| Author: | | New Member Registered: October, 2022 Location: Gosford, NSW Posts: 8 | | Review Date: January 2, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | featherweight, decent image quality | | Cons: | construction feels a little flimsy, no weather resistance | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K70
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Just picked up one of these Brand New In Box (yes, sitting un-touched in some storage for at least 17 years). Over the last couple of days I have been doing my own comparisons with 2 other small zooms, namely the F35-70mm and the DA18-50mm. I am no expert but I have to say that this one stacks up quite well in terms of image quality. This FA35-80mm has the plastic mount, like the DA18-50mm, but no weather resistance. The F35-70mm is slightly heavier, with its metal mount. Focusing on the FA35-80mm is swift and accurate, and I find the noise is not too bad, certainly less than the clunk from the camera's mirror. Like the F35-70mm, but unlike the DA18-50mm, the FA35-80mm gives you all 3 rings: focus, zoom and aperture. They don't feel particularly robust, and I think handling with care will be required, but maybe no more care than with the DA18-50mm which I think is also flimsy. Macro on the FA35-80mm is just a further turning of the focus ring, whereas the F35-70mm has the macro feature as part of the zoom ring. I am quite impressed with the macro ( or really , I suppose, just close focus) image quality from the FA35-80mm, like wow.
The purpose of doing my comparison was to work out which of these I would choose if I only had limited space/weight available and could take only 1 small zoom lens. The FA35-80mm wins for me, except in rainy weather, in which case the DA18-50mm would get the nod. The F35-70mm is also a fine lens but will have to bide its time until the FA35-80mm fails.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2020 Posts: 132 | | Review Date: October 18, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Colour, overall rendering, price, availability | | Cons: | Build quality, sample variation, sharpness | | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 6
Value: 10
Camera Used: Kr, KS-2, Samsung GX10
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I've owned 3 copies.
The first was a good one. I bundled that with my K-r when I sold it, thinking I could easily pick up another one.
Even the good one whilst nicely sharp in the centre was softer on the edges but that's ok...
All 3 copies had great colour straight out the cameras and produce nicely rendered jpegs at the long end.
My first copy was also acceptable at 35mm but benefitted from stopping down.
The next 2 I acquired were awful, blurry at the wide end even in the centre unless you stopped down to f8 or more, even at f8 I've never really been happy with them.
They had the potential to be great on the KS-2 with the better ISO performance but the very uneven performance really made/makes me avoid them.
Sure you can have some fun with these and the colour is superb. They are in plentiful supply but there are better and probably more reliable cheap zoom options.
Overall they handle quite nicely, very light, AF is ok but not always accurate. One copy was either wearing out or had some grit in the focussing mechanism - much noisier and felt horrible switching to MF (not that you do that much with this kind of lens anyway).
I find the focal length great for APS-C. I think it's similar to using primes in that restricting range to normal to short-tele, I tend to pay more attention to composition rather than hurriedly zooming wider or longer than I should.
Overall I think this is a flawed lens that can still be put to good use.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2013 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: August 12, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great Color, Fast AF, Sharpness, Light Weight, Cheaper prize | | Cons: | Soft at wide aperture | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-x
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I read the reviews here and searched for a good piece of this lens.
Lucky!  I got a good one for around $50 in a very good condition.
It produces great and pleasant to eyes color and the AF is lightning fast!
But, I maintained f= 6 to 8 for all the shots to get decent and sharp images.
If you try to use this at wide apertures, you will get some soft images (if you intend to take
soft images, this should be perfect for you).
I tried with my K-x and very much happy with the results . I have yet to try with my K5IIs
which I primarily use with other premium class lenses.
This light weight lens is much better than the 18-55 kit lens. If the focal length range is suitable for your style of shooting, don`t miss this lens.
A nice walk-around lens and sitting on my K-x always for street snaps! | | | | | Junior Member Registered: June, 2012 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Posts: 36 | | Review Date: November 14, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
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Not a bad lens. For the price, of course. In terms of IQ it is on par with the digital basic lens - the 18-55. And since you can get this piece of glass and rattling plastic almost for free, it's worth a try as a longer alternative to the kit zoom. On film it is even more usable, the range becomes more useful and the lens really is small and light. But don't expect miracles - noisy (but fast) AF, rotating front element, no hood, awful build quality, plastic bayonet, clumsy aperture ring, no DoF scale, slow...
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2008 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,165 | | Review Date: June 4, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Light weight and compact, useful range, close focus | | Cons: | Slow, mostly plastic including the mount | |
This is a nice inexpensive lens. It is incredibly light and very compact for a nice outdoor walk-around lens. Close-up focusing is available throughout its range, and quasi-macro (1:4) performance is quite good. It is pretty slow and not that wide, so not ideal for indoor use. I find at 35mm I can snap pictures of my kids in a scene, while zooming in to 80 gets me up to their faces for candids. I've had pretty good luck with this and with the F version, especially using a hood - pretty similar IQ to the DA 18-55. I wouldn't spend more than $25 or so on one, but at a low enough price point the lens can be useful.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2009 Location: Maine, USA Posts: 424 | | Review Date: February 2, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $27.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Nice soft lens (when that effect is desired), light, cheap, useful focual range, works on digital and film cameras. Auto focus and manual focus. | | Cons: | Slow aperture. Kinda plasticy build but not flimsey. | |
This review is relative to the low cost of the lens, it's super affordable.
Nice soft lens (when that effect is desired) :
Do we always want razor sharp photos ? No. For example, when shooting a person with skin blemishes or wrinkles, do you want those imperfections in sharp focus ? Another example, when selling things on eBay or Craiglist do you want the dust to show ? I think there is a place for a lens that is not razor sharp.
Light :
It's as light as a DA-L lens
Cheap :
In 2010 it's always less than $30 US delivered.
Useful focal range :
35mm is "normal" focal length for 1.5x crop cameras (like 50mm on film)
80mm is "portrait" focal length for 1.5x crop cameras (like 120mm on film)
Works on digital and film cameras :
The lens can be auto focus or manual focus, auto aperture or manual aperture.
It's OK for the price | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2018 Location: Brooklyn NYC Posts: 15
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 27, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $24.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, light, perfect for hikes | | Cons: | loud AF | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-S2
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Picked mine up to use on Ricoh KR-30sp, but it too new for that.
Ended up using it for a road trip and absolutely loved it.
Paired to K-S2 it was light enough to walk around all day with it in my hand, (I don't like neck straps). Images came out just as you expect them to, good color, sharpness, even some decent bokeh.
The only thing that surprised me is how loud AF is, scared a few insects trying to take closeup shots. Here are few shots.
ƒ/5.6 1/50 80mm ISO100
ƒ/8 1/160 80mm ISO100
ƒ/5.6 1/100 60mm ISO800
ƒ/13 1/200 53mm ISO100
 | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2015 Posts: 17
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 15, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Cool, very fast AF, interesting | | Cons: | sometimes AF just hunt | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5 ii
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I came across this kit lens by purchasing MZ-50 SLR.
I expected nothing from it. So I was pleasantly surprised how interesting, nice and sharp images can be and how fast the AF is. The AF is REALLY FAST. When work, AF is spot on without hunting. No FF/BF. It is really joy to use. But sometimes it can hunt back and forth and just not loack at all. You must refocus on different target and try again. Like 3 out of 10 times that happens, especially if target is closer to camera. Have no pattern what kind of target would be difficult for it, since sometimes lock on small twig no problem, sometimes hunts on easy object. Maybe it is faulty lens, and not model issue. But I reckon it has to do with how fast it is. Modern lenses have much finer "screw", so they are slower but more precise. It seems sometimes focus point sits between two motor positions. If I move slightly back or forward it locks than. Or I often just use MF.
Images are pleasant, real to life, and even on K5ii they look organic and "film" like. Images have good contrast and interesting bokeh. They call for "film-like" grading. Lens can give nice blurred background for portraits since it can focus really close. Near macro range Did I say how fast, accurate and snappy AF is? Did I mention it is more quiet than any DA lens I have? Well, mostly it is low pitched sound, while modern DA lenses have much higher pitched sound. I reckon the screw is more precise in modern lenses, so higher sound. While DA50-1.8 "think" a moment before starting to focus, this FA is like golden retriever, just wainting to focus something Crazy, I love it and it is my new toy.
IQ: Lens give obviously better resolution at f8, than wide open. But image is well defined and pleasant at wide open as well. Center sharpenss is really good, but corners are softer wide open, and not much better when stopped down and I reckon on FF body that would look even worse. But this is obvious only when image represent large flat object like brick wall. For most photos I take, like portraits, flowers, walk snapshots, it is not noticable at all.
When Tamron 70-200 f2.8 is put against this lens in bright sunny day, it is instantly obvious how modern zoom have greater contrast and sharpenss. But I do like image character from this old lense a bit more. I like this lens and I will keep it. It's lighter and smaller than DA 18-55.
Photos from my album
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/97119-cdmikelis/albums/11840-smc...-35-80-f4-5-6/
EDIT after use on FF film body:
Using the lense on FF body proved that lens is really soft at the corners wide open. In fact it is not lack of sharpeness but curvature. My MZ-50 sometimes focuses in front of object and than corners around center of frame is sharp, with center out of focus. On FF body lens produce interesting curly effect around center of frame. It is really usable lens on APS-C, but more "arty" on FF body.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2015 Posts: 17
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 15, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Cool, very fast AF, interesting | | Cons: | sometimes AF just hunt | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5 ii
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I came across this kit lens by purchasing MZ-50 SLR. The lens obviously went through some usage, but it is not beaten up. So I can expect this copy represents this model well.
I expected nothing. So I was pleasantly surprised how interesting, nice and sharp images can be and how fast the AF is. The AF is REALLY FAST. When work, AF is spot on in fist move. No FF/BF. It is really joy to use. But sometimes it can hunt and at some objects AF does not loack at all. You must refocus on different target and try again. Like 1/15 times that happens. Have no pattern what kind of target would be difficult for it, since sometimes lock on small twig no problem, sometimes hunts on easy object. Maybe it is faulty lens, and not model issue.
Images are pleasant, with good contrast and interesting bokeh, with some vintage feel. They call for "film-like" grading. lens can give nice blurred background for portraits since it can focus really close. Near macro range Did I say how fast, accurate and snappy AF is? Did I mention it is more quiet than any DA lens I have? Well, mostly it is low pitched sound, while modern DA lenses have much higher pitched sound. I reckon the screw is more precise in modern lenses, so higher sound. While DA50-1.8 "think" a moment before starting to focus, this FA is like golder retriever, just wainting to focus something Crazy, I love it and it is my new toy.
IQ: Lens give obviously better resolution at f8, than wide open. But image is well defined and pleasant at wide open as well. Corners are smeared wide open, and not much better when stopped down and I reckon on FF body that would look even worse. But this is obvious only when image represent well defined large flat object like brick wall. For most photos I take, like portraits, flowers, walk snapshots, it is not noticable at all.
I like this lens and I will keep it. It's lighter and smaller than DA 18-55.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2010 Location: Southern England Posts: 624
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 11, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $18.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Sharp at the long end, light as a feather, cheap | | Cons: | Soft at the wide end | | Sharpness: 6
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-50
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Just to sum up:
Goes from pretty soft at the 35mm end, getting sharper as you move up to the 80mm end, at which it's quite sharp.
Colours and contrast are OK.
A little flimsy feeling, but light as a feather and fast-focusing.
I've tried a couple, and the optically identical (?) F35-80, and all are very similar (though one is slightly decentred).
Would recommend on the proviso that it's cheap, and that you don't mind that it's distinctly soft at the wide end.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2016 Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 25, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $36.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp even wide open, very fast AF, IQ better than 18-55, its light | | Cons: | Not f 4 permanent, "macro" 1:5 only at 80mm, prone to flare and cyan color | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax KS-1
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I've won this lens on ebay for 25 GBP, in excellent condition. I search for this lens for its cheapness and IQ, mainly because i did'nt want to buy a 18-55. I think that 35mm it's enough wide for landscapes, but I usually shoot 3-5 pictures that i merge in Lightroom or Hugin. The zoom range makes it perfect as a factotum, as i said i use it for landscapes, portraits (from 50 to 80mm), close up etc.
It's very light and small, so you can take it everywhere. Obviously is not a macro, the magnification only at 80mm is 1:5.
I recommend a lens hood, because unlike most SMC lenses, its prone to flare in backlight.
Vote 9, also based on the price
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2015 Location: Bahía Blanca. Argentina Posts: 8
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 9, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | very good autofocus and sharpness. | | Cons: | construccion fragil | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: k5
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very good autofocus and sharpness
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2015 Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 4, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | light weight, overall sharp, nice color, nice bokeh, produces very pleasing images | | Cons: | focus ring action too light, lens/filter rotates with focus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: sony a5000 with adapter
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Very enjoyable lens. It had been sitting in a closet for the past 13 years, but brought it back into service a few months ago after buying e-mount adapter for my Sony cameras. I actually like this lens better with the APS-C format for 2 reasons. The crop factor focal range (52-120mm) works really well for my shooting, and the softness around the edges I recalled from some of my previous 35mm film shots seems to have been cropped out. Still slightly soft wide open, but very useable.
Everything is manual or aperture priority with these cameras, but that is part of the fun of the lens for me. Focus peaking and magnification features make it super easy to focus.
Overall very sharp images and surprisingly nice bokeh. Only criticisms; aperture ring could have more positive feel, focus ring could be damped better, and lens/filter rotate when focusing, which makes using polarizing filter more difficult.
sample shots:
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2010 Location: Manteca, CA Posts: 1,653
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 18, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, Great IQ, Super fast AF, Low CA | | Cons: | Plastic, Focus ring drifts when manual focusing | |
I was very pleasantly surprised. For such a cheap lens the AF is lightning fast and it does not hunt. IQ is better than the 18-55 by far. Bokeh isnt to bad either. A very good choice for a walk around lens and contrary to what some of the other reviewers have stated its a very usable focal length on APS-C or 35mm. If you find one its a great value.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2013 Posts: 6
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 3, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $45.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, light weight, good handling | | Cons: | none so far | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K5
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I wanted something in between my DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 WR and my Sigma 100-300mm DL f/4-5.6. Found this in eBay for 45 usd and after checking the review, I ordered it from the seller (A nice guy from Greece. He even threw in a lens leather case for the price!)
I know this lens received some good reviews but I was simply amazed by the results. Check out the snapshots I took this afternoon. Converted from RAW to JPEG straight without any PP.
Definitely recommend this lens..!!
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