| Review of: HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR by Archimedes the Dog on Fri October 9, 2015 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
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Reviews: 43
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I became jealous of my cousin's 16-85mm zoom on her Nikon, and the reviews for this lens made me decide to take the plunge and invest. I have used this lens heavily since I received it, almost to exclusion of others despite my simultaneous purchase of a 55-300 WR lens at the same time. It is the most expensive lens I have ever owned and had high expectations based on that fact and on other reviews.
The bad:
- I haven't found the lens as sharp as advertised unless in ideal conditions.
- Barrel distortion can be noticeable
- I wish it had another stop of aperture. Low light is not this lens' friend.
- It is the only 72mm filter size lens I own and thus requires all new filters and adapters.
- It does not come with a case like other high end Pentax lenses, which is disappointing.
- The quick shift is easy to hit by accident, throwing off several shots for me -- the quick shot being forward like on the 55-300 is a better arrangement, IMO.
The good:
- The lens has good performance overall, just not as outstanding as I expected based on rating and reviews.
- It has the least trouble with focus hunting of any Pentax autofocus I have used
- It is notably quiet and fast while focusing.
- The range of the lens is usable in real world conditions
- Image quality is generally quite good when conditions are right.
- Weather resistance survived immersion in a waterfall while attached to a K-5 body and kept shooting just fine.
- Light for its size and complexity.
I would recommend this lens for sure, but it is not the superstar I expected.
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