Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 
Log in or register to remove ads.

Pentax Lens Review Database » Film Era Pentax K-Mount Lenses » Non-SMC Pentax Zoom Lenses
Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6 Review RSS Feed

Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6

Sharpness 
 8.3
Aberrations 
 7.8
Bokeh 
 8.0
Handling 
 7.3
Value 
 9.6
Focusing 
 5.0
Reviews Views Date of last review
9 69,519 Wed November 17, 2021
spacer
Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $53.17 7.78
Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6
supersize


Description:
This is an autofocus zoom lens without SMC coating. It is identical to the TAKUMAR-F 70-200mm F4-5.6.

Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
Full-frame / 35mm film
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
Yes (A setting)
Diaphragm
Automatic, 9 blades
Optics
10 elements, 8 groups
Mount Variant
KAF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F4-5.6
Min. Aperture
F32-45
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
110 cm
Max. Magnification
0.25x
Filter Size
49 mm
Internal Focus
No
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 23-8.2 ° / 19-6.9 °
Full frame: 34-12 ° / 29-10.3 °
Hood
No dedicated hood
Case
No dedicated case
Lens Cap
Coating
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Diam x Length
71 x 99 mm
Weight
555 g
Production Years
1988 to 1991
Engraved Name
PENTAX-F ZOOM 1:4-5.6 70-200mm
Reviews
User reviews
Notes
No SMC coating
Variants

Also sold as Takumar-F 70-200mm F4.5.6

Features:
Screwdrive AutofocusAperture RingAutomatic ApertureFull-Frame SupportDiscontinued
Price History:



Add Review of Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6
Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-9 of 9
Forum Member

Registered: December, 2013
Posts: 83

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: March 29, 2015 Recommended | Price: $40.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: light weight, cheap, sharp
Cons: none
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 9    Camera Used: Pentax K3   

I like this lens because it does not have the smc fungus growing coating . I have noticed most of the older pentax lens with the smc coating have fungus growing from the coating . I have found on my lens that between f8 and f13 is the sharpest at 200mm zoom . Here is a squirrel about 15 yards away. 200mm, 1/250, f13, iso 800. As shot. no sharping . Pentax F 70-200 f4-5.6 by myridevlx600, on Flickr
   
New Member

Registered: January, 2010
Posts: 23

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: November 14, 2012 Recommended | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Sharpness, quick autofocus
Cons: A bit loud autofocus, tiny focal ring, does not retract all the way like SMC version
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 8    Value: 10   

I think Pentax-F 70-200 4-5.6 is almost identical with Takumar F 70-200 4-5.6 in terms of lens formula, elements and mechanism like barrel retraction. I own the latter so I also post my comments here. If you get a good copy and stay a bit away from 200mm, it is a hidden gem. The lens is reasonably sharp and has nice bokeh. Shooting with hood is recommended.

   
Site Supporter

Registered: April, 2010
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 813

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: May 11, 2010 Recommended | Price: $80.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Good sharpness, accurate AF, virtually nil CA, solid build
Cons: some AF hunting in low light.

Firstly, I have both the Pentax-F 70-200 and the SMC Pentax-F 70-210 and they are equally sharp, both have excellent resolution, and virtually nil CA.

Very many of the SMC Pentax-F 70-210 I have seen seem to be fungus affected, it seems to be a common problem, but the non SMC Pentax-F 70-200 doesn't seem to have this problem.

The lack of SMC really doesn't affect the colour and contrast rendition all that much,and shooting with a good lens hood takes care of any flare issues too.

This lens also just seems a little better balanced in the hand (IMO of course).

Very sharp all the way out to 200mm, I highly recommend this lens, a good lens at a bargain price .




Cheers
John
   
New Member

Registered: September, 2008
Location: Viet Nam
Posts: 17

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: May 19, 2009 Recommended | Price: $80.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Great contrast, sharp, great color from 7-200 with all "A", AF lens
Cons: No SMC

I'm very happy with this lens
Some images from this lens



   
Veteran Member

Registered: April, 2012
Location: Melbs
Posts: 1,237
Review Date: November 17, 2021 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Performance, price, looks cool
Cons: Heavier

This lens was tossed in with a K5 i recently bought, thought nothing of it, another old 90's zoom righht?


Well... Suppose it is, heavier then similar lenses today (looking at you DAL 50-200) but, dam the auto-focus is great and images look bloody fine.


Have been comparing it to the DAL 50-200, not much in it. DAL 50-200 perhaps with slightly more contrast on the JPEG, but who cares? Move that slider in post and boom.

And, the 80's is long enough ago that it's style is nearly cool again. The grey looks stupid on the K5, I imagine I'd want a Z10, MZ, etc to properly dress the part,


Really impressed, so much so that I'm now trawling ebay for second hand Pentax-F's


First image @200, f5.6, second @70 f4, JPEG's from camera & just resized.




   
New Member

Registered: December, 2019
Posts: 7
Review Date: November 2, 2020 Recommended | Price: $40.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: great zoom
Cons: none yet
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Focusing: 9   

Great zoom to use for various situations, from portraits to action scenes or even landscaping. Great colors, nails the focus quickly and provides very nice photos. The picture below is unedited.

   
New Member

Registered: April, 2015
Posts: 11
Review Date: December 6, 2019 Recommended | Rating: 1 

 
Pros:
Cons:
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 6    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 1    Camera Used: K-30    Focusing: 1   

This lens makes extremely loud and grusom sounds. Unbearable!!! The only thing this lens deserves is a hammer :-D
   
New Member

Registered: April, 2017
Posts: 12
Review Date: April 27, 2017 Recommended | Price: $50.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: sharpness at 70-135mm, low aberrations
Cons: sharpness 200mm, just a bit noisy
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 8    Value: 9    Camera Used: Pentax K-50   

This zoom is good (very good, I'd say) at the shortest focal length, bad at 200mm; I have tested it against two others. The work is not professionally done but may help, there is a lot of full-crop samples...:

http://www.rustichelli.net/Hobbies/Photography/LensTests/Zoom-for-Pentax-K-g...group-test.php

Good reading!
   
Veteran Member

Registered: February, 2014
Posts: 421
Review Date: January 15, 2015 Recommended | Price: $29.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Sharp at F8, Nice colors, CHEAP, light, quick AF
Cons: AF kicks, loud, not very pretty
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 8    Value: 10    Camera Used: K-5IIs   

Great zoom for $29 USD.

Where I live there are very few used Pentax lenses, so I buy stuff on ebay.

In this case, the lens was $29 and shipping was $20, and I'm happy overall with the lens and the price.

The picture below was shot at F8, 1/125 s, 200mm. Not much PP, in Lightroom +9 on contrast, -30 on highlights, -11 on Shadows, +7 whites, -5 blacks.

No sharpening



===
An update after almost two years. I had a lot of fun with this lens. If you know the limitations, it can produce pretty solid results.

Today, I reverse mounted it (49mm thread adapter to PK) and it produces some nice macro shots.

Here is a sample:
Add Review of Pentax-F 70-200mm F4-5.6



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:02 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top