| Author: | | 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
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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.
 | | | | | | | 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
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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.
 | | | | | 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
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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!
| | | | | 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
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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
| | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: March, 2014 Posts: 53 | | Review Date: May 29, 2018 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Weight, wr, image quality, versatile, allroundlens | | Cons: | Build quality | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax k3 and Pentax KP
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This is a very nice allround lens. If I only bring one lens, this is almost always my first choice. It has a versatile zoom range, wr, light weight and produces excellent pictures. I would preferred a konstant aperture at 1:4 in the whole zoom range.
For landscapes and cityscapes this is a very nice lens, and the low weight makes it easy to bring along when I´m hiking in the mountains.
My biggest down with this lens is the build quality. I have used mine for little more than a year, and mine has begun to losen between the focus ring og the zoom ring, opposite the zoom scale. It is now a smal gap, and the sealing is visible.
I have treated this lens with great care, and it has not droppet to the ground or slammed into walls.
It´s going inn for guarantee repairs.
I like the lens a lot, but the build quality could be a little better.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2015 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,677
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 27, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | WR, Focal Range, Silent AF, HD coating | | Cons: | Awful lens hood... Pricey for what it is... Variable Aperature... | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 6
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-3ii
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I was looking for a walk around lens for an upcoming trip to Europe.
I'll update this review with photos once I get a chance to upload something worthy of showing the Pentax Community...
So far through initial testing and trials; here are my impressions:
I own the DA 15, HD-DA 35, HD-DA 70, DFA 100 WR, 1.4xTC, DA* 300
The DA 16-85 obviously doesn't compare to the limited primes, the DFA 100 WR or the DA* 300, but it's a beast in it's own way...
The test shots I took were impressive, and even at 16mm wide open it competed in sharpness to the DA15mm cropped to a similar field of view.
The variable aperture drops off quickly from F3.5 and makes me feel a bit cheated.
I would have loved to see an F4 constant for the price range this lens is sitting...
If you've shot the HD-DA 55-300, this lens feels very similar in build quality.
Those two lenses together would built a nice kit.
The lens hood is just awful in my opinion... It's bulky when reversed, which is fine, but it feels like it's going to break every time I put the hood on...
Maybe I'm just spoiled by the limited lenses retractable hoods, the DFA metal hood and the plastic but sturdy hood on the DA* 300...
All in all I'm happy enough with the lens to leave my DA35 and DA70 at home for the trip.
It will be nice to have a WR lens covering that 16-85mm focal range.
For what it's worth - I used to own the 18-135mm and I really did not like that lens.
I returned it and the second copy didn't do it for me either - soft in corners, IQ fell off drastically over 70mm on both copies.
The 16-85mm is much much better than the 18-135, in my opinion.
There are members here that would argue the cost difference doesn't make it worth the 'upgrade' and I may or may not agree depending on how much you pay for either one.
The 18-135 I got for $300 and the 16-85 for $400.
To me, the extra $100 is well worth it.
Would I pay retail for the 16-85 new?
Definitely not.
Would I buy it again for $400 used?
Probably, yes.
It's essentially a kit lens on steroids.
If they made it constant F4 with a more substantial lens hood and a sold it with a case (why would they leave this out?), they could have brought in a few more Pentaxians on this one in my honest opinion...
I'm still excited to have this for the trip.
I might just keep it around for the convenience of 16mm wide and WR with a focal range through normal and short telephoto.
I've just found over the years I prefer to shoot with primes when I have the luxury of keeping the "lab" (this is what my wife calls my collection of photography gear) in the car.
There is definitely something to be said for the versatility of this lens.
I'll give it an 8/10 overall
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2013 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 1,146
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 9, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $585.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Solid build, great AF, quiet, usable range | | Cons: | Inconsistent performance, about a stop slow, expensive | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 8
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5
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I became jealous of my cousin's 16-85mm zoom on her Nikon, and the reviews for this lens made me decide to take the plunge and invest. I have used this lens heavily since I received it, almost to exclusion of others despite my simultaneous purchase of a 55-300 WR lens at the same time. It is the most expensive lens I have ever owned and had high expectations based on that fact and on other reviews.
The bad:- I haven't found the lens as sharp as advertised unless in ideal conditions.
- Barrel distortion can be noticeable
- I wish it had another stop of aperture. Low light is not this lens' friend.
- It is the only 72mm filter size lens I own and thus requires all new filters and adapters.
- It does not come with a case like other high end Pentax lenses, which is disappointing.
- The quick shift is easy to hit by accident, throwing off several shots for me -- the quick shot being forward like on the 55-300 is a better arrangement, IMO.
The good:- The lens has good performance overall, just not as outstanding as I expected based on rating and reviews.
- It has the least trouble with focus hunting of any Pentax autofocus I have used
- It is notably quiet and fast while focusing.
- The range of the lens is usable in real world conditions
- Image quality is generally quite good when conditions are right.
- Weather resistance survived immersion in a waterfall while attached to a K-5 body and kept shooting just fine.
- Light for its size and complexity.
I would recommend this lens for sure, but it is not the superstar I expected.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: February, 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 2,710
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
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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.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2013 Posts: 7
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 8, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Sharp, convenient, good AF, WR | | Cons: | Quite big with hood attached, distortion | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 7
New or Used: New
Camera Used: k70
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The focal range is just fantastically convenient. If I need to go away with just one lens, I know it will work in most situations. I was using an 18-135mm, but I tended to not use it much past 100mm anyway, as the sharpness would drop off a bit. I also find the extra 2mm at the wide end useful.
It's a workhorse lens.
The sharpness is very reliable. I have sharper primes, but they are primes. The AF is not blindingly fast, but there is no hunting, it's accurate, and it's quiet. There is a fair bit of wonky distortion at the wide end, but that mostly disappears by 20mm or so.
If I have a criticism, it's that it can lack a tiny little bit of....err....something. Don't get me wrong I have taken some lovely shots with it. It can give fantastic detailed landscapes with really convincing greens. The 18-135 is definitely softer, and you have to shoot over f8 between 25mm-100mm to get anything like the image quality. But I felt my 18-135 was sometimes a bit punchier, and my 20-40mm definitely has more prime-like 3D depth. If my composition and lighting are right, the images are great, but I feel like the magic comes from the vision rather than the lens. Maybe that's what you get with a well corrected, consistent, modern style zoom, and maybe it's a good thing...?
Update;
Having looked back through some shots, there is definitely a drab 2D look which is very obvious, and tends to happen at the wide end in flat light. I might experiment with using generally a slightly wider aperture at the wide end and see if this helps. Certainly mid to long focal lengths seem to have much more pop, and scenes with more beautiful light will work well throughout the range.
Update 2;
I have found that I can get a bit more of a sense of 3D by shooting at around 5.6 rather than 8-9, which still gives reasonable depth of field at the wide end. However, to be honest I'm struggling to love this lens. I do feel that many people prize sharpness above all else, but for me a classy lens controls highlights and shadows more subtly than this one does. It's a sharp lens but without good rendering it can give an ugly confusing mess, with overcooked contrast in bright fine details, or a flat 2D look in low contrast scenes. My old SMC A35-105mm is so much better at rendering subtle tone gradations, giving beautiful believable colours, reach into the picture 3D depth, and it's ridiculously sharp to boot (although to be honest I think my copy is a freak because it is as sharp as my FA limiteds!). Unfortunately, it's manual focus, weighs a ton, isn't weather sealed, and doesn't have the wide end! Such a shame that despite ticking so many boxes as a do it all solution, the 16-85 just doesn't cut the mustard.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: February, 2014 Posts: 87
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 15, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $680.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Very useful focal range; good sharpness, fast, silent and reliable focusing, great contrast and colours, weather-proofing | | Cons: | slow aperture, too expensive (in Europe), hood too big, quality issue with my copy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 4
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 5
Value: 3
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K-5 IIs
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I bought this lens for the purpose of my Iceland trip. I have an allround zoom - Sigma 17-70mm/2,8-4, but knowing the wet conditions I intended to shoot in in Iceland I wanted a weather-proof zoom. So I gave this Pentax a try. First it started with a dissapointment straight by unpacking: the rubber seal on the inside barrel which extends during zooming didn´t hold in it´s place, so the weather-sealing was questionable. However I had no time to return the lens and wait for new one so I took it with me. I shot more than 1000 photos on my trip and my impressions are much better than I expected. Since I shot solely outside (landscapes), the slow lens speed was no issue. What was important, the lens survived some serious showers as well as waterfall mist without problems (I am sure this would have ruined my Sigma). The focal range is very universal, 16mm being great for wide landscapes and 85mm fairly usefull for distant objects or animals.
What is most important is optical quality and here the lens surprised the most. The lens is really sharp, I couldn´t see a difference in sharpness between it and the HD DA 15mm Limited. What is more the lens is sharp throughout the focal range, compared to my Sigma 17-70 much sharper at both ends. The contrast is great, the colours are vivid. The HD coating efectively fights with flare. Of course there is some visible barrel distortion especially at wide end, but no big deal. Focusing is fast, silent and reliable, I encountered absolutely no focus hunting. Quick-shift focus is also nice to have (something I miss on my Sigma).
I still have to process RAWs and pixel-peep the pictures, the fist look at the pics on 17,6" screen of my new laptop is very promising though. I will be posting some pics here in PF gallery.
Generally the lens surprised me. I didn´t expect much, but the outcome is great, especially landscape pictures. Of course given the slow speed this lens is not suitable for low-light shooting nor for portraits and blurred background. But for what it is aimed at - outdoor shooting where universal allround lens is required - it is close to perfect.
As far as downsides are concerned: the lens is quite expensive (in Europe), I paid 631 EUR for it which is pretty much for a slow variable aperture zoom. The luminosity itself is not great, especially compared to the new Nikon counterpart (which is able to offer f2,8-4). The issue with the seal indicates the quality control is still not pefect. The lens hood is pretty big and inpractical when reverted, making the lens big for storage.
Because of the seal issue I sent it back, but apart from that the lens convinced me and I plan to buy new one again (as soon as I sell my Sigma 17-70). And since I have the fast Sigma 18-35mm, I won´t mind the slow variable aperture.
     [IMG]https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/67120/1_IMGP9628.jpg[IMG]
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2015 Posts: 10
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 22, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: $650.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Versatile range, good balance on a k3, color contrast, WR | | Cons: | Soft wide open, almost unusable above 50mm | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 7
New or Used: New
Camera Used: k3
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UPDATE 04/04/2016
Up to this Saturday this lens autofocus was almost flawless. I bought a K3 II as a gift to my partner and when we were going around to check the camera I gave her mine 16-85. Surprise surprise... DC motor is not focusing correctly!!! I need to press the AF button approximately 5 times for it to lock focus if it locks at all. Very disappointing.. I wasn't extremely happy with some small things on this lens (not very relevant) but this is not acceptable.. I have to send it in I suppose.
UPDATE 02/03/2016
After my trip to Australia and testing this lens in all possible scenarios from extremely humid and rainy environments to blowing sand, one thing is for sure, this lens is weather sealed! Honestly I was surprised because with the zooming in and out with sand I was thinking... ok... one way trip for this lens.. but no! It came out in one piece. Perfect weather sealing!
Image quality wise I found it sharp from 20 to 45/50mm almost from wide open and from corner to corner, very good indeed! It is perfectly usable from 16mm, don't get me wrong, its very very good! However when you go above 50mm I just can't stand the pictures I took with it at those focal lengths! Maybe I am just being picky.. it's possible! But as I stated before I wasn't expecting this from a premium priced lens, 35mm of its range is very bad in comparison to the rest! For the price I am not sure if the DA*16-50 wouldn't be a better option, but unfortunately i've never had the opportunity to use that lens so.. anyway from 16-50with this lens its perfect!
I was afraid I would miss the faster aperture when I bought this lens... and indeed.. many times I found myself exchanging lens to my 35mm f2.8 if I was walking around at night. But that you know to begin with  .
Some sample pictures below (they don't mean much with the extreme compression they have here but anyway):
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/t31.0-8/12716027_102069799...55546434_o.jpg
https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/t31.0-8/12593469_102068745...61390597_o.jpg
PREVIOUS REVIEW:
Positive points:
Overall I have to say it is a good lens. It might be a bit soft wide-open but when stopped down its very sharp across the frame and beyond any kit lens. Meaning that if you are looking for an upgrade from your kit lens (18-55 WR) this can be an option. I won't talk about the 18-135 because I never shot with one.Its a super lens to take to take with you on vacations due to its versatile zoom range, weather resistant (still to be tested), and for landscape is awesome with its 16mm and sharpness stopped down, with extremely good color contrast.
Some examples here:
EXIF: 21mm, f8, 1/80, ISO100
https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/11223863_102062936...90977124_o.jpg
EXIF: 21mm, f11, 13sec, ISO100
https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/12109967_102062814...77452927_o.jpg
Downside:
I don't understand why any of my pentax lenses have no stop on the focus ring, it keeps going after the limit... why? is that good for any reason? When I bought it I thought that wide open this would be ok and I could even shot some casual portraits with it but it doesn't seem to be the case, forget it. This stems both from the fact that the lens is soft wide open and even softer if wide-open at 85mm. Anyway, the worst of it all is the price, I was expecting that the negative points I pointing out here wouldn't exist. Almost 700 euros... its not cheap or reasonably priced, its expensive.
I haven't shot that much wide-open, so it might be just my fault so far (I hope so). Nevertheless, not from experience but from what I've read in the forum, if you have the money go for the 16-50 DA*. I could have done it and I didn't.. I don't know why until today.
Conclusion:
I have this lens for a very short time therefore, as I always do, I will update my review as I did with my 300mm DA* (amazing lens, BUY IT)! I will put this DA 16-85 to test on my next trip to Australia this summer (south hemisphere summer), after which I will come back with more and definitive news.
To this moment in time, and for the price, I can't recommend this lens.
Have fun and happy shooting
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: November, 2009 Location: West Cornwall Posts: 128
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 25, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: $743.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Good zoom range, especially wide, feels nice to use. | | Cons: | Average sharpness for the price, poor max apertures. | | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 3
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K-3
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I cannot agree with the glowing reports this lens is getting. I bought one to try before any technical reviews were out and tested it (unscientifically) around my area.
Bearing in mind I was comparing it to the 18-135 which I had relegated to a shelf "in case I need a Weather Resistant lens one day" I was hoping for great things from the price and preliminary write ups.
The first couple of days I was impressed by the smooth quiet and accurate focusing, and the wide angle reach at 16mm, but the next couple of dull days showed the limits of the narrow aperture especially at the long tele end of the range, with auto ISO selecting comparatively high settings.
Then going through the images I had made, I began to get a general "MEH" very average impression. None of the images "Leapt off the monitor" with biting sharpness or zingy contrast.
Looking closer revealed smeary unsharpness in corners at the wide end, and distortion-unattractive!
At the tele end the corners were better but it seemed OVERALL sharpness was down to achieve better corners.
I was left with a feeling of disappointment that a fairly expensive lens, even at a good discount price had - for me - an average performance.
This lens in OKAY but no more, I have returned it as unsuitable while the 18-135 still keeps its place on my shelf, and occasionally on my camera.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2016 Location: North west Tasmania. Posts: 610
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
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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.
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