| Author: | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2013 Posts: 32 | | Lens Review Date: August 1, 2020 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | solid build, light, sharp, handling | | Cons: | manual focus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K1 MKII
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An old film lens i had and never used on APS-C. Tried it out on the K! and got very good results. i think i found a light walk around alternative to my 24-70 f2.8 although definitely not as sharp as that one.
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 1,959 | | Lens Review Date: March 12, 2020 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $30.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Surprisingly good on the K5 | | Cons: | Unimpressive on the K3 and dismal on the K1 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K5
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 | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2019 Posts: 2 | | Lens Review Date: November 5, 2019 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $24.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent low light results | | Cons: | none | |
Another great lens. Great sharpness, provided you are adept at dialing in focus manually.
- Pentax-A Zoom 35-70mm F4
- Pentax K-50 DSLR (16.3mp)
- mounted on tripod
- aperture priority
- ISO 100
- white balance set to AWB
- focus peaking enabled on camera
- using manual focus assist / check
- 2-second timer
Right-click the following images and click "Open Image in New Tab", then zoom in.
All jpegs right from the my Pentax K-50.
F4, 1 second exposure:
 | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 12 | | Lens Review Date: February 5, 2019 | I can recommend this lens: No |
Price: $35.00
| Rating: 4 |
| Pros: | Fairly easy to use | | Cons: | Quite ordinary | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 6
Value: 4
Camera Used: K2 ME Super
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As with most of the A series prime and zoom lenses, this one suffers from 1980's plastic build and the wear of tear of secondhand use. Beyond that this was the worst Pentax lens I ever bought. I have had two of these and they are simply ordinary. Image sharpness is nothing special at the lower f-stop end and gradually improves at f8 to something resembling "good" and perhaps stays the same at f11 before becoming weaker in most lighting conditions. Sometimes you can get close/mid focus high quality, but expects anything beyond 40 feet to be high-end photography and this is not the lens for you. I can't understand why some reviews really rate the sharpness so highly, to be honest. There are so many 9/10 scores and that does not line up with my experience at all on film cameras. Perhaps that is something to do with people confusing digital sensor processing and digital camera function with the lens? Or maybe they are looking at 1 photo in 20 that is good and rating the lens from that? Who knows? I also find these lenses difficult to focus with constant accuracy. Sometimes I can get to close to fair sharpness and then the next shot is as fuzzy as Fozzy Bear's ears. Fringing aberration and ghosting along contrast lines is really quite poor in some lighting conditions. They are famous for being worn out at the focus-ring end and wobbling like crazy, and one of mine was terrible for that as somebody cleaned out all the damper grease from the internal thread mechanism. Nice for discrete urban work and for general walkabout work, but there are better Pentax and other manufacturer lenses out there for doing that at the same - and sometimes cheaper - cost.
| | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: May, 2018 Location: NYC Posts: 79
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: October 18, 2018 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | price, sharpness, close focus | | Cons: | aperture and focus rings quite close together | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: Sony A7III
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Picked this up cheap and since it was an A series figured it would be decent and worth a try.
I shoot with a Sony A7III and an PK->NEX adapter fro Pentax lenses.
The 35-70 I found to be very sharp across the frame rendering pleasing colors and nice contrast.
Although it has no 'macro' mode you can shoot very close.
For the shot of the cat here I was very close (I focused on the eyes).
Also note that even though f4 is not 'fast', on a camera such as the A7III that handles low light well its not an issue (and the cat shot is indoors with artificial light)
I shot straight into the sun without a hood to get the shot of the sun flare.
If you check out the leaves and branches out at the edges of the frame you'll see that they are nice and sharp!
(I think this was shot at the 70mm end).
I gave this a 7/10 for handling mainly because the aperture and focus rings are right next to each other and I found myself grabbing the wrong one on occasion.
I have a native AF Sony 28-70mm lens and a bunch of faster primes that are probably more practical for most situations but if you want a nice performing, manual, cheap 35-70mm lens this one is certainly a goodie.
 ABW04711 by Andrew B. White | | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2015 Location: California Posts: 195
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: January 19, 2017 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $28.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Compact, well made lens with good balance | | Cons: | In the right light a real bargain with excellent IQ | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Sony A6000
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[Updated - See Below]
There is a lot to like about this lens. It's a lens I wished I loved more. Small and compact, useful focal length range and excellent build quality and feel. Not to mention the bargain price. My sample looks like it has been well looked after almost looking brand new (a typical testament to the SMC-M series in my experience).
In terms of IQ I wouldn't rate it so highly. It just never seems that sharp. I'm not a pixel peeper but I find myself looking at photos I've taken with it and often wonder if I had the focus right or was I trying to handhold at too low a speed.
Colour rendition is good but I do see a little CA in some shots.
It is capable of some good shots and at $28 I really shouldn't be complaining and do use it. It's just likely that at some point it will be relegated to the back of the cupboard and replaced with a better zoom.
<A Bit Later - Like Six Months Later>
I've revisited this lens and for some reason - may be the subject matter or perhaps I've just been a bit more diligent, it's looking very good
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2012 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,182
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: August 11, 2015 | I can recommend this lens: No |
Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Handy Focal lengths, excellent macro | | Cons: | No better then my Super Tak 35mm at f4 | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: K5
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so um... it's a bit like Vanilla Ice cream this lens.
I recently had good experience with a 75-150 M f4 and so went about looking for one of these, and well it's a fine lens sure, it's just not a "wow" lens.
At f4 my 40+yr old busted up Super Tak f3.5 is sharper, better corners, more contrast. At f4 the Super Tak is better in all those ways again.
At the longer end it's much the same, just ho hum. It's not to say this is a bad lens. it's just very vanilla?
I suppose that's what one should expect from a 80's zoom?
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2011 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 302 | | Lens Review Date: February 17, 2015 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $43.40
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Size, sharp, good color, macro capable | | Cons: | a bit soft wide open | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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I found this lens recently and bought it due to previous reviews here. I am glad I did. So far I am impressed with the performance. Paired with my FA 20-35 on my K-3, it makes a wonderful walk around pair. This lens is very under valued in my opinion.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2013 Location: Jakarta Posts: 2
3 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: December 9, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | zoom macros, bokeh, aberrations | | Cons: | F4 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5, A7, A6000
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I got this lens in flea market, in very poor condition, filter thread is lost, with internal corrosive
then I bring it to a repair man for cleaned and services, later ready to use
first time using the lens I'm surprise with the bokeh characters, this lens can produce beautiful bokeh, it's also has good sharpness, macro focusing is easy
here are the samples image capture:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/roe_groho/sets/72157644221845184/ | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: September, 2010 Location: MD Posts: 943
2 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: October 2, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | solid build, constant f4, Pentax colors | | Cons: | a bit fussy to adjust zoom/focus | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-30
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I've had a chance to compare this lens both to the A 35-80 f4.5-5.6 and the F 35-70 f3.5-4.5.
The first thing to notice is that this is a beautifully built lens. The A 35-80 and F 35-70 feel quite plasticky and cheap in comparison. It has a nice, wide focus ring (in contrast to the narrow one on the A 35-80), and it just feels good in the hand and on the camera.
It is nice to have the constant f4, but it's somewhat soft wide open. It sharpens up right away as you close down. Works great in the f5.6 range at the wide end and move to f8 as you go to the long end.
It is similarly sharp across the frame, and has those nice Pentax colors. In comparison to the other two lens, the F 35-70 is consistently the sharpest, followed by this A 35-70, followed by the A 35-80.
I'll probably end up using the F 35-70 the most because its autofocus can usually do better than my manual focus, and it also has a handy pseudo-macro mode. This A 35-70, however, is certainly a pleasurable and competent lens to use.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: March, 2013 Posts: 247
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: June 20, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Handling, image quality, build. | | Cons: | Separate focus and zoom rings (not a big deal though) | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K100d Super
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I've had this lens for over 15 years but only recently used it on digital. On film it was a very good performer overall, excellent at the long end.
This has now become my standard lens since I started using it seriously on the K100dS. I have started concentrating on abstracts, still life and close up. The lens range is excellent for that, plus it's compact and sharp. On digital is is approximately the same as a film 50-100mm. Worth buying you if find a clean copy and that focal range is useful to you.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 17,956
3 users found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: January 11, 2014 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $25.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, constant f4, close focus, size/handling, "A" lens ease ... | | Cons: | Mine is a bit "too loose" for the focus ring ... | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5, K-r
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Bonjour,
Just a quick entry here since I have had this "A" lens for only a few days. First impressions are quite good, and I think that I am going to prefer this 35-70/4 over my previous "A" lens of this range, a 35-70/3.5-4.5 ...
Cannot really test outdoors due to overcast, crummy weather, but maybe some test shots will come later.
Here's a "close focus" test upon my cat, Crumble ... MFD@70mm ("50mm" entered into "SR" setting), wide open, K-5 with ISO 80, 1/180 with flash @-2 setting ... not bad for a first try ...
Allez et salut, John le Green Frog
 | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: January, 2013 Posts: 3 | | Lens Review Date: March 5, 2013 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $52.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, contrast | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax k-x DSRL
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I can do everything with this lens is the one I use the most since I bought it. I still have this little slow but I have already seen great things for my skills. I use it on my Kx digital and I saw an amazing sharpness and contrast.
Here's an example I know that I need to improve exposure, but if a little 'too open is still ok.
 | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: October, 2010 Location: Baltimore Posts: 2,542 | | Lens Review Date: December 21, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $40.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | 2 touch zoom, CA/Flare control | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K20D, Kx, K10D
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Superb little zoom! Sharp wide open, excellent "macro" capabilites, typical Pentax colors.
It's strengths lies in the longer end while the weakness is at the shorter end. The zoom range is a bit limited.
One can pick up this lens for under $50 if you are careful. For that price it produces pretty assume IQ! Very dependable and predictable lens...
K-x, 6400 ISO, f4.0 "macro mode"
K20D, ISO1600 f4.0 45mm
IMGP9295FSa3570 by theunartist, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2012 Posts: 14
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: May 24, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, good color rendition, macro function | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: Ist*DS2, Ist*DL
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The use of this lens is a joy. It's well made and operates smoothly.
The lens is sharp and has a fantastic colour rendition, comparable to the 35mm 3.5.
It has a very nice close focus ability and images are very pleasing and contrasted. One of my favorite lenses. Another positive point is his price. For around 75€ you get a very good image quality in a sturdy built lense.
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