| Author: | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2015 Posts: 12,231 | | Review Date: April 6, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Light weight, cheap, focal range | | Cons: | Image quality when used with high resolution sensors | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K200D
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The 18-55 was my first lens, I made a number of nice photos with it. The WR version could be a cheap weather resistance alternative for landscape, general photograph when pro image quality is not needed. Actually, if no large prints are done, and to display photos even on large display, the image quality is good enough; and the WR version is cheap and light weight. This lens was good enough until the 16Mpixel CMOS sensor came out.
Pros:
- size
- weight
- very cheap for what it can do.
- good IQ with 6Mpixels,10Mpixel and 12Mpixels bodies
- decently sharp at 35mm (middle of the zoom range) and f8.
- it's a Pentax, so in-camera lens corrections work
Cons:
- it's not the top IQ, especially for high res sensors
- not internal focusing
- best used at f8, not so fast but ok in day light
Would I recommend this lens? It depends: if you are using it with a K10,K200,Kr,Kx, I'd say why not. If you are using a K20D,K7,K5,K30,K50,K500,K3,K-S2, I'd say that you won't get the benefit from the better sensor.
| | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: February, 2014 Location: Warsaw Posts: 76 | | Review Date: October 4, 2014 | Not Recommended
| Rating: 3 |
| Pros: | "wide" angle of view | | Cons: | Plastic mount, super soft, image quality | | Sharpness: 3
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 2
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-500
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I got this lens with my K-500 but I haven’t used it much since last weekend when encouraged by lack of any other "wide" angle lens I decided to give it a try.
And I am super disappointed, lens is awful!
I rated it 3 and I am not exaggerating it is sooooooooo bad... I just lost a lots of respect to Pentax when I tried this lens it is just so bad I cant imagine any one would want to give it for free not to mention to sell it.
To prove how bad it is below 100% crop
centre of the image
corner of the image (not the corner itself just slightly aside from centre)
This is one of my better pictures taken with this lens, when there is slightly less light lens gives even worse IQ.
At f7-8 and 18mm only centre of image is not super soft rest of picture is very soft and ugly pictures are literally useless and can be compared at best to quality of pictures taken by smartphone...
Seriously I can’t say anything good about it.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: January, 2011 Posts: 45 | | Review Date: February 6, 2014 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good enough, shows good result as a kit lens | | Cons: | loud AF | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: kx, k7
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It is bundled with my Kx.
It is free, but usable.
AF speed is OK, but noisy.Faster my Sigma HSM lens to catch a focus.
Build quality is OK for a kit lens which bundled for free.
I used often when shooting landscape and group shots. Widest angle has f3.5, OK for the speed.
I suggest keep this kit lens for wide angle and buy expensive lense that has f2.8 for other purpose.
Makes vignetting, but you can fix it by using incamera vignette fixing module or using photoshop.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2013 Location: Blacktown Posts: 34 | | Review Date: January 27, 2014 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Free with K-5, can be made to use as macro if reverse mounted | | Cons: | Not very sharp, Low light performance not very good. | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5
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This lens is a good inclusion to the K-5 purchase. It has 18-55 range which takes care of wide angle needs and portrait needs easily. The Weight is not too bad either. The Lens feels plasticky but performs well for most amateur photography needs. If you don't have one...I will not suggest to buy one but if you can find it below $30, it's not a bad lens for a street photography enthusiast.
Some photos I took with this lens are as follows:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65615102@N00/sets/72157636863268855/ | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2013 Location: BC Posts: 138 | | Review Date: November 2, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | metal lens mount, non-rotating front element, price/value ratio | | Cons: | focus hunts (but could be camera issue) | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K100D
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excellent price/value ratio.
Not the sharpest lens out there but for a kit lens it does great.
Like all kit lens, they are great on a bright day but performs poor on indoor low-light situations.
Focus tends to hunt at times but you can quickly do manual focus adjustment without without flicking the af/mf switch.
with that being said Don't let the cons turn you off this lens.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2013 Posts: 306 | | Review Date: September 22, 2013 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Colors, contrast, works nicely | | Cons: | F5.6 in longend, not constant aperture | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K100d
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Not bad lens at all, sharpness in long end sometimes not so good but ok lens
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 15 | | Review Date: June 20, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Price, Build quality, general use | | Cons: | Sharpness & Resolution | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K10D
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Very good for general purpose.
Only 1 claim is lack of sharpness, but acceptable for this price and other adventage.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: June, 2012 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Posts: 36 | | Review Date: May 28, 2013 | Recommended
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | New or Used: New
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For a kit lens, having metal bayonet mount, not rotating front element, superb coatings, quick shift focus, bayonet type hood with filter window and proper focussing ring is something worth mentioning:-) Sharpness and max. aperture may be not the best, but it's a kit lens you can use even for more serious work...
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2013 Location: Melbourne Posts: 2,551 | | Review Date: March 5, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Very good light handling and color | | Cons: | Poor performance in dark places - focus hunts a lot | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 4
Handling: 5
Value: 6
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax istDS
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Well , I have to say , this lens is very comparable to the Sigma lenses I own ..
https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/sigma-28-80-f3-5-5-6.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/sigma-18-50mm-f3-5-5-6-dc.html
I cant say the image quality is better , I can say how ever that the focus hunts a lot , the more stuff in the background to distract the focus - distracts the focus and it begins to hunt ( tries to focus on something and is unable to do so ) . The sigma lenses are much better in this regard , they are fast and focus very quickly with little or no hunting .
Dark places - The lens handles light very well , also unfortunately in dark places the images are very pixilated ( noisy ) , in good light the images are sharp and render color well .
I like the macro , and this is a plus for the lens ..
@ 18mm there is a fair bit of curving at the edges , but at 55mm images are very nice . Even at 18mm , just keep your subject in the middle and crop as desired latter on ..
Now I paid $34 AUST for this lens , making it very cheap , and I think it may have a permanent home on my istDS ( I will have to try it on my K5 )
Very noisy image in low light ( istDS )
once you get outside , where its nice n bright , the lens starts to work well
All pictures taken @ Full Auto mode ...  and free hand ( no tripod )
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2013 Posts: 6 | | Review Date: February 18, 2013 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | value for money | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: k10d
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It' a good lens for his price..... much better than other kit lens or other Third-Party Lens
My lens had some distortions and vignetting at (18mm F3.5) so I needed to stop down... however its a good starting lens but i would not buy it again I recommend getting the WR version
prons
perfect range for starter
good sharpness from 20-45mm
quick shift
cons
Vignetting
insecureAF
just don't expect the top
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Great Plain, Hungary Posts: 204 | | Review Date: August 15, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very good value for money | | Cons: | None for me | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax MZ-S
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Very good kit lens. I have its Mark II version as well, but I do not see much difference in image quality. I bought this one for my girlfriend to use it on her K100D. She is new to photography and Pentax (a new recruit  ) but finds it really easy to use this lens and has managed to get some really good pictures out of her Pentax gear.
Recently we went to Brighton for a day out and borrowed this lens for some shots for my MZ-S. Here are two shots on Kodak TMax 400 developed in TMax developer, stopped with water for 30 sec. and fixed with Ilford Rapid Fixer for 2.5 minutes.
Focal lenghts were 55mm and 24mm. You can already see some vignetting on the 24mm shot, under that focal lenght the black circle becomes visible. Scanned with my old 1800 dpi scanner.
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076 | | Review Date: April 19, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Close focus, Quickshift, decent IQ & build ... see previous reviews | | Cons: | Slow, soft wide open ... | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K110D, K-r, K-5
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Bonjour,
I have had this lens for over five years now ... it came bundled with the new K110D that my wife offered me for the end of year holidays.
It was a good "starter" lens for me to get back into a (digital) SLR camera. The later "DA L" version of this lens is not good at all IMHO, but the "WR" version is quite good ... and I use it often on the K-5 for "close" walk-around situations, and of course, in wet weather conditions.
Not much to add considering that there's about 70+ reviews ahead of mine ...
Allez et bonne lecture, John le Frog | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2011 Location: California Posts: 369 | | Review Date: March 21, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $85.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Lens Hood, Light | | Cons: | Plastic Build | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K10D
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This is pretty decent for a kit lens compared to all other brands out there, amazed how they managed to put a Lens Hood on a 18-55 Kit lens. This lens is good for beginners to learn, overall this is decent and can come in handy! Sometimes you might pull this out to use if you don't got money for pro equipment.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2009 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 242 | | Review Date: February 11, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Size/Weight/Cost to performance ratio is great. Lovely colors. Pentax exterior styling vs. off-brang lenses. | | Cons: | Obviously not optically perfect. Aperture slow compared to F2.8 zooms of similar range. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K100D Super
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This is the first DSLR / Pentax lens I ever owned and it came with my K100D Super. It's a great kit lens. I would easily consider it one of the best kit lenses (bested in Pentax land by the version II / WR types). If you don't need the speed of a constant F2.8 zoom and know the sweet spots of this lens, I think the vast majority of people would by very satisfied with the IQ. Even 4 years later, after using several different more expensive lenses, I look back at some of the photos I took with this simple kit lens and am amazed. Here are a couple of my favorites:
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: Zagreb Posts: 32 | | Review Date: December 31, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $73.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | small, light, filter size, IQ, fast AF for kit lens, wide | | Cons: | plastic feel, no hood included | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: New
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This lens was kit lens with K-r. I use it for indoor photography and for wide angle shoots. I especially like filter size, because filter's are not too expensive and can find a lot of them. Filters I use on this lens is quite easy to use on my other lens with step down ring (Pentacon 50mm/1.8, filter size 49mm).
18-55 is pretty good range although I use it almost always at 18mm. Only for some portrait shoots it's very useful range to 55.
Lens have very plastic feel, but it is also very light! I do not like it haven't lens hood included, but because it is 52mm filter size, it is pretty easy and cheap find hood at ebay.
Some shoots:
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