Pentax-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 WR Review

Bokeh

Bokeh refers to the characteristics of the out of focus areas of an image. Although the evaluation of bokeh can be highly subjective, some qualities such as smooth transitions, round and soft highlights, are generally regarded as positive. 

In this test, we shot images of a subject against a distant background that includes several highlights. Please click the thumbnail for a larger version. 

	18mm	24mm
f/3.5
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11

	35mm	55mm
f/4.5
f/5.6
f/8
f/11

Verdict

Although the SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR does not generate a lot of bokeh (because of the relatively small aperture), we consider its quality to be quite good overall. We did not expect a good rendition of bokeh since slow kit lenses are typically not well-regarded for such qualities, so the results here were a bit above our expectations.

As it can be seen more clearly in the 55mm test images, the transitions are fairly soft and it retains a very modern "neutral" look. The highlights or "bokeh balls" have a bit of texture and their edges are not the smoothest, but in overall the rendition of bokeh seems quite decent.