| Author: | | New Member Registered: January, 2022 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: January 18, 2022 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Size, Boke, Colors | | Cons: | big lens hood | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K3iii
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my best zoom lens at all...
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2020 Posts: 29
1 user found this helpful
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2010 Location: WA Posts: 176
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 1, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $455.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | SHARP | | Cons: | Some report AF issues | |
I rented this lens in 2015 for a weekend trip to a race track. I needed a lens with moderate range, great image quality, and decent low light performance. My previous lens were good kit lens, the 18-135mm and the 55-300mm.
This lens surpassed all of my expectations.
Image Quality is fantastic. Great colors, excellent contrast, and sharp photos. I was amazed to see my test shot of a race car 500 feet away come out sharp. The lens rarely came off the camera the rest of the weekend. I came away with larger amount of sharp photos than I had previously done. The autofocus was great, weight was fine for hand shooting.
By the end of the year, I made sure to purchase my own copy. It has since been my go to lens, more so than my Tameron 70-200 F2.8.
My only complaint is that it stops at 135mm.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: March, 2016 Location: Pietermaritzburg Posts: 432
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 28, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, great bokeh, great IQ | | Cons: | Slow(ish) autofocus | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K20D, Kx, K3
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This is by far the best lens I’ve ever owned. It’s fast and sharp, with a beautiful bokeh. I bought this together with my K20D, second-hand for $700! At the time I didn’t really know what * series lenses were, but found out pretty quickly!
From flowers to wildlife to landscapes, this is a versatile lens. It has macro like sharpness at the closest focal distance, and yet will give good IQ at longer ranges too. Because of this you can crop fairly tightly and still get a good photo. I've used it with the 1.4x rear converter, but it seems to soften the image slightly?
The fact that the barrel doesn’t extend when zooming or focusing makes it impervious to dust, drizzle and snow. Although it’s not what you’d call light, I prefer the solid, well-constructed feel of the lens, and the weight makes it well balanced to boot.
In conclusion, all I can say is that if I was forced to sell off all my gear, this would be the last to go.
Roadside Flowers
Goodyear Eagles
Spotted Eagle Owl
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,575 | | Review Date: March 18, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp and contrasty, internal focusing. | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K5, K3, K3 III
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 Batiscan River in the Fall, Notre-Dame-des-Anges  Downtown Montreal at night  Fall foliage, Saint Leonard  Quebec City from the Observatory (above @ 50 mm, below @ 135 mm)  Marina on the Saint Lawrence (below) :  Re-activating the DA* 50-135 mm f/2.8 this morning, ISO 200, 1/13 sec @ f/8 :  50 mm FL  85 mm FL  135 mm FL The AF sprang back to life immediately, no SDM problem.     
Optimum aperture opening for landscape purposes : f/8
| | | | | Moderator Registered: July, 2011 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,759
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 30, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $1,150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | smooth bokeh in a compact lens | | Cons: | price | |
Well I used this lens for the September Single in challenge for the month of September 2018. I started off the month playing with this 50-135 2.8 hoping to finally see why people like it so much. After a month of shooting with it I have gained a respect for it. The photos taken at 2.8 seem to have a special quality about them, the way it handles areas of out of focus is very pleasing with a nice transition from in focus to smooth bokeh. The speed of autofocus and lack of hunting for focus worked well with my style of shooting. The size and balance with the K3 worked well and the lack of bulk made the combination easy to take with me each day. When I examined the photos closely I was unable to fault the sharpness of the lens other than due to using too slow a shutter speed leading to some softness from me rather than the lens. I can now see why it has such a great following. The silent lens focusing worked well for me and compared to the older screw drive mechanism, I found it very effective. The large zoom and focusing rings were easy to use and turn in the "correct" pentax way. Examples taken with this lens can be found in the following album
https://flic.kr/s/aHskDUwvhF
I highly recommend this classic lens
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2013 Posts: 796
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 23, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $610.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast, versatile, IQ | | Cons: | Big, heavy, slow AF | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-30, KP
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This zoom lens excelent IQ. Near to primes. The zoom range is very versatile for portraits and from 70mm the F2.8 aperture gives sufficient background blur. The bokeh is excelent in the full zoom range. The build quality also very good, the zoom and focus rings are smooth, maybe the best I ever used on an AF zoom lens. The hood is bigger than what I would like, but the lens works well without it. In general I like the small primes, but this lens worst it. The AF is the only weak point of this lens, it's slow and occasionally I had acccuracy problems also. Overal this lens is the best zoom I ever used.
Here are some images:
 IMG170422_0004 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170414_0056 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170603_0284 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170603_0190 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170603_0202 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170611_0002 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170923_0079 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG170923_0029 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2006 Location: North Face of Mount Shasta Posts: 120 | | Review Date: March 14, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp and Sharper, Internal Focus and Zoom, Build Quality, Good Contrast and Color Rendition | | Cons: | SDM ... need I say more ... | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K3
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Just 2 weeks after purchasing this lens from another PF member, the SDM quit on me. So be it ... the member I purchased it from was a very honest individual about the condition when I purchased it and I had no intention of backing out of the deal.
I eventually converted it to screwdrive and have loved the lens every since. It's one of those lenses that just make you a better photographer and I don't regret my purchase for one moment. This lens is the bomb and one of the best that Pentax has ever produced. I love mine and if you ever have the opportunity to pick one up, whether new or used, do it!!
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2016 Posts: 543
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 7, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness wide open, beautiful rendering, smooth bokeh. | | Cons: | SDM unit prone to failure | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K-3
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This is probably the best APS-C lens that Pentax have ever made. Nothing else comes close in providing the utility or quality that this lens provides. The colour, sharpness and bokeh are amazing. Like one reviewer put it, this lens makes a mediocre snapper look like a great one.
I've had five copies of this lens, all used. Three out of five have had SDM issues but all of these were easily fixed by opening up the lens and massaging the motor. Tutorials can be readily found for this procedure.
The copy that I now use exhibited a squealing motor as well as sluggish response to autofocus so I converted it to screwdrive using my K100d. Again, a procedure that is well documented. Autofocus is now much more responsive.
In all, this is the one lens I'd pick if I could only have one. It's equivalent to 70-200 on full frame so it's really not wide at all, but the images produced are out of this world. Ignore the autofocus issues. Screwdrive is worth the extra tiny bit of noise if your SDM motor dies. This lens is THAT good.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2010 Location: San Diego, CA, USA Posts: 11
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 7, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $965.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, color | | Cons: | Heavy | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
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It's been a spectacularly good experience owning this lens over the last 6 years. It never ceases to amaze me. Nothing makes me look like a good photographer more than this lens. Incredibly sharp and the colors never need to be corrected. The 3-D effect is something hard to find in a lens, but this one excels at it. Pixie Dust galore. I can't say enough good things about this lens!
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: January, 2016 Location: Tampa Florida Posts: 287 | | Review Date: March 13, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Internal zoom. Silent focus. Sharpness. Constant f2.8 | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-S2
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Amazing lens. Image quality is wonderful. I love the internal zoom (no telescoping zoom) I feel like it's less intimidating to people if they don't see part of the lens extending towards them. It's my go to lens. I keep it on my camera body when not in use as some believe that sdm issues are from being left off of the camera body for long periods of time.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: 'Merica! Posts: 209 | | Review Date: December 24, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build quality and size | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3, K-5IIs
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I always favored 70-200mm focal length in 35mm film and find myself often shooting in the 70mm to 100mm range on my APC cameras. The 50-135mm give the same overall FOV on the APS-C sensor as the 70-200mm on full frame yet in a smaller, lighter package. As with all other " * " (star) lenses the build quality is phenomenal. Complete weather sealing makes this great for outdoor work in all conditions. Yes, this lens is a hand-full. But it is well balanced on the K bodies and completely manageable for hand held work even in low light.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2012 Posts: 29
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 15, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great build quality, sharpness of prime lenses, weather sealing | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K3
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One of the best Pentax DA lenses you can get! SDM still works great 5 years strong with lots of use.
 IMGP0890 by Richard Mozis, on Flickr
 IMGP0881 by Richard Mozis, on Flickr
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2012 Location: Vancouver Island, BC Posts: 238
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 14, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $325.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Near prime quality across a nice zoom range | | Cons: | SDM | |
Well, this is my third DA* purchase - already bought two DA*16-50 (one for me, one for my daughter)
This was bought used - advertised as only being Manual Focus as the SDM had died. Thanks to the members on this forum (and great threads documenting this technique) I bought the lens for a virtual song knowing that it was almost certain that I could get the lens converted to screwdrive and have a pro-quality AF zoom lens for about a third of the cost of a new one.
Once received, I tried "waking up" the SDM - unsucessfully, and after about 15 minutes of trying to revive the SDM mechanism decided that it was indeed dead, and proceeded to convert the lens to screwdrive by changing the lens rom. (look in the forum if you want to find out how)
About 30 minutes later the lens was whirring away happily on screwdrive - nailing focus and taking some really nice sharp pictures.
So... happy camper here. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this lens at all, as long as the prospect of having a somewhat noisier AF doesn't bother you.
Great handling, fast, sharp. And at the price I paid amazing value. Definitely a keeper.
| | | | | Moderator
Site Supporter Registered: June, 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Posts: 17,377 | | Review Date: February 14, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build, Quality and Handling | | Cons: | | |
This is the best zoom lens I have ever used and one of the few I have hung onto. I did like the DA 55-300 but sold it after getting the DA* 300. The zoom I come close to liking as much as this one is the F 35-70. The DA* 50-135mm stays on one of my bodies most of the time.
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