| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR
I give it a 9 but it's really an 8.5. It's a WR great FL lens that is compact, very fast to focus and weather sealed. Of course there are compromises.
First, this is a very versatile lens while staying relatively compact. You get great functionality out of this lens with its FL.
Second, it's weather sealing is a huge bonus to getting your shots whatever the weather. Pairs up nicely with the Pentax prosumer line of cameras.
Third, the DC motor is quiet, accurate, and above all, fast to autofocus.
Fourth, nice bokeh. Not high-end prime nice but pretty darn good. You cannot knock this lens for its bokeh.
Fifth, build quality is very, very good; a solid piece of glass a cut above the Canikon competition for sure.
Here is the catch with this lens. Wide open and fully zoomed it needs to be stopped down to avoid being too soft in the corners. That's the big compromise coming from all that versatility. This is a lens primarily aimed at outdoor use so available light outdoors is usually not much of a problem.
The distortion issue (the only really obvious aberration) is much easier to deal with by simply hitting Info on your camera and turning to the ON position the distortion correction option. This solves a great amount of the perceived distortion and I fully believe this lens is designed around that in-camera setting.
I believe this lens got a bad rap from sources who are purists in optical quality but not field and real world use of their gear. This is plain... |
