| Latest Review Posted | Pentax-A 28-80mm F3.5-4.5
I bought this for pseudo-macro work and use it as such, thus my review shall be mostly based on this lens' merits in its macro mode. Furthermore, I use this lens on digital, which means I'm getting extra reach and DoF, and am less prone to falloff and edge softness.
Being a zoom, it is inevitable that, wide open, some softness will be noticeable. That said, images taken wide open are still quite usable. By F8, it's actually quite sharp. The following was taken at only F5.6, wherein various filamentary components of the flower are quite distinguishable.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3728723374_a25659f8e0_o.jpg
On the K200D, I find metering is generally quite accurate. Colours are quite vibrant straight out of camera. Contrast is quite marked as well, rendering images with a strong feeling of depth and life. The only exception is when there is a strong light source shining across the front element at an oblique angle, but this is easily solved with a lens hood (though finding an adequate one may be a trick).
My main gripes with this lens are mostly related to build quality. I find the focusing ring to be far too loose - there's almost no resistance to movement. Furthermore, the front element rotates, making polarizers tricky to use, and rectangular hoods out of the question.
Overall, I'd recommend this lens as an inexpensive "starter" macro. Its optical qualities seem to outweigh its shortcomings in build quality. |
