| Author: | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2008 Posts: 99
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 7, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, great colors | | Cons: | somewhat heavy | |
Great, super lens. Compared to similar "slow" zooms of this range (Sigma, Tamron, Pentax FA) and even to some primes, for example Tamron AF 90/2.8 this one performs better in my opinion. Nice saturated colors and sharpness. It is heavy but manageable. I noticed however that sometimes when I shoot fast (press the release button almost without a pause) some pictures come out slightly underexposed. It might be the camera and not the lens so I am not sure.
The bottom line -- highly capable lens at a very moderate price.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Netherlands Posts: 414 | | Review Date: December 4, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, nice colors, nice bokeh | | Cons: | Noisy, rotating front element | |
Very good lens for a zoom. Good sharpness, nice bokeh, nice color rendering. I haven't noticed any fringing from it. I have shot a few of my favourite photos with this lens.
The negatives are: noisy AF, rotating front element.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2008 Location: Romania Posts: 22
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 28, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, fast focus, excellent color rendition | | Cons: | heavy, noisy, rotating front element | |
9 because 10 remain for primes with *.
This is a revelation. I never expected to be THAT sharp, but also never expected to be that noisy. Be sure that many will turn their heads toward you when using it. If that`s a problem, turn to manual focus... Though you`ll loose the fastness, this lens being one of the fastest focusing. I never measured how it takes from wide to tele, but it`s so fast and heavy that the lens moves (literally) 1 or 2 milimeters in the mount due to momentum.
Very good sharpness till 210mm, still at the long end there`s still a touch of softness wide open. Stopping down to f8 will solve the problem.
The lens is heavy because of the large glass elements.
The rotating front element is something you must get used to, if you are a filter (polarizing, graduating, etc) maniac. But even without filters, the colors are warm and pleasant, with good contrast. Therefore, this lens gives its best for portrait in natural light.
No doubt, this 20 years old lens is a keeper, despite its weaknesses.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2008 Location: Arizona Posts: 20
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 11, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $104.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp Focus, Excellent Color, Sturdy Build | | Cons: | Noise level takes a bit of getting use to...but worth it! | |
I'd love to get all techie for you but the simple truth is this...get this lens if you can.
Happy Pentaxian Snapping!
P.S. This currently serves as my portrait, wildlife and cityscape lens. Oh yes, some people don't like to give consumer lenses a rating of 10. I prefer to give consumer lenses that perform like pro grade lenses a rating of 10. This lens deserves it!
P.P.S This lens has character...learn it and appreciate it...you now have a lens that...let there be sun light and good internal lighting...can bang with the best of them...seriously!
If you don't believe me...see how many you find on ebay...not many, if any...no one wants to sell.
| | | | | | | Pentaxian
Moderator Emeritus Registered: May, 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Posts: 10,643
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 13, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Solid build, good focus, EX colour and IQ | | Cons: | Ugly and a bit noisy in some situations. | |
Superior to the DA50-200mm and only lacks the quick shift of that lens. It's ugly compared to today's cosmetics but not a big deal. I've owned 2 and the results with both were very consistent.
A solid performer that in terms of IQ and sharpness can only be surpassed by the much more expensive Sigma 70-200 f2.8 or FA*80-200 f2.8. My rating is partly based on value for $$. It's sharp and will give great results. See the following for samples and further comments.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/16142-more-snow-praise-older-lens.html | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Prague Posts: 1,199 | | Review Date: December 27, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | good built | | Cons: | slow focus | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 5
Handling: 6
Value: 8
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I've bought this lens for a bagrain price in online auction. Its exterior and aperture mechanism was in terrible condition, but optically just OK.
I paid another 50 dollars for repair and I really like the results this lens gives. Certainly for the price - acceptable wide open and very sharp when stopped down.
I'm just wondering how good this lens hust have been 20 years ago, all new and shiny. Now this old thing has some problems to focus. In cold enviroment the focusing is too stiff for K10D AF drive motor. In summer I had no problem even in AF-C.
I dig it's bokeh - it makes nice portraits.
Update: I replaced it with DA 50-200. I'm much happier with the DA lens than I was with this one.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 630
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 24, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharp, good colour and good bokeh. | | Cons: | Noisy | |
I use this lens a lot with yachting photos and people photos. I find it sharp all the way out to 210mm and down to f 5.6. I find the weight a plus as I can get steadier shots. Autofocus is a bit noisy but very accurate.
| | | | | Administrator Registered: September, 2006 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 4,408
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 30, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $190.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Compact for its range, useable for film, sharp and crisp | | Cons: | Color rendition, narrow focusing ring | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 7
Value: 9
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I first got the A70-210, then a year later the F70-210. I didn't find the A sufficiently sharp (in distant foliage for example), and went and retook the pictures a year later with the F. The F was much better - sharper and crisp pictures. It also handles better. The only issue I have with it that it reproduces color visibly different than my other lenses. It's quite some work sometimes to adjust the color balance to match the other lenses.
It is solidly built, and I have the dedicated rubber hood RH-RB49. When the hood is folded for transportation the lens with hood is quite compact.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 423
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 12, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $230.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | good oof rendering, good color | | Cons: | bad weight distribution, noisy autofocus | |
At one stage, I had A70-210/4, F70-210/4-5.6, and DA50-200/4-5.6 in my possession and here is what I think:
Performance-wise (image quality, color rendering, etc):
A70-210 > F70-210 >= DA50-200
Portability
DA50-200 > F70-210 > A70-210
Even though F70-210 is lighter than A70-210, the weight distribution of the F70-210 is front-element heavy making holding camera level a little tricky.
Another thing with F70-210 is that the autofocus is quite noisy and the lens "throttles" when it is hunting for focus.
I don't find any sharpness issue with this lens at all.
If you are deciding between the above 3 lenses, the F70-210 is actually a very good compromise if you prefer the images you get with old glass rather than the new DA lenses.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2006 Location: Bedminster NJ Posts: 3 | | Review Date: January 7, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Sharp in center of frame | | Cons: | Heavy to carry | |
Decent mid-80's vintage autofocus/autoaperture lens. Factory lens cap is flimsy; needs fairly deep lens hood for best results. Best sharpness at F8 or smaller. I consider focus to be soft around edges but very good in center.
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