[pepperberry farm]

[JimJohnson]

I took this shot of some candles at my granddaughter's wedding in Santa Fe, NM this weekend. I was struck by the composition. The 18-135 is way versatile, and it was my only lens at the wedding.

John

I recently used the plastic phantastic DA35/2.8 during our niece's ceremony - no flash and minimal focus changes. For everything else I used the 18-135 with the Pentax 540 flash as needed (mostly ceiling bounce). I had the grip on my K-3. The dual body Nikon totting pro kept giving me the stink eye. Nobody else so far as I could see. My spouse made the same observation. I made sure I was never interfering with his shots, which could not always be said for the P&S, phone and tablet shooters. Near as either of us could figure out he must have felt threatened that a guy with pro-level equipment might get better shots than he did.

I never talked with the guy but my brother-in-law (bride's father) tried to strike up some small talk and came away with the impression they guy was a bit full of himself. I gritted my teeth and kept my photography activity extra low to avoid a scene. By the way, neither lens let me down.

[mattb123]

We spent two nights at this camp, Baranco Camp on Kilimanjaro. It's a good altitude for acclimatization at 12,960' / 3950m.
The town of Moshi is the source of the lights in the background.
K-3 & 18-135 with an Ultrapod II on a rock.

[Weldon Berger]

Yes indeed - that's at the Royal Hawaiian, where we stayed at the time.

John

Lovely old place. We used to put my mom up next door at the Sheraton when she was still traveling, and I always tried to get a shot or two of the pink palace from the Sheraton parking garage.



Royal Hawaiian Hotel

[rayallen]

Lovely old place. We used to put my mom up next door at the Sheraton when she was still traveling, and I always tried to get a shot or two of the pink palace from the Sheraton parking garage.



Royal Hawaiian Hotel

A lovely shot. That brings back fond memories from 2004. We didn't stay there but we did walk through the place. Just wonderful. Thanks

[pepperberry farm]

barred owl at sunrise

[Weldon Berger]

A lovely shot. That brings back fond memories from 2004. We didn't stay there but we did walk through the place. Just wonderful. Thanks

Well worth a gander, for sure. They've done some renovation/restoration since then, too. I've never taken any pictures inside, should do that. Glad the shot brought back pleasant memories.

[sibyrnes]

Here's one shot in W. Va. a few days ago with my KP.

[mattb123]

Materuni Falls, near Moshi, Tanzania
K-3 & 18-135


Masai boys and goat in Ngorongoro National Park, Tanzania (from a moving car through the windshield)
K-3 & 18-135

[Kevin B123]

More indoor shots, at a range of FL. I did see another person with a K-3 here although we did not speak, we both recognized the shutter sound.
All processed of course, some from -2.7ev.

[frey71]

Hi. I plan to change k-r to k-70. In the presence of lenses DA 18-55 and DA 55-200. The question is - does it make sense to buy K-70 from 18-135? Or is my set identical in quality to 18-135?

[ERNR]

Hi. I plan to change k-r to k-70. In the presence of lenses DA 18-55 and DA 55-200. The question is - does it make sense to buy K-70 from 18-135? Or is my set identical in quality to 18-135?

I have all three, and like them. Obviously what makes sense for me might not for you, but here are my views on the advantages of each to hopefully help you figure out what makes sense for you.
Advantage of 18-135 -- less weight, more convenience.
Advantage of 18-55 over 18-135 -- a little smaller, much lighter and a significantly shorter minimum focusing distance.
Advantage of 18-135 over 18-55 -- longer range and it's faster at 55 than the 18-55 is.
Advantage of 50-200 over 18-135 -- longer telephoto range, less weight and size (and it's faster at 50mm)
I won't address relative image quality because you're already looking at the pictures and drawing your own conclusions there.
Hope this helps.

[Tatouzou]

I also have all three which I use on k3 and K30.
But, since I bought the 18-135, the 18-55 and 50-200 spend most of their time in a drawer.
Why:

• The 18-135 is built like a rock, you feel very confident it can whistand bad weather and shocks. Mine has been drenched by the rain in 2014 in Tahiti rainforest, tossed across the dirtyTanzanian savannah, brought hiking in the French Alps, and also shooting from a fast running Zodiac dinghy.
• It is all in one: no need to change lenses in the field. And most if the time you dont need to carry another lens.
• At 55mm, maximum aperture is f4.5, which is 0.7 stop faster than the 18-55 and only 0.3 stop slower than the 50-200.
• Though I have the better (but bigger) DA 17-70 f4 and a nice bunch of limited primes, the 18-135 is my most used lens, almost glued on my K3. For long range telephoto, like african wildlife, I use the 55-300, which is much better than the 50-200 across their common range, and more rugged.
• The 18-135 is better than the 18-55 across their common range, and not that much bigger.
• It is sharper in the center and has more contrast than the 50-200 and has better resistance to flare than both 18-55 and 50-200.
• It has a silent and very efficient AF DC engine, instead of the legacy screwdriven AF in 18-55 and 50-200.

A link to the reviews I wrote

-here in PentaxForums:
SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR Reviews - DA Zoom Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database


The date shown is october 2016, but I updated the review in spring 2017, adding some samples



-on DPreview, with some full size samples (more in my flickr gallery):
A misunderstood gem: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

[Weldon Berger]

Love the dogs.

[Weldon Berger]

Materuni Falls, near Moshi, Tanzania
K-3 & 18-135


Masai boys and goat in Ngorongoro National Park, Tanzania (from a moving car through the windshield)
K-3 & 18-135

The kids with the goat is a great get. I love those serendipitous shots.