| Latest Review Posted | HD Pentax-DA 645 28-45mm F4.5 ED AW SR
I was expecting a large lens and had read up lots in advance, but nothing prepared me for the sheer massiveness of it. It is genuinely enormous and every bit as large as a 35mm 70-200 f2.8 and much bigger than my 70-200 F4 lens. It handles fine in terms of what falls to finger, but the bulk is something to get used to. Tripod use will be interesting due to the lack of a collar, but I bought this lens for its range but also the fact that it can be used handheld, so very glad of the SR. I'm sure the tripod side will work fine.
Considering what the lens is doing (22-36mm equivalent, but on a larger sensor), image quality is nothing short of astonishing. Its tack sharp on centre from wide open and sharp right into the corners at close distances. Over long distances, it needs some stopping down, but is super-tight from f8 onwards at all focal lengths. It is so crisp that at f9.0, it is very hard to discern the edges from the centre.
Contrast is very good and viewed through the 645Z, the image is extremely bright, colourful and contrasty. I have not fully tested the SR in real terms, but it clearly works well and I can shoot at significantly lower speeds than my A7R with non-stabilised lenses.
This is a very complex lens and it changes character somewhat through the focal range and distances. I think there is curvature of the plane of focus towards the photographer at the edges, at distance, but very little up close. As I say, stopping down to f8 sort its out for landscape... |
