| Author: | | New Member Registered: August, 2020 Location: Cremona Posts: 11 | | Review Date: September 9, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Colors | | Cons: | Chromatic aberration, poor sharpness, coma, Not recommended on F.F. | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 7
Camera Used: Pentax K-1, K-1 ii, K-5iis
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Very excited about the incredible performance of the Pentax-F 80-200 I decided to buy this too to complete the range.
The result is that it has nothing in common with each other. The 28-80 is a lens unsuitable for the Pentax K-1,
it is a lens with very strong green chromatic aberrations where the light meets the shadows,
the sharpness is poor and almost gives the impression of giving mist where there is none.
Actually my copy is perfect, has no fungus, no dust, and has never fallen (no scratches),
looks like it came out of the shop. On top of that, on the Pentax K-5 it was much, much better since it only has 16 megapixels.
The k-1 brings out all the worst of this lens  , especially at long exposures.
So I say no, for landscape photography , for my use it is garbage  .
For an unpretentious use, as portraits it is comfortable, it makes very beautiful colors with a very pleasant bokeh  ,
but I recommend it only on aps-c, because the sharpness is really poor.
 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2018 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: March 13, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive, good rendition of colour | | Cons: | Heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Km
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Usable range on APS-s 28-80mm (eg. to 43-120mm on full frame). F3.5-4.5 is slightly larger aperture than the DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens. However this lens is heavy and with my old Km it is a heavy set up. It is prone to purple flare so lens hood is recommended. If you don't mind the weight it is a inexpensive and rewarding lens with micro capabilities. If you are looking for something lighter and smaller perhaps the SMC F 35-70 F3.5-4.5 would better fit the bill.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2010 Location: Southern England Posts: 624
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 23, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Decent performer at the wider end, when stopped down. Cheap. | | Cons: | Pretty awful at the longer end. Heavy. | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 6
Value: 7
Camera Used: K-m
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Just thought I'd get this (off ebay) for a bit of fun, because it was cheap. And it's got an aperture ring (needed by my afflicted K-50).
It's a sturdy, heavy lens - a bit too heavy for my liking, but I knew that from the data provided above (thankyou Pentaxforums!).
Tried a brick wall test - 80mm was soft as hell, even when stopped down to f8. 28mm was OK-ish in the centre but signs of slight decentring. Stopping down to f8, it became somewhat blurry - probably a focus error or some weird effect at short subject distances? Even performance across the frame though.
Then tried a more distant subject. 80mm hopeless, but 28mm at f8 very acceptable (far less so when wide open though).
My brief conclusion is that it's quite a nice "normal" lens (on APS-c) when stopped down a bit - but don't zoom in too far!
Interestingly, the opposite result when compared to my experiences with the F and FA 35-80 lenses. Those were useful at the long end, and less so at the 35mm end. Not so bad as this lens at 80mm though!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Posts: 12,285
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 25, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $24.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Good walk around range, Macro | | Cons: | Build, Rotating front element | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K3 and K5iis
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A surprising keeper from a thrift store that was on an old SF-1. Amazingly clear glass, immaculate condition, looks nearly new with original caps - even the JCII inspection sticker looks new. IMHO it's an under-rated lens. No, its not a limited or a prime but for a walk around length zoom that has a limited macro ability its actually very competent. I find it remarkably sharp with excellent color in most of its range and at f6.3+. Contrast is good in descent light but weaker than some in low light. Given its f-range that doesn't surprise or distress me. While I wouldn't say its as good as my F35-70, they're closer than the overall rating scores here would lead one to believe IMHO. However, as dme said - flare is not your friend with this lens (a good hood outdoors is a must IMHO).
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 678
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 14, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $14.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Useful focal range, nice macro operation | | Cons: | Camera won't always fire with this lens attached | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Kx, K10D, Samsung GX-20, K30
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So I'm having to completely re-write my review of this lens. The first one I got a couple of years ago for about $20 and it just didn't do it for me. I never felt comfortable with it and the photos were a bit underwhelming so after playing with it a couple of months, I sold it on to someone else, who seemed very pleased with it. Fast forward to last month when I found another copy for $14 ($8 plus $6 shipping) and decided to give it a second chance. Like the first one, this lens is a Takumar branded version. For the cost of a fast food meal for two, I really didn't have much to lose. My initial impression after taking a few test shots with the same K10D body on which the previous copy had under-performed, is far more favorable than with its predecessor. Snapping it onto my K30, which I didn't have back then, is even more of a revelation. The more I play with it, the more I'm impressed, especially with its macro capability. The only thing with macro is you have to go to manual focus. It gets confused in autofocus and doesn't know what to lock onto. It also renders reds more naturally, without any over-saturation, than just about any other lens I've got. Autofocus is also accurate and noticeably quicker than most of my other lenses, provided I'm focusing on something at least six feet away. At this time, it has earned a spot as the default lens on my K30 an I'm looking forward to getting to know it better.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2014 Location: Colorado Posts: 497
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 28, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, color, aperture | | Cons: | Need to find a good copy | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5-iis, K1
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I have had three copies of this lens. The first two copies both had some mechanical issues and the images were not sharp at the long end. I eventually returned / sold them. However, since photodo gave this lens a high score among all Pentax zooms, I could not resist to get a third copy. This time it is free of mechanical problems and is really good optically.
I tested this lens side-by-side with DA16-85. In their common focal range, I could not tell the difference in sharpness from F5.6. This lens has slightly more color aberration. The color produced by this lens is more saturated, which I like very much.
For the price that I paid, I think it is a great deal!
FF UPDATE on K1: The corners are worse on K1 than on K5-iis, which is not a surprise. The image quality near the corners is still acceptable. Wide open, this lens is not as good as FA28-70/4. Close down to F8, these two lenses are nearly identical, though FA28-70/4 has some slight advantages near the corner. Despite the SMC coating, flare resistance of this lens is not good and a hood is definitely recommended when shooting into the sun. It is slightly better than FA28-70/4, however, in color saturation.
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 21, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $65.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | really very sharp zoom lens | | Cons: | very few CA's in corners, plastic buildt | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: pentax k-5 k-x k200 k-s1 Fuji x-t100 x-e1
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inspite of plastic housing this old lens, originally constructed for sfx, gives me really very sharp pictures for big posters with APS-C sensors (Pentax k-S1 and Fuji x-T100).
I fit all my cameras to highest sharpness and contrast
+ still good sharpness wide open
++ high contrast
++ excellent sharpness stopped down to f6.3-f11
++ nice color rendition
+ very few CA's in corners with APS-C
O some flare wide open against the ligtht
++ very quick and precise AF
old lens - but excellent results with APS-C- highly recommended
PS.  The different ratings have espcially two reasons, obviously:
1 "open-aperture / bokeh fans" seem to be often not satisfied, because a normal lens must be stopped down a few for best results, Is it really so difficult to understand?
2. owners of K1 with full size sensor remark more weakness in the corners. May be.
My rating 9.5 points for APS-C because of approx . 85 LP/mm center resolution at f8-11 with 28mm  - self tested, this is a professional value,
for serial number /1.952.012
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 17
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 5, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, good colour | | Cons: | Flare, Long Minimum Focus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Samsung GX20
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I own the following partially overlapping Pentax AF Consumer Zooms:
- Samsung version of the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 version 2.
- F 35-70 3.5-4.5
- FA 28-70 f4
- FA 28-90 f3.5-5.6
- FAJ 28-80 f3.5-5.6
- FA 28-105 f4-5.6 Powerzoom
The Powerzoom is slower, but superior across the board.
At 28mm, only the slower, much more bulky Powerzoom is superior. The 28-90 is close.
There isn't much difference between this and the highly regarded F 35-70 over their common range.
The 18-55 tends to have better colour, but the Pentax F 28-80 is sharper.
The Pentax F 28-80 is faster and better than the FAJ 28-80 and the FA 28-90 at 80mm.
All this with one proviso.
The pictures are vastly better if the sun is behind you than if it is in front. If the sun is in front (it doesn't need to be anywhere near the field of view) there is veiling flare.
This is true even though I always use a hood.
The front lens rotates, which is a bit of a pain using a circular polariser. But because it is faster than the Powerzoom, the circular polariser doesn't affect the autofocus the way that it affects the Powerzoom.
I found the long minimum focus to be a problem for me. The lens is pretty useless in a garden party crowd. The Macro mode is really only a close focus capability and it only applies at the long end. It's nice, though.
This lens is amazingly cheap.
If I didn't own the Powerzoom I would use this more often than I do.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2009 Location: Ireland Posts: 31
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 3, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $12.50
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K20D
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Picked this up as a cheapy walk-around lens, since I already liked this range from using a Tamron manual focus lens.
My K20D is a bit fussy about MF and I decided to keep AF on it for general use, hence this purchase. I expected it to not be total rubbish and am moderately pleased with the results, with one or two caveats.
Wide open and zoomed in, it's not very good on a bright scene (but that might have been a result of the camera getting a bit confuddled), however I'm not surprised it doesn't shine wide open, what cheap kit lens does? For a purchase price of a tenner, I'm not complaining.
Stopping down to f:8 and it's a different game entirely and that's where I'll be using it most of the time anyway - that's just a habit of mine; I prefer most things to be in focus and sort it out later, whereas it's hard to rectify missed focus in post.
This is the worst one - f:4 at 80mm
Worst-Pent-28to80--f4_5-at-90th by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
Still f:4 but at 28mm, quite a difference.
not-so-bad-pent-28to80-f4_5-1_350th by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
All the next ones are f:8
ok-gate-pent-28to80-f8-125th by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
ok-pent-28to80-58mm-f8-90th-gatehouse by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
ok-pent-28to80-f8-90th by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
ok-small-gate-flash-pent-28to80-f8-60th by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: July, 2012 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 42
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 14, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | cheap, quasi macro ability, handy focal length, very centre sharpness | | Cons: | overall image quality | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 6
Value: 7
Camera Used: Pentax Kx digital
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I am a realistsic marker and base my score on what a good quality lens would recieve. I have the version with the white writing and am somewhat confused over which is supposed to be the sharper or better.
I got this for $30 on ebay, so thought I would give it a go and based it against my current DA 18-55 kit lens which i find pretty soft. Results were not outstanding and as usual, mid range at f8 gave best sharpness across the lens. Anything else fell of badly at the edges. I thought that, because it was a FF lens on an APS-C sensor, that it would perform ok, but the edge softness was still very strong. Very centre sharpness was surprisingly good.
It produced similar results in terms of sharpness as the 18-55, but overall quality across the range didnt quite stack up.
It is a handy focal length on an aps-c camera and I liked the colours straight out of the camera. The AF is surprisingly quick, although on macro its pretty fussy and sometimes I didnt think it locked properly.
In summary, its not a gem waiting to be discovered at a cheap price. It has potential for close focusing, but not serious macro and as such, centre sharpness and colour for cropped shots should net you a nice enough result. If you are on a serious budget, find a cheap digital body and want something to start taking photos or for students go for it, otherwise there are obviously better options. | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 2,653
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 27, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Cheap, auto, sharp | | Cons: | Contrast, possibly flare | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 9
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My copy is the non-SMC, all white logo, eight blade diaphragm, eight optical elements version - i.e. the cheap, nasty, unusable kit zoom
It had obviously sat in someone's shed for years and was well infested with fungus - not just on the optics, but also fluffy clumps of it on the inside of the main tube. Fortunately, as it was designed for quick assembly it came apart very easily and had cleaned up nicely.
Having taken it to bits, I can confirm that this version has coating only on some of the elements - in use this shows, the contrast of this lens is nothing to write home about and it is slightly susceptible to flare. However it is surprisingly sharp, once stopped down a notch or two, with good colour rendering. There is hardly any CA or distortion. On a K-7 the autofocus is fast and precise. The macro facility is basically a setting at 80mm with the focus zone shifted a bit nearer from infinity.
On APS-C sensor the 28-80 focal range is actually quite useful.
Not bad for £7 eBay bargain.
  
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2009 Posts: 188
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 27, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharp enough | | Cons: | excessive barrel distortion on wide end | |
As far as i know this SMC-F 28-80mm as pictured at the top of the review page, and which is the one i'm commenting on, is the better version of this focal length range F-series zoom that Pentax produced. The white lettered one doesn't have SMC and has a simpler optical formulation. This SMC-F lens has one of those optical designs that extends out farthest at the wide end of zoom, shortens down in the middle, and extends out again at the long end.
It's a heavy lens, lots of metal in its construction, elements are all glass, and is optically pretty much identical to the SMC-A 28-80mm, except this F lens is AF: they're both described to have 12 elements in 9 groups; front and rear they look the same when you look into the glass, with the same glass diameters; focus throw is the same (quick and short); lengths of lenses both zoomed in and out are the same.
It is sharp stopped down and not very blurry at all at its ho-hum max open apertures. Front element rotates with focusing. Colours are good, typical SMC of that era, that is, not as distinct as in FA and later lenses. Microcontrast is so-so.
There's a lot of barrel distortion at the wide end even on APS-C sensor cameras. Macro is fuzzy, low in contrast with not the greatest rez, and really not all that macro.
But look at this uncorrected and unsharpened, 100% crop of a distant subject, from the very top right corner edge of the K-7 APS-C frame, taken at pretty much the overall sharpest setting for this lens, f11 around 63mm. It's imported into the Gimp from RAW using ufraw so it really is unsharpened.
Other lenses do lots worse than this.
i own 2 samples, one bad one good, so there are assembly variations.
Addition: Here's the same 100% crop top right corner edge after some oversharpening. Mebbe we all have sharper lenses, but this ain't bad.
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2009 Location: Newbury, Ontario Posts: 268
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 29, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Good focal length range, Compatible with newer D-slr's. | | Cons: | Build quality in regards to zoom smoothness not that great. | |
I bought this lens to replace the aftermarket lens that came with the SF10 I bought from Blacks in late 1887. Mine is a variation of the one pictured here. Mine has the words "Pentax-F Zoom" over the focusing window. The lettering is all white the sides. I am not sure which version of the lens this is.
The lens itself is much heavier then the DAL variation of this lens that is used on the newer D-slr's today. I found that the I thouht the lens lacked the solid feel of my older M series when I first bought it learned to like the overall feel this lens has. The one problem I have with this lens is the zoom control is on the stiff side. Over the years, this has not loosed at all. Unlike the newer DAL version of this focal length range the minimum focusing is limited to 3.5 feet until you get to 80mm. At this point, "macro" setting is used to allow closer focusing. The word macro is not really macro in the sense that you are only focusing about 14" from your subject.
Since this lens has an "A" setting on the aperture ring, it works newer D-slr's. The crop factor that this lens has means that you get a nice longer range zoom. I have found that I like the look of the pictures taken with it on my K-m. I would recommend this lens as part of anyones camera bag.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Posts: 154
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 25, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | build quality, image quality, bokeh | | Cons: | a little clunky | |
There are actually at least two variants of this lens.
The one pictured here is a lower quality one than the one I have.
The higher quality one actually has a nine blade aperture, it can be distinguished from the lower quality one by it having "pentax-F zoom" above the distance scale window, and the writing is all white rather than partly red as shown in the pictures here.
My suspicion is mine is an earlier version, which was subsequently redesigned to lower the price, though I don't know for sure.
The image quality from my variant is quite good, and the bokeh is excellent. The macro capability is not bad, though not true macro obviously. Considering I picked this up in a set with an a50 1.7 and five other lenses, I'd say I got a deal for 120.00. If you can find the variant I have, go for it, it's a very nice lens.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 2,223
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 27, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Portable, light, strong built, good IQ, good macro | | Cons: | none so far | |
This is a good lens, I also have the Sigma 28-80 f3.5-4.6 macro. THe sigma has a better macro. In everything else they are about the same. I keep using this lens a lot. At the beginning, I did not used it because I bought it cheap. However, I took it once in a rainy day, and it was wonderful. I want to clarify, that this is the Pentax-F 28-80, not the Takumar, or the Tamron, or all those pseudo-pentax brands. If yours is Tukumar, you should not be reviewing this lens. They are way different. Takumar has wonderful lenses, but also some not so good.
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