| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: Strand Posts: 1,366 | | Review Date: May 5, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Compact, light weight, a good travel lens | | Cons: | soft at f4 and f5.6 | |
Got this lens from a gentlemen jump ship to Nikon.
This lens has very good sharpness at f8. It is soft at f4 and usable at f5.6. f11 gives minor improvement on sharpness, but f8 is good allround. That concludes my use of this lens: outdoor, landscape, architecture. Very small and light. Feel a bit cheap.
I would rate this lens some thing between 8 and 9, but softness at wide aperture implies less useful as overall lens. This lens is far more better than F-serie zooms.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2011 Location: Tuktoyaktuk, NWT Posts: 6 | | Review Date: March 25, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, light, constant aperture | | Cons: | Feels cheap | |
This is the sharpest zoom I own, and the only AF constant aperture lens I own. In spite of its rather flimsy feel and the rotating front element, it is an excellent lens.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: East Yorkshire Posts: 120 | | Review Date: February 28, 2011 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, good colour reproduction, constant f4 | | Cons: | Looks cheep, rotating front element. | |
This lens is one of the best kept secrets Pentax has ever had.
It was only in production for a few years and was the second most expensive 'standard' zoom after the 28-70 f2.8.
I purchased this lens with my MZ5n and have never looked back. It has given amazingly sharp and consistent results and can always be relied on to come up with the goods. It is very sharp. The colour reproduction is extremely good, especially with digital cameras, were it produces good contrast. This is the lens I have permanently fixed to my camera, even after I went digital.
The only criticisms I have with this lens is the rotating front element and the odd looking plastic it is made from.
This lens has been criticized for being poorly made, but I have not found this. I put this down to the rather shiny plastic it is made of and the fact that it is very light for this type of lens. I have taken 10s of thousands of photographs with my copy and it still performs faultlessly.
There was a batch produced were the rear elements became de-laminated that probably went towards the bad reputation this lens has in some quarters. So if you are buying used give it a good check out.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2009 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 3,757 | | Review Date: March 2, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, light, cheap | | Cons: | flimsy construction, rotating front, | |
For the money, this zoom is as sharp as it gets. Above 5.6 I can't see much difference from my primes (not limiteds). No CA. The AF is not very sensitive/accurate: for instance, I need to focus on something close, then to focus on my more distant target in order to prompt the AF to move. The AF simply refuses to react to narrower variations of distance to target.
Also, one has to pay attention to this zoom while using it. It's fragile enough to break if accidentally dropped on an uncarpeted floor.
But, again, for the money, it's spectacular, and I'm glad I didn't sell it, as I initially intended after comparing it with a very capable manual Vivitar zoom I have in the same focal range. Real life pics look better with this one, and the AF--even with its problems--definitely is a plus.
I should mention that my copy doesn't show any sign of separation: the glass is pristine.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2009 Location: Lithuania Posts: 344 | | Review Date: October 17, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | extremely fast focus, very good at 5.6, excellent at f8, light. | | Cons: | feels a bit too plastic | |
I am really happy with this lens as this one changes my kit. It focuses extremely fast, and low light focus is very very good without hunting. At f4 It is a bit soft (especially at 70mm) but from 5.6 it produces very good results. Smooth bokeh, lightweight although feels cheaply made. But no requirements for lens which costs 100 bucks. No doubt, highly recommended lens.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2008 Posts: 44 | | Review Date: October 8, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very good sharpness, excellent contrast | | Cons: | slow speed (f/4), manual focus ring too small | |
I'm a news photographer, and I bought this lens on a lark, looking for a single lens I could use when I go to accidents on a motorcycle.
It's not an A* or Limited, but it exceeded all my expectations, and I highly recommend it.
| | | | | | | | Review Date: September 29, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, cheap, good IQ | | Cons: | Build quality, rotating front | |
I bought this lens 1 yr ago.
it is a very good lens for the money. The range is very useful, the weight of the lens is very light and the image quality is very good.
Sometimes 28mm is not wide enough for a big group photo, and the build quality of the lens is not as good the DA series. from 35-50 the sharpness of the lens almost as sharp as the DA 16-45.
so it is a lens that is value for money if you are not into wide angles
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: March, 2009 Posts: 46 | | Review Date: August 23, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | light, rapid focus, great colours | | Cons: | no hood | |
Great lens for the minimal price I paid. Nice length for walkaround, though 24 would be even better, as would 105..... even so, it's on my K10D a lot.
Better than kit for not much money.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 509 | | Review Date: August 7, 2009 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Light, constant aperture, reasonablly good IMQ, fast focusing, close focusing | | Cons: | Hard to manually focus, just a little bit noisy focusing, built quality, IMQ at 70mm | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I love this lens so much that I rarely carry my k10d kit lens. Used a while on my MZ-5 and moved onto my k10d now. 12-24mm would be a great compliment. I do not have many zooms and this is one of my better ones.
While this lens does a lot of things well, it is rarely superb. So I have to go back to my primes from time to time. I wish zoom lenses could be as good as primes. At f5.6, it is getting sharp. So it is limited to outdoor use for most cases.
Slightly more sensitive to direct sunlight than primes. Soft at 70mm on my digital camera and gives soft glow (soapy effect), which is good for portrait.
In contrast to some Sigma zooms that I owned, this one does have better contrast and way better color rendition. So resolution should not be the only measure.
EDIT: got DA 17-70mm lately. Would I get rid of this little wonder? Perhaps no. It is lighter. Focusing equally fast. Image quality is not much worse. Most important, it is much lighter and suits my needs for portraits. Wish I can give it 8.5. BUT the DA is better at close range and has lower CA.
EDIT: Resolution could be a problem. So 8 is the right number.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: July, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,100 | | Review Date: May 21, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp even at f/4, Light weight, Inexpensive | | Cons: | Nothing | |
I've been using this lens on a film body for the last few weeks. The film I have got back so far has exceeded my expectations and it hasn't left the camera much. It's a sharp lens, even at f/4, stopped down is even sharper. For outdoors or well lit indoors you can't go too wrong. The FA 28-70 f/4 is my everyday go-to lens. To add it is very inexpensive.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2007 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 485 | | Review Date: April 30, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light, Small, Great Color, Sharp | | Cons: | I don't like the extending lens barrel, or the non internal focusing mechanism- makes polarizers difficult to use | |
So far I love this lens. I've run a couple rolls of film through my MZ-3 with it and the shots are coming out spectacular. Apparently this was the kit lens that used to come with the MZ-3, so I kind of lucked out on putting two potentially long-lost siblings together!
I feel like for the money, it's a spectacular deal. Very useful range, especially on film, but even on digital. I love this thing because it's light and small, and makes a great respite from carrying around the big DA* 16-50mm.
I don't think I'd trust it through a rainstorm or anything like that, but I do think the build quality is good enough, and mine seems to be in perfect condition. Props to the original owner(s)!
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2007 Location: Pressburg, Eur Posts: 19 | | Review Date: September 28, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | very light and compact for a zoom; constant f4.0; colours, rendering & resolution once stopped down (positively spectacular results on film around f8.0) | | Cons: | wobbly plasticky build (not very confidence inspiring on hikes back then!); front element rotates | |
My first lens and the kit zoom coming with the venerable MZ-3. As said, capable of wonderful results stopped down and a pleasingly light standard zoom with film slrs for hiking.
Apart from the so-so build quality, using a polarizer filter with it was quite a nuisance as the front element rotates when focusing. Also naturally, no internal zooming, i.e. it extends towards both the short and long ends, with shortest physical length as shown here at 50mm.
I haven't used it much on digital as it obviously starts at too long for my general use which inclines to landscape-compatible lengths.
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2008 Location: Marion, IA Posts: 15 | | Review Date: July 5, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, relatively large aperture | | Cons: | Build quality, short focal range. | |
EDIT: Updated my review and drastically improved my rating.
This lens is a great lens. Focus is sharp, especially stopped down. Typical Pentax rendering with nice colors and contrast. Minimal distortion, and pretty even sharpness across the frame.
I had to manually focus for testing the lens because my K20D was front focusing so severely even maximum correction couldn't get it within spec. The comparison with my 35-135mm is unfair, because the 35-135mm was focusing more accurately on my K20D.
Even though my rear lens group might be showing the first signs of the dreaded separation, it doesn't seem to impact image quality much. This is a great compact/lightweight zoom. This isn't much bigger than a 50mm f1.4. The only really draw back to it is the marginally useful focal length range on digital (normal to slight telephoto).
Test Camera: Only K20D, didn't test on film.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Ankara, Turkey Posts: 401 | | Review Date: May 7, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, light, fixed maximum aperture | | Cons: | None | |
I have got this lens on an MZ-3. The price I paid for both (and a tele converter and a dedicated case; all in very good condition) was less than USD200. It remained on the MZ-3 for some time and after seeing its performance on film, I have moved it on to my digital bodies. I am pleasantly surprised. In spite of its plasticky feel, this small & light lens performs really nicely. Optically, I have no complaints whatsoever... It is at least as good, within its range and same f value, as my other pricey zooms... Autofocus is no problem. Manual focus is not as nice as the metal bodied cousins. It is a semi- or quasi- macro lens as well and gets decent close range shots. Remember, the more expensive and far heavier alternatives to this lens are not far superior at f/5.6 and f/8 to this one. If you do not desperately need the availability of "f/2.8", you can be really happy with a good copy of this lens.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Prague Posts: 1,199 | | Review Date: December 27, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | fast AF, dependable results, weight | | Cons: | not wide enough on crop | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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(Rating is only valid in its class)
I like this lens a lot. I bought it used and soon I found myself using my set 18-55 only for wide shots and this lens for everything else.
Despite its weight I found it being very reliable companion for my K10d. It gives steadily good results through whole focal range even on widest setting and it is surprisingly sharp when stopped down. No sign of CA means I can shoot directly to JPG which I use mostly for the social events.
edit: After purchase of the FA24-90 I sold this lens as obsolete last year. Then I felt missing it, so I bought it again.  | | |
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