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SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL Review RSS Feed

SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL

Sharpness 
 7.5
Aberrations 
 7.5
Bokeh 
 7.1
Autofocus 
 8.0
Handling 
 8.2
Value 
 9.1
Reviews Views Date of last review
76 218,255 Thu August 24, 2023
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
89% of reviewers $51.61 7.69
SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL

SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
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SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
supersize
SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
supersize

Description:
The SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 is similar to its DA-series counterpart, the DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL II, except that it features a slightly lighter design, plastic mount, and no quick-shift focus functionality. It is included as a part of a camera kit and is not sold separately.

SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
APS-C
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
No
Diaphragm
Automatic, 6 blades
Optics
11 elements, 8 groups
Mount Variant
KAF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F3.5-5.6
Min. Aperture
F22-38
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
25 cm
Max. Magnification
0.34x
Filter Size
52 mm
Internal Focus
No
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 76-29 ° / 67-25 °
Hood
PH-RBA 52 mm
Case
S80-120
Lens Cap
O-LC52
Coating
SMC
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Diam x Length
68 x 67.5 mm (2.7 x 2.7 in.)
Weight
200 g (7.1 oz.)
Production Years
2008 to present (in production)
Engraved Name
smc PENTAX-DA L 1:3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL
Product Code
21827
Reviews
User reviews
Notes
Plastic lens mount.
One aspherical amd one ED element.
Variants

Two variants: Black and white

Features:
Screwdrive AutofocusAutomatic ApertureAPS-C Digital Only
Sample Photos: View Sample Photos
Price History:



Add Review of SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL
Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 61-75 of 76
Forum Member

Registered: January, 2011
Location: Land of the password
Posts: 83
Review Date: January 7, 2011 Not Recommended | Rating: 5 

 
Pros: Lightweight, Good CA control
Cons: Soft at most apertures, unusable wide open.

There must be a lot of variation copy with this lens. I received my first as a kit lens with the K-x and it was unbelievably soft. Disappointed I bought the WR version and this was exactly the same. Other owner comments certainly don't match my experience of this lens which was only usable for me at 35mm and F8, not much use a zoom lens.
From my own personal experiences I could not recommend this lens. Far better to pay a little more and purchase the excellent 16-45mm. The difference is night and day.
I've used plenty of kit lenses, mainly Zuiko's, and this is the worst I've ever used by far. Sorry but there it is!
   
Inactive Account

Registered: October, 2010
Location: Dayton
Posts: 24

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: December 17, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: came with camera
Cons: no hood

This lens came with my camera, so I can't really say much for the cost! I do wish that it would have come with a filter and a hood. Seems that all lenses should just automatically come with a UV filter and a hood. The lens had nice speed for capturing almost anything I needed when it was in its automatic setting. If it was on manual and was just tweaking I never had a problem with it.
The focal distance was very nice for the kit. It does cover just about anything a person could ask for right off. I have since purchased another lens, (Tamron 18mm-250mm) but don't see myself retiring this one even though it seems a bit redundant at this point.
Now that I'm a big believer in the filters (took me a while-don't ask...) I will share I did not have a filter to protect the lens for about 10 months. The camera went nearly everywhere with me and the lens has held up great. I did clean it often, which hopefully helped. Maybe I just lucked out, but the lens is still in great shape and now (thankyou...) protected!
One drawback I did notice and I don't know if it's really the camera or the lens, but if I had trouble automatically focusing on something it was become incredibly loud and zoom in and out (I assume trying to focus for me!) It was quite distracting. If that happened I just put it on manual and focused the lens myself without issue. I do however shoot a lot of operas and theatrical productions, so when that issue came up I found myself very self-consious!!
Overall this is a great camera if it comes as a kit with your camera. You'll be happy if you're just starting out!
   
Junior Member

Registered: December, 2009
Location: Finland
Posts: 25
Review Date: December 15, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: cheap, good sharpness, versatile, small and light
Cons: slow in the long end

I got this lens with my Pentax K-x as the kit lens. I had heard that generally kit lenses are low quality and thought that this would be the case with this lens also. Therefore I didn't use this lens much at the beginning. But a couple of months later I began to use it more and more and noticed that it was a surpisingly good performer!

The center sharpness of this lens is good at all apertures and focal lengths. At wide open the corners are a bit soft but get better quickly when stopping down. Also the center sharpness gets even better when the lens is stopped down. At the long end it is a bit softer.

Contrast is generally good even against bright lights with this lens thanks to the great smc-coatings. Only at the long end at maximum aperture contrast is quite low, but it gets better when stopped down to f8 or further. I haven't noticed much flaring with this lens. Bokeh can be a bit distracting sometimes, but with this wide and slow lens there are not very much out of focus areas in images.

There is some CA's, distortion and vignetting especially at wide focal lengths, but they can be easily corrected with Lightroom or Photoshop automatically (with a profile for this lens). That's why they don't bother me at all.

The lens focuses very quickly and accurately. At first it was backfocusing, but I took it to service and now it focuses spot on. Even in low light focusing is reliable but a bit slower. Build quality is ok for a kit lens. It feels quite solid even though its made of plastic. Focus and zoom rings feel ok but could be a bit smoother. The lens is light and small for a zoom. Therefore it is easy to carry with. It is nice that the front element doesn't rotate when focusing, as it is with many other manufacturer's kit lenses.

This is my most used lens because of its versability. You can even take semi-macro shots with it, because it focuses quite near. My only complaints about this lens are its slow aperture at the long end and the need to stop it down even further there to increase contrast and sharpness. Otherwise this is a great lens especially for its price. With the new Pentax cameras you can increase iso more and compensate the smaller aperture of this lens.
   
Inactive Account

Registered: October, 2010
Location: Acworth, GA
Posts: 7
Review Date: December 10, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: A great place to start, useful range, relatively sharp
Cons: Construction quality

A great starter lens!

This lens is useable for most situations and at most apertures, but stopped down you get better results (as is the case for most lenses). It serves as a great introduction to the world of DSLRs and from what I read is at least a half-notch above most other brands' kit lenses. I did pick up a generic replacement lens hood that worked well for less than $10, but it would be a nice touch to include one for the pennies it would likely cost Pentax.

The lack of quick shift isn't much of a problem, since the focus ring is fairly loose and not a lot of fun to use anyway, not to mention the fact that I'm guessing 90% of the users of this lens won't be too interested in manual focus anyway.

My one complaint is construction quality. I'm not expecting a tank of a lens by any stretch, but I did have problems with the plastic mount detaching after regular, but not heavy, use less than a year after purchase. Pentax eventually repaired it for me, but it took a few phone calls and I was without a standard lens for several weeks.

Still, an excellent place to start. It is reasonably sharp and contrasty, quick to focus, and light. You will have to look out for some CA, vignetting, and barrel distortion, but those can be addressed in-camera by some cameras or in post-processing quite easily. Be gentle with it if you often switch lenses.

As an earlier review noted, because of its good performance and extremely cheap replacement cost, this is a great lens to take with you (if you don’t have a weather sealed one available to you) to locations that could be bad for the equipment… the beach, etc.

I don’t feel the need to recommend it since nearly everyone is going to have one, or have started with something better, but if you’re looking into the Pentax system don’t hesitate over the kit lens, it is a great place to start.
   
Senior Member

Registered: December, 2010
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 141
Review Date: December 8, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: Light weight, Good general performance
Cons: everyone's got one!

Not a bad performer, very light (probably a large amount of plastic!). A reasonable focal range to cover most common situations. Being a general all rounder it doesn't 'shine' like some of it's fixed stable mates. I miss an aperature ring! - showing my age perhaps! The 52mm filter size is a bonus.
This lens now seems to be included with most Pentax DSLR's. The Secondary market is flooded with these little darlings cos most DSLR owners already have one!
   
Inactive Account

Registered: October, 2010
Location: San Diego
Posts: 13
Review Date: December 3, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Actually a very balance kit lens
Cons: Not very sharp...

Like most everyone else here, I got this as part of my HOT red K-x .

All in all, I think the lens gets the job done 90% of the time. It isn't the sharpest lens by any means, but when posting photos online, it is more than suffice.

The lens is really light, but then again, it is a plastic mount.

The only other complain i have is the rear cap, which is just a piece of cheap plastic instead of the sturdier plastic on the other lenses.

I think it's fairs better than the stuff Canon and Nikon gives to their buyers for sure!
   
Veteran Member

Registered: February, 2009
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 3,757

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: September 7, 2010 Recommended | Price: $50.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: light, inconscpicuous, sharp, quick AF
Cons: optically slow
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: New   

Got it with my K-x. My copy seems to be exceptionally sharp--I was about to put it on sale, but decided to give it a try. I doubt that many primes can beat it between 24 and 35mm at the same apertures. DxO supports it, which means that, provided doesn't need larger apertures than what this little guy can offer, one can have prime-like quality from 18mm to 55mm for little money. Many complain about corner softness at 18mm, yet any decent wide prime costs several times more than the 18-55mm. Moreover, at f8, corners significantly improve even at 18mm. Very convenient for street and casual shots. The lack of hood is a non-issue: cheap rubber hoods available on ebay.

Pics taken with the el cheapo DA 18-55 AL, and passed through DxO:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3677/9446292133_2b5b23fbd9_o.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7326/9449076100_807b61b211_o.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7287/8736256175_ffc33ca175_b.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/8736255787_932376949d_b.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/8736256239_690c63bc6c_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8113/8745537303_79374b1369_o.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8265/8662233064_c791cf9cf1_b.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/8736255989_a575552d77_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8265/8662233028_b7e86ec0b7_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8253/8661134065_1c1242de13_b.jpg
   
Senior Member

Registered: July, 2010
Location: HI
Posts: 168
Review Date: August 18, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: Versatile, cheap, good IQ
Cons: no lens hood, plastic

This is not as bad as you think , really ! This is probably the first lens for everyone but this would be the last lens i would phase out on my gears.

This picture quality is not superior, and it gets even worse when you try to use 18mm wide open....... but as long as you stay away from 18mm and stopped down a bit, the picture quality can still out run other lens made by third party on the market (thanks to the exclusive SMC coating, i guess)

There is alot of reason keeping this lens in the bag. This is one of the lens you wanna mount on your camera on one of those rough trips where thel lens tend to suffer some damge . It only cost $50, light and handy.....This is the 1st choice for me to go hiking and beaches . Plus looking at other wide angle autofocus lens on the market, you save yourself some green to other lens in your arsenal beyond the 18-55mm range.
   
Inactive Account

Registered: July, 2009
Location: Adelaide or Beijing, China
Posts: 9
Review Date: July 30, 2010 Recommended | Price: $50.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: weight, fast fucus
Cons: too soft when wide open,

My first lens ever owned with my first DSLR K20D.
It is good enough for a beginner, much better than DC lens.
It came without hood as K-m's double kit lens, I paid $50(RMB350) for it and mounted on my brand new K20D.
No doubt, the weight, size and acceptable IM makes it a good walk-around lens for me on my K20D. The lens feels plasticy, but was built ok, after one year frequent usage, no unacceptable decay was found.
No quick shift focus available, which makes some trouble with focusing in some low light condition.
With enough light, focus is fast and desicive, better than DA 16-45

Gave away to a friend after one year usage, The bigger DA 16-45 replaced the DAL 18-55 for IM reason. But I am still a little sad to give this away.

By the way: SPRING BROTHER IS TRUE MAN
   
Veteran Member

Registered: January, 2010
Location: Lansing, MI
Posts: 509
Review Date: July 18, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: small & lightweight, cheap
Cons: no quick shift, plastic mount

When I first got my Kx, I thought this lens was great. (I'd been shooting with a Canon S90.) Once I got my DA35, however, I found I just don't want to use this lens anymore. Zoom is convenient and for being an inexpensive kit lens, it's great. But its IQ (understandably) is nowhere near that of a prime. If I shot wide angle more, I'd add either the DA15 or DA21. But for the little bit of wide-angle outdoor shooting I do, it fills that need well.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: February, 2010
Location: California
Posts: 1,602

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: May 12, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: kit lens for Kx, good IQ, sharp images, well rounded
Cons: relatively cheap build, plastic mount

Like all of my lens reviews they are subjective. I only compare them to other lenses that are in the same class and in this case it is a kit lens and it is the best kit lens I have ever seen/used.

For a starter lens when you have no other lenses at your disposal this lens is very very good. The IQ is good, it is light weight (possibly to to relatively cheap build) but still solid enough for me, no noticeable CA, and if you want to buy one after you buy a camera body you can get it very cheap.

All in all this is a very good kit lens for starters (until you can upgrade to the DA 17-70)
   
Junior Member

Registered: December, 2009
Posts: 25
Review Date: April 18, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: compact, light, sharp
Cons: plastic mount, no hood

Part of my K-x kit. I got some exceptional results from it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/foivosloxias/tags/dal1855mmed/
   
Veteran Member

Registered: July, 2009
Location: on the wall
Posts: 715
Review Date: March 1, 2010 Not Recommended | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: autofocus?
Cons: does it work?

I'm not sure whether my kit lens is worth its reputation. Alternate (prime) lenses have shown better sharpness.
   
Inactive Account

Registered: July, 2008
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 1,100

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: February 9, 2010 Recommended | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Very inexpensive, sharp, good contrast.
Cons: None for this price, with the exception of no hood included.

Keep the lens if it came with your camera and get one if you don't own it. This lens covers a well used range and is worth every penny spent.

The DA-L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is the best kit lens I've used. Everyone claims that "their" kit lens is the best, Pentax rules in this department. Better than the standard 18x** on Canon or Nikon and better, just slightly, than the Panasonic G1 kit lens (which has better contrast though only by default).

The DA-L is sharp at virtually all apertures. However, I mainly use it for landscapes/nature at f/8+ and family shots at whatever aperture needed. I was going to look at a Tamron or Sigma f/2.8 variant but, why? I don't need a fast lens, just a sharp, decent contrast lens for landscapes and family shots which the DA-L already gives me.

I ordered an original Pentax hood for $39 CDN and bought a B+W CP to compliment the lens.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: June, 2009
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 478
Review Date: November 16, 2009 Recommended | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Light, Above Average IQ, Light
Cons: No Quick Shift, No Hood Included

I find the IQ of this lens to be quite adequate. It's not perfect, but for what it is (a kit zoom), it is quite acceptable. I'd prefer for the hood to be included (come on Pentax, how much would this add to your cost?), but I don't mind the lack of quick shift. With this lens, for optimal IQ you would be stopping down anyhow, so manual focus would probably be limited (for me anyhow).
Add Review of SMC Pentax-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL



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