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02-14-2014, 04:50 PM   #1
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I'm Glad I bought the DA*16-50

Recently I was contemplating either purchasing an FA 31 or both the DA*16-50 and FA 35/2 for the same price as the FA 31. Reading reviews on the 16-50 from this forum and others should have steered me away, but I already had the DA*50-135 and loved the contrast and deep color reproduction this lens affords. So I thought I would give it a try. I'm really glad I did. It's a wonderful lens, sharp even at 2.8. Bought at Henry's of Canada for $600.

Not the best first pics but here they are none-the-less

Elevator motor at 2.8




Downtown Davenport at 6.7




02-14-2014, 04:59 PM   #2
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I've been happy with mine!
02-14-2014, 05:13 PM   #3
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My favorite lens and I own a few.
02-14-2014, 09:51 PM   #4
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I'm glad I have one as well, still exploring its potentials and sweet spots now.

02-14-2014, 10:16 PM   #5
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The sdm went out on mine...I converted mine to screw drive. It's been by far my most used lens.
02-14-2014, 11:16 PM - 1 Like   #6
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I, too, had trepidation about buying the 16-50. After 3 months using the lens I've taken many keepers; bad photos are usually my fault rather than the lens' fault. Some of the recurring review criticisms are valid while other criticisms less so. IMO:
  • Yes, it could be sharper, but it's reasonably sharp. Wide open is usable, and stopped down to f8 it's sharp enough for landscapes. I didn't expect it to rival my FA43 for sharpness. The 16-50 is not the lens for heavy cropping.
  • Colors, focusing, bokeh, and the general look of images is good.
  • The CA is strong, with purple edges in high contrast areas. I full agree with reviewers here. The CA is easily fixable with Lightroom's lens correction.
  • Flaring is bad. The lens is still usable shooting into the sun, but you need to check the LCD to confirm that flare didn't kill the image. Night shooting in a city is tough: a bright street light outside the frame can wash-out the image, while lights within frame always have an out-of-focus glow to them. Neon signs always look blurry, much more so than with my other lenses. Regardless, the lens can take decent handheld night images as shown below.

02-14-2014, 11:51 PM   #7
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I love mine for versatility but wow maybe I need to send mine in to get checked. It's definitely not as sharp wide open...

02-15-2014, 02:09 AM   #8
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Good choice.

Though I usually prefer primes, my DA*16-50 gets more use than my FA31 because having a quality zoom is so often important.
02-15-2014, 09:34 AM   #9
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I'm mixed on mine. Wide open, it is good for Facebook photos but not much else. The F35/2 is better wide open, at a whole stop faster and all my other primes are so much better at 2.8 or faster the zoom is hard to accept. It also doesn't play well with my K5 AF without some serious adjustment. That may be a K5 problem more than the lens. However, from F4 on, it is great on the K5II or K20d. But then so is my DA 17-70, for a lot less money. As I said, my feelings are mixed.

Last edited by GeneV; 02-15-2014 at 09:40 AM.
04-24-2014, 10:53 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by DSims Quote
Though I usually prefer primes, my DA*16-50 gets more use than my FA31 because having a quality zoom is so often important.
Wow. Something for me to think about. Maybe I don't "need" the FA31 after all.

Recently I noticed that my 16-50 was squeaking a little when focusing. And sometimes it took awhile to "wake" upon activation. So I used my Henry's warranty to send it back in. They ended up sending it to Pentax of Canada for repair and they replaced the motor, adjusted the autofocus and cleaned it up. Boy does it focus fast now. And the pictures are incredible. All this for FREE under warranty. Henry's of Canada is my new best friend

So I paid $601 for this lens and after sending it in under warranty for FREE it's like a brand new lens. I saved myself $700 over buying this brand new.

Last edited by Driline; 04-24-2014 at 11:02 AM.
04-24-2014, 11:31 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Driline Quote
Wow. Something for me to think about. Maybe I don't "need" the FA31 after all.

Recently I noticed that my 16-50 was squeaking a little when focusing. And sometimes it took awhile to "wake" upon activation. So I used my Henry's warranty to send it back in. They ended up sending it to Pentax of Canada for repair and they replaced the motor, adjusted the autofocus and cleaned it up. Boy does it focus fast now. And the pictures are incredible. All this for FREE under warranty. Henry's of Canada is my new best friend

So I paid $601 for this lens and after sending it in under warranty for FREE it's like a brand new lens. I saved myself $700 over buying this brand new.
You did great by scoring a fine lens, I like mine too; mine is the early version (serial number of the first batch) that I bought used (via fleabay) from someone in the US. Pentax Canada replace the SDM motor part (as they promptly noticed the problems with the early batches) when it was still under warranty. So far, it is still holding up real good with nice colour tones and image quality.
08-03-2014, 07:55 PM   #12
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Quick Update. I finally scored a "Made in Japan" FA 31. After comparing the DA*16-50 and the FA 31 at both 31mm and F5.6 it's hard to tell the difference between the two. Obviously the FA 31 shines at 1.8 and Bokeh so I'm glad I purchased the lens, but it's good to know that the DA*16-50 is no slouch when compared at the same focal length. I'm puzzled then as why Pentax Forums has given the lens such a mediocre review.
08-03-2014, 08:21 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Driline Quote
I'm puzzled then as why Pentax Forums has given the lens such a mediocre review.
There are some people in this thread who would agree with the mediocre reviews. People have different standards.

I find it hard to believe that your 16-50 is as good as an FA 31mm. Certainly the Photozone tests did not find that. I compared a DA*16-50 to my FA 50mm f1.4, both at f/2.8, and there was no contest. My FA 35 is even sharper than my FA 50.

I don't doubt that an f2.8 constant aperture standard zoom is a useful thing in some situations, but I don't believe that it compares to a prime. I think the DA*16-50 should be superseded in the lineup but I still wouldn't buy one, because primes outperform zooms when IQ is more important than convenience.

I'm looking forward to the new DA* extended zoom shown in the roadmap Extended range is a more important feature to me in a zoom than f/2.8 aperture.

Last edited by audiobomber; 08-04-2014 at 04:33 AM.
08-03-2014, 09:17 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by audiobomber Quote
I find it hard to believe that your 16-50 is as good as an FA 31mm
I wouldn't say they are equal. But close using my K-5 just comparing images on a tripod outside in my backyard. Perhaps my K-5 did not focus correctly? Maybe a K-3 would give better results?
08-03-2014, 10:47 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Driline Quote
I wouldn't say they are equal. But close using my K-5 just comparing images on a tripod outside in my backyard. Perhaps my K-5 did not focus correctly? Maybe a K-3 would give better results?
Looking at your Flickr gallery of 16-50 photos, you ought to be pleased. Your original photo plus the nose of the sleeping Golden Retriever at 2.8 and the city photos at f8 are about as good as it gets.

Photographs are concept, capture, edit and presentation, whether a cell phone selfie or a studio medium format. Whether one lens is nominally superior to another is neither a deal maker or deal breaker in that process.
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