| Author: | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: June 22, 2023 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | one of the best low budged lenses | | Cons: | very small CAs in the corners | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: k-s k200, k-s1 k-5 fuji x-T100
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this is my absolute bargain. it was dirty and must be cleaned intensively. so the japanees dealer packed it without costs to a nearly new K-x set at 150 dollars. .Okay the housing is not a winner, but lens elements are clear.
impressive optical qualities !
with a socciore 1.8x high definition tele converter on the top of the lens 5.8/540 mm are available . wow !!!
++ between f 9 and f 13 phantastic sharpness
so CAs are neglectable, even for close ups.
my 4.7-5.8/100-300 was even very good, but this lens is still a few better and really of very high value !
the ED fluorite lens makes the difference
very highly recommended !  full points !
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2023 Posts: 4
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 8, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $356.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | 5.5x zoom, very good sharpness till 150, really tough, WR | | Cons: | At the long end is pretty soft, zoom ring will move the focusing ring sometimes | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: Pentax K-70
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Bought after purchasing the camera kit, i just wanted a telephoto lens with WR, and seeing that "300", drove me crazy.
I used this lens for most of my shots, done without the awareness of what diffraction and sharpness was.
For the amateur me, it was a great lens, reaching very long distances (450mm with crop factor), allowing me to take pictures of little animals in nature and doing some astrophotography.
For the advanced me, it still remains a great lens, but till 150mm only, even if shooting at the sweet spot of 7.1 or 8, the 300mm doesn't fit the performance i need now.
But I grew with it and I'm glad it always did the dirty work in heavy rain, snow and sand without a flinch, never lefting me alone.
Thank you rough boy, you earned your rest.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2017 Location: Ronneburg Posts: 1
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 1, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | reliable, rugged, build quality, Quick shift focusing, | | Cons: | AF is relatively noisy (screwdrive) and slow in low light situations | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3,K-7
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Pentax K-3/ Highest Resolution /300 mm/F13/1/250sec ISO100/#Spot Metering
IMG]https://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/111008/large/1_K3__4526.JPG[/IMG] ]
Pentax K-5 V 1.16 Highest Resolution /300 mm/F5.8/1/500sec ISO400
Pentax K-5 V 1.16 Highest Resolution /300 mm/F5.8/1/800sec ISO400
Pentax K-5 V 1.16 Highest Resolution /100 mm/F5.8/1/800sec ISO400
The build quality of this lens is good with high quality plastics being used for much of the lens barrel and a metal lens mount. This lens is also quite lightweight, only tipping the scales at 502g with the lens hood attached. It balances well with the Pentax K-3 and battery grip attached.
The screw drive of this lens is an outdated technology but in my view very durable.
I use the lens since 6 years without any malfunction it works well at the K-3 and formerly
at the K-5 (meanwhile sold).
The follow-up model with PLM unit inside is surely more faster focusing.
But i don't trust the stability of this modern drive and the malfunction will be a comimg problem. Apart from the cost for repair.
Highly recommendation in this zoom range.
HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR Pros
Good sharpness in the centre throughout the zoom range
Very sharp in the center between f8 /f16
Good build
Weather resistant construction
Reasonably priced
HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR Cons
CA levels a little high at 300mm
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2020 Location: Smoky Mountains, NC Posts: 1,528
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 17, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | size, weight, IQ | | Cons: | slow aperture | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: KS-2, KP
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I've had this lens for about 2 years now, and it is easily my most used workhorse lens. I bought it used form B&H and have had no problems with it. I use it for wildlife and flower pix while backpacking in the Smokies, and while walking the dog at home.
I find the autofocus to be fast and accurate on the KS-2. I use the quickshift if going from MFD to infinity, and find that helps alot with the speed in that situation.
Sharpness is great and achieving bokeh is easy at longer focal lengths despite the slow max aperture.
At a bit over a pound it is very carry friendly on long hikes in the mountains.
Even having bought used and used it regularly for 2 years there is absolutely NO zoom creep and overall build quality is rock solid.
Highly recommended as a very versatile lens.
UPDATE 1-23-22: I've had this lens for 4 years now, and it is still chugging along. I have used it in all seasons and all kinds of weather, and had no problems. Remember, I bought it used from B&H, so I do not know how old it is. I ALMOST broke down and bought the new PLM version when it was on sale at B&H at Christmas, then I took my dog out for a walk and realized AGAIN that this screwdrive version "focus breathes" LONG, by which I mean that when I zoom then re-focus, the image gets LARGER in the viewfinder as it comes into focus! Sometimes I must back up a little to compensate!! In contrast, the PLM version "breathes short"- the image would appear SMALLER=LESS MAGNIFICATION!!! This was a deal breaker for me, and one of the main reasons why I got this over the more "sexy" PLM version (the other reason is the virtually fail-proof screwdrive AF). SO, even bought used and 4 years with me it is still an awesome, workhorse lens. If you want durability, reliability, and great photos GET THIS LENS!!! I have seen MINT copies sold for UNDER $300!! Get one, you won't regret it!!!
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 5,855
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 24, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Rather impressive performance on APS-C sensors. Sharp over the whole focal range. | | Cons: | Must be closed between f/8 and f/16 to perform adequately. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K3
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 210 mm @ f/11
 190 mm @ f/11
 150 mm @ f/11
 90 mm @ f/11
Once again, I fell on a darn good second-hand sample on eBay. It stays sharp up to its longest 300 mm setting, even on a K3 body, which is rather unusual for this category of consumer lenses. In the last picture above, you can clearly see the nailheads in the wood slats on top of the gables from almost 100 feet away in flat overcast light. The rock outcroppings in the picture of a river are at least 300 feet away and still remain very sharp. Detail in the white plank wall is amazing. You can easily create the telephoto "compression effect" with it. It produces very beautiful colors.
It is slowly becoming one of my most beloved lenses. I always wonder "Who the hell bought this awesome lens new, evidently never used it to its full potential and then let it go for peanuts ?" It seems like an entirely new lens compared to the ancient non-WR version I used previously on my K5.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 2,026
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 29, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $277.00
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | Affordable, Weather Sealed, Solid Image Quality | | Cons: | Noisy, not a lens for a sports photographer | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 5
Handling: 7
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K70, K50
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I am more interested in the idea of reviewing things that don’t have a lot of reviews but I feel strongly about this lens.
Yes, it is absolutely a consumer grade lens with screw drive. But it does a great job for me. I took it to Yellowstone and enjoyed it there and it goes on nature walks with me.
I also found it to be a real trooper for my niece’s college graduation. I got some good images of her and it was a pleasure to share them with the family.
Also, this lens is supported by DXO Photolab software so that helps me get the most out of it.
A good lens that is a great value, I completely recommend it for the right user.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2013 Location: Hingham MA Posts: 48 | | Review Date: September 22, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, lightweight, great value, build quality, wr | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-70
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Great lens. Especially if your using it all day. Auto-focus is screw drive, and a touch slow , but accurate. Some of my best, non sports, photos came from this lens. Like this much better than PLM which I returned and bought this lens back. Also had the *60-250, which definitely has better IQ but not enough to justify the heft and the cost, IMHO.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2017 Location: Sale, Cheshire Posts: 213
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 16, 2018 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build quality, sharpness, contrast, fast focus on K-3, versatility | | Cons: | Some AF noise | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3
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I previously owned a Tamron 70-300mm lens with a K-x camera, and the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR is markedly superior in every respect. Some reports say this lens compliments the 18-55mm kit lens. I have conducted comparison shots with the highly rated HD Pentax DA 16-85mm f3.5-5.6ED DC WR lens (at 100% views) and I believe the sharpness and contrast of the 55-300mm lens is very close to this, rather than the kit lens (particularly when shooting in RAW and sharpening appropriately).
Independent lens reviews indicate the sharpness at the lens edges is not outstanding around the 300mm mark. However at longer focal lengths the subject is mainly towards the centre of the frame, where sharpness is required, and where this lens definitely delivers. Using f8 at 300mm (to obtain a workable depth of field), and any f no. at shorter focal lengths, the images have been excellent - from 55mm views, through to sports shots and close-ups. On the K-3 and using spot focusing, the AF has been quick and accurate. OK, the AF drive is slightly noisy, but from my perspective, not problematic.
Overall, for the price, I believe this is a very, very good lens and you would have to spend substantially more for a better picture quality.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2013 Posts: 796
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 8, 2018 | Not Recommended | Price: $470.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Cheap, good reach, WR | | Cons: | Not sharp, IQ, slow, AF hunting | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 5
Handling: 8
Value: 7
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-30, KP
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This lens is a good cheap telephoto zoom. The only reason I don't recommend it is the newer 55-300 PLM. That lens is only a little more expensive, but better in every way. If your camera do not support KAF4 lenses, then get this one. (Or upgrade your camera.)
This and the 55-300 PLM has a very similar IQ and characteristics. I don't like eihter, but it's very good for the money and it was a perfect lens for me, who rearly use anything above 100mm.
The only big problem with this lens is the AF. It's hunts a lot even ony newer bodys like the KP. Additionally the AF is very loud, so it will frighten the animals. I suggest using quick shift and only fine tune with AF. It has deffinitly better IQ than a superzoom, like the Tamron 18-200.
Here are some images:
 IMG150630_0006 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG150704_0048 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG150616_0005 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG150606_0007 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG150927_0022 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG150927_0015 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
 IMG150928_0010 by Benjámin Czétényi, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2015 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: September 1, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light, good range, quite sharp, nearly point and shoot | | Cons: | Screw AF thing | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: k-30
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Walking around outside type lens, plus boating, caravanning, four wheel driving, maybe biking. Not so much indoors. Trusty weapon.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2012 Location: Oregon, USA Posts: 54
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 28, 2017 | Not Recommended | Price: $289.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Zoom Range, WR | | Cons: | Focusing, Sharpness, Performance | | Sharpness: 4
Aberrations: 3
Bokeh: 4
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 9
Value: 6
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-5
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I hate to write this review. I had decent hopes for this lens, and it failed to deliver. I was not expecting performance on par with my DA* 50-135, but I was expecting decent performance.
Under 90mm, it was a good lens. Anything over 90 was not very good, with anything over 150mm being basically useless. I could not get a decent photo with different aperture settings, even when focusing manually.
Physically, the lens looked good and handled well. Optically, my copy, needed a lot of work.
This is the first lens that I returned to the retailer. I hope I was simply saddled with a poor copy of the lens. I suspect a misalignment issue.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: March, 2017 Location: Maryland Posts: 144
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 30, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $285.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, light, cheap, reliable | | Cons: | is not 55-300 f1.2 | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-3II
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Couple of things need saying. Camera bodies cause a lens to focus, and it is clear that this lens reaches focus faster with newer bodies. The means of getting to focus, under command of the camera, happens to be a very reliable, albeit audible, mechanical linkage. And trust me, when you are hearing this, or any other lens "hunt", it is because the active focusing point(s) are not happy with what they see -- you are shaking the camera, the subject is moving, or the focusing matrix choice may be inappropriate for the subject, etc.
Focus hunting may say something about your technique at that moment. Spot meter a hummingbird in flight with blue sky as the background and yeah, you are going to hear this lens hunt. Add a contrasty closer background, and things improve. Widen the metering slightly from spot, and all of a sudden this "lens focusses" the elusive hummingbird just fine. There are well-documented limitations in the Pentax focusing algorithms and sensor configuration that hopefully will improve, but shouldn't be protrayed as lens issues, per se. I suspect if you hung this lens from a Nikon D500 its focusing would be stellar. The newer PLM variant of this lens seems to be a step in the right direction with greater speed and low noise, assuming your camera is compatible.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2015 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 3,336
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 1, 2016 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, well made | | Cons: | Gateway to more expensive telephoto lenses | |
This is a really nice middle of the road lens. I hesitate to call it budget, both because it's not that cheap, and the build quality in my eyes is much too nice for the term budget. I own the Olympus m43 budget zoom, and the 55-300 HD WR is in a whole other class of lens.
People call this lens light... I'm not sure I could agree, but the build is nice and solid and it takes really admirable photos. It's not a great choice for dark days or indoors as you just can't get enough light to it hand held, but these are the trade offs you make. It excels on nice bright days where it makes a striking nice lens for outdoor sports, etc.
The only real con I can think of is that it gives you enough of a taste for the good stuff that you start to wonder about the faster glass in the system! | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2016 Posts: 3
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 22, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | WR, good optical qualities | | Cons: | Slow AF | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-30
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Covers all my telephoto needs. A nice touch is the pretty good min focus distance of 140 cm. This comes in very handy when out on walks cause at 300mm you can do close-up photography of stuff lying on the ground without ruining your back! (See uncropped pic of leaf for example). Contrast, sharpness and flare resistance is very good, especially with the generous hood. See crop below for sharpness demonstration. Weather resistance is great to have with a larger lens like this, since they are harder to tuck under your jacket when it's raining. Highly recommended. Main drawback is noisy and slow AF which hunts a lot.
    | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: September, 2013 Location: Saskatoon Posts: 3,208
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 5, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $360.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | compact, sharp, great reach, price | | Cons: | hunting AF, slow aperture | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 6
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K-30
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Screwdrive autofocus is a negative in my books especially in a long telephoto, although my experience would probably be better with a better camera body. This is the only lens where I frequently use Quick Shift to compensate for the camera not being able to find focus. On the other hand, relative to its price this lens can produce excellent images and it is much lighter than other long telephoto zoom lenses with faster apertures or better glass and those lenses are 3 times the price or more. I selected two pictures from the extremes of its focal length range; while it doesn't really qualify as a walk-around lens, it gives you great range in a two lens system.
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70 mm @ f/11
77,5 mm @ f/11
70 mm @ f/11
90 mm @ f/11
107,5 mm @ f/11
190 mm @ f/11
300 mm @ f/11
100 mm @ f/8
300 mm @ f/11
210 mm @ f/11
55 mm @ f/11
87,5 mm @ f/9
100 mm @ f/11
300 mm @ f/11
87,5 mm @ f/8
210 mm @ f/11 
300 mm @ f/16
300 mm @ f/8
300 mm @ f/8
230 mm @ f/11
107 mm @ f/11
70 mm @ f/11
190 mm @ f/8
150 mm @ f/11
230 mm @ f/11
170 mm @ f/11
