| Author: | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2017 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Posts: 32
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 30, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $175.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, quick shift, light, fast focus, well made. | | Cons: | In view of the cost: nothing to complain about. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K3 and K3II
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I use this lens mainly for landscapes. In the old days, this lens would be advertised as having macro capability. I can focus very closely. This is a very nice lens and it is a pleasure to use yielding very high quality photos.
| | | | | | | 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.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,653
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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| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2013 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 435
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.   | | | | | | | 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 
     | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2017 Posts: 8
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 9, 2017 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Quite wide, no distortion and SHARP! | | Cons: | Inverted physical zoom (extends when zoomed out) | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-7
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This lens is well worth its money!!! Sharp, constant aperture of f4 and quite wide with no distortion. i picked mine up off of gumtree with a 20mm extension tube and a 50mm f2 FOR ONLY $115 AUD!!!!!!!!!! | | | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2012 Posts: 29
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 4, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, good value, colour rendition | | Cons: | none for the price | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K3
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Great lens when it come to value for money. This is the sharpest lens in my bag, especially at wide angles and using apertures between f4 and f5.6.
This lens is optically superior to the DA* 16-50, however, the 16-50 feels like better physical build quality.
 IMGP2068 by Richard Mozis, on Flickr
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2012 Posts: 696 | | Review Date: December 26, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $290.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, perfect zoom range | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-5IIs
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Used it for about a year now... and it's become the lens I leave on my camera all the time, sort of my 'default' lens, because it does just about everything so well.
In fact, it's just about perfect, since I don't take too many bokeh-type pictures. I like landscapes, and the 16-45 hits max sharpness at f/8, which works fine with my need for depth-of-field. some folks say that f/4 isn't much good for low-light scenes, but think about it for a minute. I like to take pictures of moving cars and trains at twilight... and where a faster lens like my 35mm f/2.4 will let me have more shutter speed wide open, I lose depth of field. F/4 works... barely... I'd really like f/8... but I also need 1/400 to freeze a train's motion. Compromises!
But max sharpness isn't that important, since you can always do that in Lightroom. What IS important is the zoom range. 16-45 is very, very useful. From a 24mm-equiv wide angle to a 78mm equiv mild telephoto... perfect for portraits. I'd say that this lens covers 90% of your photographic needs. Versatile, inexpensive, it's a winner.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2012 Location: Wiesbaden Posts: 283
1 user found this helpful
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2011 Location: LODINGEN, Northern Norway Posts: 275
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 11, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp. | | Cons: | Barrel extends as you zoom out | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K20D K-5
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This is the lens I recomends to every new pentaxian. Cheap, sharp and with the fantastic Pentaxcolours.
Bought mine used, with a K20D
Now we have three of these in the house
| | | | | 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!
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2010 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 6,176
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 26, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $380.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | A solid, dependable performer | | Cons: | Loses a bit of resolution at the long end; build quality nothing to rave about | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
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I purchased this lens as a replacement to the DA 12-24. I expected the 16-45 to be inferior to the lens it replaced in my optical arsenal. Not so. I really can't distinguish any significant difference between this lens and the 12-24. The 12-24 may have a slight edge in the luminance of colors, but the 16-45 is slightly sharper between 20 and 24mm and manifests better border to border sharpness at long distances. The 16-45 features a simpler design than the 12-24. As some have complained, the barrel of the lens extends quite a ways out at the wide end. The lens also lacks internal focusing, which some prefer. However, features such as limiting barrel extension in zoom lens and internal focus add needless complications to lens design and can sometimes even force compromises in optical quality, particularly in mid-range or economy lenses. The 16-45 is a dependable, consistent performer, thankfully free of some of the odd defects that sometimes crop up in zoom lenses, such as significantly lower resolution at different distances or severe field curvature issues. The 16-45 covers the sweat spot for landscape photography, and delivers images close to prime quality.
Build quality of the 16-45 is better than some of mid-range and economy Pentax zooms of the previous FA generation of lenses, such as the FA 28-70/4, the FA 28-105/3.2-4.5, and the FA 24-90. Build quality for this lens is not as good, however, as either the DA 12-24 or the DA 10-17.
Some examples, all at f8:
At 16mm:
100% crop:
At 24mm:
100% crop:
At 31mm:
At 100%
At 45mm:
100% crop:
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2011 Location: Hoek van Holland Posts: 1,393 | | Review Date: June 25, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very good sharpness, good close focus | | Cons: | very long at 16mm | |
When I got My K-7 I got this lens with it instead of the standard kit lens. And I was very pleased I did. The sharpness excelent, the AF is quick. And Even though I have replaced it by the DA35 2.4 as my daily walkaround lens, it does sit in the camera back as back up, because of the fantastic close-focus abillities. There for I don't always have to carry the macro lens around aswell.
It is just one great lens.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: Skopje Posts: 18 | | Review Date: March 9, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $225.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great image quality, lightweight, solid build quality | | Cons: | onboard flash unusable, awkward front cap | |
I will start with the obvious observations with this lens: It renders the onboard flash unusable (who cares ), no profile in LR3.3 (user created available on pentaxforums.com), noisy and ok speed with AF, almost macro capable 28cm – total lens to object ~15cm.
I bought this very cheap from Greece and with tax return it came around $225 new with warranty. The first thing I noticed was the reverse zoom (doesn’t bother me, maybe people around me are intimidated by the size zoomed out). It’s only a margin heavier than the DAL 18-55. The manual focus is nice, not much travel, the marking near infinity is 7m and then infinity, which is a little awkward. Also it feels very well and solid built. The zoom is snappy and no zoom creep. I was a little disappointed in the front cap which is not like the DAL18-55, and when you have the hood on you can’t remove the cap or put it on because of the design of the squeeze cap which is on the outside of the cap. But remove or reverse the hood and the problem is non-existent.
When I saw the colors and resolution on this lens I was amazed that I can get this quality for the price.
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6 | | Review Date: December 27, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Versatility, sharpness, colour rendition | | Cons: | Barrel distortion, slow | |
1. This is my most used lens and they have taken most of my favourite pictures. It's best friends with my tripod too.
2. I seem to disregard this lens for some uncanny reason. I guess I would've liked it better if it was slightly longer.
3. Takes rather impressive up-close shots for a non-macro!
4. Some samples from my *ist DS:
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