| Author: | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2015 Location: Toronto Posts: 27
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 1, 2023 | Not Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Sharpness | | Cons: | Build quality | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 5
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K3 III
| |
Purchased lens directly from Ricoh as a reconditioned lens. I would not do that again as a year and a half later I have to see how much the sticking barrels is going to cost to fix.
This lens has been babied since I received it and it is now broken. Other than the poorly designed lens cap, this lens has performed well.
| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 156 | | Review Date: December 30, 2019 | Not Recommended | Price: $399.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | build quality | | Cons: | limited range | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 4
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-01
| |
Look, its a fine lens, its beautiful, and its...fine. I don't love this lens, which is a rare thing to say with a Limited, especially for me and a DA Limited. I have a 40mm HD, and a 70mm HD, and those two primes I absolutely adore. This lens I got because I got a deal, and I couldn't justify spending the same for a 21mm I would have gotten to fulfill the prime set for my light bag. I guess I wish they would have thought about a few things - I rather this lens was a 15-35 because I feel unlike my 16-50 DA*, the range just isn't wide enough (one of the two complaints with my 24-70) and yet it doesn't reach very far on the other. I get that this is a Limited, and the history for Pentax is these are not standard ranges (having a 77 and 43). It just is a pretty face, and good quality lens, but it does nothing extraordinary like my other lenses.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: March, 2010 Location: Norfolk Posts: 85
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 16, 2018 | Not Recommended
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Superb build, nice handling, good balance on hefty K-3 | | Cons: | IQ at wide end (20~30) frankly poor. Weird hood probably not much use. | | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 3
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-3
| |
Found an 'as new' copy from a highy reputable dealer but returned it. Using my K-3 this lens was very soft at 20mm and 30mm zoom settings unless stopped down to at least f5.6, so I did some careful indoor comparison shots against the 18~55 version II kit lens and an old 18~35 FA-J from the film era. These two budget lenses easily out-performed the 20~40 'Limited' at the wide end. That's not how it is supposed to be.
A big price for mediocre performance and not worthy of the 'Limited' tag, in my opinion. Possibly unlucky to be landed with a rogue copy, but that's enough to put me off searching for another one. A real pity, as it's beautifully engineered and great to handle. Judging by this experience and some other comments Ricoh maybe have a quality control issue here.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: January, 2014 Posts: 76
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 4, 2014 | Not Recommended | Price: $1,060.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Built, Bokeh, design, WR | | Cons: | IQ, AF, hood | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 6
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5ii
| |
This is my first pentax lens that I dislike.
First impression was very good. Lens is really nice piece of metal. Handling is very pleasant. But photos were lacking of something... And I didn't know what is not right. So I have done some testing (tripod, MUP...) between this DA20-40, DA L 18-55 Tamron 17-50 and DA18-135 and DA 35 AL. And that show, that this lens is really lack of sharpness! It isn't absolutely horrible, in fact it's quite mediocre - but for $1000 lens it is not acceptable. Kit lens has same IQ on 20mm as this lens, and my 18-135 is better! On 35mm is standing: Tamron, prime DA35 2.4, 18-135, DA-20-40, and kit lens. It has worse IQ thru all FL than my Tamron 17-50 and somewhere on par, somewhere worse than 18-135.
Autofocus is quite strange. Its quiet but not quick. My screwdrive lens are faster. And behavior of AF motor is like screwdrive, lik zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...tz. My other DC lens lock focus instantly, no need to microadjust, same on my SDM lens... And with multiple presses of AF button - multiple microadjustment - even on contrast scene.
What is good: This lens has very low CA, good flare resistance, nice built. And very, really very nice bokeh (maybe best for wide zoom that I ever seen). And it can handle images at higher ISO then others - I don't know how, but photos from this lens seems have less noise than photos from other lenses on same ISO.
Bottomline: I'm glad, that I had bought this lens from shop, where wasn't problem to return it and change it for another lens. But he had only one piece of 20-40, so I picked another lens. Maybe I'm just "lucky" for dud - but, apparently, I'm not alone.
| | | | | | | Moderator
Site Supporter Registered: February, 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Posts: 11,272
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 14, 2013 | Not Recommended | Price: $900.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Physical beauty and handling, DC AF and WR | | Cons: | Weak at the short end, too big for a DA limited | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 6
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3
| |
I had high hopes for this lens. It looks and feels amazing, and it focusses quickly, quietly, and nice and close. Flare resistance is pretty reasonable. It is disappointingly big though.
Between 30mm and 40mm the IQ is excellent, and the bokeh is superb despite only being f/3.5-4.0 in that range.
Unfortunately edge performance is pretty hopeless wide open at the wider end, and only really becomes useable beyond f/5.6, and good beyond f/8.0.
Unacceptable in such an expensive lens.
I will be sticking with my DA*16-50 for weather-proof zooming in that range, and with my limited primes for fun/ultimate IQ.
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2024 Posts: 3
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 10, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $496.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Small, Lite, Metal, Weather-Resistant, Sharp | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K3-III Monochrome
| |
This is my new favorite lens--and the one that will remain on my camera for the vast majority of the time. (Most of the pictures that I take fall within this range--which is effectively about 30-60mm on the K3.)
My copy has no softness anywhere: it is sharp from corner to corner across the focal and aperture range, without post-sharpening. Most other reviewers here have had the same experience.
There is slight distortion across the focal range, but lens corrections fix this without introducing any artifacts that I've noticed.
Autofocus performance has been fantastic, for the most part. I’ve ran into a few instances where a miss at close distances at 20mm results in panning, which is nothing a bit of wiggling won't fix.
The lens looks nice--a niche in the lens market, IMHO. It is built extremely well, though is quite lite. I have never used a lens that I would rather hike with.
For that matter, it is also quite small. In fact, it is absolutely dwarfed by my other general-purpose lens. However, it performs just as well, though it is a bit restrictive in its range--an effective 30-60mm versus 24-70mm of my other lens--and it lacks constant aperture. That last part is absolutely the cost of “small” and “lite.” I prefer the "small" and "lite," especially while traveling.
Speaking of costs, this lens is also $2K cheaper than my other general-purpose lens, which makes me question where my loyalties have been  . I paid about $500 for this lens from BH Photo. It’s easily--easily--worth twice that.
Its bokeh has a uniquely-structured look, which is quite pleasant versus the Gaussian-blur-like bokeh common to other lenses.
Aside to all else, the most positive thing that I believe can be said about a lens is that “it has character.” (Meaning good things, of course.) This lens most definitely fits the bill. The micro-geometric rendition that it offers is different from anything I’ve experienced before within this range. But I can’t exactly put my finger on what the differences are. Other reviewers have alluded to the same, referring to the effect as “3D pop”, “pixie dust”, etcetera. Perhaps the difference is due to subtle aberrative effects--or other errors--introduced by the “small” and “lite” crunch. In any case, I really like it.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: January, 2012 Location: Tokyo Posts: 2,821
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 16, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Rendering, bokeh, design, size, cost performance, WR | | Cons: | Aberrations wide open, focusing not the fastest | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-5 IIs, K-01, K-3 III
| |
At first I didn't see the point of a zoom lens with so little range, but after a while I started to think of it differently. Pentax doesn't make a prime around 24mm and I started to think of this as a 30mm, with room for adjustment. So I went ahead and bought it from Ricoh's own outlet store. I'm really glad I did, because this has become by far my most used lens.
I like using primes for their size and image quality, and have quite a few of the SMC Limited series. Even so, the lens changes become frustrating when traveling. This lens provides prime-like quality, along with some of the convenience of a zoom in a very light package. Recently my favored travel kit is this lens for 70-80% of shots, the 15mm Limited for the wide end and the 77mm for telephoto.
The size of this lens is just right on an APS-C camera. The detailing on the metal barrel feels really nice and sets it apart from the rubber feeling of other lenses. The hood doesn't seem to provide much protection, but it has the advantage that the lens is ready to shoot as soon as you pull the cap off - very quick to start shooting.
This lens produces really nice image quality. The colour is good and the bokeh is pleasant, even though a lens with these specs is never going to be the choice for extreme subject isolation. This lens duplicates the range of my DA 21 Limited FA 35mm and DA 40 Limited. It seems to be up to the level of the 21mm, but I do feel the 35mm and 40mm lenses give greater sharpness at their respective focal lengths.
The weakness of this lens is fringing at wide aperture with strong contrasts. It is especially noticeable in nighttime city scenes. I'm not sure how obvious it will be at this resolution, but in this image below (30mm, f4 with a K-5 IIs), there is quite a lot of color fringing around the street lamps and office windows.
Overall, this lens is highly recommended, and importantly can be used to fill a gap in Pentax's prime line-up. Here are some more images taken with this lens and a K-3 III.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2023 Posts: 1
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 28, 2023 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: KP K10D
| |
Very good lens for me, its small and very good contrast, sharpness is very good. Lens is product off metall and glass no plastic it is amaizing for this these days. And it is very small !
 IMGP3623 by Łukasz Karzełek, on Flickr
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2012 Posts: 583
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 23, 2022 | Recommended
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | New or Used: New
| |
Hard to consider this a "good" lens when the reviewer lists the following opinions:
Poor corner sharpness, especially at 40mm
Low contrast wide-open at 40mm
Sub-par center sharpness at 40mm
Moderate vignetting if left uncorrected
Small hood makes it prone to flare
No filter threads on hood, unusual 55mm diameter
Expensive ($999)
Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/hd-pentax-da-20-40mm-limited/conclusion.html#ixzz7iVRdG7T9 | | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2016 Posts: 16
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 2, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $496.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image Quality, Quiet, Light Weight, Build Quality, Rendering, Weather Sealing | | Cons: | None from my use. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K3
| |
This is my first Limited Lens for my K3. The build quality is top tier. You can feel the quality of the lens straight out of the box. My experience using the lens has been nothing but pleasurable. It focuses smoothly and quietly. The manual focus is dampened and has a quality feel to it. The image quality I've experienced is everything I hoped for. Color and contrast is like that of my Mamiya medium format film camera lenses. What "negatives" others may have had with this lens I was well aware of before I purchased mine. The lens is exceptional and has a handmade feel to it. I will purchase additional Limited Lenses in the near future.
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,897
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 3, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $240.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Quite small, nice build quality, useful focal range, great image quality | | Cons: | Slow focus, focus accuracy, max aperture not super fast | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 8
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-3
| |
This lens is taking more time than usual for me to really reach a conclusion and that's because it's a bit of an oddball with many things being neither here nor there - the focal range is short but useful, the maximum aperture is OK but not great, the focus is quiet but slow and not always accurate (at least my copy).
I have wanted this lens since it first came out as I have all the DA Limited primes and I love using them. A WR zoom that covers the most useful focal range with a decently fast max aperture and the feel and IQ of a Limited lens sounds great and I bought a used copy even though I already own the 16-85mm as a high quality WR option.
Image quality
Image quality is very good indeed. The lens is sharp wide open at all focal lengths, colour and contrast are typical DA Limited, flare is minimal and I haven't noticed any distortion. Though this lens isn't fast enough to be a real bokeh monster, the out-of-focus rendering is nice, especially wide open at 40mm.
Focal length
This is a short zoom that doesn't go as wide or long as even a kit lens and yet it covers focal lengths that are good for probably 90% of what I want to do. In practice I've found in the past that the DA 21mm is wide enough for most things so 20mm should be fine, and it is, but you'll probably want to have a wider option for when it's needed.
Aperture
f/2.8-4 is not particularly fast, especially at the long end and I can't help but feel that for the price and size it should really be a constant f/2.8 or even f/2.8-3.5. At 40mm and f/4 it's still possible to isolate close subjects and the other image quality factors still allow a nice 3D feel despite the modest aperture.
Size, build and handling
The build quality is typical of the DA Limiteds in that everything feels nice but it's also lightweight. The zoom ring is lovely and smooth. In fact it feels light enough to give the impression that a large proportion of it is empty space and the lens could probably be made more compact. The lens is pleasurable to use, more so than probably any other zoom I've tried, which is what I'd hoped for in a Limited.
Focusing
The focusing motor is nice and quiet but a little slow. With no fine-tuning my copy focuses perfectly at 20mm but is a bit off at 40mm and with this being a zoom, fine-tuning becomes a question of finding a setting that satisfies at both ends of the range, which is not easy. So far a change to -7 improves the results at 40mm while apparently leaving the 20mm untouched, which seems strange. I still need to play a little more with this though as it's not perfect at 40mm. Other people report that their copies are fine with no fine-tuning needed.
Summary
In summary, this is an excellent lens for walk-about use but many of it's limitations mean that there's almost always something better in terms of range or speed and at least equal in image quality. So what sets this lens apart? Why should you buy it? Well, I suppose it brings together a number of factors that you won't find elsewhere all together in a package that's this small and light. There's nothing that offers this image quality, range, speed, Limited build and pleasure of use all together in one package. However, as soon as you're willing to compromise on any one factor (size, weight, speed, IQ etc) there is immediately something that's better. That means that this lens is the best for what it is, but that niche is very narrow. In my case I'll keep it because there's no zoom this size and weight that I can enjoy using, and get such good results from, as much as a DA Limited. That makes it a great walk-around lens where there's no pressure to need anything wider, longer or faster, but if I do need to go outside of this lens's limitations then I'd take something else instead.
In the end I sold my copy but I could be tempted to get another in the future if I can find one that focuses properly at both ends of the focal range.
Baby feet by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Madrid by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Berries by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Lost in the sand by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Gijon by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Posts and rope by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Plastered by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
2021-07-29_01-26-12 by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2022 Posts: 2
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 18, 2022 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness across the frame, fixed lens hood, exelent image quality | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K3 iii
| |
Direkt comparission with Da 16-85, HD 21 limited and HD 40 limited, the 20-40 winns in sharpness and overal rendering.
The 20-40 is extrem resistand against flare!
It outperforms my 21 limited and 40 limited.
Can´t understand the in- depth review....my copy is sharp from corner to corner 20mm and 40mm.
At f5.6 everything is better than my 21mm and 40mm limited
Bokeh is great.
all in all same league as my 50-135
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: June, 2017 Location: 3City agglomeration Posts: 2,056
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 18, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $973.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Feel, build quality, image quality | | Cons: | lens cap, short focus throw | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K-3 Mk III
| |
When I am using this lens I really feel as if I have pack of primes with me. I rarely use it like a zoom, just set up the focal length I feel at the moment and zoom with my feet. I think Pentax nailed this lens as Limited and being a zoom does not make it any less Limited then other Ltds. From all lenses I used till this time this one feels closest to old style manual lenses - both in look as in feel when operating.
Image quality is superb. I am not a pixel peeper so I will not say anything about aberrations and such - never noticed it on print or on screen. Frankly I don't care even if it sound not really photographic. There is no problem with using this lens in full sun or with artificial lightning shining from any side. Lens just delivers. It may be a walkaround lens for those not requiring long zoom range but still wanting something more elastic then prime. But it also works as "serious" lens for photographic projects etc. It is nicely paired with 15mm Ltd and I think with 70mm would make a perfect triplet.
Build quality leave almost nothing to be desired. It feels solid and sturdy, all lettering are clear, rings are easy to operate, but leave nice tactile feedback.
Cons? Two: for manual focus the focus ring throw is a bit too short. I would prefer something longer, but well, it is modern lens build with AF in mind. Second issue I have with it is lens cap. It is push on with material inside and after few months of use it already feels not as tight fitting as on beginning.
All in all - great lens, no regrets in getting it.
Here are some image samples:
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2021 Posts: 124
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 2, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $497.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Build, Motor is silent, Weather resistance | | Cons: | not fast enough after 22mm | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: KP
| |
A perfect walkaround lens on KP. The sharpness is impressive, even better than DA21 on the wide end. An all-in-one alternative to DA21 DA35 DA40 plus weather resistance and silent DC motor.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2016 Posts: 23
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 6, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Full Frame coverage better than expected, Center sharpness equals best primes | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-1
| |
Just purchased this lens used, expecting to use it as an APS-C travel walk around and to replace primes on long hikes. The very first thing I did after unboxing was mount it on my K-1 to check full-frame coverage. Wow, was I ever surprised! Even at 20mm, there is a usable image (corners are black), and by 24mm, the corners are filled in with only mild vignetting! At 20mm, it's possible to crop a 2.5:1 panorama. The lens is very sharp, as sharp in the center as my FA 35mm f/2 AL, which is one of my sharpest lenses.
Given that the full frame coverage of this lens isn't often discussed, I thought I'd share a couple of sample photos (shot a few minutes after unboxing!). These are three exposure HDR images shot at f/8 (-2/0/+2) processed with Photomatix Pro - basically using the same process I would use for architectural photos (to assess how the lens would actually perform in my intended use). I think the full frame coverage is truly impressive, and is an important aspect for anyone who owns a K-1:
Full-frame image at 20mm - obviously vignetted, but also usable for cropped panorama
Full-frame image at 25mm, small amount of vignetting, correctable in post processing (Note that this amount of vignetting is less than many Sony 'Full Frame' lenses!):
Overall, I'm very impressed with the lens - basically flawless on APS-C, but maybe more importantly it also offers 'unadvertised' excellent performance on full frame.
Edit: It turns out that vignetting comes back at around 35mm when zooming, so the useful range on full frame with minimal vignetting is around 23mm-33mm. Still, once above 30mm, you're back to using the lens as intended, i.e. 20mm in APS-C crop mode. So on the K1, I will use as an APS-C crop 20-40mm lens (30-60mm effective), but switch to full frame to extend the usable wide angle range to between 23-30mm, and even down to 20mm for cropped panorama shots.
| | |
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
