| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Alta Posts: 279 | | Review Date: April 13, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $1,045.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, bokeh, colors, weather sealing, size and weight | | Cons: | | |
I've had this lens for over a year now, and it's become my favorite lens by far.
The sharpness and bokeh of this lens is outstanding. I get sharp photographs at any aperture I use, f/2.8 to f/16, I haven't tested f/22 as I haven't needed to use it and I know diffraction has a big impact on the sharpness at that aperture, so no need to verify.
The SDM focusing was weird at first since I only had lenses without a focus engine and the camera motor was used, the SDM is almost perfectly silent, and when you're outside alone in the quiet, you can hear it moving, but not otherwise. It could be a bit faster, but unless an animal or car is fairly close coming straight at you, you will get your shot with continous focus (I use the K10D). I've caught birds, dogs, cars, snowmobiles and dog sleds with this, and it works very well.
It's not a macro, but you can do flowers without any problems, and do it very well. The bokeh is just cream. I have yet to see anything do it better.
Strong light sources in the image renders very beautifully. I love photographing streets at night when the street lights turn into stars, and this does it perfectly. The 9-blade aperture works very well.
The size and weight is very good I think, it's balanced well for the K10D, and then also the K20D. I alwayse use the battery grip, and that works well as well. The Tokina version has a tripod collar, and I'm not sure if it does any good or not, it's not that big a lens, but it wouldn't hurt to have it if it could be taken off :P
Some photographs made with the DA* 50-135mm: | | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,725 | | Review Date: March 25, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $749.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Smooth, Fast, Quiet, IQ | | Cons: | None | |
I can't say it better than has already been said. This lens is AMAZING. I can't believe how much joy I have using this lens.
Get it!! Don't wait...
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 431 | | Review Date: February 22, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $699.95
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build-quality, IQ, Bokeh, Sharpness, Color Contrast, f/2.8, Useful zoom range | | Cons: | Minimum focusing distance | |
Just as my DA*300, the sharpness, color contrast, and bokeh is superb. Sharp wide open and once you stop down, it takes it to another level. Straight from the camera (RAW), photos are sharp and the Pentax SMC coating gives it that special color contrast. Bokeh is smooth as well. I worried that I might not like the focal range, but find it very useful for day to day shots when you're not wanting wide angle. The overall build quality is top-notch and although focusing is not super fast, it's nice and smooth. I'm use to walking around with my DA*300 so size and weight are no big deal for me. Once you invest in fast quality glass, you get use to the weight. My only complaint is the minimum focusing distance - I wish you could focus a little bit closer.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2008 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 2,703 | | Review Date: January 12, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $750.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast, and incredible IQ.....did I mention sharp? | | Cons: | Nothing I can think of other than a hood that's almost as big as the lens itself. | |
I cannot rave about this lens enough. I thought the A70-210 was the best lens I'd ever used.....until I picked up the DA*50-135. This lens is an absolute dream to use. From the very first image I saw in the viewfinder, I knew this lens was special.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2008 Location: NJ, USA Posts: 428 | | Review Date: December 29, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $725.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great lens. Very fast. Excellent Build Quality | | Cons: | Flair into direct sun | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
| |
Great lens for portrait work indoor and out. Great Bokeh (on my other lenses I don’t notice bokeh so I did not rate this charateristic). Fast. Well built and great weight. Easy to use and silent focusing. Only wish is a bit longer (like 150mm for shooting stage work). I did a comparison test (the old Newsprint test with K10D) against a 135A f2.8 (about 25 years old). The DA* sharpness was better at the center at all apertures above 2.8 and about qual at 2.8. However at the edge, the old 135A was better at 2.8 and 3.5. By f4 there was near parity at the edge. The DA* had better contrast and CA characteristics at all apertures. Note that the 135A f2.8 is not the best of the Pentax 135 primes so I was a bit surprised by this. 
Build Quality: 10 - Try to buy a Nikon lens with this build quality and weather sealing at this price. (answer: You can’t. )
Utility: 9.5 - Just wish it were a tad longer
Sharpness: 9.5 - For a Zoom excellent and should be a 10. See above as to why the 1/2 point was deducted.
Color/Contrast: 10 - Wow
CA 9.5 - I have not noticed CA but it has not been used in extreme situations where it can show. Published tests show some so it held me back from a 10.
Bokeh: 9
2013 Update....
I have had this lens now 5 years. I still feel the same way about this lens as I did when I wrote the original review... I would like to add the following.
I am a photographer for my Daughter's high school marching band. When I take pictures with this lens and the FA 77ltd, people notice and I get emails staying how stunning the photos are and how nicely the subjects are isolated. When people notice photography then you know something is unique as most people take pictures for granted.
What I have also found over the past few years using this lens is that it has a weakness. When I shoot towards the sun, it flairs pretty badly. Others have noticed this as well.
On the other had, I recently purchased a Tamron 70-200 f2.8, which is noted to be a sharp zoom (highly praised by all reviews)... The Pentax 50-135 is equally sharp, but the Pentax has better contrast and color. I have to add some contrast to the Tamron images but really don't need to do that with the Pentax. | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2007 Location: Paris, France Posts: 4,308 | | Review Date: November 13, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Incredibly sharp and sweet bokeh | | Cons: | None | |
I am not a long shooter. However, I have used this lens for specific applications between 50-80mm. It is better than any of the "L" lenses I used when I was a Canon user. For those that cannot afford prime 50's, 80's or 135 lenses, this lens will easily stand on it's own merits. I have no problem using it wide open. This lens is definitely a Pentax "Brutally Sharp" Classic. | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Wilmore, KY Posts: 376 | | Review Date: November 11, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $750.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast focus, sharp images, great color, handling | | Cons: | Big, heavy, HUGE hood | |
This is the perfect lens for events like outdoor birthday parties, garden parties, picnics, etc. It's also a killer portrait lens. I find the colors vivid, contrasty--they "pop" out at you. Images are sharp through the whole range of focal lengths and apertures (to my amateur eye). The lens handles like a dream. Focuses quickly and quietly.
My biggest complaint is that it is a very long lens. If you attach the hood, you have a very formidable looking "thing" hanging off the camera. If you are maneuvering around people at a party or picnic, it can be a bit awkward.
The lens is also very expensive--right up there with the 31mm and 77mm Ltd Primes. But the image quality is very close, and so maybe that's okay.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: North West UK Posts: 390 | | Review Date: October 22, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $750.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, IQ, colour, silence, speed, etc etc | | Cons: | Absolutely nothing and I mean it. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5 K-5IIs K-3 K20D K10D *istDS
| |
I will be brief here, you won't find a more perfect portrait lens anywhere.
Considering this is a zoom, you will find, that at any focal point, a perfect portrait lens. 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, even primes will struggle to match the sheer quality of this lens.
When it was released, I thought, "what are Pentax doing bringing out such a short zoom?" How wrong I was.
I recently bought a K20D and the combo is nothing sort of sensational! I thought this lens with the K10D was a great combo, but with the K20D it is something else......
The sharp detail you get is fantastic!
Even none portraits it is still top dollar. And will cope with monsoons with ease.
I tried to be brief, but with this lens, I cannot help talking about it
Buy one! even if you don't buy another lens for the next year, you will be glad you did.
EDIT August 2015
My original copy of the lens was stolen in May2015 and I was not happy. Having said that there were a couple of minor issues that developed with the original copy.
The lens had to be coaxed into life occasionally, but as I knew that I just made sure that I did this before using this. The other issue, was that being SDM, the AF was not as fast as the screw mount.
Second copy? SDM seems snappier and the sharpness is a tad better, even if it is the same design and not a mk2.
Seems Pentax has ironed out the minor issues with the original, even though I never had an SDM failure with my first copy.
It is still in my opinion the finest zoom lens that Pentax has made, certainly for digital, and probably a must have for any Pentaxians bag.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2008 Location: Salford, Manchester UK Posts: 7
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 20, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $900.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Stunning | | Cons: | none | |
This lens is just stunning, awesome and exceptional.
It is fast focus (sdm with a K10D),
the bokeh is primelike,
it is razor sharp wide open.
I take shots with it,
they look OK on the camera ...
...then I am just blown away by the results when I view the real thing on my computer screen.
Just get one.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2008 Location: Aalgaard, Norway Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 21, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $1,300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Terriffic color reproduction, razorsharp from edge to edge at all focal lengths, nice weight | | Cons: | Range (perhaps) | |
I just recently received this lens after a rather unfortunate encounter with the DA* 16-50. Specifically, the DA* 16-50 was blurred on the right side (about 1/3 in from the middle) and I had to send it in for repairs (in Sweden). Additionally, the barrel was "sticky" at around 18mm (+/-), confirming other users' comments in this regard. AF seemed ok though. However, I desperately needed a quality lens for a trip to Valencia (shortly), so I gave the DA* 50-135 a try, although my expectations weren't high to be fully honest. Despite the many positive reviews, the DA* 16-50 experience lingered in my mind.
BUT BOY WAS I IN FOR A SURPRISE!
Subjective observations (with the K20D):
1) The lens is extremely bordersharp, even at 135mm. For example, in a shot on a cloudy but sunny day I could easily make out the details of powerlines in the distant horizon. These details were totally lost on my kit DA 18-55 AL II lens (at same focal lengths).
2) The colors hit like a bullet too, spot on. In fact some colors are so vibrant, using RAW settings (!), that increasing vibrancy or saturation through Photoshop gets a very low priority.
3) Weight with camera is great, only a hundred gram or so heavier than the DA* 16-50.
I have never used any L primes, and cannot do a direct comparison, but if I were to guess any of the focal lengths on this lens would compare very well. I think augustmoon's review above can fill in the blanks 
I hearthly recommend anyone with even a slight interest in these focal lengths to buy this lense! It is dirt cheap compared to Nikkor 24-70 for example.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: March, 2008 Location: Toronto, San Diego, Seattle Posts: 455 | | Review Date: July 25, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $700.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Overall Image, Build Quality, Silent Focusing, Color, Contrast, Detail | | Cons: | None! | |
I gave this lens a 10, because this is the finest zoom I've ever owned. And that includes my "L" zooms when I was with Canon. (24-105-L and the 70-200 2.8L)
I had and sold the DA70, because at 70mm, and at 100% crops and printed out on inkjet, I could not tell any difference what so ever.
Perfect for portraits or headshots, It would stay on my camera all the time in the studio if only it went down to 40mm.
Out and about, it's impossible to beat this with any other zoom in Pentax mount. (at this time the DA*60-250 is yet unreleased, and so is the Tamron 70-200 2.8)
It performs very well, focuses nicely and quietly, focuses fast enough for a zoom of this range. Haven't noticed any purple fringing yet.
I believe it's as good optically and image quality as the Limiteds. My only complaint is that the companion DA*16-50 isn't anywhere near this good. (The primes in that range ARE noticeably better)
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2006 Location: Spokane,WA Posts: 25 | | Review Date: June 21, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $680.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness,color,speed | | Cons: | none | |
This is an wonderful piece of engineering and design!
A pleasure to use and own.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Posts: 8,237
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 12, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Everything, especially the sharpness and color | | Cons: | nothing | |
If I were forced to keep only one lens, it would be this one. The best zoom I've ever touched.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 2,587 | | Review Date: May 7, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $700.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | SDM, Weather Sealing, Color and IQ are great | | Cons: | None | |
This lens quickly shot its way up to the top of my list to be my favorite lens. I love every picture that comes out of it. The IQ is deathly accurate, the bokeh is just sweet, the colors and tones are superb. I love this lens more than any other.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Posts: 812 | | Review Date: March 9, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Image Quality, SDM, build quality, handling | | Cons: | if only the top FL were a bit longer and the hood a little shorter! | |
I've shot this lens for a couple of months now, and it is on my K10D about 90% of the time. Its color, contrast, sharpness and bokeh rank with the best primes I've ever shot (a modest but pro-level assortment of Zeiss, Schneider, Pentax, Canon and Nikon glass). No CA problems noted thus far, but I try to avoid extreme contrast situations (not very hard to do, here in Seattle).
Its flexibility as a zoom far better suits my current shooting style and subject matter in landscape and urban scene work, mostly. I shot a portrait session with it a couple of weeks ago, mostly using 50-90mm focal lengths, and was delighted with its quick handling, rapid auto-focus abilities, and the lovely way it threw the backdrop out of focus. It rendered very good files, easily prepped and printed with minimal fuss in CS3.
For a composite-bodied zoom, the DA* 50-135 feels good, with nice action in the zoom and focus rings. I shot it in the snow in Eastern Washington at below-freezing temperatures with no problems on its very first outing. It didn't chill my fingers the way a metal-bodied zoom has in the past. The usual solid K-mount directness in attaching and removing the lens is another tactile plus. I wish the lens hood bayonet mounted as positively, and as quickly. It's got a plasticky feel, the one slightly cheesy aspect of the lens, and it really can make replacing the lens cap a chore when it's being actively used.
Pentax has built a first-rate zoom here. I just wish it had a bit more reach, occasionally.
| | |
![SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM Review RSS Feed](https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/images/rss/rss_feeds14x14.gif)
![SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM](https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/data/43/221200712935.jpg)
![SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM](javascript:update('https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/data/43/221200712935.jpg');)
![SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM](javascript:update('https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/data/43/smc_Pentax-DA_50-135_2_8_EDIF_SDM_star_optics.jpg');)
![Buy the SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM](https://www.pentaxforums.com/content/camerapics/pentax-button.gif)
![Read our SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM in-depth review!](https://www.pentaxforums.com/content/homepage/pflensseal.gif)
![Add Review of SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM](https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/images/digitalvb/pentax_red/buttons/addreview.gif)
![Buy the SMC Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM](https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/images/digitalvb/pentax_red/buttons/buylens.png)
