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SMC Pentax-DA 645 25mm F4 AL [IF] SDM AW

Sharpness	9.3
Aberrations	8.7
Bokeh	9.3
Handling	9.3
Value	9.3

Reviews	Views	Date of last review
3	47,592	Tue September 30, 2014

Recommended By	Average Price	Average User Rating
100% of reviewers	$5,500.00	9.50

SMC Pentax-DA 645 25mm F4 AL [IF] SDM AW

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Description:

The SMC Pentax-DA 645 25mm F4 AL [IF] SDM AW is an ultra wide-angle lens with a field of view of 95.5 degrees diagonally.

It is identical to its D-FA series predecessor, except that its lens hood has been stretched to give better results on digital Pentax 645 bodies. As a consequence this lens will now produce vignetting on Pentax 645 film bodies, so you should go for the D-FA version if you also shoot film. This professional lens is fully weather-sealed and features silent autofocus.

The Pentax DA 645 25mm lens became available in April, 2012 for $4,995 and was discontinued in mid-2015 for unknown reasons.

smc Pentax-DA 645 25mm F4 AL[IF] SDM AW © www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format 645 digital	Lens Mount Pentax 645	Aperture Ring No	Diaphragm Automatic, 9 blades (rounded)
Optics 12 elements, 8 groups	Mount Variant 645 AF2 Check camera compatibility	Max. Aperture F4	Min. Aperture F32
Focusing AF (in-lens motor) SDM	Quick-shift Yes	Min. Focus 40 cm	Max. Magnification 0.11x
Filter Size 40.5 mm (Rear drop-in)	Internal Focus Yes	Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.) 645 Digital: 95.5 ° / 82.6 °
Hood Built-in	Case S100-200
Lens Cap Dedicated metal push-on	Coating Aero Bright,SMC,SP	Weather Sealing Yes (AW)	Other Features AF/MF Switch,Drop-in Filter Holder
Diam x Length 90 x 148.5 mm (3.5 x 5.9 in.)	Weight 1040 g (w/o attachments) (36.7 oz.)	Production Years 2012 to 2015
Engraved Name smc PENTAX-DA 645 1:4 25mm AL[IF] SDM AW		Product Code 26370	Reviews User reviews
Notes The DA 25mm is not recommended on film bodies due to vignetting (the lens hood is designed for the smaller 645 digital format). No autofocus on film bodies. The CPL filter can be turned with a knob on the filter holder. Two aspherical elements.

Features:

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Buy the SMC Pentax-DA 645 25mm F4 AL [IF] SDM AW

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Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Ascending) Showing Reviews 1-3 of 3

blackdressed

Inactive Account

Registered: January, 2011

Location: Munich

Posts: 4

1 user found this helpful

Review Date: April 15, 2012

Recommended | Price: $6,000.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	sharpness, contrast, colours
Cons:	vignetting with external 100mm-filters
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 9 Camera Used: 645D

a very nice lens, really beautiful colours, contrast and superb sharpness. In corners (8% of width or 5cm of 61,5 cm) it is getting soft. I think this is OK for such a wide angle but I know lenses which are better in corners.
As normal with wide-angles, there is distorsion. Even CA is good, too. But you see some, if 100% viewed;especially in high-contrast areas.
I built a lee-100mm-filter-holder and tested the lens with a nd 1.2 soft filter very close to hood but I had no chance to take pictures without vignetting in corners. If you get the filter close to lense you can minimize them. But only one filter is working quite good. More than one you have strong vignetting.
Everything is off superb quality, as expected regarding price...

russjb

New Member

Registered: January, 2011

Location: Brisbane

Posts: 9

9 users found this helpful

Review Date: October 31, 2012

Recommended | Price: $5,000.00 | Rating: 10

Pros:	Clarity, sharpness
Cons:	None
Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 10 Bokeh: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 9 Camera Used: 645D

I was lucky enough to be able to buy this lens recently and haven't had the opportunity to use it extensively yet, but what I have seen so far of the results are spectacular.
It produces the sharpest, clearest image straight out of the camera, that I have ever seen.
It is bulky, a bit heavy and rather expensive, but then, what would you expect from a lens of this calibre, so I can't say any of these things are negatives.
Anyway, I'll let an image prove the point for me.
I have shown the full frame, then 100% enlargements of the areas shown with a red rectangle in the full frame, in the top right corner, centre and centre left. All the small crops are original, unsharpened, straight out of the Raw file. I sharpened the full frame image a little, to give a better idea of its normal appearance, as of course, I had to downsize it radically to fit this space and it gained some softness in the process.

Thomasbrowphoto

Veteran Member

Registered: May, 2014

Location: NSW, Australia

Posts: 335

8 users found this helpful

Review Date: September 30, 2014

Recommended | Rating: N/A

Pros:	Widest Lens for the 645 Digital Cameras
Cons:	Chromatic Aberrations are present in corners but correctable in post.
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 Camera Used: 645Z

Since buying the lens I hasn't really left my camera. Its really nice to able to shoot wider than what the 35mm lenses go. The drop in filters are handy to have and are perfect for my style of shooting. I don't need a front mounted filter ever so That was no issue for me. I was quite surprised how well this wide angle lens handles and especially that you can stitch large image panorama's with it as distortion is well corrected. Built quality is incredible as you would expect.

Here are a few Landscape Image examples from the lens on my 645Z.

https://500px.com/photo/101140717/twisted-mirage-by-thomas-brown?from=user_library
https://500px.com/photo/96158845/morning-rush-by-thomas-brown?from=user_library
https://500px.com/photo/90795279/rush-by-thomas-brown?from=user_library

And a 9 image panorama with the lens https://500px.com/photo/84588161/the-cave-by-thomas-brown?from=user_library

Tom,
thomasbrownimages.com

Pentax Lens Reviews

SMC Pentax-DA 645 25mm F4 AL [IF] SDM AW