| Author: | | New Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: Temuco Posts: 13
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 9, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $470.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Real long lens, at accessible price | | Cons: | Very soft at 5.6 and 8 | |
On my search for something better than an 80-200mm zoom with 2x teleconverter for shooting birds, I finally decided on this lens. Indeed it's better than the above combination, as was to be expected, but at least the sample I got does not live up to the excellent reviews I have read before purchasing it.
My quality standards for any 35mm lens call for a resolution of at least 40 line pairs per mm, all over the frame. Below that level, slides look blurry when projected. This lens meets that standard, just barely, only at f/16. At f/11 it falls slightly short of this, but with some goodwill it's still acceptable. At f/8 and f/5.6, instead, it's totally unsharp. So, its rated 5.6 aperture is useful only for easier and more precise focusing, but cannot be used for actually shooting the picture - at least when good resolution is required.
At f/22 and further, of course diffraction becomes a problem, as with any lens. So, basically, use this lens always at f/16, or when there is very little light, f/11. The other aperture settings are basically decorative.
Given the very high cost of better quality long teles, I would still recommend this lens, but only to people to whom the above restrictions are acceptable.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 431
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 22, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Build quality, sharpness and good contrast. | | Cons: | Slow focusing and some purple fringing. | |
This is a slow lens in term of focussing speed and the aperture.
Although, it does suffer from purple fringing, nevertheless, the image quality is rather good and sharp.
Weight is not too heavy and reasonable for a 400mm tele lens. Handheld is possible.
All the sample pics below were indeed taken without a tripod or monopod.
I agreed to Ben Edict's review of this lens. If speed, fast tracking of moving object is not the primary concern (possible but not easy), this lens can be a very good choice.
Samples from this lens:
 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: February, 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,710
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 27, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $385.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build quality, IQ at middle apertures, Bokeh | | Cons: | Not sharp until F 8-11, Slow focusing | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-5iis, K-3
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I’ve owned two almost mint condition copies of this lens, both performing nearly identically.
The SMC-A 400 f5.6 has a number of things going for it. The build quality, typical of all A series lenses, is impeccable. Reasonably compact, with a built in tripod collar and lens hood, it travels well. Colors are saturated and warm, Another A series trait. No green button metering either, this lens communicates fully with modern digital Pentax bodies. Image quality and sharpness can be very good to excellent if you hit the “sweet spot” of close to medium distance and apertures between f9 to f13 or so. Flare is very well controlled, even when shooting a strong point light source.
I really wanted to love this lens, unfortunately it just doesn’t deliver the goods in these areas. Focusing is quite slow. The focus throw is very long and somewhat heavily damped, great for tripod use on stationary subjects but far from ideal handheld or for fast moving subjects. Performance at f5.6 to f8 is so-so at best.
Frame filling close subjects which require minimal enlargement in PP can look reasonably good. Subjects more than twenty yards or so away often look very soft, showing little fine detail. Not an ideal birding lens. Some color fringing is also evident in strongly lit, high contrast situations, though at f11 this is minimized.
The deciding factor to wether you will like the A 400 f5.6 comes down to cost vs. performance. Pentax doesn’t give one many viable options when it comes to long telephoto lenses. The excellent but exceedingly expensive and rare f2.8 400 mm lenses and the D FA 150-450mm which is also expensive are there for well heeled photographers. The older Takumar, SMC K and SMC M 400’s are less expensive but suffer from many more performance comprises and often have hazing or fungus issues. Third party 400mm’s are hard to find and usually aren’t particularly good. This leaves the A 400 f5.6 in a zone all by itself. Purchased between $300 to $425 or so, the lens represents a pretty good value in price vs. performance. Plus, you will never wear one out.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: February, 2010 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 79 | | Review Date: December 2, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Quality Build and Feel, Nice images | | Cons: | Heavy and long thus hard to hand hold and focus | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 6
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-3
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Just tested this lens:
SMC Pentax-A 400mm F5.6 USED cost about $250:
VS
SMC Pentax-DA* 300mm F4 ED [IF] SDM with a 1.4x HD PENTAX-DA AF Rear Converter. (effective 420mm F 5.6 in this combination)
USED cost about $1250
Results Pentax-DA* 300mm with TC were the best at F5.6.
BUT by F8 the SMC Pentax-A 400mm F5.6 was very similar in quality and the 400mm cost me $1,000 less.
I also tested the 400mm lens with a Pentax 1.7X AF teleconverter. In spite of this being only a F5.6 lens it would auto-focus well with the teleconverter. The image quality went down when compared to the 300mm with the new 1.4X HD teleconverter.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2009 Location: Weyburn SK Posts: 35 | | Review Date: January 24, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Nice feel to lens, focus ring is nice to use. | | Cons: | A bite long when you pull out the shade. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K5ii
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Work well hand held in good light. Have also used with a 1.4 converter with tripod shooting the moon. the tripod collar is a real plus and works well. It also is a conversation lens around other people in a crowd. Mine came with lens case also, got from ebay 2 years ago.
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2015 Posts: 1
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 8, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | lightweight, high PQ ratio, easy to find in second hand market | | Cons: | not internal focusing, not sharp at wide open, not physically balance when mount on tripod | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5iis
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This lens is not designed for tracking fast moving object in view of its long range of focusing distances and f/5.6 maximum aperture. It does suffer from purple fringing with strong backlighting.
Considering its relatively light weight, it is a good handheld lens for snapshot and birding.
Image quality will greatly improve when stop down to f/8 or below. When stop down to f/11, the image quality is superb and sharp.
Samples @f/11 are attached below:
 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: August, 2011 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 5,294
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 16, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp; short MFD; handles well for a 400 | | Cons: | Some CA | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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A good sharp super-tele that is easily hand-holdable, although of course with a 400mm lens a tripod is necessary to get the best results. While it's true you can't instantly change focus between near and far objects, the long focus throw and solid focus damping help to achieve precise focus, and are a good match for a MF super-tele.
The short minimum focus distance is excellent for those occasions when you can get really close to your subject. This is a slight crop:
High-contrast subjects can produce some purple fringing. Another mild crop:
A busy high-contrast background can result in nervous bokeh with bokeh CA -- here's a 100% crop from the above image, showing both purple fringing on the subject, and bokeh CA (green and purple background highlights):
I think that is something of a worst-case scenario, and in practice this is very manageable. Another example showing strong backlighting, first uncropped and then a 100% crop:
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2009 Location: Champagne Ardennes, France Posts: 19 | | Review Date: October 29, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Nice to use, tripod mount,A settting, built-in lens hood | | Cons: | Heavy | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K30 and K1
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Nice handling long tele lens. The buildind is strong. You get a 600mm lens on APSC with Tripod mount, A setting , Pentax build and optical quality for the price of a standard lens. It makes a good combo for birding with the sensor crop factor.
Image quality is good, but some purple fringing may occurs in contrasty light areas. Moving subjects shooting is not easy...
Worth the money under 300 I.M.O...
Nice inexpensive tele for the K1.
K30 at f5,6 :
K1 at f5,6 :
Pictures taken through a double turn house window...
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2020 Location: Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago Posts: 40 | | Review Date: January 14, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $59.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Bokeh, Handling, Build Quality, Character. | | Cons: | CA | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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I got a really nice copy on ebay for 59 dollars. It had been returned once due to scratches on the front element. At least, that's how it was described. When I received the lens any defects wiped away. As far as I can tell the last buyer was worried about cleaning marks. I've only had it out once, but I can say it requires a very sturdy tripod. I tried to shoot Seattle during sunrise and every shot had shake. I had to bump my ISO up to try and get shorter exposures on the tripod even with a 12 second timer. Handheld in good light is where this lens really shines.
Here's my album on Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lordawesome/albums/72177720305195437 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2012 Location: IOWA Where the Tall Corn Grows Posts: 3,691 | | Review Date: March 24, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $260.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Great Contrast, Focus Travel | | Cons: | Weight, Manual | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fuji X-H1
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I've been an avid K-3 Pentax user for years but a few years ago switched entirely to the Fuji system. Notably the Fuji X-T1 and the X-H1. I was searching for a long lens for my Fuji system and Since Fuji only had the 100-400mm available for $1,899 list I began to search elsewhere. Since I was already familiar with Pentax's fine line of legacy glass I began to look there. I previously owned the superb F*300mm but was looking for something a bit longer in the 400mm range. After months of research I decided that the Pentax A 400mm/5.6 fit the bill. The Pentax A 400mm seemed to pull ahead of the K or M series 400mm so I waited months patiently for one to pop up and was lucky to find one in excellent condition on the marketplace in this forum. This lens has exceeded my expectations regarding sharpness and contrast. It is a joy to use and I can't recommend it enough if you're looking for a Prime 400mm that won't break the bank. Others have commented that it is as good Fuji's 100-400mm zoom. But I'll let you be the judge.
 Pentax A 400mm F5.6 Female Cardinal 1 by frankweiser, on Flickr
 Pentax A 400mm Excell Marine Barge by frankweiser, on Flickr
 Pentax A 400mm F5.6 by frankweiser, on Flickr
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2020 Posts: 131 | | Review Date: August 31, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $586.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | light and relatively compact; excellent build and design; very sharp; easy to focus; built-in lens hood; aperture priority | | Cons: | some chromatic aberration; aperture ring tight against camera when mounted | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K10D, K-3 II, K-1 II
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I got this chiefly for astrophotography, so that's what my review is based on. I did photograph a nearby brick chimney as soon as I got the lens for testing purposes, which showed it's sharpness (and from which I rated the bokeh above, though I don't buy long telephotos for bokeh), but the real sharpness comes in shots of the moon -- which are exceptional in showing crater details. The slower speed (f/5.6) keeps the lens smaller and lighter, and it's not a problem for me because I'm using a tripod anyway (and an iOptron clock drive for much/most of my astrophotography). The tripod foot is well-placed and balances well the weight of the front part of the barrel with lenses and my K-3 II or K10D cameras; a nice design feature is the screw-in knob that allows rotation of the barrel with the camera mounted, so that you can quickly change from landscape mode (horizontal) to portrait mode (vertical) when on a tripod.
I like the focusing on this lens, which rotates about 330-340 degrees (i.e., almost a complete turn between infinity and closest focus); it's fairly easy to fine-tweak the focus with the big focusing ring to get sharpness in lunar-crater details, for example, though it's harder to get focus on Saturn or Jupiter and its Galilean satellites, because they are fainter objects (and atmospheric seeing affects their images a lot). The rings of Saturn aren't resolvable with this lens and my K10D (which is heavily pixelated with only 10.2 megapixels, even at ISO 100), though you can see the darker gaps between the planet and the rings. The 24-megapixel sensor in the K-3 II is somewhat better for resolution. I found the closest focus to be pretty amazing for a 400-mm telephoto lens: about 7.5 feet (= 2.2 meters) from the front lens. The aperture ring has a really nice movement and feel, and goes from f/5.6 to f/45 (!); in typical Pentax-design fashion, the aperture ring is right up against the camera when mounted, which is ergonomically not the best design because it's a bit of a tight fit for fingers (but the aperture-priority option negates the need to move the aperture ring on all Pentax DSLRs).
There is some purple fringing on part of the lunar edge, which I have in all my older-than-F Pentax telephoto lenses that are longer than 135mm. The chromatic aberration is the only significant issue in these lenses, to me (the size and weight is a given to me, so I don't put that down as a negative aspect) -- but for my purposes, the CA doesn't particularly bother me (and you can largely eliminate it with image processing afterwards). Some other reviewers might lower the overall score because of the chromatic aberration in this lens, but the positives outweigh the CA for me by a long shot, and if not for the CA, I'd rate this lens a "10". This lens does need a tripod, but I still give it a "9" for handling because we're talking a 400-mm lens here -- and it's a really well-handling lens for that focal length; I don't feel that you can realistically judge the handling of a 400-mm lens vs. that of a 28-mm f/2.8 lens. Yes, the tube is long, but you're getting a much lighter, much cheaper lens than you'd get with a 400-mm f/2.8 lens with the much larger glass. The actual objective glass is about 70 mm in diameter; as stated in the table of specs above, the outside tube diameter (meaning the outside of the retractable hood) is about 85 mm (so a solar filter that does not screw in as a 77-mm filter would need to fit around this 85-mm exterior diameter).
Some people reviewing this lens here say that they can use this 400-mm f/5.6 lens hand-held, and my response to that is: (a) it shows how relatively light the lens is and (b) be fortunate that your hands are that steady, because I need a tripod always for lenses like this. [I edited my review to change the price from $530 to $586, adding in the cost of the official Pentax felt-lined hard case for this lens that I didn't get with the lens but was able to purchase separately off Ebay. All my stated costs in my reviews include shipping costs and taxes where relevant. I see that i paid more than most reviewers here, sometimes by hundreds of dollars, but to me the lens is so good and easy to use that it's worth what I paid -- not that I'd be unhappier if I had paid $200 less, of course!]
I'm an avid solar-eclipse chaser and have not had the chance to use this yet on eclipses. I've gotten sharp photos with a solar filter, and this will likely be my one of my telephoto lens (out of three or four prime telephotos) set up at the next eclipse. My Pentax smc 500-mm f/4.5 lens is likely to also see eclipse action, but it's much heavier and takes much more patience to set up than does the 400-mm f/5.6 (though the 500-mm is extremely sharp also). I expect that this 400-mm lens will produce impressive images of the solar corona during a total solar eclipse, being just about the perfect focal length to get the fainter outer corona.
[Additional note added on 2023 Nov. 8: I have continued to use this lens a lot and really like it. It's really quite easy to use because of its relatively lightness for a 400-mm lens. But I almost exclusively use it for astrophotography.]
Photos of the lens on my camera, showing the hood retracted and extended:
Photo of the red planet Mars to the upper left of the just-past-full moon around 2h35m UT on 2020 Oct. 3. Taken with K-3 II camera plus this 400-mm f/5.6 lens at 1/125 sec and f/8 on a tripod (full-size image to show scale of moon with this lens in an APS-C frame; JPEG converted from original RAW image):
 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Utrecht Posts: 254
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 11, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp at F8-11, sturdy build, tripod, close focus | | Cons: | As it is manual focus, so not very fast in handling | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K1ii and K-01
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The A400 is a very nice and solid lens. I bought it as an upgrade for my K300 F4 and RMC Tokina F5.6. The A400 has better IQ then the K300 for aberrations and is a little bit sharper overall then theTokina is. All three lenses are sturdy build, the K300 has the nicest looks and the most attractive coatings. I had some fungus in the center between the front elements and I had to do some small destructive cutting to get it unscrewed, but it is fully operationalnow and very clear and bright. See also my post how I managed that.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/283513-dis...400-5-6-a.html
K-01 shots both taken at F8, 1/180 sec (bright moon) resp 2 sec (blood moon). The latter is less sharp due to the movement of the moon...
Dec 2019 addition: I use it now on Full Frame K1ii,this lens even shines more on it then on APS-C. APS-C shots in fact are physical crops of what this lens was intended for. On full frame this lens delivers real nice equally sharp pictures on your screen.
Shot taken on 225 meters distance at F8 ISO 1600:
Cropped x5:
Edit Feb 2021: I compared K300 / A400 / Tokina RMC400 in ideal situation on 24 MP Pentax KP. Resolving power of both 400 mm lenses is real good at F8 - F11, The A400
performs a bit better for aberrations and has an A-setting of coarse. On an object 60 meters away I can read the labels on the cables...
 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2015 Location: Kaua'i Posts: 57 | | Review Date: June 7, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, Simple | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I love it. Especially for the investment. Light enough that shooting hand held on the fly isn't an issue. Would recommend for someone looking to experiment with zoom landscape photography, though would only suggest for action/birding type shots to someone a little experienced in shooting manual lenses. The zoom works really well, and is very smooth on my copy, but could be better focus throw for flying birds etc.         | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 9,830
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 21, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, works with all automation modes, not huge | | Cons: | Focus emphasizes accuracy rather than speed | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K3, Sony A7R
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The lens is a long, skinny, sturdy metal package with a handy tripod mount and built-in lens cap. The focus feel is excellent, but the throw is long, making a fast focus on moving objects more of a challenge, but allowing very precise focus on stationary subjects.
I have used this on Pentax film and APS-C bodies, and now the Sony A7R. I can't say I really saw what this lens could do until I mounted it on the full frame 36mp A7R body. It is sharp all the way across, but a little PP is needed to punch up the contrast.
The Photos below are full frame, and show best when viewed on Flickr, rather than the small version which displays here with the link.
The last photo of the small bird below was taken with the A400 plus the 1.4x-L converter of similar vintage for an effective 560mm. These two were made for each other, and they work very well either on cropped or full frame sensors. The detail on the small bird is amazing given the converter.
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2011 Location: Langwarrin Australia Posts: 382
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 13, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $390.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness,contrast, short minimum focus,build,value | | Cons: | Long slow focus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5IIs
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This lens surprised me it just doesn't get the same recognition as the 300mm f4, yet it out performs it with better sharpness and contrast. Its short minimum focus also surprised me, something rarely seen in lenses of this focal length. This lens is far better than the price I paid for it, great value for money and a real sleeper.
Glenn
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