| Latest Review Posted | SMC Pentax-DA L 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED WR
I bought this lens in the fairly standard plan for building a lens collection of having zooms throughout the range then buying primes for quality within the range. Whilst there are certainly better lenses that cover a lot of this range, I am of relatively limited means, and also want the WR for a bit of insurance. So that's why I bought it.
It has been my primary lens throughout August 2015 for the Single In challenge, and after getting some time with it I feel reasonably able to give an informed verdict. Personally, I have a bit of a rough relationship with this lens; because it's long-ish, and quite slow with a minimum aperture of F5.6 at the long end, I find myself bumping up the ISO more than I normally prefer. Usually this means AutoISO with a spot of EV compensation for highlights or particularly dark situations. As such I'm rarely able to make best use of what actually seems to be half-decent glass because it really needs lots of light and I live in Scotland. However, it is a cheap, telephoto zoom, and it is light, and it does feel reasonably well put together (I'm not the most delicate of lens owners).
On a more objective note, I can't really say I'd disagree on any points with the PentaxForums official review of the DA 50-200 which features the same optics. It needs to be stopped down a fair bit at the long end to get the best sharpness from centre to corner, but is a bit more forgiving all-round around the 100mm mark. I've only taken the odd shot at 50mm with ... |
