto. Colors are warm and contrast is excellent. Best apertures are between f/8 and f/22. A "DARLING" OF A LENS. GREAT DETAIL EXTRACTOR !
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2018 Location: NoVA Posts: 635
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 15, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $138.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact and sharp | | Cons: | Not for when you need critical sharpness wide open | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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Summary: Great little lens. My reviews are based on the default actions of DXO Photolab. Tested using 645z.
It's at its sharpest at f/8 and f/11. At 400%, edges require two pixels. The 55/2.8 AW is slightly better. The 160 end of the 80-160 A zoom is slightly less sharp. In my "does this look good at 1:1 on my calibrated monitor" test, the 200 passes handily. The application of this lens is limited only by sensor resolution.
The focus plane is slightly softer at f/22 (diffraction), but much sharper either side of the focus plane because of increased depth of field. I have no fear of using f/22 when I need DOF.
F/5.6 is just behind f/8 in sharpness. F/4 is more noticeably softer.
No obvious CA, though my test won't make it obvious.
Bokeh is fairly neutral--a bit of double-line patterns at some textures, but no bright edge on out-of-focus highlights. This is a competent long portrait lens, and f/4 will avoid microscopic inspection of skin pores.
The lens is small and light for a medium-format 200/4--compare with the 200/4 for the Pentax 67, which is noticeably bigger and heavier.
The supplied bayonet shade is excellent and secure, and will mount reversed.
Edit: Some corroborating images.
Full frame of test scene at f/4:
1:1 center crop at f/4:
1:1 center crop at f/5.6:
1:1 center crop at f/11:
Rick "a steal at current prices" Denney
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2015 Posts: 1
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 7, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Light, really sharp at F5.6 | | Cons: | CAs at F4.0 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 7
Camera Used: 645D, Nikon D800
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I bought a new copy and really satisfied with the product.
I gave 10 based on my usage, but some might find the product has CAs at F4.0 or focused on close object, causing slightly soft images. Still, I would recommend this lens as you can have sharp image by stopping down aperture.
Sharpness at infinite is really good even at F4.0 with Nikon D800. Stopping down aperture increases sharpness even more.
Aberrations are well controlled; the only issue is CAs, but it's gone when F5.6 or more.
Bokeh are smooth, but you can see yellow fringing in background and purple one in foreground.
Handling is excellent due to internal focusing mechanism and well balanced weight and dimension when it's combined with 645D. Manual focusing with this lens is not good as that with A series (MF lens), but acceptable. The issue is moving focus when you switch between AF and MF by sliding the focusing ring.
Value is OK; you should consider A 645 200 F4.0 (manual lens) as it also has positive reviews. I bought FA (AF) version because of larger hood, the internal focus mechanism which contributes durability and new optical design.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: August, 2009 Location: Wandering the Streets Posts: 1,411
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 23, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Light, Sharp, Small Filters, Awesome Bokeh | | Cons: | A small amount of CA in Backlit conditions | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax 645D
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Next to the FA 35 and the FA 45-85, this is my favorite lens on the 645 camera. It focuses fast and does what I ask of it.
Shallow DOF, crank open the aperture and you will completely isolate your subject.
Very sharp so you will want to do some blurring in Photoshop, or stretch a nylon stocking over it, if you are using it for portraits. Men probably won't mind but women definitely will.
This is also quite a good sports lens. It locks focus very quickly.
If you like shooting into the sun you may need to fix some CA in post, though I do not have too much trouble with my copy of this lens.
Unlike a lot of the lenses for the 645, this one uses a 58mm filter which makes buying filters a little easier if you are into that type of thing.
Ok...a little example for the fun of it. I really am not much of a lens tester so bear with me. I had no brick wall close so I took a close up picture of these flowers from about 7 feet away. I was focused on the little white flower in the middle. The lens was wide open at f4.
And this is the little white flower at 100%. Two things are immediately obvious, the flowers aren't real and the lens is pretty sharp.
Its a good lens and I like it quite a bit. I bought it originally with my FA 45-85 when I picked up my 645Nii.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: June, 2014 Posts: 73
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 15, 2015 | Not Recommended
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 4
Handling: 7
Value: 7
Camera Used: 645Z
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Worst CA I've seen on any Pentax 645 lens on bright highlights. Major magenta/green fringing. Don't know if I have a bad copy, but it almost makes the lens unusable professionally - esp with strong backlighting
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2010 Location: Eerbeek Posts: 1,857
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 18, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $370.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | light, sharp | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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A excellent lens, but with a very shallow DOF, which requires precise focus. Not quite as sharp as the 2.8/150mm but very close. On the 645N, it is a good portrait lens (close to 120m on 35 FF), as it isolates the subject and its bokeh is possibly even better than that of the 150mm.
My copy was officially used, but apparently by a collector—it was mint.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: November, 2009 Posts: 29
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 8, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | small and sharp | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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Very sharp and compact telephoto. When used for portraits within 2 to 3 meters, the DOF is quite shallow even at f5.6 covering the nose and eyes while the ears are out of focus. This makes for a very 3D look. And what is in focus is very, very sharp on the 645D.
This lens, together with the 120 macro, makes for a nice, small telephoto set. Complementing these two would be the 400/5.6.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: February, 2010 Location: Colorado Posts: 105
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 30, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | Useful focal length, Light weight, Autofocus works well, | | Cons: | | |
I like this focal length for isolating subjects, but it doesn't seem to be popular with many people. That means that prices are low on the used market, and you can examples in excellent condition. For $200 in late 2009, I got one in pristine condition except for a ding on the filter ring.
200mm on 645 is equivalent to 126mm on 35mm. It has the standard Pentax 58mm filters size, which is convenient.
Autofocus uses a "ch-ch-ch" hunt and seek method, but I find it reasonably fast and completely usable.
This lens is much lighter and much cheaper than the 80-160mm FA zoom. I'm guessing it has better quality, also.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2008 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 1, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $1,300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp and well buildt | | Cons: | none | |
I always used to test my lenses using 100 ISO film and test targets. I found this lens to be an excellent performer. This lens is even sharper than the standard 75 mm lens. | | |
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with 1.4X TC
