Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
08-26-2007, 09:17 AM   #1
Forum Member
steve917's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: usa
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 60
Any one have the new SDM * lenses Yet

I am seriously considering Buying 1 of the 2 and would love to hear feedback from any owners of these new lenses.


Steve

08-26-2007, 02:32 PM   #2
Veteran Member
Eastern Shore Charlie's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: 21639/ USA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 822
Steve I have the DA*50-135 and the focus is scary fast and silent. The quality is what I read about and saw from other people posting Pentax * shots. I bought the 50-135 because B&H miss priced it when they first put it on thier web site and I went for it. I'll be broke for a while , but I am not disappointed I did. I have posted a couple pics from this lens in the Post your photos thread and Pentax SLR lens Discussion thread recently. I have nothing but priase for the quality of this lens and surprised I own such nice glass...Charlie
08-26-2007, 03:37 PM   #3
Inactive Account




Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441
QuoteOriginally posted by steve917 Quote
I am seriously considering Buying 1 of the 2 and would love to hear feedback from any owners of these new lenses.
I bought a DA* 50-135mm f2.8 when it was "on sale" at B&H. I have had it for about 10 days, and got the opportunity to really use it a couple of days ago. It is a fine lens and is a convenient replacement for three prime lenses (50, 77 and 135mm). It is well-built, but the exterior is 100% plastic, so not as nice as a Limited. It is large and slightly heavy but handles nicely and is much smaller than a 70-200mm f2.8 for a 35mm film camera.

It is a pleasure to use. AF is faster than any screw-drive AF lens that I have used and it is almost silent. All you hear is a very faint click when the motor starts or stops. In low light, there seems to be less hunting: it either focuses or the AF confirm light flashes. In actual use, I get more pictures in focus when using AF as compared to a lens like the Pentax FA 77mm f1.8 Limited. Both zooming and focusing action is smooth and well-damped. I love the quick-shift focusing feature and the wide focusing ring. The focusing ring doesn't turn when the AF is used, making the lens very convenient to handle.

Image quality is outstanding for a zoom lens. Even wide open, it seems sharp and contrasty at both the center and edges. Image quality improves when stopped down up to about f/8. It is at it's worse at 135mm and wide apertures, where the edges are slightly soft and there is a small amount of CA visible at the extreme edges. Stopping down one or two stops improves the quality. In comparison, the Pentax FA 135mm f2.8 [IF] is sharper in the extreme corners from f/2.8 to about f/5.6, but the difference is very small. The only area where performance is a bit disappointing is the minimum focusing distance of about 1 meter.

Overall, I'm very happy with the lens. It has the convenience and flexibility of a zoom with outstanding image quality.
08-26-2007, 05:52 PM   #4
Inactive Account




Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 417
I bought both lenses. Like the others I have only high praise for the 50-135; it is sharp, delivers good colors and bokeh, and focuses fast (faster than my Tamron 28-75, though not as fast as a Nikon D80 I have used...sorry not trying to start an argument, just my unscientific impression) I highly recommend it; and have sold my D FA 100 macro because of how good the 50-135 is (not for macro work but for general telephoto in that range.)

Unfortunately my copy of the 16-50 was awful; very soft at f2.8. Please see my post in this discussion section comparing the 16-50 to the Tarmon 28-75 at f2.8. I returned my copy. I have recieved email from another forum member who returned their 16-50 for the same reason of poor image quality. Hopefully we just got bad copies; but until I see some full professional reviews of the lens I cannot recommend the 16-50.

Here is a link to photos all taken with the DA*50-135:http://erlhouston.smugmug.com/gallery/3350269/1/186769535

Best wishes.

Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
k-mount, lenses, pentax lens, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
645D, K-m2 and NEW LENSES DA*10-16/4 SDM, DA*20/2 SDM, DA*28/2 SDM ogl Pentax News and Rumors 165 08-11-2010 03:26 AM
SDM lenses on k-x guillermovilas Pentax DSLR Discussion 8 08-01-2010 03:45 PM
Those who has SDM lenses. LeDave Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 25 03-03-2010 04:44 PM
Which lenses are known to SDM fail? axl Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 23 01-31-2010 02:06 PM
SDM Lenses shipping? nils Pentax News and Rumors 11 07-25-2007 06:22 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:41 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top