Administrator Registered: September, 2006 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 4,409 | | Review Date: January 16, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $45.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Sharp. Fixed f-stop throughout the zoom range. | | Cons: | Front heavy. Distortion at the extreme ends. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 6
Value: 9
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This was my first zoom, acquired in the 1970'es for use with my Pentax ME and K1000.
Back then I used slide film and I was very satisfied with the sharp results produced by this lens. When used on the K1000 it was convenient that the f-stop does not change while zooming.
It is very solidly built, the barrel all metal. On the down side it is quite front heavy, and there is significant distortion at the extreme ends, so this lens is not suitable for architecture photography. On other types of objects the distortion is not noticeable. The close focusing distance is 150 cm which is somewhat lame.
My version came with a close-up attachment, which screwed into the filter thread and alleviated the close focusing problem somewhat. My version thus had a third distance scale for use with this close up attachment.
The lens hood is available in two versions: A two piece hood as described by Dana G below, and a more recent (I guess) one piece hood. Both types are all-metal.
It's a ten for build quality, probably a nine for sharpness but the distortion drags my rating down; I give it a seven+ overall. It is available for very little money and hence an excellent value despite the drawbacks.
Here is an image which I shot with this lens for Pentax World Day:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/index.php?n=5610
On the original image the antennas on the mountain top show very clearly - this lens is very sharp for a zoom.
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