| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2012 Posts: 583
9 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 26, 2016 | Recommended
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | New or Used: New
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Did anyone know this lens becomes a 20-45mm on the K-1 and covers the full frame with no vignetting at those focal lengths? I tried it and it does. So if you still have one this breathes new life into it and an obviates the need to go scrounging for the out of production 20-35mm, also an f/4 constant aperture lens. If I am not mistaken the 16-45mm is pretty highly regarded.
So I just saved you $500 !!
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,565
8 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 5, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $240.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very useful focal range. Very sharp between f/5.6 and f/11. Beautiful contrast and colors. | | Cons: | Chromatic aberrations visible on older bodies that have no correction provision. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K3, K5, K20d
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| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: July, 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Posts: 9,910
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 22, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Constant f4, very cheap in the used market, sharp throughout range, very pleasing images | | Cons: | Construction could be better - the barrel tends to wobble with time | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K10D, K-r, K-S1
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I have had this lens now for a couple of years, and have not been disappointed. It is a work horse, and used a lot of times for family outings, indoor pictures (works great with flash), travels, events and so on.
It is not as sharp or fast as a prime lens, nor does it render as exquisitely as they can, but in what it does, I feel it does it well, and even exceeds expectations. It is sharper than a lot of vintage lenses (especially most 3rd party lenses I have tried), and the coatings are great - always contrasty and with vivid colors, and you can even shoot into the sun, at least my copy does with hardly any problems.
It is sharp wide open except the extreme corners in my copy. There is a bit of field curvature so f4 landscapes at 16mm can be affected depending on where you focus, but from what I can tell it is still much less than other similar types of lenses. In fact the distortion is quite low and what little there is, does not feel unnatural at all. It even focuses very close as well, it's supposed to be 1:4 magnification but in my experience it's more like 1:3 at 45mm.
Better photographers than me have taken some absolutely wonderful pictures with this lens, so I feel that if you like the way it renders, there's really no need to go for the third party 17-50 2.8 models which won't give the nice Pentax colors that this lens does, along with good flare control, sharpness, very low distortion and a relatively lightweight package.
Some samples.
K-S1, 28mm f8, shot as JPEG and edited in RawTherapee.
 Rain is Coming by ChristianRock, on Flickr
K-S1, Around 24mm f6.3, and I also forgot the camera in JPEG mode when I took this picture. Edited from the JPEG in RawTherapee.
 Little River Bridge by ChristianRock, on Flickr
K-S1, 16mm at f7.1
 Little River Bridge Side by ChristianRock, on Flickr
Cotton at MFD, f8 and 45mm
 Cotton by ChristianRock, on Flickr
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2010 Location: Portugal Posts: 30
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 2, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $253.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | 16mm, sharp, very practical and cheap. | | Cons: | flash shadow, f4 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K5
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This lens is a very practical, affordable and good minimum distance (28 cm.) For macro photography, without being a dedicated macro lens. The images are very sharp from f5.6 this is a good lens for landscapes and general photography. I have published an extensive review in this link (http://www.pentaxeros.com/forum/index.php?topic=56214.0)
Not everything is great bokeh with this lens you will all pretty crisp! 
Photos!
Sorry this translation of google 
Greetings!
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2019 Posts: 6
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 4, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build, AF, optics, ease of use | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-3, K-5
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This pristine copy of an SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm ED-AL F4 was recently acquired from Japan through eBay. It was part of a package deal that included a very lightly-used K-5. Why would I buy such a "kit"? I'd recently been looking to replace my ageing, lower-resolution K-r -- my "old backup" for my newer (but now well-used) K-3.
I had not been considering acquiring another lens because I am very familiar with and regularly make good use the following auto aperture lenses (in order of frequency of daily carry-around use):
[i] Tamron 18-200AF (overall good quality, moderate macro);
[ii] Sigma DC 17-70mm (excellent quality, closer focus moderate macro);
[iii] Tamron SP AF 90mm f2.8, Model 172E (#1 quality, super-sharp, beautiful 1:1 macro);
[iv] an older Sigma 24mm Super-wide II (compact, a very nice "early" macro -- although uncoated).
Each of these four lenses serves well for a variety of related, overlapping purposes. I regularly take them out "into the field" at different times and for different "nature photography" purposes (broad vistas; snow, skies and clouds; very active wildlife and birds; countless insects, etc.; foliage, wildflowers, etc.). All of these lenses are fitted with UV filters and appropriate shades / hoods. None of these lenses are WR, which has never been a problem for me. I like them all for what they offer and what they can do. The best part is: I continue to learn from each of them.
Anyway, I wasn't looking for a camera + lens package -- but couldn't say "no" when this deal came up. So, an almost-unused SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm ED-AL F4 was welcomed into the family somewhat unexpectedly. But, I am very glad it arrived when it did.
Using both my K-3 and K-5 cameras, I've tested this beauty for a few uninterrupted weeks on my daily outdoor hikes under a wide range of circumstances. I've also carried out a few standard indoor test shots of typical household objects, surfaces and features.
Because I have considerable experience with the four above-mentioned lenses (as well as a host of others not listed here that nowadays do not usually see a great deal of use), I feel confident in providing the following observations about the SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm ED-AL F4:
• overall size, operations, control placement, weight, balance and "heft" (with K-3 and K-5) are excellent
• sharpness appears very good at all focal lengths; edge distortion, flare and CA either don't exist or are negligible
• close-focusing (semi-macro) is quite sharp, easy to accomplish, and provides better results than expected
• judgments about colour rendition tend to be subjective -- but I really like what this lens produces overall
• bokeh has also turned out to be unexpectedly pleasing to the eye -- a real plus, especially for "field imaging"
• AF responsiveness and accuracy, plus relatively quiet operation, are all very good (the AF is a pleasure to use)
• build quality, finish, integrity of all components, plus AF mechanisms and overall lens "robustness" are top notch
• hood, lens cap work perfectly and are trouble-free -- absolutely no complaints (just plan ahead, as usual)
Summary: the SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm ED-AL F4 is a very good quality general purpose lens at all focal lengths (very subjective and personal, I know). If I want a lens longer than 45mm, I'll make sure to carry it in my pack and take the time and care to install it on the camera (my common practice). This lens does not "feel" cheap in any way. It is robust, very well made, and very easy to use. The optical, focus and aperture mechanisms perform extremely well, appear to have been very well engineered, and work perfectly. The combination of AF and manual focusing "feels" very natural and also works perfectly. Based on my decades of SLR and DSLR photography experience with a wide variety of lenses, all images so far taken with this 16-45mm lens are very good indeed (examples to be provided at a later time).
Based on these findings, I highly recommend the SMC Pentax DA 16-45mm ED-AL F4.
Cheers and best wishes to all / BlueLeezard
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2013 Posts: 2
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 26, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Well built, sharp, reasonably fast aperture, hood included | | Cons: | Reverse zoom (extends for shorter focal length) | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 7
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K70
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Bought this lens recently, open box (new condition, unused) with full warranty. I didn't really need it, but it was available new for about 25% of original retail. Initially, very impressed with the sharpness, contrast and colour rendition, not unexpected, as the reviews of this lens indicated it was a good performer. It is substantially better optically than my 18-55 DA L kit lens, which is likely to be little used from now on. Highly recommended if you are using an 18-55 kit lens and want to improve your images. I don't see many examples in the used market, likely because those who have this lens keep it. Don't agree with reviewers who claim it's flimsy - it incorporates less metal than SMC era lenses, but it's just as well put together and it's significantly lighter as a result.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2016 Posts: 22
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 25, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | useful range of focal, light, fast AF, sharp from wideopen | | Cons: | build feel plastic, could be a little shorter, hard to take off lens hood | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-70
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I have to say i don't use this lense much ...BUT everytime I use it i take a shoot im glad with! I don't know why this lense have so poor reviews.
I haven't noticed ANY ABERRATIONS! Every! So that's weird especially in compare to the other lenses that have so much better "abberations" rates at pentaxforums/lensreviews ...but in real life they suck with chromatic aberrations ( like a Vivitar 70-210 by Tokina for example )
Im useing it for wide shoots - landscapes etc
Sharpness is very good from wide open! And it doesen't change till the end. Seriously. I wanted to post some shoots with different /f 's but almost nothing change with the sharpness so don't need to post it here
Aberration - as i said, i never noticed ANY!
Bokeh - I didn't know how to rate it - most shoots I take I Take at infinity, so there is no bokeh. I might don't even seen the bokeh of this lense
Autofocus - is fast and accurate. Never have any complaints.
Handling - well it's not a small lense, but the biggest issue is a hood. It's hard to take off. When it's mount upsidedown you can't reach focus ring! Lense doesen't feel strongly build - plastic feel weak but i've never broke anything.
Value - it's very useful lense. I guess you won't find any wider lense with af for such price. Im always have it with me no matter what
edit. i've tested the lense for sharpness and i get STUNNING effects at f11! anyway it's nice even from f4 but the f8 and f11 are kind of a breaking points 
     | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2010 Location: Borlänge, Sweden Posts: 373
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 26, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Wide with nice near limit. Better than 18-55 wr. | | Cons: | Not sharp enough. Get a limited prime instead. | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 7
New or Used: Used
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Thought it worked fine with my k-7, but when I used it for a band shooting with my k-5, the AF was never spot on so I had to use manual focus most of the time, even tho I afterwards saw in the computer that the pictures I thought was OOF actually was just too soft.
It never got sharp, not even at f7,1-11. It's probably outresolved by the sensor. At 50% it looks fine, so it might be good with a 6-10mp sensor. I thought it was pretty good with the k-7, but then I hadn't tried any good primes.
Compared to the 43 ltd it's C R A P, sorry. The abberations are insane, images are soft (edges softer), zoom ring feels cheap, focus ring turns too easy but is OK.
This should be the kit lens, it beats the 18-55, but it's barely worth the upgrade.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2013 Location: Southern Maryland Posts: 110
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 19, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | 16mm wide angle, lightweight, f/4 constant zoom, fast autofocus, sharp and beautiful colors | | Cons: | plastic and somewhat flimsy construction, not WR, screw drive noisy autofocus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-30, K-01
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This zoom lens is awesome! I love how lightweight it is, and the beautiful "Pentax" colors it produces. Sharp wide open and the 16-45mm range is a great walkaround, though it's missing the telephoto zoom end. And on the used market, it is so cheap and makes a great bang for the buck! There are times when the images I take with this lens pop almost as much as my DA limited primes... My only negatives are its lack of any WR and the weird zoom operation (where it's longest at the wide end and shortest at the telephoto end). Autofocus operation is blazing fast and accurate, though sometimes a bit noisy because it doesn't have a silent AF motor. I'm thinking of replacing it with newer zoom lenses like DA* 16-50 or DA 16-85 but those are a lot more expensive. As a step up from the 18-55 kit lens, this can't be beat!!
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: February, 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,710
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 13, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $290.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Color rendition, IQ at middle focal lenghts | | Cons: | Autofocus issues below 20mm and at 45mm | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 4
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: *1st D, K-30, K5iis, K-3
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I purchased my DA 16-45mm new way back in 2004 to use with my *1st D. Thousands of exposures later, it still rides in my camera bag from time to time.
The 16-45 can be a very capable lens when kept at middle apertures f5.6-11, and between 20-40mm focal length. Wide open there is a strong possibility of purple CA. Distortion is nicely controlled even at 16mm HOWEVER I’ve used this lens on seven different bodies and the autofocus between 16-20mm and at 45mm is completely unreliable. Severe back focus at the short focal lengths and front focus at 45mm. I’d wager this lens helped the “Pentax AF is terrible” complaints stick more than any other. If you use live view or the focus confirmation in the viewfinder to manually focus, results are much more predictable.
Many question the durability of this plastic lens. My copy has been used a great deal and has held up well. It does have some fine internal dust, typical of older zooms. If you buy a copy of this lens, make sure to check out the barrel for excessive wobble and also look for internal dirt.
Verdict, it’s better than kit lenses, especially at the wide end and if you use manual focus, not autofocus, results are very good to excellent. I’d say for $150 or less used, it’s a good buy.
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2014 Location: South Carolina Posts: 5
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 5, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $315.48
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | close min. focusing distance, fast auto focus | | Cons: | focus at infinity not sharp | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: k-7
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I got this lens when I purchased my k-7 as a lens to cover wide angles. I was let down within the first year I owned it when it malfunctioned and wouldn't focus. Auto focus worked, the lens thought it was focused, but the images were not in focus. I sent it in to Pentax to get it fixed and it has been fine ever since. I believe that was in 2011. I am let down with the sharpness of this lens only when focused to infinity. Images just aren't that sharp. I suspect this is because of the noise on the k-7. However, I love the minimum focusing distance of less than 20 cm! It is very sharp when using for close focusing. Auto focus is fast and doesn't hunt even in low light when I'm taking pictures of frogs. This is the only lens I will use on auto focus, in fact. The colors are normally leaning toward the cool side. I use it as a macro lens and get nice results. Used as a wide angle, my results have varied.
CA is pretty average, in my opinion. I normally get a good bit of blue fringing along tree lines when taking landscapes. Sometimes it is hard to fix in post-processing, depending on how the lighting was.
Despite that, I believe this is a good lens, especially for the price it is now. If you can find it for around the $200 price mark, I'd say go for it if it's all you can afford. There are sharper lenses on the market in the wide angle department, but I love how close the minimum focusing distance is. This is more than a step up from kit lenses, so if you're looking for your next lens after that 18-55, this will suit you well.
Here are some pictures with this lens on the k-7. Very sharp close up:
  | | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2017 Location: Kiev Posts: 12
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 2, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Cheap cost. Convenient focal lengths for indoor photography. Saturated colors in the photo. | | Cons: | Large dimensions. With an open diaphragm, the photographs are not too sharp. The lack of protection from ingress of moisture and dust) on the quality of photos is not affected). Staggering design (the quality of photos is not affected). | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 7
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K 5
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I like the lens. Although in the beginning he frightened me with his large size. But the fact that thanks to this lens you get good pictures, completely excuses its large size.
Focal lengths of the lens are very convenient for photographing during walks and travel. In the rooms it is also convenient to remove this lens. Just do not forget about the stationary flash. Because the aperture to this lens, for shooting in not very bright rooms, is often not enough.
When I have this lens on my camera, I always snap a stationary flash on the camera. And I photograph with a flash even in the daytime (I also include the "contrast adjustment" function on the flash).
With an open diaphragm (F4), the sharpness of the image decreases. And chromatic aberrations appear. But if you shoot at diaphragms 5,6-11. And focal lengths of 20-40mm., While using a stationary flash, the images are sharp, and the photos have beautiful and saturated colors.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2013 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 423
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 11, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great walkaround and travel lens | | Cons: | Reverse behavior for somewhat noisy zoom | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-r and K-5
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This is my favorite lens. I almost always get good shots, be they landscapes, portraits, or even action shots. Sharpness is found at f5.6 and tighter, but face shots at f4.0 are very nice and slightly soft with natural and tungsten lighting. I prefer this to any zoom or single lens. It's a little on the heavy side and the zoom feature works reverse to what most people expect (it contracts when zooming).
Overall, just a great build and exceptionally good glass.   | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: January, 2015 Location: mid nth coast,nsw Posts: 6,137
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 31, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $170.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | low cost,light weight | | Cons: | not WR | |
Well I like this lens, its a different proposition on the K1,vignettes from 16-20, so becomes a 21-45 f4.Its my wide angle walk around and if I need longer I switch to crop mode.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: October, 2014 Posts: 85
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 1, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharp, good build quality, constant aperture, very fast and precise AF | | Cons: | distortion at 16 mm, vignetting at 16mm F/4, large CAs at wide end | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K-5
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It is hard to say what was the purpose of Pentax Corporation when they made a decision to develop smc Pentax-DA 16-45mm F/4 ED AL (unlikely that it was designed as an alternative to a 18-55/3.5-5.6 kit lens), but I can safely say that the lens produces a good impression. Being a standard zoom lens, it is very sharp at the entire focal range, has a compact and lightweight housing with good build quality and very fast and precise autofocus.
The lens is not perfect but its drawbacks are typical for all lenses with the same or similar field of view. I mean very strong distortion at focal length of 16 mm, strong vignetting at problematic combination of focal length of 16 mm and F/4 and strong lateral chromatic aberrations at the wide end. All these aberrations can be corrected during post-processing (but not without some loss of details in the corresponding areas of the image, of course).
On the other side, the lens has no significant advantages over smc Pentax-DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR: it has 2 additional mm of focal range at the widest end and constant speed 4 at the entire focal range. The main advantages of kit lens are wider focal range, just slightly worse image sharpness at the entire focal range and similar correction of optical aberrations, moreover, the kit lens is lighter, more comoact and weather-resistant. Both lenses rely on in-camera AF motor and support Quick-Shift Focus System.
The smc Pentax-DA 16-45/4 is a pretty good companion for those who are into travel photography. Being a lens with useful focal range, it is capable of shooting of architecture and landscapes, however the final images should be post-processed for correction of optical aberrations. As for the interior photography without tripod, it is difficult with this lens due to its slow speed. The lens also does not produce impressive background blur at focal length of 45mm and F/4 therefore I recommend to get a fast prime lens for portrait photography or bokeh photography, fortunately the choice of such lenses in the Pentax lineup is wide enough, especially if you won't limit yourself only with lenses which are now in production. The same advice goes for the low-light photography.
My review of this lens with photos from my trip to Philippines:
http://aflenses.net/reviews/smc-pentax-da-16-45-4-ed-al-pentax-k-5-eng
http://aflenses.net/reviews/smc-pentax-da-16-45-4-ed-al-pentax-k-5-eng-part-2
http://aflenses.net/reviews/smc-pentax-da-16-45-4-ed-al-pentax-k-5-eng-part-3 | | |
