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Pentax Lens Review Database » Film Era Pentax K-Mount Lenses » FA Zoom Lenses
SMC Pentax-FA 70-200mm F4-5.6 Review RSS Feed

SMC Pentax-FA 70-200mm F4-5.6

Sharpness 
 6.8
Aberrations 
 7.5
Bokeh 
 6.8
Autofocus 
 6.8
Handling 
 7.5
Value 
 7.8
Reviews Views Date of last review
9 95,000 Sat March 19, 2022
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $67.38 7.33
SMC Pentax-FA 70-200mm F4-5.6
supersize


Description:

This focal range is unique to the FA series; this lens features power zoom.


SMC Pentax-FA 70-200mm F4-5.6
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
Full-frame / 35mm film
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
Yes (A setting)
Diaphragm
Automatic, 9 blades
Optics
10 elements, 8 groups
Mount Variant
KAF2
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F4-5.6
Min. Aperture
F32-45
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
110 cm
Max. Magnification
0.25x
Filter Size
49 mm
Internal Focus
No
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 23-8.2 ° / 19-6.9 °
Full frame: 34-12 ° / 29-10.3 °
Hood
RH-RB49
Case
S80-160
Lens Cap
Coating
SMC
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Power Zoom
Diam x Length
73 x 116 mm (2.9 x 4.6 in.)
Weight
465 g (16.4 oz.)
Production Years
1991 to 2000
Engraved Name
smc PENTAX-FA 70-200mm f/4-5.6
Product Code
27427
Reviews
User reviews
Features:
Screwdrive AutofocusPowered ZoomingAperture RingAutomatic ApertureFull-Frame SupportDiscontinued
Price History:



Add Review of SMC Pentax-FA 70-200mm F4-5.6
Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-9 of 9
Pentaxian

Registered: February, 2010
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 6,153

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: March 19, 2022 Recommended | Price: $20.00 | Rating: 4 

 
Pros:
Cons:
Sharpness: 5    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 6    Autofocus: 7    Handling: 8    Value: 5    Camera Used: Pentax K-1   

I picked up this lens on the cheap—more out of curiosity than anything else. The optic is a product of legendary lens designer Jun HIrakawa. It's a consumer lens, of course, so one shouldn't expect its performance to match Hirakawa's star or limited designs. Hirakawa was famously not chiefly concerned with sharpness, and this becomes clear in his consumer grade and mid-range offerings (i.e., this lens, the A/F/FA 35-80, the F 17-28 and the DA 10-17), where serious compromises are made to sharpness in pursuit of other goals. Where he refused to compromise was on color rendering. All of his lenses, from the most expensive to the cheapest, produce beautiful color, and the FA 70-200 is no exception to that rule. That's the principle strength of the lens. Sharpness, however, is lacking on full-frame, particularly toward the edges and at the long end of the lens. Wide open performance may also be an issue, although I'm not a wide-open shooter and didn't test its performance on this lens. On a cropped cameras, some of these sharpness issues may go away—and so the lens might make sense for APS-C landscapes. Because of the excellent color rendering, the lens is capable of producing beautiful looking images—there is little doubt of that.


There is, however, one additional problem that needs to be mentioned, and that is fringing issues. Now I'm the last person to complain about fringing. As long as the fringing cleans up in post (I always shoot in raw), I don't care. But the FA 70-200 produces a kind of bokeh fringing that simply won't clean up in post (i.e., in Lightroom). That's the main reason why I wouldn't recommend this lens—although sharpness issues on FF also warrant consideration.


@ 70mm:




@ 88mm:



@ 138mm:



@ 200mm:

   
New Member

Registered: December, 2013
Posts: 7

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: March 17, 2022 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Sharp, cheap
Cons:
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Camera Used: k70   

I aquired this lens bundled with some other gear so cost is not clear, but it cost me next to nothing.

From previous experience with other FA zooms, and a quick glance at these reviews, I wasn't expecting much. However, I've been very pleasantly surprised. After a fair bit of pixel peeping on a 24mp K70 it stands up very well. The sharpness is easily good enough for 35mm film. It's weakness shows wide open at 200mm where it's slightly soft and smeary with CA, but that could be said of nearly all consumer zooms. However stop it down a bit, or zoom out a bit, and it sharpens up really nicely.

Clarity, colour and contrast are also perfectly decent.

Handling is fine. It's reasonably compact and not too heavy.

The power zoom is quirky and offers some unusual functions on a z-1 or similar, such as auto zoom on moving subjects. Not really tried that out but the power zoom itself feels more positive than the one on my Fujifilm XC15-45mm. It does use more battery though, but it's easy to switch to manual zoom by clicking the grip back towards you.

Definitely worth giving a try if you see one going cheap. I was intending to sell it but err.....maybe not. For the sheer value it's a 10.
   
Senior Member

Registered: October, 2014
Location: Boden
Posts: 113

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: April 23, 2015 Recommended | Price: $20.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: Inexpensive, Clear, nice Bokeh, 9 blade aperture, Power Zoom
Cons: Weight, very slight CA, Noisy AF
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 7    Autofocus: 7    Handling: 7    Value: 10    Camera Used: K5IIs   

I bought this lens from EBay Japan for $20 ($35 including freight).
I wanted a cheap and cheerful tele zoom for general Nature work and thought I would take a gamble.
if it's no good throw it away and I'm down 20 notes, I am really glad that I did, I have had this for 3 days, and have been suitably impressed.

It's a great lens and produces clear images with the K5IIs and the K5 all the way up to 200 with good contrast, but the IIs loves this lens more.
The K5 produces a softer image from 170-200 than the K5 IIs, which is still soft, but tolerable.
The bokeh is really nice when wide open, with the 9 aperture blades, the IQ is great, but not fantastic.

I have given this lens 7s across the board, granted it is a little heavy, and does extend out a fair bit at 200mm, the AF is noisy, and you can definitely feel the torque when it's hunting compared to newer lenses, I am very pleased with this lens, I have seen far worse for a lot more money.

If you are on a tight budget, I would not hesitate to recommend this.

Pentax smc FA 70-200 f4-5.6 K5 IIs ISO 100 f4.0
   
Veteran Member

Registered: March, 2009
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 509

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: May 20, 2010 Recommended | Price: $90.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Good image quality for 150mm and less, excellent built quality for a zoom, relatively affordable
Cons: Problematic border quality at 200mm. A bit CA. Feel the touque when AF.

Have owned this lens for more than 10 years. My first AF zoom lens. Well built. Decent image quality for 150mm or less. High contrast--a typical character of Pentax lenses.

Border resolution at the 200mm side could problematic. Image quality degrades at the 200mm side. Quite a bit CA and some PF at the largest aperture.

You can feel the torque when AF. The thing extends quite a bit. It is not as well designed as my Tokina 70-210mm f4.5 regarding AF speed. However, this works better in image quality at the 200mm side and less PF than the Tokina. It is also more contrasty than the Tokina.

A bit dated design but still workable. Very affordable. Given the relatively low price nowadays, I give it an 8 for value. Perhaps 7 for optical performance.
   
Forum Member

Registered: November, 2008
Posts: 99
Review Date: June 2, 2009 Recommended | Price: $90.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Sharp, relatively inexpensive
Cons: heavy, bulky

I was trying to decide between this lens and F70-210 which is more expensive and probably a little higher rated. The FA70-200 is longer and quite heavy but it is definitely not less sharper than F70-210. Overall, it is a good zoom although it is not very usable in a low-light situation. Here is the shot I took with this lens in Carlsbad, NM. https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/index.php?n=12440
   
Veteran Member

Registered: February, 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 789
Review Date: April 14, 2009 Recommended | Price: $100.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: relatively sharp, cheap, nice bokeh
Cons: power zoom, looks cheap, heavy-ish, noisy

I don't really use this because I like shooting closer to my subjects but on the occasions that I do, it doesn't really disappoint. Nice bokeh and sharp for such a cheap lens which I bought 2nd hand in Japan. I'm not a fan of the power zoom function but it's easy to switch off. It's an awkward lens but it gets the job done for a budget photographer.
   
Forum Member

Registered: January, 2008
Location: belgium
Posts: 96
Review Date: January 9, 2008 Recommended | Price: $75.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: quality
Cons: weight

I'm very happy with this lens that I found on the second hand market. I use it instead of my 50-200 mm lens which is a crime: it never gives a sharp picture and the distortion of the straight lines is terribly high. But this is 70-200 mm is fine: sharp (especially in combination with my K10D), no dark corners at all and no distortion of the straight lines.
The only disadvantage is its weight: compared to the 50-200 mm this lens is rather huge. But I like working with it.
   
Administrator
Site Webmaster

Registered: September, 2006
Location: Arizona
Posts: 51,584

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: February 3, 2007 Recommended | Price: $99.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Power zoom, fact-focusing, 9 aperture blades, low price
Cons: Better alternatives exist

Personally, I think that this lens is frequently underrated.

It produces clear tele and landscape shots, and I can't complain about bokeh, either. You won't find many zoom lenses that have 9 aperture blades like this one, so the only downside would have to be its relatively small zoom range compared to other lenses in its class.

It is very light and lots of fun on a power-zoom film body.

Here's an unedited sample shot, at 70mm:

http://themotec.com/Ole/WEB_Gallery113/images/IMGP1572.jpg
   
Senior Member

Registered: December, 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 143
Review Date: January 14, 2007 Recommended | Price: $45.00 | Rating: 6 

 
Pros: Low Price - Good Perfromance/Cost
Cons: Weight & Length. Soft compared to modern lenses.
Sharpness: 6    Aberrations: 6    Bokeh: 6    Autofocus: 5    Handling: 6    Value: 6   

Photographers on a tight budget will find this lens useful until they save up enough money to buy a newer zoom that will overlap its range. For example, the DA50-200 is smaller, lighter, and covers more at the low end, all with better contrast and sharpness. Then there will be no more reason to use this lens.

I've done some test shots with it and they seem to be good, and then I overlay a section from the same scene shot with the DA50-200 and the lower contrast and softness on the older lens is evident. Nonetheless, you can still discern pine needles on a tree 20-25 yards away with it. I'll give it a six if you can get it at the same price I paid, a good lens in the $50 USD range.
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