Author: | | New Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: perth.... western australia Posts: 8 | Review Date: October 18, 2010 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | very sharp | Cons: | none | | Hello you Pentax enthusiasts....Well i got my 20-35 bran new, around fourteen years ago...have used it on my LX cameras...my Super-A cameras. K1000 cameras. and recently om my Pentax K-7...i have tested this lens against other primes, and zooms, and at even f5.6 still remains sharper than most lenses i have had, and since sold...had this lens not have been sharper than my other pentax lenses.....i would have got rid of it...many years ago...Yes i know it is only f4, but for me that is fine...my passion is landscape...seascape...architecture, and close up. it's by far the most used lens....and the best lens, i have owned....my 35mm kit now only consists o three lenses.....Pentax FA 20-35 f4...Pentax-A 35-70 f4 and the vivitar 70-210 f3.5 series one ( VERSION 3 MADE BY KOMANE)...I still use my Pentax gear occationally.....but i also love useing my Mamiya 7 cameras, also my 12x6 camera. especially for my monochrome printing.....Keep taking those pictures.....and enjoy life......regards Edward.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: September, 2006 Location: Bronx NY Posts: 5,631 | Review Date: January 5, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | good close up focus, sharp sharp sharp, and excellent color rendition | Cons: | some CA, many think F4.0 too slow | | This is just about the perfect "garden" lens. Since I shoot lots of gardens, this is a great lens to have. But you don't need to be a 'flower nut' to appreciate this lens, Excellent landscape lens, and a good walkabout lens. And the ability to close focus doesn't hurt either. One of my favorite lenses. Small light and inobtrusive.
NaCl(almost always in my bag)H2O
| | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2008 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,165 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: December 8, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Wideness, sharpness, compactness | Cons: | Not that fast | | I got this as a side benefit with a body purchase, never having heard of it or desired it. Wow! Much, much higher image quality than the 18-55mm kit lens, far outweighs its more limited range. And, as others have said, on a film body the 20mm end is fantastic. I find even wide open image quality is great. And with the usable high ISO levels on a digital camera, the maximum aperture of 4.0 isn't that limiting. Certainly the viewfinder is plenty bright. I was initially going to sell it, but no, I like it too much.
| | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 367 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: July 30, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | sharp, compact, light, great colors, great IQ | Cons: | none | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 8
| | My favorite lens. I've used it on my old DS and now on my K100D. For indoor events with bounce flash, it performs superbly. For landscapes, it brings out the colors better than most other zooms. I was choosing between a used FA 20-35 f/4 AL or a brand new DA 16-45 f/4 and I chose this one. No regrets! While the DA has a better range, it is also a lot bulkier and I couldn't stand the zoom extension when going wide angle. Not this one! Put the hood and you'd think it's an IF and Internal zooming lens. And the best part - the price of the lens used has appreciated by more than 25% since the time I purchased it in '07. Can't say the same about the DA 16-45 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Surrey, BC Posts: 29 | Review Date: February 17, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | sharp, sharp, great contrast, light, close focus. | Cons: | plastic outer construction (not a huge deal) | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
| | By far my most used lens on film, now I just have to get used to its feild of view with the 1.5 crop factor, which as it turns out makes it a great "general" lens.
When I first got my K100D Super I almost imediately put this lens on and didn't take it off for several days. It focuses nice and close, it has great contrast, its really sharp, and its light and compact. Oh and its a constant aperture at F4.
I highly recommend this lens if you are looking for something in this focal length.
| | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2007 Location: Logan, Utah Posts: 971 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: December 18, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | small size, constant aperture, image quality | Cons: | slow constant aperture, mild CA | | This lens has replaced the DA 18-55 lens as my standard lens and is the lens I use most of the time. Originally bought as a ultra-wide angle film lens, it works beautifully for me as a normal digital lens. The build quality is superior to the DA 18-55, as is the image quality. It has lower distortion than the DA (probably because it's a full-frame lens), and is a tad sharper, or so it seems. It does have a tendency to produce chromatic aberrations in situations of extreme contrast, but is still better than the kit lens in this regard. The "Sweet Spot" on my copy is between f/5.6 and f/8.
| | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: in a house in Armidale, Australia Posts: 472 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: April 19, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | the colour and look!!! (its also small,light, cheapish) | Cons: | ca | | I spent a month deciding between this and 16-45, and after a week with this I am still amazed. It's small and light, gets a fair bit of ca and sometimes feel I still want a bit wider and bit longer...BUT the colour, look and sharpness of the images make this one a real keeper. Its great!
| | | | New Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Dallas, TX, USA Posts: 21 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: April 8, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Tack sharp, well-built | Cons: | not as wide on a DSLR | | On DSLR, this is an ideal scenic walk-around lens.
Even if it's not mounted, it's always in my kit - always sharp at all lengths.
I also like using it with film - where I can take more advantage of its ultra-wideangle range.
Larry in Dallas
| | | | Administrator Site Webmaster Registered: September, 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 51,594 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: February 4, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Sharp, Light, Fixed Aperture | Cons: | Slower than prime alternatives | | This lens is great for close-ups as well as landscapes, and it provides a very useful zoom range.
Although it's one stop slower than the FA 20 and 2 stops slower than the FA 35, it's a great compromise if you don't want to carry around two lenses.
Because it's light and compact, it can easily make it onto any trip, and it produces very sharp photos for a zoom.
| | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 115 | Review Date: February 4, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Sharp, Great range, light | Cons: | almost none | | This is a Fantastic lens. It's now out of production, but if you can get one don't hesitate.
20-35mm is a great range for the Digital SLRs. At F/5.6 or smaller apertures it will match just about any prime lens in sharpness. It's much smaller than the DA16-45, and the size of the lens does not change much through out it's zoom (unlike the 16-45). My own tests proved it to be much better than the 16-45.
For a long time I had a 4-lens kit that I too every where with me. FA20-35, FA50/1.4, Tamron90, F*300 | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 9 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: January 11, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $499.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Lightweight, versatile focal length range, constant maximum aperature | Cons: | Not a prime...need to stop down to f5.6 for decent sharpness | | I just can't let this lens go unappreciated...by far my most used lense before I went digital, and still goes with me anytime that weight is a concern. It serves admirably as a standard zoom on the 1.5 cropped sensor of the Pentax digital SLR's. A full 120 grams lighter than the DA 16-45, and 26mm shorter, it can be a fun 'stealth' lens. I have several images shot with this lens on the DS that I have enlarged to 10" x 15", and could go even larger. The only negative I have observed is some sensitivity to CA in backlit situations, but it can easily be dealt with. Other than this minor nit, it definitely holds its own in sharpness when stopped down to f5.6 or smaller when compared to the DA 16-45. | | |