| Author: | | New Member Registered: August, 2023 Location: Ashgabat Posts: 6 | | Review Date: August 24, 2023 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Not sharp | | Cons: | Not sharp | | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 4
Autofocus: 4
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K-r
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A nice kit lens without much hassle. The good part is it's not sharp, so it's easy to create pictorialistic photographs. And the bad sides are it makes too much noise and it's better to use manual focus in dark conditions. It's a good start though, especially since its zoom range allows to experiment with composition techniques. 
It can be sharper after a few experiments with aperture:
 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 13 | | Review Date: May 1, 2020 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Cheap, lightweight, good iq, | | Cons: | Not for what it is and represents | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Kx
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The lens which came with the kx camera. Overall for a kit lens its good. Nice color and contrast. I give it an 8.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2013 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: April 12, 2018 | Not Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive, compact, useful zoom range, decently sharp | | Cons: | Plastic mount, no hood, durability | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 4
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-50
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All my digital cameras were purchased as bodies, so I never had one of the ubiquitous kit lenses. Found a new example on amazon.ca for $40 about three years ago, so I bought it. I wasn't too worried about the plastic mount, even though it is my first (and so far only), as the lens is so small and lightweight.
To avoid repetition, my evaluation is nearly identical to that of user Gengske, below. I would rate the sharpness at 9 for a kit lens, but a 7 compared to primes. I found a completely compatible hood on amazon for $10.
Also agree with Gengske as to a good walkabout setup of equipment, except the 28mm f2.8 A; lost mine on a mountainside in the Canadian Rockies thirty years ago. 
2023 update: The aperture lever on this lens quit working despite minimal use. Not acceptable longevity for even a cheap consumer lens. Have to change my opinion to not recommended.
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2007 Location: Belgium, Antwerp Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 4, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | light, small, cheap, sharp | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K500, K-S
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I had 3 different copies of this lens, the DA, the DA WR, and this DA-L. All of them did perform excellent.
Don't compare this lens with an expensive 2.8 zoom or prime. Its a kitlens that you get almost for free with you camera. And this kitlens does his job very well.
If someone asks me for the perfect Pentax lens setup i highly recommend this lens, together with its big brother the DA-L 50-200, the A-28 2.8 and the A-50 1.7. Trow in a few extentsion tubes, 2 pol. filters, a small tripod, and you are good to go
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 678 | | Review Date: February 11, 2017 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Good range of focal lengths | | Cons: | plastic mount | |
This lens came to me attached to a K30 camera body. I already have two DA 18-55mm lenses with metal mounts, so this one was already superfluous before I even opened the box. I took a few test shots with it and it seems to work reasonably well. My understanding is the optics on the DAL lenses are pretty much the same as their DA counterparts with the main difference being the plastic mount and the fact that the DAL lenses didn't come with a lens hood. Since I see no compelling reason to add a third 18-55mm lens to my already too large collection, this 'plastic-fantastic' lens is doing a touch-and-go landing and will shortly leave my hands attached to the front of my K100D, which I am selling to help offset the acquisition cost of the K30, which has been upgraded to a DA 18-55 as its default lens. I debated selling the lens separately but that would have meant coming up with a body cap for the K100D, so it seemed to make sense to sell them together.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: March, 2013 Posts: 170
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 7, 2017 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | size, weight, zoom, price, wide angle | | Cons: | speed, bokeh, sharpness | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K-x
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I bought it with my K-x. I have bought some prime lenses since then, but I still shoot a lot with this one, because:- Wide angle
- Slow, but quite confident focusing in low light
- Zoom
- I own 52 mm polarizing filter.
Very surprisingly, when I compare this lens to the 35 mm f/2.4:
35 focuses much quicker in daylight, but in low light is sometimes prone to hunting.
18-55 focuses slower in all conditions, but in low light is sometimes able to focus when 35 is not.
All in all, mediocre optics, but is useful sometimes (especially on hiking etc.).
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2015 Posts: 5 | | Review Date: August 14, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Price, lightweight, useful focal range | | Cons: | Soft corners at the ends of the zoom range if not stopped down to 8 | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K-x
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I bought this lens together with my first DSLR, a K-x. Together with it, I bought a 18-200 superzoom. I thought I would have this latter zoom on all the time. I realized soon that the kit lens was much better in the overlapping focal range and I ended up taking the vast majority of my pictures with this lens until I bought a 18-135 a year and a half later. Right at the "normal lens" focal length, i.e. around 30 mm, it performs very well. The soft corners were disturbing though on my landscapes taken at the wide angle end.
Here is an album with some of the pictures I took with this lens.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2015 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 16
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 12, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $65.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Color saturation, contrast, focus speed | | Cons: | Slightly soft wide open, plastic mount | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-500
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This lens came with the K-500 along with a DA L 50-200mm, altogether an excellent purchase. The 18-55mm does exhibit CA in the corners, and distortion at the extreme focal lengths. But the camera can be set to correct both, resulting in images identical to the best primes. I cannot detect any vignetting even at 18mm wide open. Resolution is very good for prints up to 16x24". My only real concern is how many times can I mount and unmount it before the plastic wears out and gets loose. I switch lenses often, but I am very careful.
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2014 Posts: 136 | | Review Date: February 4, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp over most of it's range, light, cheap, good colour and contrast. | | Cons: | Struggles to focus in low light, noisy, hard to use manual focus. | | New or Used: New
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An amazing lens for the tiny price (mine was effectively free, since I paid the body-only price for the K-r with the kit lens).
It seems that there is a lot of individual variation in samples of this lens, because mine is fairly sharp. It struggles in low light and more than I would expect even for the maximum aperture, with lots of hunting and focus fails. Trying to use it with manual focus is a little hit-and-miss, so I don't do that very much, but still it's a lens that I've taken some decent shots with, and many are sharp. It may be poor in low light (apart from time exposures) but it's a good lens in brighter conditions or when you have control over the light, like when taking flash pictures.
A typical portrait from this lens:
No sharpening applied, either in camera or in PhotoShop, and here's a 100% crop; note the light-stand and three flashguns are visible reflected in the catch-light in her eye! Eyebrows and hair are also sharp, and this isn't from the absolute centre of the image either:
Overall my copy is a useful lens, yes I'd like to replace it but it's not urgent.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2014 Location: Bratislava Posts: 6
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 12, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | colors rendering, sharp when stopped down, affordable | | Cons: | good conditions needed | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 7
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K10D
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It's good performer when there are good conditions. Within golden hour you can shot really captivating pictures. Moving subjects and low light conditions are showstoppers for this lens except you have enough time, tripod and memory card big enough to carry some mistakes with you 
If you can get it for 20-30 bucks I think you will be satisfied with its results for that cost.
Some samples shot with this lens are bellow.
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: May, 2014 Posts: 44 | | Review Date: May 21, 2014 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | really cheap and relatively good quality | | Cons: | limited zoom and not the best bokeh | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-30
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Really inexpensive lens that came with my camera. I thought it wouldn't end up being used but I have liked it so far. When I try to take close ups of flowers and bugs and things though the bokeh can be quite unappealing which is annoying but this lens is not designed for those pictures anyway. Honestly I am very pleased with it and I would recommend having it in your bag
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2014 Posts: 7 | | Review Date: May 7, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | New or Used: New
Camera Used: K5
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My lens is a DA lens, not DA L.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2011 Location: Bronx NY Posts: 340 | | Review Date: February 22, 2014 | Recommended
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | one of the best kit lens out there | | Cons: | still a kit lens | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: k-x, k-5
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This is a good, relatively versatile lens. Has a nice range, relatively sharp wide open, and is great for CA and flare. It came with my k-x (my first DSLR) and I loved the hell out of it for a couple months.
But… once I bought other lenses, I never looked back. I got an FA50/1.4, and I don't think the 18-55 lens was mounted on my camera ever again. Am I a snob? yeah, probably. But my pictures told me my discrimination was justified.
Bottom line; it's great for what it is, but what it is isn't that great. If you want to beat a P&S or a camera phone, it's awesome. Want great pictures, save your money and get something else. Save the '10' ratings for the FA 31mm, the A* 135 or A* 85, etc.
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: February 21, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharp from 24 to 55 mm good correction of CA's with k-x* and k-5* | | Cons: | corners of 18mm somewhat weak and visible CAs at extreme wide angle | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: k-x,k-5,k200, k-s1. fuji x-t100 + x-e1
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my Pentax DSLRs are fitted to highest contrast, sharpness and color transmission./mes boîtiers PENTAX sont programmés tous à la netteté maximale, au plus haut contraste et à la couleur brillante.
k200 doesn't allow to eleminate the CA's, but newer models as k-x do it by changing program of this body in menue.So CA's disappaer nearly totally.* - excepted 18mm
this lens is still better than the first edition DAL I with interior design of 12/9 elements, but without the a.m. fluorit element /
if stopped down to 8-11;my pictures are really very sharp from 24 to 55 mm.
It is curious, but the old version has wide open on 24-35mm better results. (18mm of the first version were somewhat terrible in corners) 
But this newer version is sharp nearly over the full focus range.
with achromatic macro lens element on the top: phantastic clöse up shootings possible
a precious lens at a low price - better than professional competitors /un objectiv précieux au prix modéré
With / avec 24 MPix 80 LP/mm = 160 lines / lignes possible/s (at / à 40mm with / avec f 9.5)
18mm 6 points
24mm 8 points
35-55 10 points
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2013 Posts: 122 | | Review Date: February 1, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive, Good image quality | | Cons: | Low build quality | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 7
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: L-30
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Pretty good for a kit lens. Not gonna get the most out of your camera with this.
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