[creampuff]

I've tried out the DA 18-135mm and my brief experience with it is definitely a lot better that whatever photozone has to say about it.
This so called test just reinforces my reservations about how reliable photozone's reviews actually are.

---

Last edited by creampuff; 04-16-2011 at 08:11 AM.

[RBellavance]

One sentence that caught my attention in the review is:

The new DC AF motor may not be as fast as Pentax' SDM but it's quite fast and comparatively quiet.

My experience with SDM is limited to the 16-50 and 50-135, but I can't believe anything could actually be slower than that...

[Rondec]

I haven't seen many shots from this at 90 plus mm focal length. Seems like center stays decent, but borders suffer considerably and don't even sharpen up with stopping down. I had strongly considered this lens as it would be a perfect focal length for a walk around lens with weather sealing.

I guess I'll stick with the 16-50/50-135 combo, even if it is a little unwieldy at times.

Edit: Some things are fixable with post processing (vignetting, distortion), but adding resolution that just isn't there in the first place is not possible.

[aleonx3]

I haven't seen many shots from this at 90 plus mm focal length. Seems like center stays decent, but borders suffer considerably and don't even sharpen up with stopping down. I had strongly considered this lens as it would be a perfect focal length for a walk around lens with weather sealing.

I guess I'll stick with the 16-50/50-135 combo, even if it is a little unwieldy at times.

Edit: Some things are fixable with post processing (vignetting, distortion), but adding resolution that just isn't there in the first place is not possible.

Me too, had similar thoughts about getting the 18-135mm as the walkaround lens. Now, I have reservations and will likely stick to the 16-50/50-135 combo or the 3 amigos.

[dgaies]

My experience with SDM is limited to the 16-50 and 50-135, but I can't believe anything could actually be slower than that...

I own all three lenses, and I can tell you that the 18-135 focus much faster than either the 16-50 and 50-135. Now, whether the motor is faster or it's just the design of the 18-135 that allows it to focus faster, I don't know. Regardless, in real use, the speed if the 18-135 AF is much faster.

[dgaies]

Me too, had similar thoughts about getting the 18-135mm as the walkaround lens. Now, I have reservations and will likely stick to the 16-50/50-135 combo or the 3 amigos.

I suppose time will tell whether it was a good idea or not, but I basically replaced my 16-50 with the 18-135 to use as a walk-around lenses. So far I've been quite happy with it and feel it's at least as good optically as the 18-55/50-200 kit lenses (which was my personal expectation in terms of IQ).

[sweetpapa]

I guess the biggest issue that Photozone has with the lens is at the telephoto range: corner / border sharpness at 85mm and up.

And considering other more extreme superzooms like the Pentax 18-250 with a 14x zoom performs OK at this range, there were a lot of expectations that Pentax with only a 7X zoom would perform as well or better in the 85 - 135mm range.

I'm interested to hear actual user experience. How do you like the lens at 85mm to 135mm?

[Menno]

I guess the biggest issue that Photozone has with the lens is at the telephoto range: corner / border sharpness at 85mm and up.

And considering other more extreme superzooms like the Pentax 18-250 with a 14x zoom performs OK at this range, there were a lot of expectations that Pentax with only a 7X zoom would perform as well or better in the 85 - 135mm range.

I'm interested to hear actual user experience. How do you like the lens at 85mm to 135mm?

I've tested my 18-135 against my DA50-200 for tele. Above 70mm the DA50-200 is better. Less vignetting, same center sharpness, sharper corners. Above 100mm even the center is sharper with the DA50-200. Also above 100mm the CA in the 18-135 is heavy (lots of green and purple lines in high-contrast especially in the corners) and the DA50-200 shows no CA there.
Positive things about the tele-performance of the 18-135 are that it doesn't have the focus-lock problem I sometimes have with my DA50-200 and that it beats my DA50-200 from 50 to 60mm. My DA50-200 shows a kind of double image especially at 50mm.
If you crop a little and don't print it too large the result from 80 to 135 are still usable. But of course a better IQ would have been nice..

[Cambo]

Uhm, I wasn't expecting prime-like performance, but this still is a bit dissappointing ...

Pentax SMC-DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] WR - Review / Lens Test

From the pics I have seen, there IS a LOT of distortion which a lot around here are ignoring...

I think the biggest issue photozone point out is the high cost of the lens, which is extremely over priced

I don't know about that. Extreme zoom range AND superb build quality - I tried one out yesterday for the first time and was very please with how beautifully it is built. Matches the K5 really well.

This was the part that bothered me:
Apparently, the poor border and corner resolution at shorter FLs, and the nearly non-existent border and corner resolution the longer FLs is a design feature.
I hope this isn't a trend. It used to be that the single biggest benefit to using a Pentax camera was that you could attach Pentax lenses to it. If this is their new "factory spec" for resolution they have serious problems ahead.

You know, with Photoshop these days, and lens correction algorhythms, and even the ability to construct your own, is ANY of this a big deal anymore? A teeny bit of sharpening in the corners, and some distortion correction, which I have been doing in Photoshop since the mid 90's...big deal. As long as Pentax or someone issues a great correction mechanism, who cares? The lens focusses fast and silently, it does not extend out as far as the zoom ration would lead you to believe, and the build quality is on par or better than a Canon or Nikon lens costing $2,000.00 or more.

Quit yer whinin'...Photozone has been known to be a bit outta whack with Pentax stuff...too subtle for them...they gave the FA* 24 f=2 a '2' in optical quality...that alone makes them nuts as far as I'm concerned. And regarding the magical 77 Limited, they state, and I quote, "Optically it doesn't offer much beyond the mainstream in this class"...COMPLETELY clued! 'Duhh...LOSERS! (© 2011 by Charlie SOS Sheen inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction, by any means, is....)

For $600.00, I like it. GREAT travel lens. Just set up a correction patch for it if you're using modern software - problem solved!

As for Photozone... who cares what those nutbags think.

Cheers,
Cameron

[Mistral75]

Certainly something weird is happening in those tests between 50mm and 135mm. Edge sharpness falls away much quicker than one would expect.

These results need to be confirmed by lenstip.com, slrgear.com, dxomark.com etc lens tests before anyone can say that the lens really has the issues described by photozone..

They are confirmed by a tester who is well known in France, Jean-Marie Sepulchre.

See Le piqué - Le monde de la Photo

[thibs]

I tried it at Photokina and the AF was clearly faster than my 50-135.

Also, latest issue of Chasseur D'images has the lens tested and they say it is a bit overpriced and suffers from the usual problems of such lenses, mainly a longer FL.
Otherwise they seem to like it, for what it is.

[dmc]

Bought it, use it, love it. Great value and matches the K5 perfectly. What more would I want?

[Pål Jensen]

And regarding the magical 77 Limited, they state, and I quote, "Optically it doesn't offer much beyond the mainstream in this class"...COMPLETELY clued! 'Duhh...LOSERS! (© 2011 by Charlie SOS Sheen inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction, by any means, is....)

Clueless statement of the year from Photozone!

[Cambo]

Clueless statement of the year from Photozone!

Glad to see you're still around - everybody's favorite Pentax curmudgeon! Hope you're healthy, happy and well!

Got a 645 D yet?

Cheers,
Cameron

[Cambo]

They are confirmed by a tester who is well known in France, Jean-Marie Sepulchre.

See Le piqué - Le monde de la Photo

they give it almost an 8/10, which is far from what Photozone seems to be implying.

If you haven't seen or tried it in person, the build quality is absolutely outstanding.

Cheers,
Cameron