| Latest Review Posted | HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
I personally found this lens to be a little bit overrated. Not that it's bad or anything, but I feel it just gets more credit than it reserves. It deserves a very solid 8/10 I think. Even 8,5 perhaps. But no more than that! Perhaps I got a weaker copy, god only knows. But mine isn't so super sharp as others' seem, even after a thorough calibration. For example my copy is noticeably weaker on the right side of the picture and on the 85mm end is pretty soft. However, at the 16mm end I find it quite satisfying in the sharpness department. The DC motor autofocus is near-silent and is super fast when using the viewfinder. The quick-shift focusing ring doesn't have a hard-stop as screwdrive lenses do. The build quality is excellent as are the aesthetic parts of it. The colors are typical pentax: excellent contrast, superb flare control. The HD coating does an excellent job indeed. Compare it to the KIT lenses and it shines, just don't compare it to primes, or you'll be let down. But then again: this lens is neither professional, nor a prime. This is a versatile zoom with it's strengths and weaknesses. Excellent for a general walk around lens, for traveling, to always keep on your camera. And if you need proper bokeh, you can always just swap to a prime. Due to the rounded aperture blades, you can forget nice starbursts when stopped down at night, but in return you get a smoother bokeh.
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Pier (made using a CPL filte... |
