HD Pentax-D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR

Construction and Handling

The HD PENTAX-D FA 24-70mm F2.8 ED SDM WR is a large lens. This is not surprising given its fast aperture, wide zoom range, and full frame coverage. This section will give you a complete tour of the lens, from every angle. You will also see the lens alongside other comparable lenses and mounted on various camera bodies.

Front Element

The front of the lens is dominated by the large amount of glass and a narrow ring of plastic. There are no marks or indications at the front.

Front

The front element is covered by the Super Protect (SP) coating, which allows easier cleaning and helps to repel dirt and oil. This is no mere gimmick; the SP coating really is an improvement over regular coatings and practically guarantees the removal of any lingering dirt or dust.

The lens uses a huge 82mm filter thread. This diameter is uncommon, the largest diameter that could be called "common" being 77mm. The large diameter means that filters will be expensive and unique to this lens.  No other K-mount lens currently uses this filter size, though some of Pentax's medium format lenses do.

The lens cap is the standard Pentax plastic pinch design.

Lens Body and Internal Focusing

Body

The body of the lens is made entirely of plastic, except for the two rubberized rings. The finish is of high quality even so, coming close to that of the D FA* 70-200mm and other high-grade lenses.  On casual observation, the finish might pass for metal. Apart from the choice of material, there is little reason why this lens couldn't be part of the premium "star" line. The texture matches that of modern Pentax camera bodies.

Animation

The body mostly take the shape of a cylinder. However, the effect is broken in part by the large chamfer near the lens mount, suggesting that the lens is wider than it actually is. Starting from the base (at the lens mount) and going up, we first see printed lettering displaying the lens's focal range and aperture. The lettering is the same, understated look that Ricoh first introduced on the revamped DA Limited lineup. however, this part of the lens shaft lacks the ribbed rings found on other DA zoom lenses (inspired from the FA Limited lenses and the D FA 100mm F2.8 macro).

Lettering

Right above this label is the focus distance window, with markings in meters and feet. The white text on a black background gives good contrast and is easy to read. There are no DOF markings of any kind, though.

To the right side (as seen from the top with the lens mounted) is the Pentax logo. It can be surprising to see the brand name moved to the side; however this makes the top of the lens more streamlined and minimalist.

D FA

To the left side is the D FA label. Pentax stopped using the iridescent style that was a hallmark of the first DA lenses (even on the kit lens) but the lettering is still elegant, silver on dark, perfectly legible.

Japan

The back of the lens shows the "Made in Japan" label, which confirms that the lens is assembled by Tamron, since Pentax has no factories in Japan anymore.

Next is the focus ring which falls easily under hand. It is not overly wide, at 1cm. Its size is adequate given the overall lens size. The ring comes to soft stops at the end of its course, after a 100° rotation. In other words, at both extremes (0.38cm and infinity) the ring still turns, but with increased friction, without affecting the focus point. Reversing the direction of the rotation immediately changes the focus distance. The ring does not rotate when using AF, which is to be expected at this price point (and necessary for Quick Shift to work).

Immediately above the focus ring is a band bearing the full name of the lens, in printed white letters.

Further up is the large zoom ring. With a length of 3cm, it is easy to operate with an eye to the viewfinder. This ring has a short throw of approximately 80°. There is a sufficient amount of friction and dampening. Even with the relatively large size of the lens, the ring can be turned with just two fingers.

Lock

During our testing we didn't observe any creep or play. Nonetheless, Pentax (or maybe Tamron) included a zoom lock to prevent accidental movements. The lock is located to the right side (again when looking at the mounted lens from the top). It can only be engaged when the zoom is collapsed to 24mm, which is fairly common. A narrow red band is visible when the lock is engaged. The ring has focal length markings at 24, 50 and 70mm, located at the bottom of the textured rubber. Above the ring, the lens bears the classic Pentax green ring which has made a return recently (the first HD lenses bore a red ring instead).

The general feel is on par with what you'd expect in a premium lens: tight assembly tolerances, no unwanted movements or wobbling, quality materials and pleasant aesthetics. It is good to see that Pentax is using a more universal design language for their lenses.

The lens does not extend at all when focusing: there is no indication that it is focusing except for the movement of the distance scale behind the window. 

Aperture

Aperture

The HD D FA 24-70mm F2.8 uses 9 rounded aperture blades. The rounding is likely to improve out-of-focus rendering (bokeh).

Lens Mount

Mount

The lens mount is metal. Anything else (namely, plastic) would be surprising at this price point. The red seal preventing water or dust ingress is clearly visible. The back of the lens bears a semi-rectangular opening, which works in addition to the lens hood to reduce aberrations.

Several rubber seals are also present inside the lens to prevent moisture ingress.  Unlike star-series lenses, however, this lens features the lower WR (Weather Resitant) designation of weather sealing rather than AW (All Weather), which would include protection against dust.

Lens Hood

Hood

The lens is supplied with a petal-shaped lens hood.  It is very narrow in order to accommodate the wide field of view at 24mm. Because of this, it is unlikely to be very effective at 70mm or in general on APS-C. Surprising at first, but inevitable considering its small size, the hood lacks the removable window found on many Pentax hoods, which otherwise allows for the easy use of rotating filters. Given the shape of the hood, operating a polarizer or other filter will be possible even without this window.

Compared to Other Lenses

Here is the D FA 24-70mm next to the DA 16-85mm designed for APS-C cameras. Both lenses follow the same general design rules, with the lettering and colored ring being the obvious differences. The larger barrel of the 24-70mm is immediately obvious. On the other hand, fully extended it is actually shorter than its APS-C sibling.

Compared 1 Compared 2

Next we compare the 24-70mm with the smallest lens (unofficially) covering the full frame image circle: the DA 40mm Limited. We also include the FA 77mm Limited, another full frame lens with a focal length well matched to the tele end of the 24-70mm.

Compared 3

Mounted on Camera

Below are images of the Pentax 24-70mm mounted on a Pentax K-1 (full frame) and a Pentax K-S2 (APS-C). While the lens looks perfectly at home on the full frame body, it dwarfs the smaller entry-level camera and doesn't balance as nicely.

Mounted 1 Mounted 3
Mounted 2 Mounted 4

Verdict

The HD Pentax D FA 24-70mm F2.8 feels right at home alongside other Pentax lenses, especially the new full frame zooms. APS-C users will probably find it larger and heavier than what they are used to. On the other hand, the weight distribution is good, the lens does not feel overly front heavy and its rings are well placed and easy to operate. As is typical for Pentax lenses, buttons and controls are kept to a minimum (a feature more than a flaw). Apart from the size and weight, there isn't much to criticize on the lens.


facebook.com/PentaxForums PentaxForums @PentaxForums News | Reviews | Forum

Support Pentax Forums Donate to Pentax Forums Support Pentax Forums