Forum Member Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 56 3 users found this helpful | Review Date: December 12, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $26.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Good Sharpness, compact | Cons: | Ricoh Pin, Zoom Creep, CA | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
| | I wanted a KA mount zoom that went to 300mm with good sharpness. The Tamron Adaptall and Tokina SZ-X fit the bill. This looked identical to the Tokina and was cheaper so I went for it. It was a pleasant surprise. It's much lighter than the Tamron and quite a bit cheaper. And it performs well, particularly at the long end where most others fall off.
So this was just what I was looking for. My daughter had just bought a high end monster Nikon 70-300mm VR lens, and I wanted to shoot the same pics of kid's soccer games (using this tiny lens and with the aid of the in camera shake reduction but for about 1/30th the cost). It did not happen that way. The Nikon is still way sharper and has less CA, but I like the compactness of this lens and of course the price. Point made.
It's a one touch zoom, and zoom is quite firm, so firm I assumed it could not creep. Wrong, it still creeps slightly when held at an angle. That's annoying, but OK, so I keep my hand on it. This is quite sharp at longer focal lengths, my goal. But it has CA, more than current lenses. You must use a hood to avoid flare and loss of contrast. It has the Ricoh P Pin, so you must either remove the pin or simply remember to mount and unmount with the lens aperture off the A position, so the pin is retracted.
In summary, this is an inexpensive longer zoom with surprising sharpness. I recommend it for the performance at low price.
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Forum Member Registered: December, 2013 Posts: 83 3 users found this helpful | Review Date: March 5, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Sharp ,built to last . | Cons: | After I stuck a strip of the hooked side of a velcro strip going longways up the lens to stop it from moving freely there's nothing negative I can say . | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax k10d
| | If you see one grab it ,I'm sure it will last forever . If you notice the zoom is moving a little easier than you like a just add a strip of velcro hook side because there is not enough room for the soft side to fit between the metal . Place it long ways you only need a short piece on one side . Besides thats I really like it .Here are some bird photos some Robins and Cardinals .Just use the right arrow on flickr to see more I have the birds I used this lens marked . I use on 300mm zoom on the birds and about 20 feet away ..Robin by myridevlx600, on Flickr Northern Cardinal by myridevlx600, on Flickr Mockingbird by myridevlx600, on Flickr cedar waxwing by myridevlx600, on Flickr Robin by myridevlx600, on Flickr
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Site Supporter Registered: May, 2013 Posts: 63 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: August 12, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | easy to use, not heavy for a zoom, nice color, reasonably sharp | Cons: | could be sharper, but for the price and weight, this is as good as it gets | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K3
| | I saw this lens on Ebay for a low price and bought it based on the reviews here. I haven't been disappointed. I think the color rendition is nice and there's an overall "feel" to the pictures taken with this lens that I like. It's not the sharpest, especially farther away, but for the price and the weight of this lens, it can't be beat. It compares very favorably to my DA-L 55-300, I think. I posted some photos taken recently with this lens to Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/anna_peterson/albums/72157684039972852
It's not on a par with any of the 70-200 f/2.8 lenses, but for a bargain basement price it's a great performer.
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