I've come to a conclusion...I decided I like the 16-50, but will have to watch the bokeh in contrasty
situations and CA on the edges at wider focal lengths, (a shot I took today has small, "circular" bokeh,
as if it were a mirror lens. Weird, huh?). Otherwise, a decent lens. Still don't think it deserves the Pentax
asterisk designation, but I'll keep it anyway. It won't replace my primes, like the 50-135/2.8 can. That
thing will become legendary. The 16-50 just might go down as a "dud", or at best, "average".

Here are a few snapshots taken yesterday (Sunday) at the California State Poppy Reserve near the apex
of the Antelope Valley where the San Andreas fault line and the Gorman fault line meet on the western
end of the valley. Wind was howling pretty good, but the poppies didn't close up much. Nice, cool day.
Good for hiking in the reserve.

EXIF data intact. Panoramic mosaics created with Photomerge in CS3. Shot RAW+, but all of these images
are from the JPEGs.



Image #1, IMGP1281a.jpg, 1/250s, f/7.1, ISO 100, P exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm





Image #2, IMGP1289a.jpg, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm





Image #3, IMGP1290a.jpg, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm





Image #4, IMPG1291a.jpg, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm





Image #5, IMGP1292a.jpg, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm





Image #6, mos1.jpg, 1/500s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 16mm; view from the SE to SW
Six exposure panoramic mosaic 9502 x 2821 pixels, sized down to 1600 x 500





Image #7, mos2.jpg, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm, view from WNW to NWN
Three exposure panoramic mosaic 8301 x 3082 pixels, sized down to 1600 x 600





Image #8, mos3.jpg, five overlapping exposures, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, Av exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm, view from W to NW
Five exposure panoramic mosaic 12536 x 3282, sized down to 1600 x 400





Image #9, mos4.jpg, six overlapping exposures, 1/400s, f/8, ISO 100, M exposure mode, 0.00EV, 50mm; view from WNW to N
Six exposure panoramic mosaic 13090 x 3288 pixels, sized down to 1600 x 400