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HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR Review RSS Feed

HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR

Sharpness 
 9.0
Aberrations 
 8.8
Bokeh 
 7.8
Autofocus 
 9.0
Handling 
 9.0
Value 
 8.2
Reviews Views Date of last review
43 293,074 Wed February 21, 2024
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
88% of reviewers $508.03 8.88
HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR

HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
supersize
HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
supersize
HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
supersize
HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
supersize
HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
supersize
HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
supersize

Description:
The HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm zoom was presented at Photokina 2014 and is expected to ship in November of 2014.

This zoom represents an upgrade from the 18-55mm kit lens being wider as well as having a longer reach and adding to that silent autofocus thanks to a built-in DC autofocus motor.

The lens is weather resistant.

HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
APS-C
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
No
Diaphragm
Automatic, 7 blades (rounded)
Optics
16 elements, 12 groups
Mount Variant
KAF3
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F3.5-5.6
Min. Aperture
F22-38
Focusing
AF (in-lens motor)
DC
Quick-shift
Yes
Min. Focus
35 cm
Max. Magnification
0.26x
Filter Size
72 mm
Internal Focus
Yes
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 83-19 ° / 74-16 °
Hood
PH-RBA 72 mm
Case
S90-140
Lens Cap
O-LC72
Coating
HD,SP
Weather Sealing
Yes (WR)
Other Features
Diam x Length
78 x 94 mm (3.1 x 3.7 in.)
Weight
488 g (16.07 oz.)
Production Years
2014 to present (in production)
Pricing
$646 USD current price
Engraved Name
HD PENTAX-DA 1:3.5-5.6 16-85mm ED DC WR
Product Code
21387
Reviews
User reviews
In-depth review
Unofficial Full-Frame Compatibility Tests by Pentax Forums
☆☆☆ No coverage at any setting
Show details
Notes
Three aspherical elements and one ED glass element.
No autofocus on older bodies (*istD series, K100D, K110D, and film).

Features:
Supersonic AutofocusQuick ShiftWeather SealedAutomatic ApertureAPS-C Digital Only
Purchase: Buy the HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
In-Depth Review: Read our HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR in-depth review!
Sample Photos: View Sample Photos
Price History:



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Pentaxian

Registered: December, 2012
Location: Blenheim
Posts: 1,280
Review Date: February 21, 2024 Recommended | Price: $370.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: WR, useful zoom range
Cons: soft at wider angles/apertures, relatively expensive
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 7    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-70   

I've experimented with a range of lenses, and after reading good reviews of this lens, hoped it could become a walkaround lens to replace several other options that each almost meet my requirements, but not quite.
I have an older Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5 which is a great all round lens, but not weather sealed, a D-FA 28-105 which is a fantastic lens that is sharp and weather sealed, but not quite wide enough on APS-C.
I also have the kit 18-55 DA-L WR version with a third party lens hood that is weather sealed, and very lightweight, and offers fairly good image quality for the price.
Finally, I have a DA 12-24/4 to cover for the wide end that I'm very happy with for sharpness across the zoom range, but it's not weather sealed, it's a bit bulky, and typically I'd carry it with the D-FA 28-105 to have all my focal lengths covered, which adds a bit of weight out hiking.
I'd read reviews of the DA 18-135, and the 16-85 is generally rated higher, so I had great expectations for this lens.

Could it replace all those other lenses as a single walk-around lens?

After owning it for several months, I have distinctly mixed feelings. It's one of the more expensive lenses I've purchased, even though it was second hand.
After starting to have some misgivings using it out in the field, I printed out a test chart and tested it on a tripod with 2 second shutter delay at different focal lengths and apertures to get controlled conditions.

There's some CA near the edges at wider focal lengths, but this clears up with smaller aperture and longer focal lengths.

There's also noticeable barrel distortion at 16mm.

By 28mm the CA is almost gone, even wide open, and the barrel distortion is gone too, although overall sharpness still leaves a bit to be desired until stopped down, especially in the corners and edges.

Beyond 28mm there's virtually no CA or distortion, and sharpness is greatly improved, although corners are still a bit soft until stopped down to f/8.

AF is quiet, and quick.

It's hard to assess bokeh, as due to sharpness issues, it's unlikely I'd use this lens wide open, and it's fairly slow anyway,

My main problem with this lens is that if it doesn't come into its own beyond around 28mm, why use it, when I have the D-FA 28-105 that is excellent at 28mm on APS-C, weighs about the same, has longer reach, and is cheaper?

Having the 16-28mm range covered without having to change lenses is convenient, but even at f/11 at 16mm it's not very sharp.

For a wide to short telephoto, my experience is that the Sigma 17-70 offers better sharpness and wider aperture across the range, although the lack of weather sealing is a drawback.

Would I recommend this lens? That's complicated.

I think the Sigma is out of production now, as is the DA 12-24, however for me, if weather sealing isn't critical, then I think I'd pick the Sigma over this as it's around used, at quite reasonable prices, or if carrying two lenses isn't an issue, The DA 12-24 + D-FA 28-105 give me better image quality with weather sealing from 28mm onwards.

For someone who wants to buy with a warranty, I would recommend this lens, although if you can survive without the wider end, and think there's any prospect of a full frame body in your future, a D-FA 28-105 might be a worthy alternative. The kit 18-55 stopped down is not much worse than the 16-85 at the wide end, and if you don't mind changing lenses, the 28-105 seems to have a sharpness advantage over the 16-85.

Maybe I'm being unfair comparing with a full frame lens, but given that they're similar weights and sizes, and anyone with a kit 18-55 can make up for the wider range not covered by the 28-105, I think it is a useful comparison.

If you're buying a body and lens together though, without hesitation I'd recommend the 16-85 over the kit lens, as it will do everything the kit lens does and more.

Enough words, here are some images so you can decide for yourself.

16mm f/11

31mm f/5.6

85mm f/5.6

35mm f/8.0

48mm f/10
   
Pentaxian

Registered: April, 2009
Location: Madrid, Spain
Posts: 10,813

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: September 27, 2023 Recommended | Price: $350.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Decent range, sharp wide open, great colours & exposure, weather resistant, decent build quality
Cons: Too slow, very expensive for a slow zoom, occasional focus glitches
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 7    Handling: 10    Value: 7    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-3   

I wanted a weather resistant lens better than the 18-55mm kit for a long time and there were four options: (1) the SMC DA* 16-50mm, (2) the DA 18-135mm, (3) the DA 20-40mm limited or (4) the DA 16-85mm. The first was a definite 'no' due to the SDM motor failure, cost and reputed poor IQ, and the limited, though it appeals to me a lot, is also expensive and very rare on the used market, so it came down to the two slower options. From reading reviews it seems that the 16-85mm is optically superior to the 18-135mm so if you value IQ over range (I do) then the 16-85mm is the better bet, though it's more expensive.

I bought a very lightly used copy for €350 because a new copy was out of the question - far too expensive.

It was great to finally have a Pentax-branded lens with an in-lens focus motor, having bought a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 not long before which was my first lens for Pentax with a focus motor and spoiled me somewhat as almost all my AF lenses are screwdrive. Handling is great and the lens is solid enough without being heavy.

Compared to the 18-55mm WR kit lens, the 16-85mm is much better in terms of IQ - sharpness, contrast, colour - and this was mainly what I'd been looking for in this lens, to get better results in adverse conditions. The additional range at both end is also very welcome and useful. I really, really wish I'd bought this a year earlier as I'd had several trips where WR was essential and I had to rely just on the kit lens.

The lens is sharp across most of the frame wide open, with some softness at the borders especially at the wide end, but nothing too bad. Stop down and this is reduced to being virtually unnoticeable. Colour, contrast, flare resistance are all great and exposure seems much more accurate than with many other lenses. To sum-up: the image quality is superb in all aspects.

As the lens is slow it's not ideal for isolating a subject and blurring background and/or foreground, but it can be done in the right conditions.

On the negative side the only major problem I've had with the lens is an inability to focus sometimes. This happens primarily at the wide end (surprisingly, as this is where it lets in most light) - the image seems to jerk in the viewfinder and when it finally indicates a focus lock it's often mis-focsed, sometimes so much so that it's visible in the viewfinder of my K-3. This even happens in very good light and the only solution is to use live-view focusing. It's an annoying tendency which spoiled some earlier photos until I got into the habit of performing a quick focus check on the rear screen after each shot. At the long end this rarely happens, though the lens may struggle to focus as there's less light getting in at f/5.6 (but this is normal).

The image movement in the viewfinder when it's trying to focus is not limited to my copy - several users have found the same behaviour in their copies and have discussed it in the forums.

As a minor complaint, the lens loses sharpness when focusing very close.

The only other negative aspect is the price. This lens, especially when bought new, is far too expensive for a slow zoom, even if it is sharp wide open and WR. I can't help but feel that it should cost at least €100 less (new) or the aperture should be something more respectable such as 3.5-4.5.

Due to these negative aspects of the lens, which are considerable, I can't give the lens better than 8/10 overall, though if I were to judge it purely on the image quality without taking into account the negative aspects, it'd be a 9 or 9.5/10. Even though I prefer primes generally, and have used some very good ones, this lens became my favourite landscape lens as IQ was at least as high as the primes and the flexibility of a zoom and having WR made it a great choice.

The lens makes a very good walk-around for use in good light, especially when conditions may be adverse, but it's no substitute for a 17-50mm f/2.8 or an f/2.8 or faster prime, for giving flexibility in varied light conditions and the ability to isolate a subject.

Some sample pics:


Asturias
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

This one's a stitched panorama:


Panorama 6a
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Waves
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Llanes
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Bilbao
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Bilbao
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


IMG_6880a
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


IMG_7522a
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Night lights
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Copenhagen
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Lone yellow jacket
by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
   
Site Supporter

Registered: December, 2016
Location: North west Tasmania.
Posts: 600

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: February 8, 2023 Not Recommended | Price: $300.00 | Rating: 6 

 
Pros: Zoom range, sharpness, WR
Cons: Worst auto focus of any of my Pentax lenses. Constantly hunts regardless of focus points activated.
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 2    Handling: 8    Value: 4    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: KP and K70   

I was keen to add this lens to my collection, as the zoom range appealed to me.
Very disappointed with the auto focus. It is only just average at the 85mm end, but hopeless at the wide angle end. It regularly refuses to lock onto anything no matter what focus points are selected.
The only way of getting a shot at the wide angle end is to manual focus. I had thought that it would be spending a lot of time on either my K70 or KP, but its auto focus is so frustrating, I now rarely use it.
   
New Member

Registered: February, 2023
Posts: 4
Review Date: February 8, 2023 Recommended | Price: $355.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: 5.3x zoom, really sharp, WR, SDM
Cons: A distance scale could have been useful
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 9    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: Pentax K-70   

After years of using the 18-55 kit lens, I wanted a lens that could reach larger field of view, but also be a short tele, with an improoved quality and sharpness.

Bought on MPB, at a really low price against the eBay prices and the condition of the lens itself (except for the missing filter door on the lens hood, kindly refunded), this "little" jewel, is a everyday lens with a good range of shooting.

Good sharpness wide open, but must go to f/8 to get some nicer detail. Top sharpness resists till 11, and till 50mm; 85mm is sharp too, but of course less as compared to the wider focal lenghts.

It's also my first lens with SDM, and WOW, there's some magic in there.

Only a month of usage and yet I totally love this lens, hope it will work with me for a lot from now on.


Edit: After 6 months of using and getting knowledge of this lens, i can say that it is still a very good one but i would have liked that it could be sharper at wider openings. Autofocus is good and neat, but sometimes at 16mm is better going on manual. I would recommend this lens to amateurs or as an everyday lens, because it's a very useful and comfortable, but it lacks the sharpness of a top quality glass.





   
Loyal Site Supporter

Registered: October, 2018
Location: Quebec City, Quebec
Posts: 6,479

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: December 12, 2021 Recommended | Price: $500.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Excellent sharpness and contrast @ f/8, silent focusing, holds well in hand.
Cons: None
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K3, K3 III   

After using my little DA 18-135 mm ED for a full year, I saw an offer from an Ontario store I couldn't pass for a brand-new HD DA 16-85 mm ED. I had read numerous positive reviews about this lens and I decided to give it a try. This will be my 2021-22 "WINTER PROJECT".

Up to now I had just a few opportunities to test it. I took pictures inside my kitchen and close-ups of freezing rain falling on my patio door. Then 2 days later, I photographed the view of my backyard on a sunny day. Excellent uniform corner-to-corner sharpness. More pictures will be coming later.


A new photo session at the Batiscan River below : EXCELLENT RENDERING and STUNNING SHARPNESS over the whole focal range .






I visited the Old Town of Quebec City today. Here are some of the results :







Up to now, results have been more than satisfying. I will combine this WA zoom with my HD DA 55-300 mm ED lens to complete my "light travel kit".



OPTIMUM APERTURE RANGE : between f/6.3 and f/16.
.

I tried to find Color Fringing by shooting branches against a bright background @ 16 mm FL and f/8
.

.
None is apparent.
.



.


I compared the HD DA 16-85 mm ED to the DFA* 70-200 mm f/2.8 at 85 mm FL on a K3
Upper picture is the DFA* 70-200 mm, lower one the HD DA 16-85 mm
RESULT : it's a TIE !
.


Monochrome rendering of Sainte Anne de Beaupré Basilica.
.

.
From now on, I started using my new K3 III :
.
.

.















I now use a more performing combo : the HD DA 16-85 mm f/3.5-5.6 + DA* 60-250 mm f/4



January 2023 along the Saint Lawrence @ 20 mm FL + K3 III below :


February 2023 along the Saint Lawrence @ 60 mm FL + K3 III below :


September 2023 in a vegetable kiosk @ 22 mm FL + K3 III below :



October 2023 with the K3 III
.

.

For my needs, this is the most "perfect" lens I ever used along with a K3 III.
   
New Member

Registered: July, 2015
Location: Otis Orchards, WA, USA
Posts: 9

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: March 8, 2021 Recommended | Price: $550.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Feels sturdy, well built, smooth tight zoom movement, improvement over the kit lens 18-135
Cons: Non so far
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 9    Value: 8    New or Used: New    Camera Used: Pentax K-3   

I really liked my kit lens (18-135), but decided to get this lens for better sharpness along with a wider range. The 5.6 and higher aperture seems to be the sharpest range. This will be my walk around lens while my limited 35mm will be my go to lens for better quality, and closeup photos. These are some of my first shots, hand held, just around my house.



   
Loyal Site Supporter

Registered: February, 2014
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 2,695

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: February 6, 2021 Not Recommended | Price: $450.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: Focal length range, WR, color rendition
Cons: Unreliable AF, Jumping Image Syndrome, Durability
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 6    Handling: 9    Value: 6    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-3, KP   

Updated: I can no longer recommend this lens. I have now owned THREE. The first is what I described in my review. I bought a second copy and used it gently however, the glue holding the aperture return spring in place failed and the spring detached, rendering the aperture uncontrollable. I sold that copy to someone who wanted to take a crack at the repair. I bought a third copy, open box, from MBP about a year ago. Optically it performed brilliantly. Today it failed. Same aperture spring glue failure as my second copy! The cost to repair the lens through Ricoh's only official repair station is nearly as much as another used copy. I give up on the 16-85. Back to carrying my 15/4 LTD and 18-135 WR or something. I really want to love this lens, however the longer I use it, the more aggravating it becomes. The 16-85mm focal length is perfect for a walk around lens. Zoom and manual focus actions are smooth and precise. Distortion is well controlled as is chromatic aberration and colors are accurate and saturated.

The issues with my copy of this highly rated lens are threefold and echo the comments of another reviewer, plus several posts in the forum. First, even when using my KP with its up to date AF system, the 16-85 blows focus badly at focal lengths from 16-35mm. Sometimes it nails it, other times it turns into a blurry mess. Second, the left side of the images recorded by my 16-85 are always visibly softer than the right, more so at the wide end. Decentering. Third, it has the very annoying “focus jumping” syndrome, especially in live view. I work fast and this lens forces me to pre-focus or manually focus much of the time. I’ve produced some very fine, memorable images with this lens. I’ve also lost what should have been easy-peasy photos because the lens hiccuped at the wrong time.

Even with the issues, the 16-85 is still visibly better than the18-135 on 24MP bodies. I didn’t see as big a gap when using my older K-5iis and its 16MP sensor. If you buy this lens, make sure you test it thoroughly so you don’t get stuck with a copy with issues!

UPDATE: 07/17/2022. The aperture control mechanism failed during a routine photo shoot today. Floppy stopdown lever and the aperture stays wide open. I wish I'd kept my Sigma 16-50/2.8.
   
Forum Member

Registered: October, 2018
Posts: 60

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: January 23, 2021 Recommended | Price: $450.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Weather sealed, wide angle, quiet and quick autofocus
Cons: Build quality, issues at the wide end
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 7    Handling: 9    Value: 8    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K70 KP   

My copy of this lens is a frustrating one. It is capable of producing fantastic images, with excellent sharpness and colours. Couple this with the weather sealing and the lovely smooth zoom action it is a very versatile and often used lens. On the other hand it can let me down badly, with missed autofocus from 16mm to around 24mm a common occurrence and the left hand side of images can be unacceptably blurry at these focal lengths. Zoomed beyond 35mm the lens is flawless. I guess my copy is decentered, and it has been 'fixed' under warranty, but the problem persists.
This lens is excellent for landscape photography, and manually focused with a tripod fixes many of my issues with the 16-85. You get a strange shifting/jumping of the image when zoomed in on live view, not a big deal and you get used to it. Please don't be put off by my review as I am sure that my copy is the issue. Just check it out at all zoom ranges, particularly the wide end!
   
New Member

Registered: December, 2014
Posts: 6

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: November 29, 2020 Recommended | Price: $300.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: autofocus, sharpness, overall IQ, WR
Cons: aperture starts at 3,5 (but is it really disadvantage?), price
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 7    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 8    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-3 II   

This lense did not attract my attention with its specification, especially the aperture span between 3,5 and 5,6 seems to be very mediocre compared to other producers like Sigma. But while Sigma or Tamron provide usually softer images, and they need to stop down two or three steps to get sharpness even in the center, this pentax lense gets sharp enough in the center even on lowest aperture possible! Sharpness is really surprising, and can be easily compared to some prime lenses. So is the aperture value starting at F3,5 a reall disadvantage??? I dont think so!

First of all, my piece (could be different with others) is very strong in autofocus even in lower light conditions. Smooth, silent, fast enough, perfect grab for the first time, no hesitations nor small corrections. Very nice feel of it indeed! It feels like the lense is pumped-up for it!

If you stop down to F5 or F8 you get the maximum of this lense in over all image quality, sharpness, and reducing vignette and chromatic aberations. Also the best results are when you zoom to 21 mm or higher, and you dont go to full 85 mm length.

If i compared the sharpness to some "arty" prime lenses, in what cathegory this zoom pentax lense cannot compete with them is definitely a rather boring and standard bokeh. But hey, with lenses you cannot have all in it. Average bokeh is a trade-off for overall perfect performance in terms of sharpness and focal length span.

New piece coming for 650 dollars seems too expensive for me. But i guess you pay more for weather resistance.

Perfect lense which surprised me really a lot. I can recommend getting it, but try what you are buying, some pieces may be weaker than mine.
   
Junior Member

Registered: March, 2016
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 41

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 8, 2020 Recommended | Price: $300.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Sharp, wide, little if any vignette
Cons: None for the price point.
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 3    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 9    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-50   

Worth it over the cheaper 18-135. I wanted another ‘walk around’ lens having two bodies and one 18-135 lens already. Used (barely used by the look of it), this lens was on par with the cost of an 18-135 new. The 16-85 is noticeably sharper across the frame and vignettes much less which makes it nicer for stitching panoramas. I was actually shocked at the fact the difference was noticeable even through my trifocals! Not that the 18-135 is a bad lens, but I do see enough difference it makes me smile when editing. The wider end is also surprisingly useful. I pair the 16-85 with a 55-300 when I’m shooting landscapes and could not be happier with the cost to performance ratio in this pairing. Even at full price, I don’t think the 16-85 is unjustified over its slightly longer reaching sibling. The 18-135 is still my go-to for urban exploring or general use when you don’t know what you might come across.
   
New Member

Registered: November, 2018
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 10
Review Date: June 13, 2020 Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Focal range, WR, AF
Cons: size, weight
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 8    Value: 9    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: KP   

Really gave me the freedom to take photos in various situation thus best fit for traveling. The image quality is way better than other zoom lenses that I have used and only after the Limiteds. Although I sold it to fund the 20-40mm due to its size and weight, it is really a recommended lens.
   
Pentaxian

Registered: February, 2011
Location: Southern Finland
Posts: 681

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: February 13, 2020 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Versatile, sharp, reliable
Cons: size of hood
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 10    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K-5, K-3   

After two years of frequent usage (K-5, K-3) I am very happy with this lens. Sharpness is generally very good at all focal lengths. I also like the colors and contrast it produces (raw shooting mainly). The range 16 - 85 mm is very versatile making this a brilliant walk-around lens and travel lens. Being a zoom lens, of course, it is not very fast, but in low-light situations I do not hesitate to use it wide open. That is not the case with any other lens with somewhat similar specs.

DC autofocus has very seldom let me down, and in those dark low-contrast situations, I wonder if any autofocus mechanism would be 100 % reliable.

Size of the hood is the only negative aspect for me, yet not critical. (You get used to it.) Well, maybe the 72 mm filter size is another, but just because I used to have lenses with 67 mm filters earlier.

I bought my copy of this lens new, and would not say it was cheap. But it has been worth the money.
   
Site Supporter

Registered: October, 2017
Location: Sale, Cheshire
Posts: 241
Review Date: September 1, 2019 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Sharpness, contrast, build quality (including WR),
Cons: None
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 9    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K-3   

A superb lens that is as sharp as a good prime lens throughout it's zoom range (when shooting in RAW and sharpening appropriately), with excellent contrast. The lens is extremely competent, well built, and versatile, from wide angle views to landscapes, portraits and an excellent close-up lens at 85mm. At 16mm a little CA can be seen in extreme contrast conditions (removed with software), but otherwise CA is very well controlled.
The review of this lens (particularly the outstanding MTF resolution graphs) on the 'Ephotozine' website illustrates how good this lens is.
The AF is quick and very accurate and consistent, performing well into almost darkness with the K-3.
This is now my everyday lens which consistently gives excellent results, with consistent performance across the lens.
This is my 1st choice lens for camera club competition entries.
Due to its excellent performance, versatility, and weather resistance I would be loath to part with this lens.
   
Junior Member

Registered: June, 2015
Location: Százhalombatta, Hungary
Posts: 37

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 13, 2019 Recommended | Price: $692.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Build quality, colors, sharpness at wide end, fast and quiet focusing
Cons: Less useful near 85mm, variations in quality
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 9    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K-5   

I personally found this lens to be a little bit overrated. Not that it's bad or anything, but I feel it just gets more credit than it reserves. It deserves a very solid 8/10 I think. Even 8,5 perhaps. But no more than that! Perhaps I got a weaker copy, god only knows. But mine isn't so super sharp as others' seem, even after a thorough calibration. For example my copy is noticeably weaker on the right side of the picture and on the 85mm end is pretty soft. However, at the 16mm end I find it quite satisfying in the sharpness department. The DC motor autofocus is near-silent and is super fast when using the viewfinder. The quick-shift focusing ring doesn't have a hard-stop as screwdrive lenses do. The build quality is excellent as are the aesthetic parts of it. The colors are typical pentax: excellent contrast, superb flare control. The HD coating does an excellent job indeed. Compare it to the KIT lenses and it shines, just don't compare it to primes, or you'll be let down. But then again: this lens is neither professional, nor a prime. This is a versatile zoom with it's strengths and weaknesses. Excellent for a general walk around lens, for traveling, to always keep on your camera. And if you need proper bokeh, you can always just swap to a prime. Due to the rounded aperture blades, you can forget nice starbursts when stopped down at night, but in return you get a smoother bokeh.


Pier (made using a CPL filter!)
by Zsigmond Szabó, on Flickr
   
Senior Member

Registered: February, 2018
Location: Hérouville Saint Clair, Normandy, France
Posts: 143

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: June 19, 2019 Recommended | Price: $250.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Build quality, quiet, weather resistant, range
Cons: Slightly wobbly when extended
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 6    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 8    Value: 9    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: KP   

Very good all-purpose lens.
Crisp images, low CA.
Quiet zoom.
I had the Sigma 17-70 Contemporary, this one has the same image quality and bonus : weather resistant !

Use it in good light conditions.

Another forum user wrote this, and it is true :
"It's essentially a kit lens on steroids"

Add Review of HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR Buy the HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR



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