Verdict on latest revision of DA* 16-50 f2.8?

**Pål Jensen** · 03-21-2014, 05:48 AM - **1 Like**

The biggest weakness of the lens is that it is prone to flare. I would have waited for the new lens on the roadmap that seem to cover the same focal lenght range....

Attached Images

cbope · 03-21-2014, 10:23 AM

Got my DA* 16-50 today. It was in a Hoya box but had a Ricoh insert inside the box. Didn't look like it had been unpacked before and no indications that the lens has been handled by anyone. Serial is 9050370, not sure if that is helpful.

The build quality on this lens is awesome. The size and weight is definitely better than my Tokina AT-X 28-80 f2.8, that used to be mounted on my film bodies at all times. You definitely know it's not a kit lens mounted, but it isn't bad by any means. It seems to balance well on my K-5 with or without the battery grip. I sometimes take the grip off if I want to travel lighter, but most of the time it's on.

Hope the weather is nice this weekend, I look forward to shooting with it. I have a good feeling.

---------- Post added 03-21-14 at 07:29 PM ----------

Originally posted by Pål Jensen

The biggest weakness of the lens is that it is prone to flare. I would have waited for the new lens on the roadmap that seem to cover the same focal lenght range....

Pretty bad flare in the second shot, but I don't have any zooms that would do any better with the sun so centrally present in the frame like that. My Tokina would probably completely white out in those conditions. I would switch to a prime in that case. If I shoot towards the sun, I usually try to keep it just out of the frame or at the edge where the flare will tend to be weakest. I don't mind a little flare as long as it's not the contrast-killing kind. I have used flare for creative effect from time to time.

**Pål Jensen** · 03-23-2014, 05:26 AM

Originally posted by cbope

I don't mind a little flare as long as it's not the contrast-killing kind. I have used flare for creative effect from time to time.

But this is the contrast killing kind. This is a deliberate test shot at a very small aperture in order for the flare to show up as blobs. At normal shooting apertures theis flare will be more defocused and spread over the image as a fog reducing contrast.

Stagnant · 03-23-2014, 07:37 AM

* The representative told me that he would prefer not to have his e-mail openly available on the forums. He said, that there is a Ricoh person who checks the forums regularly. Regarding the direct reports, he suggested doing it through the site administrator. It should look like this : the members generate the data -> then they report it to admin -> the admin reports it to Ricoh.

* I received a brand new DA* 16-50. It has a Pentax a Ricoh company written on the bottom. I did not have time to develop any images taken with it, but my first impression, is that it is much sharper than my previous copy. I still don't like the behaviour of the zoom ring. It zooms easily up to 26 mm and then gets "stuck", you push it further and it works smoothly from 28 mm onwards, yet it seems tighter in that range. Spinning the ring towards 16 mm is much easier and feels completely smooth. I just wonder what is going in the quality control department.

tibbitts · 03-23-2014, 08:32 AM

Couple of thoughts:

1. Manufactures should just come out with version numbers on lenses so we all don't have to speculate on what version some lens is, based on something like the box it comes it. There's nothing wrong with version numbers, like K5 and K5ii. The value of the old model will drop a little, but think of how many people will buy the new model, when they know it's actually a new model. Many/most people won't buy another lens if they can't tell if it's a new model.

2. I think the days of long-life lens designs should be over, particularly for zooms. When you have body resolution improving yearly, you can't have film-era lens lifecycles. Again, it's a mixed bag for manufacturers: they should have to redesign more often, but they've got all these people on Pentax (and Canikon, etc.) that will buy the latest and greatest - probably even if the only "improvement" is the color of the distance scale, but hopefully with improved technology manufactures can tweak performance a little more than that with each revision. In the pre-computer design/manufacturing era, changing a design was probably much more involved, so it was necessary to keep a design in production for a very long time to earn back the investment. Today, that really shouldn't be the case.

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03-21-2014, 05:48 AM - 1 Like	#31
Pål Jensen Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 4,371	The biggest weakness of the lens is that it is prone to flare. I would have waited for the new lens on the roadmap that seem to cover the same focal lenght range.... Attached Images

03-21-2014, 10:23 AM	#32
cbope Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Helsinki Posts: 664 Original Poster	Got my DA* 16-50 today. It was in a Hoya box but had a Ricoh insert inside the box. Didn't look like it had been unpacked before and no indications that the lens has been handled by anyone. Serial is 9050370, not sure if that is helpful. The build quality on this lens is awesome. The size and weight is definitely better than my Tokina AT-X 28-80 f2.8, that used to be mounted on my film bodies at all times. You definitely know it's not a kit lens mounted, but it isn't bad by any means. It seems to balance well on my K-5 with or without the battery grip. I sometimes take the grip off if I want to travel lighter, but most of the time it's on. Hope the weather is nice this weekend, I look forward to shooting with it. I have a good feeling. ---------- Post added 03-21-14 at 07:29 PM ---------- Originally posted by Pål Jensen The biggest weakness of the lens is that it is prone to flare. I would have waited for the new lens on the roadmap that seem to cover the same focal lenght range.... Pretty bad flare in the second shot, but I don't have any zooms that would do any better with the sun so centrally present in the frame like that. My Tokina would probably completely white out in those conditions. I would switch to a prime in that case. If I shoot towards the sun, I usually try to keep it just out of the frame or at the edge where the flare will tend to be weakest. I don't mind a little flare as long as it's not the contrast-killing kind. I have used flare for creative effect from time to time.

03-23-2014, 05:26 AM	#33
Pål Jensen Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Norway Photos: Albums Posts: 4,371	Originally posted by cbope I don't mind a little flare as long as it's not the contrast-killing kind. I have used flare for creative effect from time to time. But this is the contrast killing kind. This is a deliberate test shot at a very small aperture in order for the flare to show up as blobs. At normal shooting apertures theis flare will be more defocused and spread over the image as a fog reducing contrast.

03-23-2014, 07:37 AM	#34
Stagnant Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 603	* The representative told me that he would prefer not to have his e-mail openly available on the forums. He said, that there is a Ricoh person who checks the forums regularly. Regarding the direct reports, he suggested doing it through the site administrator. It should look like this : the members generate the data -> then they report it to admin -> the admin reports it to Ricoh. * I received a brand new DA* 16-50. It has a Pentax a Ricoh company written on the bottom. I did not have time to develop any images taken with it, but my first impression, is that it is much sharper than my previous copy. I still don't like the behaviour of the zoom ring. It zooms easily up to 26 mm and then gets "stuck", you push it further and it works smoothly from 28 mm onwards, yet it seems tighter in that range. Spinning the ring towards 16 mm is much easier and feels completely smooth. I just wonder what is going in the quality control department.

03-23-2014, 08:32 AM	#35
tibbitts Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Oklahoma USA Posts: 2,193	Couple of thoughts: 1. Manufactures should just come out with version numbers on lenses so we all don't have to speculate on what version some lens is, based on something like the box it comes it. There's nothing wrong with version numbers, like K5 and K5ii. The value of the old model will drop a little, but think of how many people will buy the new model, when they know it's actually a new model. Many/most people won't buy another lens if they can't tell if it's a new model. 2. I think the days of long-life lens designs should be over, particularly for zooms. When you have body resolution improving yearly, you can't have film-era lens lifecycles. Again, it's a mixed bag for manufacturers: they should have to redesign more often, but they've got all these people on Pentax (and Canikon, etc.) that will buy the latest and greatest - probably even if the only "improvement" is the color of the distance scale, but hopefully with improved technology manufactures can tweak performance a little more than that with each revision. In the pre-computer design/manufacturing era, changing a design was probably much more involved, so it was necessary to keep a design in production for a very long time to earn back the investment. Today, that really shouldn't be the case.