[Xajoman]

I finally purchased a K-3 with SMC DA 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 WR Lens from ebay. I read some bad reviews about this lens but some said that it might be a bad lens reviewed.
How can I tell if mine isn't a bad one. I personally wasn't satisfied with the few picture taken so far.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52821512@N06/16498863910/
Thank you in advance guys

[Adam]

I that particular photo, it looks like you were shooting at a too wide aperture, which caused a lot of the foreground and background to end up being blurry.

As for things to check for, take a photo on a tripod and see if the four corners of the image (when shooting a flat target) are equally sharp.

[kiwi_jono]

Xajoman, these first images would benefit from a bit exposure compensation (being a bit dark). This will often happen when shooting with a sky background - the camera will try and expose for the background (it does not know what is important to you).

My experience with this lens is positive but it depends on your expectations. For a compact WR lens that reaches from 18 to 135, it is an excellent lens to travel or walk around with. The 16-85 may end up being sharper (we will have to wait for the reviews!) but then its a bit bigger, less telephoto reach and more expensive. One thing about the 18-135 is that it does get soft in the corners of the image at the longer focal lengths (85 - 135mm) but the central sharpness is always pretty good (on my copy anyway) and I know what its limitations are.

[Stavri]

There was initially a lot of complaint from buyers of K3's on poor in camera JPG compression when it came out. Try to update the firmware and shoot both in Raw and JPG and see the difference. Also try a different lens, a prime preferably to pinpoint the problem of the camera vs the lens. The K3 is a mid-upper enthusiast DSLR featuring a lot of features and controls, take your time with the camera get to know it and It will render fantastic results.

---

Last edited by Stavri; 03-01-2015 at 05:29 PM.

[Xajoman]

Thank you guys
I took several photos at different focal length as advised by Adam.
Please take a look. https://www.flickr.com/photos/52821512@N06/with/16068617783/

[Pavel_Zhelev]

I haven't had a chance to look at the sample images, however if you use f 6.3-7.1 you should be able to get some pretty sharp images with K3/ 18-135 combo. You can take a look at what I have posted on the lens review earlier, please contact me if you have any questions.

[mgvh]

Thank you guys
I took several photos at different focal length as advised by Adam.
Please take a look. https://www.flickr.com/photos/52821512@N06/with/16068617783/

Actually, what Adam was suggesting is not shooting at different focal lengths (i.e., 18mm - 135mm) but at different aperture settings (i.e., f3.5 - f22). You are shooting at nearly wide open aperture (i.e. f3.5) and that is where you will get your softest pics. You need to close down to f8 or so to get sharper pics.

[Kozlok]

You need to learn about the exposure triangle. I suggest Peterson's book "Understand Exposure ". It will help you know how to intentionally choose aperture, shutter speed and ISO.