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Pentax Lens Review Database » Pentax K-Mount Bayonet Lenses » DA Series Primes

SMC Pentax-DA 21mm F3.2 Limited

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30	23852

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
100% of reviewers	$403.67	9.2

supersize

Description:

This compact lens is intended for use on Pentax DSLR's.

Weight	Length	Filter Diameter	Min. Focus	Max. Magnification
140 g	2.5 cm	49 mm	20 cm	0.17x
Diagonal FOV (APS-C)	Horizontal FOV (APS-C)	Max. Aperture	Min. Aperture	Optical Construction
69 degrees	59 degrees	f/3.2	f/22	8 elements, 5 groups, 7 blades

Weight with hood: 155g

Author

Louis
New Member

Registered: December 2006
Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
Posts: 9

Review Date: Sun January 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Small size, very sharp and very light in weight.
Cons:	Sometimes has a bad auto-focus

I think of this lens as having the sharpness of the 50mm F1.4 , but in a FL great for general wide angle picture taking. I use it indoors for family shots and plan on it being one of my travel lens / hiking lens. The only down side I can see is that it doesn't always auto-focus corrently on my K10D, but that is an issue with many wide angle lens at times. I really like this lens! The other down side is now I have to save up for the 40 and 70mm pancake lens as well!

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joele
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1235

Review Date: Sun January 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	very small, very light, very sharp.
Cons:	slight distortion

This is a little gem, very small and very light. no excuse to leave this at home, as its just so small...

Optics are top notch, it does have a little distortion as the FA20 had too, but it is very sharp even wide open and isn't prone to CA/PF or Flare/Ghosting..

Very good metal build quality and great hood that is just tiny.. Quick shift focusing is nice to have too..

I haven't actually had any AF issues with this lens on my K10d, though it did play up on my K100d, or maybe the k100d played up with this lens attached.. But still rarely affected real life pics..

volosong
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2006
Location: Laurentia
Posts: 537

Review Date: Tue January 9, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	superior optics, quality construction, small and lightweight, it's a Limited
Cons:	unconventional lens hood/filter attachment

The SMC Pentax-DA f/1:3.2 21mm AL Limited is one stunning lens. It is very, very small, constructed entirely of metal, and contains superior optics. Without a doubt, it is my best wide-angle lens that I own. Like all DA lenses, it has the clutch focusing mechanism that allows one to manually focus the lens, even when the camera body is set to autofocus.

Unlike the FA Limiteds, the DA Limiteds are only available in black and they lack the aperture ring of the FA Limited series. They are digital only lenses, designed for the smaller image circle of an APS-C sensor.

I have not experienced any focusing issues that others have noted with their sample. That is most likely because I do not use this lens in interior, low-light situations. It is my default landscape/vista lens.

My only complaint with this lens is the unconventional lens hood arrangement and the way filters are attached. True to Pentax, they rarely do everything like everybody else. That is a large part of the charm of the Pentax Corporation.

The hood is a convex shaped snap-on/twist-on metal hood with a rectangular opening for the optics. You position the lens hood onto the lens, in an about 90 degree orientation, and turn 90 degrees clockwise to snap/lock the hood onto the lens. One item that I need to constantly be aware of is that the lens cap is a push-on type that fits very snug. I'm a bit anal and if the logo is a little crooked, I'll turn the cap so that the logo is horizontally level. Dumb, I know, but I like a slight degree of order in my life. Anyway, it is very easy, when turning the cap, to unsnap the hood. I could fall off in such a situation.

The other 'problem' with the snap-on/twist-on hood is the filter arrangement. The lens uses the Pentax traditional standard 49mm filter threads, but if you mount a 49mm filter directly onto the lens, you cannot attach the snap-on/twist-on OEM lens hood. If you desire to use a sun hood with a 49mm filter, you will need a screw-on hood of some type that attaches directly to the filter.

For awhile, this is what I did. I mounted my normal 49mm protective UV filter to to the lens and used a snap-on 49mm cap from the FA or DA non-Limited lenses. That works well, but I lost the hood, which I almost always use with a lens, even indoors (to minimize stray light hitting the front element of the lens).

The other way to go is to use the OEM hood, but mount a 43mm filter INSIDE the lens hood. This works, and there is enough room between the hood and the front element of the lens, but you can only attach one filter at a time. There is hardly ever a call for more than one filter at a time anyway, but it could be possible with special effect filters (like a star filter) in conjunction with a polarizer, for example.

The hood/filter design really isn't a negative aspect of this lens, just a quirky Pentax 'feature'. That's why we love Pentax.

kshapero
Junior Member

Registered: February 2007
Location: South Florida, USA
Posts: 36

Review Date: Mon February 5, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	well built, compact
Cons:	wish it was faster

Really no complaints, everything advertised and more. A must when traveling.

kbrabble
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2006
Posts: 181

Review Date: Wed March 7, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $470.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Excellent build and optical quality, Small and Light.
Cons:	Lens hood can fall off.

I have found no faults with this lens. It is sharp wide open, and very sharp from f/4.5. Color reproduction is great and I have seen no signs of CA, or the focusing problems that some have seen. Even if it was not as good optically as it is, the small size and light weight, build quaility, and quick shift focusing make it a must have. This, along with the other DA limiteds, are quickly becoming my favorite lenses. I highly recommend this lens to anyone wanting a high quality wide angle.

Duplo
Pentaxian

Registered: November 2006
Location: Nuuk, Greenland
Posts: 733

Review Date: Sun March 18, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $475.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Size, build, sharpness, rendering and general IQ
Cons:	None.

This lens is an absolute gem.

Tiny, beautifully crafted and capable of producing amazing pictures.
I adore the "feel of this lens.

It almost instantly took the place as my on camera lens.

I have found no issues what so ever with this lens and would not be without it. In fact I often wonder how I did without it before.

pentaxkat
Member

Registered: January 2007
Location: UK/Canada/wherever work takes me
Posts: 92

Review Date: Fri March 23, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	lightweight, beautifully built, sharp
Cons:	lens hood turns a bit too easily

This lens is amazing. It is really small and complements my DS perfectly. The close focus distance makes it surprisingly good for close-ups.

I have used it on my DS wide open, in dark situations and I never have a problem with autofocus (although I don't have many autofocus lenses so maybe I have different expectations). Meters perfectly too, as you'd expect from a DA lens.

The only cons are

a) the lens hood. I don't normally use hoods but this one is so small and cute it stays on my lens the whole time. Only problem is it turns too easily and I have taken the odd shot where it has been knocked out of place taking the lens cap off. I've also twisted it off by accident when I was trying to manually focus on a tripod in the dark. I was being a prat but can attest the hood is well made; it fell about 6 foot onto the pavement and there is not even a dent. I'm not sure the actual lens would stand that but it is _very_ well made. Better made than even my old M series lenses. Such build quality is rare these days.

b) the ridiculous cost in the UK. This isn't the lenses fault. To be fair, all lenses are expensive in the UK, but the pricing seems a bit random compared with UK and Europe. Some lenses are very well priced compared with elsewhere and some lenses can be double the price.

uccemebug
Senior Member

Registered: September 2006
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 187

Review Date: Mon March 26, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	versatile focal length, superior image quality, size/weight, autofocus
Cons:	hood and cap (and occasional quibbles with colours)

I was reluctant to write anything about this lens because it's the only autofocus lens I've used extensively. As a mostly-manual shooter, I miss the aperture ring and tactile feeling of manual-focus gear.

That said, this is an extremely useful lens, and I've been well pleased with the results. The ~31mm focal length equivalent on the 35mm frame is very versatile, suiting urban, landscape and indoor settings. It is a sharp lens with little distortion, making the entire frame useful.

The metal lens cap fell off at the worst possible time, when I was holding it by my 4F window. It fell to the street, dented upon impact and is now useless. After that I saw the clip-on lens hood as somewhat dubious and shelved that, too. I have not had a problem with flare with this lens, so I don't miss the hood.

Overall, the colour rendition of this lens has been quite good. I've made some of my favourite photos with this lens, and notice that these tend towards subtle colours.

sample photo
sample photo

The second sample shows the resolving power of this lens. At ISO 200 and f/8, in the RAW file you can make out facial features details of the fellow standing on the far side of the street, partially visible through the speeding bus.

I put a quibble with the colours from this lens in the 'cons' section above. I bought a pricey circular polarizer I bought specifically to use with this lens (CPL are not necessary with the manual-focus lenses I use). I was very disappointed with the combination -- the colours were off on everything I shot (naturally, it was my first weekend trip since buying the lens and DS -- I thought I'd made a terrible mistake going digital with this gear). I dropped the ¥5000 CPL for a ¥1000 PL and have been happy since. This lens works well with other filters such as a W4 and ND4.

tibS
New Member

Registered: March 2007
Location: delft

Review Date: Fri May 25, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $650.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	small, very good resolution, contrast, colors
Cons:	a bit of barrel distortion, quite pricey

Even with the slight barrel distortion I use it for interior photos. You can easily work around that. It's size and wide angle make it perfect for street shots.

nextsibling
New Member

Registered: June 2007
Posts: 5

Review Date: Mon June 4, 2007

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	Small. Light. Sharp.
Cons:	Barrel distortion. Chromatic aberration.

Slight chromatic aberration in very high contrast situations (1-2px). Barrel distortion is greater than it should be in a quality wide-angle. On the plus side, it's quite sharp, even wide open.

Finn
Pentaxian

Registered: February 2007
Location: Ames, Iowa
Posts: 988

Review Date: Thu March 27, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $380.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	small and sharp
Cons:	not compatible with film cameras :(

Very sharp for a lens this wide, even wide open. A tiny little thing that weighs almost nothing and is gorgeously constructed entirely of metal. I just wish I could use it on film!

bikee4
Junior Member

Registered: September 2006
Location: Spokane,WA
Posts: 25

Review Date: Mon May 26, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $400.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Small,Sharp,Wonderful Color
Cons:	Hood is a little weird, but whatever...

A very cool little lens with a field of view that is great in a lot of situations, kinda has 3D look to the images

Alfisti
Pentaxian

Registered: March 2007
Location: Toronto (for now)
Posts: 1480

Review Date: Tue December 2, 2008

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $380.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Crazy small, ltd rendering, micro contrast
Cons:	Distortion for the price

As the "Pancake" moniker suggests this lens is very small and sits almost flat on the camera. Invaluable as my quality WA option when hiking as the large wildlife lens takes up a lot of room in my bag and this tiny lens sits in my pocket. Build quality is as the 'Limited' name suggest, outstanding in every respect.

IQ is strong all around,though for the rather steep price it's not a stunning optical performer but it's all about portability. Excellent micro contrast and focuses surprisingly closely.

soccerjoe5
Pentaxian

Registered: May 2008
Location: Philippines
Posts: 1308

Review Date: Thu January 15, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharp, light, superb build, fast AF, MF override
Cons:	"only" f/3.2

This is my favorite lens at the moment. I love the focal length. Amazingly good optics, it's sharp, great rendering, focuses fast and is just well-built. All metal and well-designed.

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

legacyb4
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2008
Location: Tri-Cities, British Columbia
Posts: 1248

Review Date: Mon March 23, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $270.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Small size, quality build, great IQ
Cons:	Odd hood design

I picked up my DA 21mm for a really nice price from a local forum member and was immediately pleased with the FOV. It gives you a film "wide" angle of 31mm which is sufficient for most of my needs.

Tack sharp, fast focus (although it does sometimes focus off but that's more of a camera issue than the lens itself), and very nice contrasty, saturated output makes this one a keeper for me.

My only concern is that hood is a special design am not quite sure if you can fit a filter under the hood; also, it has the same velvet lined metal lens cap as the FA Limiteds. Beautiful pieces of work but I'm deathly afraid of dropping one and damaging it!

roentarre
Moderator
Site Supporter

Registered: October 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 11529

Review Date: Tue March 24, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $350.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Small, compact, high contrast and strong colour
Cons:	Could be sharper in the corner stopping down

I bought this lens primarily for street shots. The lens is very light, small and non-intimidating.

For landscape, the images quality are reasonable. The contrast and colour are in deed typically pentax. The compact size makes it a good companion for outdoor adventure

Da 21mm ltd f3.2 Images

A very worthwhile lens

ILoveVerdi
Senior Member

Registered: December 2008
Location: Grand Rapids, MI. USA. Earth.
Posts: 139

Review Date: Fri March 27, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $370.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	color and contrast, sharpness, size, build quality
Cons:	barrel distortion

The lens feels very solid, and I like the included hood and metal lens cap. Focus is smooth with good grip, though it can be difficult, due to the size, in some positions to use the ring without letting your bent hand get in the frame.

Colors are saturated and punchy. the lens is very sharp (not extremely sharp), and the awesome contrast intensifies this for practical purposes. The only downside is the noticeable but not extreme barrel distortion.

It's fast enough for indoor work under normal lighting conditions, and has a very useful focal length. Those qualities combined with its size has made it the lens that stays on the camera just in case I need to take a quick photograph.

MysteryOnion
New Member

Registered: December 2007
Location: beantown
Posts: 6

Review Date: Sat March 28, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $395.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	weight, size, quality of build, sharp
Cons:	cost relative to performance

It has been handy to have and I like the results so far. The side by side comparing against my DA 16-45mm set to 21mm was given almost identical levels of performance, but at times I detect a slight edge from the 21mm. The place where the lens shine is in the daily use area. It gives a nice shoot from the hip FOV and the 3.2 is a little more wiggle room and as well as easy pouch carry. Focus is a little better in low light. Stopped down to around 5.6 it is very solidly sharp, but very nice wide too. Wish I could have found it a little cheaper, but don't regret getting it.

Blue
Site Supporter

Registered: June 2008
Location: Florida Hill Country
Posts: 6627

Review Date: Wed May 27, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $350.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Size, Build, Performance
Cons:	speed

I really like this lens. It is built like one would expect a DA ltd to be built. I got it primarily to use on trips by air travel when space for gear was limited. I had to leave my 20-40mm f2.8 sigma and missed some shots because I didn't have a wide lens on that trip.

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Nrelo
New Member

Registered: July 2009
Posts: 2

Review Date: Fri July 3, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 0

Pros:	perfect for snapshots, walkround, landscape
Cons:	hood design

a little bit heavier than i expected when i first hold it, but still it is very attractive on its weight and size.

my K100D super is now rountinely mounted with this lens. A very high quality prime lens, really nothing else to say.

CheddarGav
Site Supporter

Registered: September 2006
Location: UK
Posts: 45

Review Date: Tue August 4, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Compact, sharp, great FoV, superb contrast, ideal street shooter
Cons:	f3.2 not enough for some?

I feel a bit predictable giving this a 9, but I can't give it any less. Thing is, already owning the DA35 and DA70, I kind of knew what to expect - supreme quality in a beautifully built, small package. And that's exactl what you get!

I don't review lenses as a career, I don't do statistics - I put the lens on my camera, I go out and I shoot.

So, what this lens offers me in use is:
the obvious - compact size. I see people lugging big Canons around or big zooms, and I have a sense of smugness that I am getting so much quality out of such a small, unassuming lens. It's been said before, but for street shooting, this makes it ideal.
Great contrast - I convert a lot of my photography to black and white, and the contrast you get out of the DA primes makes for beautiful B&W conversions.
Sharp - well, it's a DA prime, nuff said
Fast AF - no complaints here

I think this lens gets overlooked because of it's f3.2 widest aperture, but people shouldn't judge a lens on this alone. The DA21 offers so much and I am more than happy to recommend it to any and everyone. I just wish I was going somewhere like Venis where I could give it a thorough work out!!

Cheers

parkpy
New Member

Registered: July 2009
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 12

Review Date: Wed August 5, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $426.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	size, focus speed, build quality
Cons:	can't use filter and hood at the same time

At the time of my purchase, I had a 50mm 1.4 prime in my bag, and desperately wanted something other than a bulky zoom lens for use as a quick, and relatively wide lens. The 21mm was very good to me, and became my primary lens (i never use the 50mm). It handles well, the focus ring is placed just right, and it's as good at night as it is in the day.

It's not as sharp as the FA35 that I thought would fill the gap between the 21mm and 50mm, but it focuses faster than the 35 and the 50, while producing good images. Focus speed is important to me. It's colors were nearly always spot on as well.

One of my favorite aspects of the lens though is how compact it is. Everywhere I went, the 21mm went with me, and did not stand out at all. Coupled with my K200d, this combo looked like an advanced point and shoot. It's portability allowed me to take quick, off-the-hip shots, something no zoom can do.

I regrettably sold off all my primes in order to fund the purchase of the DA* 16-50. The source of the regret was because of how poorly my time with the DA 16-50 has gone. My plan now is to purchase a zoom to complement my new-to-me F 28mm. Maybe a 16-45. Either way, i never knew how good I had it with all my primes, and in particular, my 21mm. HIGHLY recommended.

Rich_A
Site Supporter

Registered: August 2009
Location: Montana
Posts: 199

Review Date: Wed September 23, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $350.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Small size, fast focusing, sharp at optimum apertures
Cons:	sharpness drops after f/5.6, odd filter

I would say this lens is a conservative wide angle. It's not really meant for interiors or for extreme wide angle so it's a bit of a gap lens. I find that I really enjoy shooting with it aside from a couple of peculiarities. It is exceptionally sharp at f/5.6 which took a bit to get used to. I've shot wide angle zooms for quite a while and was very used to hitting the lens sweet spot at f/8 or even f/11 with some of my lenses. This lens begins to lose sharpness at apertures smaller than f/5.6 so I have to watch my focus points while doing landscape. The fairly generous depth of field prevents this from being an issue, however. I anticipate purchasing a 15mm f/4 simple to have a slower lens for landscape-specific work. This might seem counter to the prevailing "faster is always better" philosophy but I really need extremely deep DOF's for most of my landscape work.

The 21mm, therefore, is a great lens for full length outdoor portrait shots. A moderate wide angle for mid-distance subjects, and for smaller landscape shots, such as in an urban setting (not including buildings). Overall I really like the 21mm and find that I am learning its quirks. I love how fast it focuses and how accurate it is when locking on to a target. The colors and contrast are simply brilliant! There is simply no comparison between this lens and a consumer zoom. You can definitely tell you're shooting a prime lens when you see the results that this can produce. I have an outdoor head and shoulders portrait of my wife where you can see the finest of hairs and make out individual eyelashes. The photos also sharpen up beautifully in PP if you do happen to shoot at f/8 or smaller. I'd like to see a bit sharper images at f/11 and f/16 but there is only so much optical magic that can be crammed into such a tiny lens.

Overall, highly recommended for those looking for a dependable mid-wide prime and are willing to work around a little softening at smaller apertures. The contrast and colors that it produces produce incredible prints and are really the purpose of the lens. If you're a pixel peeper and just have to have 100% sharpness, you might have a bone to pick with this lens but if you simply love to travel light, love great punch to your photos and are looking for a lens that can give you a little width, this is a great choice.

pcarfan
Site Supporter

Registered: September 2007
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Posts: 1748

Review Date: Sat September 26, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	size, focal length, quick-shift.
Cons:	f3.2

Rating system here is flawed, as increments in whole number doesn't work well for lenses. So, I guess it is a 9. It is miles better than the 18-250 which I loved, mostly in par with my F28/2.8 which is an underrated but lovely lens.

I bought this almost a year ago, and gave as much chance as possible to get used to it. However, this can never be confused with the other Limiteds I own, including the FA 43 and FA 77 which are leaps and bounds better than the DA21 in every aspect except size and focal length. In fact I have to rate the F135/2.8 and my sigma 100-300 F4 higher than the DA21, as these two lenses are almost in par with the FA43 and FA77. I've tried all theses lenses in my k10D and the K-7.

The other limiteds are better in rendering. The DA21 can never even come close to anything resembling 3-D. and the peak sharpness is not there like the 43 or 77. Build quality is almost good.

I still couldn't live without it. It is an ideal pair with my FA43 and I can carry the K-7 and one lens attached and the other in the pocket for a very small indiscreet package. Amazing focal length and wonderful for panos as well. Has very rich colors and shows lights well.

Some rough and dirty samples...

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Matjazz
Pentaxian

Registered: September 2006
Location: EU/Slovenia
Posts: 667

Review Date: Wed October 7, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $400.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Size, hood, build quality
Cons:	none I can think of

Let me start the funky hood design. One screws the 43mm filter inside the hood and then puts the hood on the lens. Now unless you feel sorry for the filter you don't have to use lens cap as the hood coupled with filter provides all the protection needed.
I bought this lens for it's weight, focal length and famous limited build and image quality. I must say it more than lived to my expectations And at that time I'd give it 10. But since then I got the 40/2.8 and 70/2.4 Limited and realized that corner sharpness of 21/3.2 is a notch below perfect. I'd give this lens 9.5.

deadwolfbones
Site Supporter

Registered: September 2007
Location: Santa Fe, NM
Posts: 2678

Review Date: Fri October 30, 2009

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $330.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Sharpness, color rendition, contrast
Cons:	Haven't figured out how to best exploit the focal length yet :)

I have no complaints with regard to build quality, sharpness, contrast, or colors. Like all DA Ltds it's extremely sharp from wide open, the build is unparalleled, and the compactness is amazing.

I do wish it were a little faster, but for most things you'd use a 21mm for, it's not necessary.

My only real issue with the lens is that I haven't yet figured out how to best exploit the focal length--haven't learned to "see" in 21/31.5mm yet.

Boris
Senior Member

Registered: March 2008
Location: Israel
Posts: 167

Review Date: Thu January 7, 2010

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	Build, quick shift AF, rendering
Cons:	relatively slow, not FF

This is excellent lens fully deserving the "Limited" title. It saved me a number of times and indeed, one could produce a whole travel photo diary with just this lens. I am taking one point off for it being not full frame (yes, I know, but it is my review, and in my opinion it is a pity) and one more point for it being only f/3.2 which, in some cases, is somewhat slow.

Recently I bought FA 20/2.8 and I need to figure out yet, how do these two compare. Likely it will be a coin toss, though FA is ever so slightly faster.

GeneV
Site Supporter

Registered: October 2008
Location: Albuquerque NM
Posts: 586

Review Date: Fri January 8, 2010

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $400.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Compact, great build, sharp
Cons:	Could be a tad faster

Part of my compact complement. Paired with the DA40ltd, you have a very small but capable array. Autofocus is quick. Nice sharpness at all apertures, and a very catchy rendition in digital. I have no real complaints about this lens, other than that I wish it could have been a full f/2.8.

ddekadt
New Member

Registered: August 2007
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
Posts: 1

Review Date: Sat January 16, 2010

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $420.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Colour, size, build, AF speed, sharpness, aesthetic
Cons:	Odd focal length (for me)

This is a beautiful lens. Everything about it is fantastic: it AFs like a charm, it's brilliantly sharp, the closest focusing distance lets you get up close and personal with your subject, its rendering of colour is great... My only problem with this lens is that the fl just doesn't work for me that well. I've been forcing myself to use it more lately, and have already started to warm up to it.

I've had my DA 21 for 2 and a half years, and I've not used it enough. Have thought about letting it go a few times, but in the end it always surprises me and it stays in my bag.

Aside from the optics, the lens is tremendously well made, aesthetically pleasing in and of itself. I always laugh at my friends who shoot Nikon/Canon, because the limiteds are just so much more aesthetically appealing than their lenses.

.

The compact size is also brilliant, on my old K100D I had a light, portable combo.

Some examples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandekadt/4277074834/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandekadt/4276326913/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandekadt/4209422308/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandekadt/3638036957/

A Modest Mouse
Member

Registered: April 2008
Location: Columbia, MO
Posts: 85

Review Date: Tue February 9, 2010

Would you recommend the lens? Yes | How much did it cost? (U.S. Dollars): $450.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Size, build quality, focus ring, local contrast, color rendition
Cons:	Speed, FOV

This is another marvel of Pentax lensmaking - a pancake prime producing the 'old' equivalent of the 30mm primes of film days gone-bye.

Being a Limited lens, the build quality is top notch (all metal - including unique hood) - the focus ring is also wonderfully smooth with a short throw as is typical for a wide angle. I've found the DA21 can produce some lovely punchy/contrasty shots as if the lens coating is particularly prevalent - this also results in vividly reproduced colors. This subjective 'property' is very similar to the DA35 Macro in the way it produces a very 'new/fresh' look to shots. Resolution appears to be strong, even wide-open, but not spectacular. The lens focuses very quickly (faster than the FA20 and roughly equal in speed to the FA*24).

The lack of speed you get with the DA21 may turn some off - and indeed, it is not a great natural/low-light lens @ f3.2. I found it not to be a particularly useful lens in low-light environments and/or walkarounds when I needed my subject isolated or needed fast glass to keep shutter speeds acceptable. The FOV is also not one I'm particularly drawn to, but it will bring back memories for many.

DA21 @ f4.5

DA21 @ f3.2

DA21 @ f8

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