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SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited Review RSS Feed

SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited

Sharpness 
 9.6
Aberrations 
 9.3
Bokeh 
 9.2
Autofocus 
 9.1
Handling 
 9.6
Value 
 9.3
Reviews Views Date of last review
102 418,809 Thu August 10, 2023
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
99% of reviewers $460.93 9.41
SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited

SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
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SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
supersize
SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
supersize
SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
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Description:
The SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited is high-quality a compact telephoto "pancake" lens that is designed only for Pentax DSLR's. The lens is pictured above with the hood on.

SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
APS-C
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
No
Diaphragm
Automatic, 9 blades
Optics
6 elements, 5 groups
Mount Variant
KAF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F2.4
Min. Aperture
F22
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
Yes
Min. Focus
70 cm
Max. Magnification
0.12x
Filter Size
49 mm
Internal Focus
No
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 23 ° / 19 °
Hood
MH-RD 49 mm
Case
Pouch DA70
Lens Cap
Dedicated metal push-on
Coating
SMC,SP
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Diam x Length
63 x 26 mm (2.5 x 1 in.)
Weight
130 g (4.6 oz.)
Production Years
2006 to 2013
Engraved Name
smc PENTAX-DA 1:2.4 70mm Limited
Product Code
21620 (black)
Reviews
User reviews
In-depth review
Unofficial Full-Frame Compatibility Tests by Pentax Forums
★★☆ Full coverage at some F-stop and focal length combinations
Show details
Variants

Black and silver

Features:
Screwdrive AutofocusQuick ShiftAutomatic ApertureAPS-C Digital OnlyDiscontinued
Purchase: Buy the SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
In-Depth Review: Read our SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited in-depth review!
Sample Photos: View Sample Photos
Price History:



Add Review of SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited Buy the SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited
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Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-15 of 102
New Member

Registered: August, 2022
Posts: 3

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: August 10, 2023 Recommended | Price: $284.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Focal length, versatility, Bokeh, sharpness
Cons: Not designed for full frame, can lead to vignetting on K-1
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: Pentax K-1   

This is my first review as frankly, I feel utterly unqualified to comment on lenses or camera equipment based on how recently I have come to photography. That said, as an enthusiastic collector of a few hundred cameras and lenses, I have enough experience to appreciate a gem.

This lens is fantastic. I may not be qualified enough to know about sharpness, aberrations or handling (OK, I know a bit) but I am qualified to know when I keep coming out with gems of photographs. The 70mm focal length is amazing on a full frame Pentax K-1. It is better to set it to 1:1 rather than full frame for focussing, but in spite of it's APS-C design, it still works wonderfully on a full frame sensor. It's also a light lens making it perfect for street photography.

It may be user error, but I have at times missed focus with the lens, but when you nail it, wow, it's just magical. Beautiful creamy bokeh with just the perfect level of sharpness when shooting portraits.


Just be sheer dint of magical photographs, I know that this is the one lens that I would keep if I were forced to be rid of all others. This is the one to make every dream come true. If you find it, buy it. I am confident that for most people, there will be no regret.


   
New Member

Registered: November, 2019
Posts: 1
Review Date: March 24, 2023 Recommended | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Sharp. Compact/lightweight for focal length.
Cons: None
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 9    New or Used: New    Camera Used: Pentax K-3, K-1   

Excellent lens, bought new from Amazon, Germany at a good saving over new prices here in England.

Very sharp as the equivalent of a 105mm when mounted on APS-C K-3. Brilliant portrait lens.

Although not intended for full frame, I use it extensively on my K-1, using my favoured 1x1 crop setting, as a 70mm short telephoto, where again it is superb for portraits and doesn't produce any vignetting with the 1x1 crop.

Not particularly enamoured by it's 'unique' lens hood, my example is now used with a generic 49mm thread, round plastic, short telephoto, hood, which works very well for me and takes an Optech/USA Hood Hat .
   
New Member

Registered: April, 2020
Posts: 2

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: January 1, 2022 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: small size, built quality, colours, bokeh, contrast, sharpness, 49 mm filter
Cons: no
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K1   

The travel pocket version of an 77mm or 85mm. Itīs working very well on full frame K1 and the wonderful thing is, nobody is expecting a tele lens, it seems so harmless and innocent.

I wanted to sell it after I bought the K1, but before I did, I tried it out on it and found this little sweet beast perfect for both, FF / crop and I fell in love with this small twitter lenses from PENTAX.

Superb bokeh with lights in the background, you donīt need to look for old M42 like Helios for producing light bubbles any more.

Fotos straight out of the cam, taken without lens hood, donīt know how to show them here sharper, K1 in FF modus, no skin modus, f2,4

   
Pentaxian

Registered: May, 2015
Posts: 3,304

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 15, 2021 Recommended | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: size, rendering, sharpness
Cons: loud focussing
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 7    Handling: 8    Value: 6    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-3 II, K-1   

This is my favourite DA limited. The size and image quality is excellent. Whilst travelling it's small, convenient and takes excellent cropped landscapes and building details. The size and rendering also makes it excellent for candid portraits, no one takes notice and it has a perfect mix of sharpness and smoothness.

On FF
I also use the lens on my K-1. Some say it's perfectly FF compatible but I'd say that's not quite true. The corners are really quite smudgy which matters for some subjects. It doesn't matter for others and this is how it can become a speciality character lens on FF. My copy renders really quite unique colours on the K-1 (I don't understand why it differs from my K-3II) turning towarsd a pleasant deep purble/blue tonal range in some circumstances. Again it shines for people photography where the vignette and edge behaviour can emphasize the subject.
   
Senior Member

Registered: April, 2008
Location: Westbrook, ME, USA
Posts: 288

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 21, 2019 Recommended | Price: $250.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Very light, extremely small for a long lens, quite sharp, generally good AF
Cons: screw on hood?
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: KP   

The single best thing about this lens is the size. People do not register that I am shooting with a tele lens, pretty much ever. I use the lens to take candids of my kids and I find they are much less likely to be annoyed by Dad with his camera.

The lens is quite sharp but doesn't take it too far, so it's great for portraits. There's some debate regarding the bokeh vs the 77mm, but I think this lenses rendition of out of focus areas is quite nice. It's very neutral and unobtrusive.

I really don't have anything bad to say about the lens, so here's a picture of my cat.

   
Senior Member

Registered: December, 2018
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 113

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: May 7, 2019 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Superb image quality
Cons: none
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 9    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K3-II   

I love this lens !

It's extremely sharp, very compact and probably the best on its class.

My three lens set is made by the 15mm, 40mm and the 70mm, all DA Limited.

The only thing I don't like is the in body AF motor, very noisy, but this is not caused by the lens.
   
Senior Member

Registered: June, 2013
Location: Southern Maryland
Posts: 110

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: October 16, 2018 Recommended | Price: $450.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: compact, sharp, beautiful bokeh
Cons: minimum focusing distance
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 9    New or Used: New    Camera Used: K-01   

This is one of favorite prime lenses and it works well with my K-01. I've captured some stunning portraits with it. With the release of the HD version of this, the green band smc version, is available used for a fraction of the price that I originally paid for it brand new six years ago. And yet I still think it's worth every penny. I keep the hood on it because it's still very compact, but sometimes I remove it and just use a regular lens cap and it's a super flat pancake lens that people do not suspect to be a short telephoto. Excellent for discreet street shooting and candids! The only downside I've experienced is occasionally it will not focus because of the minimum focusing distance, so I need to step back a step. Otherwise, it's an outstanding example of the DA limited prime lens series.


   
Pentaxian

Registered: April, 2013
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 578

6 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 27, 2018 Recommended | Price: $250.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Sharp, great contrast, fast focus, small
Cons:
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-5II   

A great little lens. It follows the DA Limited line of lenses in that it is compact and light, but not that large of an aperture (f 2.4). I bought it as a budget portrait lens but ended up getting the FA 77 soon after and never used this much. As for nature photography, I usually ended up using one of my zoom lenses but I purposely pulled this out from time to time in order to get some use out of it. Overall it has great sharpness, contrast, and colors - as expected with the rest of the DA Limiteds. I like the rendering of the FA 77 more, but this is still an excellent lens.

Here's a few of my favorites that I've taken with it:

Autumn at McConnells Mill

Quakertown Falls

Fall at Marshall Lake

Late Summer Sunset Through the Woods at North Park by James Baron, on Flickr

First Colors of Fall at North Park by James Baron, on Flickr
   
Forum Member

Registered: June, 2014
Posts: 58

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: May 29, 2018 Recommended | Price: $220.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Small, sharp, great colours, contrast and clarity
Cons: Long minimal focus distance, some purple fringing
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-S1   

For a long time, I tried to buy a used zoom to replace the 18-55 kit lens on my K-S1. I returned four lenses by Pentax, Sigma and Tamron, all because of poor optical quality. Finally, I realized that the K-S1 was designed to work best not with big and heavy zooms but with small and light primes. I already had the "plastic fantastic" 35/2.4 and 50/1.8 and decided to add the 70/2.4 Ltd. as a portrait lens.

Though I bought this lens second hand, technically it is new, because the previous owner didn't use it. The lens is small, light, beautifully made and looks great on my K-S1. It's even smaller than my other two primes. I like the hood and will keep it permanently attached.

The lens in very sharp in the centre wide open, and the edges catch up by F7.1 making it very sharp across the frame. I've never seen this level of sharpness and detail from any Bayer camera before, only from Sigma Foveon. Pixel peeper's delight!

The colours and contrast are excellent. I apply the DNG profile and colours become just perfect, no need to touch the Clarity and Vibrance sliders.

The bokeh seems nice, I haven't shot any portraits with it yet and am eager to try. The autofocus is noisy but fast and reliable. As a pleasant surprise, I found out that with this lens my K-S1 doesn't suffer from shutter shock at all, and I can confidently shoot at 1/100s.

This lens has a couple of drawbacks: very long minimal focus distance, which I expected, and some purple fringing in high contrast areas which in most cases can be corrected.

Overall excellent lens, highly recommended!
   
New Member

Registered: August, 2015
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 15

5 users found this helpful
Review Date: July 25, 2017 Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: sharp (!), small, IQ
Cons: Nothing
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: New    Camera Used: Pentax K-1   

If I had to only have one lens, this would be the one. Simply great for most use. Tack sharp in the center at 2.4, gets even better stopped down. It is small, have minimal distortion and works well on my K-1 even thought it's made for APS-C.

There is something about how it renders the image I love, can't really put my finger on it.. sharpness, colours, bokeh, micro contrast just makes it a great performer.



   
Veteran Member

Registered: November, 2013
Location: North Bohemia
Posts: 1,251

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 25, 2017 Recommended | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: light,small, sharp, nice flare resistance, bokeh, likes people, 3D
Cons: IMHO none..maybe some fringing here and there but nothing to worry about ;)
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: KS-2,K30   

I rarely post reviews but this lens got me

Some samples

the lens is best outdoors and @2,4











   
New Member

Registered: May, 2017
Location: Kiev
Posts: 12

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: May 25, 2017 Recommended | Price: $380.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Small size. Completely iron. Built-in hood.
Cons: Not the most comfortable lens hood, compared to other limited edition lenses.
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K5   

A gorgeous portrait lens! One of the best, and not only among Pentax lenses. And that's it!
The photos taken with this lens have nice warm colors. Beautiful bokeh. The lens itself is small, beautiful and easy to use.
I did not really like the built-in lens hood (but it's still better than the plastic lens hoods that need to be worn and removed every time). Also, I would like this lens to be waterproof.
But these are all trifles. Compared with the excellent photos that are obtained with this lens. For its value, a very good purchase! I advise everyone to have this lens.

Postscript: When writing a review about the lens, I noted that I recommend its "yes" for the acquisition. But after saving the message, it is automatically written "no", instead of "yes", which I wrote initially. I do not know what this is connected with. I can not fix it.



   
amateur dirt farmer

Registered: December, 2014
Location: probably out in a field somewhere...
Posts: 41,131

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: February 4, 2017 Recommended | Price: $228.99 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: size, autofocus, color rendition, bokeh
Cons: MFD
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Autofocus: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 9    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-3 and K-50   

What A Lens!

I was hesitant to buy this, simply because I did not hold a lot of interest in the focal length - I have 55's, a 58, and a 90 - but nothing between and honestly did not think that the gap needed to be closed.... I figured, why not, so I bought a second-hand SMC (not HD) copy from eBay.

I was wrong, flat-out wrong. This is a great focal length and this lens will definitely be staying with me.

Let me get the one negative out of the way, so I can continue to wax poetically about this lens. The minimum focusing distance is a pain... really it is. Yes, I know it's not a macro lens, etcetera - but 27"? Really? Many shots had to be recomposed simply because I ran into the MFD.... regularly... Granted, once I was used to it, it was less of an issue (and more of just a grousing point)...

OK - done with that, back to the wax....

This lens is all about the smooooooth...the rendering, colors, bokeh, how the lens handles, all so smooth...

The technical parts are special - it's small size, like the rest of its Limited brethren, makes it a joy to use on your camera. The built-in hood works perfectly with the slip-on cap; I never felt the need to remove the hood/cap and use a generic set up on the DA70 (yes, I'm looking at you DA40 Ltd). The autofocus works as advertised, yes it is a screwdrive so not as quiet or exotic as DC or SDM, but works perfectly fine, is accurate, and quick.

But it's the colors and bokeh that make this lens a keeper for me. Throughout the month, I had to adjust colors minimally - the joy of using a Pentax lens, as they render colors closer to my true vision than any other manufacturer. Bokeh is another triumph here - almost buttery, it's so smooth - if you want bokeh balls, you got 'em; you want a DOF that just fades away, you got it.

and the pictures?

golden bokeh by Pepperberry Farm, on Flickr

Remy Jane by Pepperberry Farm, on Flickr

Remy by Pepperberry Farm, on Flickr

glass and light by Pepperberry Farm, on Flickr

and the rest of my album for the DA70 Limited:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pepperberryfarm/albums/72157676850138601/page1


my advice is similar to my other Limited lenses: buy one...
   
Site Supporter

Registered: September, 2013
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 3,223
Review Date: June 30, 2016 Recommended | Price: $225.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: size, fast aperture, bokeh, build quality, flare resistance
Cons: purple and green fringing, not as sharp as expected
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 8    Autofocus: 8    Handling: 7    Value: 8    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: K-30   

This is my second Limited lens, but unlike the DA 15, I have other lenses that overlap or are similar to this focal length that I can compare images with. After some testing, I can state this isn't the sharpest lens I own, the Tamron 90mm Macro is definitely sharper and it takes a close look to see where the DA 70 is sharper than the DA 18-135 at 68mm. It's still very good at capturing details and exceptionally good at accurately capturing colours. Even with the hood on, contrast seems to be a little soft as well, but for some situations that can be a good attribute. At 70mm and f2.4, this should be an excellent lens for head shots and its compact size shouldn't intimidate anyone. But I can't rate it a 9, it isn't THAT good.

Other comments: For its focal length, it is surprisingly resistant to flare and ghosting. Green and purple fringing is evident on some backlit shots, but that can be effectively removed in post-processing. I did some AF focus tests, after a small adjustment to correct front focus, auto-focus is quick and accurate. With its unique screw on collapsible hood and Limited build quality this is a good looking lens, if a bit quirky. Bokeh is a little hard to rate, lots of small spots of light can produce a busy bokeh, even at f2.4 and f2.8, but other backgrounds end up looking great, with indistinct blurring that doesn't draw attention to itself and enhances the in-focus subject very well. Like I said, this should be a great portrait lens.

   
Senior Member

Registered: May, 2011
Location: Hanoi
Posts: 213

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 27, 2015 Not Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: sharpness, colorful, good build
Cons: the shade is loose
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Autofocus: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    New or Used: Used    Camera Used: Pentax K200D   

The price is not worth with the quality, it's quite cheap but the image is absolutely gorgeous.

Pink garden, on Flickr


Pink garden, on Flickr


Pink garden, on Flickr


Pink garden, on Flickr


Pink garden, on Flickr


Pink garden, on Flickr
Add Review of SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited Buy the SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited



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