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View Poll Results: Is this DA*16-50mm good or bad?
Keep it -- it's good. 2388.46%
Return it or send it in for repair. 311.54%
Voters: 26. You may not vote on this poll

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12-16-2007, 03:48 AM   #181
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QuoteOriginally posted by roentarre Quote
well, the focus was on the trees in the centre. The rocks were not far away from the trees either.

The testing scenery typically involves a foreground and a background so more practical to demonstrate the points. Even the rocks are at a different plane to the trees, the sharpness are not unreasonable.

The whole point is Da* 16-50 being not that far from Da 14 in terms of sharpness. Da* 16-50 is a reasonable choice given it is flexible with the wide focal range, weather sealed and producing great imges.

Yes, there are quality control issues with this zoom but it is getting better. I found issues with this zoom but not out of proportion that bad according to the tone put forward here.

After all, I hope that one day you will find the zoom you are looking for.
Well, then we define "acceptable level" quite differently.... if you have focused to tree and consider its sharpness acceptable, we are not in the same ballpark.... and then those rocks are actually surprisingly sharp....they shouldn't be...

I agree that when we take "real life" test pictures, they should contain items in different distances. But if those items are out of sharpness area of wanted aperture and focusing distance, you cant make any judgments according the sharpness of them. Maybe the bokeh only....

12-16-2007, 04:20 AM   #182
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wow that's some serious vignetting. I think it proves the DA* can't handle any larger sensor
12-16-2007, 06:58 AM   #183
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QuoteOriginally posted by Maxington Quote
I don't quite agree, since it seems much harder to design a lens from a range of 16-50 than it is to design one from 24-70, and keep it compact, affordable and weather sealed.

Though I had a quick look at the Photozone review of the 24-70, they had to get 4 different copies to get a good one. You can't win whatever brand you go, heh.
You have to look at effective focal length. 16-50 @ 1.5 CF = 24-75 so that is my reason for that comparison. But I see your point, so I could say I expect the Pentax 16-50 to perform on par with my Canon 16-35 F2.8 L.

I agree you can get a bad copy of any lens, you read about on every photography message board. I have been very lucky with all my purchases and this is the first lens I have ever had to return.

The Canon 24-70 L is my bread & butter lens for weddings and the quality at all apertures is more than acceptable. Having said that I added some Pentax gear to my arsenal because I wanted something smaller & lighter with built in image stabilization for certain occasions. And I have been nothing but pleased with all my Pentax gear until I got this lens.

I don't want to get into Canon vs. Pentax, I think they both produce some great hardware (as do many other major Camera makers) and I am looking forward to getting my hands on a good copy of the 16-50.
12-16-2007, 10:04 AM   #184
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QuoteOriginally posted by incitatus Quote
wow that's some serious vignetting. I think it proves the DA* can't handle any larger sensor
My guess is that there was a filter on the lens. My DA* was not that bad at 16mm, even with a low profile polarizer. Actually, both result show serious vignetting, though the DA is worse.

In all fairness, my second copy of the DA* was exceptional except for an issue at 16mm, f/2.8 at infinity which I've written about. Too bad the AF stopped working - it's now en route to Pentax for warranty work.

roentarre's posts show results when compared with one of the best primes available. Differences are only discernible at 100%. I think that is excellent for a zoom at the extreme of its range. After all, if someone really wanted a pic of the tree, they'd simply zoom to 50mm. Unlike a prime, it's not limited to one focal length.

12-16-2007, 12:10 PM   #185
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I have now returned the DA* 16-50 and got my money back. I will think this lens again when we have it in the shelf of local distributor, test several copies side by side and maybe select one of them... but they have to be better than the one I returned...
12-17-2007, 12:31 PM   #186
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My replacement arrived this morning & it's another dud ;-(
Fairly sharp at 50 wide open but at 16 it's just not focusing correctly. It's going back for a refund this time.

Last edited by jbcampbell; 12-17-2007 at 12:41 PM.
12-17-2007, 01:37 PM   #187
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So many people with so many problems with the 16-50mm.

Mine has serial nr 9013nnn, sharp at 16mm to 50mm f2.8 and no focusing problems.
Vignetting is a lot less than my Tammy 18-250mm at 18mm.

I'm very happy with the lens, guess I was lucky

- Bert

12-17-2007, 02:52 PM   #188
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The more I use this lens the more I am convinced it is a focus problem at the 16mm end. Below are two 100% crops. I shot them in RAW & converted to JPG in PS CS3, no other tweaks were made.

I used the center focus point to focus on the word "Fuzion" on this scooter.


Here I zommed to 50mm, focused, set the lens to MF then zoomed out to 16mm


BTW this lens' SN starts with a "9..." I am sending it back tomorrow for a refund & thinking of ordering one from B&H to replace it. My thinking is that B&H is a high volume dealer & I am more likely to get a lens from the second batch (SN 2...).
12-17-2007, 03:47 PM   #189
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What did it end up focusing on, in the full size version of that picture?

A missed focus point is pretty common for wide zooms. Zoom in, focus, zoom back, shoot is all you can do a lot of the time.

Sorry to hear your latest version still isn't up to scratch.
12-22-2007, 10:39 PM   #190
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wanted: DA* 16-50/k10d people pics at 2.8!

I've been thinking long and hard about this lens, and I really need to see as many samples of people pics taken with it as I can, since that's what I'll mostly use it for. So, I'd really appreciate those of you out there with this lens (whether or not you consider yours a "good copy") to please post some pics shot at f2.8, preferably in soft sunlight (magic hour would be great) or decent indoor lighting. Please use a still subject with no flash, focus on the leading eye, and show a range from 16 to 50mm. I know it's a bit to ask, but your generosity would help me tremendously. Benjikan, I know you have one, and I'd love to see some of your casual shots.

Thanks!

John
12-23-2007, 05:42 AM   #191
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QuoteOriginally posted by button Quote
I've been thinking long and hard about this lens, and I really need to see as many samples of people pics taken with it as I can...
Thanks!

John
Me too. Please post your pics. I really think about selling my 31mm 1.8 prime ( Jehova ) for the 16-50. I use most of the time the 21 and the 43 in the kind of prime shooting and I want the 16-50 because of its waterproof sealings.

Best,
Rainer
12-23-2007, 06:51 AM   #192
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Without the specific setup you are asking for, I guess you can get a pretty good impression of the performance of the 16-50mm by browsing through the posted photos and links on this forum. Have a look at the Post Your Photos section.

Perhaps this helps as well: Picasa Web Albums - Bert - Rome 7-10 dec...
This album was entirely shot with the K10D / 16-50mm combination a few weeks ago.

I guess it can help you to decide.

- Bert
12-23-2007, 07:13 AM   #193
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Thanks for the link, Bert. However, I don't see any EXIF data, and those pics are really too small for me to make any critical judgement of IQ.
12-23-2007, 07:17 AM   #194
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If you are happy with the feature set and price of the 16-50 just go out and buy it. If it doesn't work out you can always sell it.

Imagine all the photo opportunities you are missing right now by indecision!
12-23-2007, 07:26 AM   #195
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QuoteOriginally posted by button Quote
Thanks for the link, Bert. However, I don't see any EXIF data, and those pics are really too small for me to make any critical judgement of IQ.
Have a look at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/16305-impressions-rome-my-da-16-50mm.html
There is some EXIF data there.

If you want more; original files etc, let me know and I can e-mail one some.

- Bert
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