[xmeda]

Ain't that sweet?? Now if they could just implement this on a few other lens. It would be GAME ON!!

DA18-135 AF speed is almost the same + it has wider focus range.

[reh321]

Ain't that sweet?? Now if they could just implement this on a few other lens. It would be GAME ON!!

DA18-135 AF speed is almost the same + it has wider focus range.

Most of my KP photos are taken with one or the other lens - and my wife loves the quiet.

[Larrymc]

DA18-135 AF speed is almost the same + it has wider focus range.

Almost???? Why do you issue negativity about what ever anyone says? Do you own a PLM? What if the person using the 55-300 needs the reach?? HUH?? No one is saying the DA 18-135 is not a nice lens but for pete's sake stop being forever negative.......Please.

[Larrymc]

Most of my KP photos are taken with one or the other lens - and my wife loves the quiet.

I use a Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM for my walk around lens most of the time but I love the fast focus of the PLM and as I posted it certainly would be great if Ricoh/Pentax came out with some other PLM motor lens.

[reh321]

Almost???? Why do you issue negativity about what ever anyone says? Do you own a PLM? What if the person using the 55-300 needs the reach?? HUH?? No one is saying the DA 18-135 is not a nice lens but for pete's sake stop being forever negative.......Please.

I took xmeda's comment as more positive than you did. The DA 18-135mm DC is a fine lens; I have never timed them, but the PLM motor probably is a bit faster, but both are plenty fast and accurate for my use. From my pov, saying the the DC motor gives you almost as fast AF as the PLM motor is a compliment to the DC motor because the PLM motor is so good.

[Larrymc]

It will be interesting to see how the current 3 motor types (DC, PLM, and Ring) are used in future lenses. Agree the PLM is fast, but I’ve had no issues with DC motor speed on the lenses I own. Other than trying a reps copy in store, I do not have any real experience with the Ring motor designs.

the DC motor in the HD DA* 11-18 is fast but not as fast as the PLM but being a f/2.8 the focus groups are pretty weighty.

[reh321]

I use a Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM for my walk around lens most of the time but I love the fast focus of the PLM and as I posted it certainly would be great if Ricoh/Pentax came out with some other PLM motor lens.

With the 18-135mm DC lens and 77-420mm (*) PLM lens, I have two-thirds of a great trio. My Sigma 10-20mm uses the screw-drive, so it is neither quiet nor fast, but I guess a wide-angle lens doesn't need to be ..... and I don't use it nearly as much as the other two.

(*) My 55-300mm PLM is semi-permanently attached to a DA 1.4X TC; I find that the combination still focuses reasonably quietly, fast, and sure on my KP.

[Larrymc]

I took xmeda's comment as more positive than you did. The DA 18-135mm DC is a fine lens; I have never timed them, but the PLM motor probably is a bit faster, but both are plenty fast and accurate for my use. From my pov, saying the the DC motor gives you almost as fast AF as the PLM motor is a compliment to the DC motor because the PLM motor is so good.

Yeah, maybe I was a bit harsh there. Apologies to X-man. The PLM has its place as well as the 18-135.

Now if Ricoh/Pentax could just re-engineer the Limiteds with the PLM motors that would really be nice!

[Serkevan]

And I'm perfectly sure that the incoming (maybe) 70-200/4 would NOT optically outperform those two lenses stopped to F4 while being wide open at F4 and it would certainly cost much more.

The point of a 70-200/4 is not to outperform a 2.8 version (although it will probably be about as good for any reasonable metric), it's to be less than half the weight. If you think 1.4 kg is light then I envy your fitness

[Kunzite]

DA18-135 AF speed is almost the same + it has wider focus range.

"Almost" as in "worlds apart". One lens is "instant", the other isn't.

[Serkevan]

"Almost" as in "worlds apart". One lens is "instant", the other isn't.

If the DC motor on the D FA 28-105 is the same as in the 18-135, then it's certainly "fast" and silent, but it doesn't come near the speed that the PLM shows on the videos.

[Mistral75]

The difference is that some lenses focus fast whilst some others, including the 55-300 PLM RE, focus almost instantly.

[reh321]

The difference is that some lenses focus fast whilst some others, including the 55-300 PLM RE, focus almost instantly.

I cannot think of any shots I have missed because of focusing with either lens - that is my measure of focusing.

[Kunzite]

I cannot think of any shots I have missed because of focusing with either lens - that is my measure of focusing.

Subjectively, there are many slower than "instant" lenses which are absolutely fine. I would be crazy to exchange the D FA 150-450 for the PLM, despite the very much noticeable difference in AF speed ("good" vs "instant"); the DFA is just fine, will be better with a faster body, it has a focus limiter which further reduces the impact of hunting...

Objectively, the PLM is really fast; it feels "instant". Perhaps the best thing is that it helps people realize how lens focusing speed is important, and Pentax' AF-C will never be competitive with old screw-drive and micromotor SDM lenses.

[Serkevan]

For all the yadda yadda about Pentax AF being slow and unreliable, AF-S with my Tamron 90/2.5 is pretty darn fast for a macro lens with a 200º focus throw. It's also very accurate unless shooting wide open with the subject further than... let's say ~10 m away in low light (it was a concert); I assume the difference between "5 meters" and "infinity" is too small to allow for accurate focusing. Can't comment on AF-C, I never use it