| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2014 Location: Boden Posts: 113
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 17, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $699.56
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, Sharp, Build Quality, Bokeh | | Cons: | Weight, Slow Autofocus, and lack of Weather Sealing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-5 IIs
Autofocus: 8
New Or Used: New
| |
This lens is a Tank, it weighs about a pound (800g), and holding this for half the day can be tiresome, the balance point with the IIs is directly under the zoom ring and is comfortable.
The weight aside, this lens is super sharp from f:1.8 through 16, I bought this lens for Aurora work, but have not taken it off the body yet for the month I have owned it.
The AF can be a little slow, but is (mostly) accurate. For Astro work I have always used MF, during the day or inside, there have been no major issues with the AF.
One gripe I do have is that it lacks Weather Sealing.
 | | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2008 Location: Luxembourg Posts: 8,633
23 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 18, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $605.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast, Sharp, Bokeh | | Cons: | Little bit heavy | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5 II s, K-1
Autofocus: 9
New Or Used: New
| |
1/20 F1.8 2500 ISO = 1Ev
Addendum
I must say that I totally disagree with beholder3's review.
It is a fabulous and cheap lens !
It is super sharp, bokeh is fantastic, AF is good and the rest is blabla.
Here are examples with my K-1. Yes you can use it in FF mode from 28mm to 35mm at F1.8 !!!
Click on the photos to see them larger !
View all my 18-35 photos | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2015 Location: Iasi Posts: 14 | | Review Date: August 2, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $776.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Built quality, Price tag | | Cons: | AF speed, Weight, No weather sealing, Shock sensitive | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3 II
Autofocus: 6
New Or Used: New
| |
This lens feels like a tank in your hands, and it's pretty well built, meaning it doesn't have that cheap plastic feel. It does feel like a pro lens. Still, the same old Sigma caveat... You bang it on something, even just a little bit, bye bye focus accuracy. Good luck calibrating it with the USB dock.
The zoom ring and focus ring are perfectly balanced and damped.
The hood secures nicely on the lens, looks good and does a great job cutting flare.
The pinch in lens cap is HORRIBLE. Every time I try to put it on is a nightmare, I can't get it in unless I look at the lens like a beginner. After fitting it in, I think I got it the next time... Nope. Next time will be the same story.
Optically, this lens is on par with some of the best pro lenses from Canon or Nikon that I've used before. I wish Sigma would release an entire family of APSC lenses of this quality, especially primes in the telephoto range.
Weather sealing would have made this lens perfect, and an extra $50 - 80 would have probably been gladly spent by everyone for a mount gasket and a couple others it the right places.
Bokeh is reasonably good, but not impressive in any way. It's a wide angle / mid range zoom for APSC after all, asking for more would be unfair. I am actually surprised of how many owners of this lens expect it to behave like the equivalent of a 50mm F1.8 on full frame.
APSC means you multiply the focal length AND the aperture by the crop factor, so 35/1.8 is more like 52.5/2.7, which should render good bokeh...but id doesn't. Not that good anyway. The Pentax HD 70/2.4 is WAY more impressive in both focus speed and bokeh quality, but then again, that one is almost a telephoto lens.
Last but not least, the excessively debated autofocus "issue". Here's my experience with this lens.
Out of the box, the lens performed very slow but very good focusing on any target at any distance. To be fair, I wasn't expecting more than 85 - 90% of in focus shots anyway from a Sigma lens, and that's a very good percentage for any good lens, especially in the wide and mid range focal length. This Sigma is no exception.
I was surprised of how quiet the autofocus is. I had to put my ear close to the lens a few times to hear if it's doing anything or not, while pushing the AF button on my K-3 II.
The unexpected has unfortunately happened. Sitting on the right front seat of my car, at a hard break the camera flew into my glovebox door, lens hood ahead. Bye bye autofocus accuracy. I haven't tested enough yet, but now the front and back focusing are random at different focal lengths. It will take me days to try to calibrate it with the bundled USB dock I received, and there's no guarantee it will be as good as new. I might have to send it to Sigma anyway.
This is my third Sigma to behave like that from a minor shock. My 50/1.4 EX was almost unusable on my ex-Canon 5D mk II because I dropped it on the table from less than 3 inches height.
So there. Take good care of your Sigmas because they are very sensitive to shocks.
All in all, a great achievement for the Sigma team in the APSC field. There have been firmware updates for this lens for Nikon and Canon, but nothing for Pentax... A bit disappointing.
I did have higher expectations from this lens in regards to robustness and autofocus, but given the price tag, I'll give it a thumb up since the optical performance is very good. IF you get a good sample and nurture it like a newborn baby.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: June 10, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | sharp | | Cons: | autofocusing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Camera Used: K-50
Autofocus: 1
New Or Used: New
| |
Pentax K-50 + Sigma 18-35 F1,8
Autofocus Problem
Also tested with K-5, K-3
To f/3,2 AF good. From f/3,5 front-focusing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0FBL1uHeCY
German Service:
"Lens checked; focusing checked; The lens meets Sigma factory standarts. (note, such phenomenon may occur due to the Hyperfocal distance, however, that is no fault of the lens)"
 | | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2013 Location: Lometa, TX Posts: 403
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 9, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $799.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build,Sharp, 1.8 | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K3
Autofocus: 8
New Or Used: New
| |
I do not know if I just got a good copy , but I have had NO AF problems with this lens other than a miss once in a while. I use the 35mm back button focus and then zoom to 18, etc., method suggested here on the Forum and I get TACK sharp focus also I really have not had problems at the 18mm end. I have used live view focusing and AF and my copy works very, very good. I do manual focus also and I can't praise the IQ enough. The lens does get a bit heavy compared to other 35mm lenses, also I would recommend using the grip although it does add a little more weight it is easier to hold on to. I have not removed this lens since I received it (I have two bodies) as in my opinion this lens TRULY is a box of primes. One more negative I have I forgot to mention is Flaring, it is there and can be a nuisance but if you use a GOOD cpl filter (coated like a B + W or a Marumi) the nuisance is gone. 
I have changed my review after months of use. This lens Rocks !
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2014 Location: Galway - Ireland Posts: 213 | | Review Date: March 18, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $900.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Silent AF, F/1,8 | | Cons: | Price, Heavy, Very Slow AF | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-3
Autofocus: 7
New Or Used: New
| |
WHO IS IT FOR ?
The 18-35mm range is not really appropriated for portrait photography. The range is great for Architecture and Large Street photography.
HANDLING
First thing the size and weight of the zoom : it is a really big and heavy lens (about 800g).
The focus ring is very smooth and it is nice to use it manually even if the focusing is sometimes hard. Focus peaking can really help here.
AUTOFOCUS
The autofocus is extreme in two ways : extremely quiet and extremely slow…
The silence of the autofocus is such that it may be disappointing : I often wondered if the focus was made. Focus peaking is the best way to be sure that focusing has been made.
The autofocus is also very slow (about 2-3 seconds in low light…). For street photography for instance it is almost not possible to use it and I turned back to manual mode. For architecture it is not a limitation.
IMAGE QUALITY
>SHARPNESS
This lens is very sharp from wide open. I didn’t expect this lens to be so sharp wide open. The sharpness is such that sometimes the transition between focus and out of focus area is a bit harsh, so focusing must be flawless.
While using it seemed to me that the sharpness was better for very close subjects (BOKEH
Well, a wide angle is not the best possible lens if you expect some nice bokeh, but this zoom does it pretty well even if it may be nervous.
>CHROMA ABERRATIONS
Nothing detected ! There is little fringing (green) but it is not problematic at all in field conditions.
>FLARE
This lens seemed very resistant to flare for a standard use. With city lights at night, there are no visible ghosts in the image.
>COLOR RENDITION
For Pentax users, this lens may seem a little clinical as the rendition of colors is very neutral.
>DISTORSION
The distorsion is low and irrelevant in field conditions.
>VIGNETING
Vigneting is pronounced wide open and really needs correction (except for vigneting fans).
CONCLUSION
If you can afford this lens and are found of this range, go and buy it right now ! This is amazing for wide angle fun and the awesome build construction feels like it will last for years. If you use only occasionally the wide angle or if this lens is out of your budget, you may consider to buy primes instead.
SAMPLE PICTURES
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2014 Location: Singapore Posts: 106
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 1, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $799.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image quality, bokeh. | | Cons: | Price | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-30
Autofocus: 8
New Or Used: New
| |
This is one of the best lenses money can buy. Image quality and sharpness puts many primes to shame. This lens can school even Pentax prime lenses in sharpness and bokeh.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2011 Posts: 9
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 4, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $749.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | very sharp | | Cons: | autofocusing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 7
Camera Used: k5
Autofocus: 5
New Or Used: New
| |
very sharp lens, but mediocre autofocus on my k5, probably needs an update from sigma
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2014 Posts: 10
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 9, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $696.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Versatile, fast, build quality | | Cons: | Af, heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-3
Autofocus: 6
New Or Used: New
| |
Let me start out by saying, I'm not a pro Photographer... So, take my advice with a grain of salt...
I got this lens with the ultimate goal of doing some astrophotography in outback Australia later this year... But it's capable of so much more than that.
I mainly shoot my 3-year-old son (a very fast moving object) and food (very slow moving objects)
In low light this lens has no trouble keeping up with him running around. In bright sunlight it focuses well, silently and smoothly... I did try the pre-focus tip suggested by another user, and it allows one to capture beautifully sharp images, almost all the time.
Shooting food, it's great. Plenty of fine detail can be seen... Chinese seafood (my test subject) looked, well, good enough to eat...
I'm a HUGE bokeh fan, and I was not left wanting. Obviously, you need to shoot at a higher focal length (say above 30mm) to get the really 'creamy' stuff, but it looks sooooo tasty!!
If you can get this lens, do it. You get a whole camera bag full of primes, plus a fast wide angle lens, got less than the price of a single, slower Pentax branded lens...
I'm in love... Don't tell my wife...
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2014 Location: Monterey County, California Posts: 97
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 6, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $700.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Fast, internal focusing and zooming, overal IQ | | Cons: | Big & heavy, auto-focus | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-50
Autofocus: 5
New Or Used: New
| |
I have been using this lens for about 3 weeks. I purchased this lens to shoot 3/4 and full length fashion shots in my small home studio. This lens has excellent image quality. Pictures are very sharp with good contrast.
The only issue is auto-focus. I agree with Youngster in that, in order to use this lens wide open, you need to pre-focus @35mm, then zoom out to the range you want. Or you can use live-view instead (CDAF). I also set the focus AF active area to "SPOT" with this lens. I have done some testing and found that from f1.8 to f2.8 one needs to pre-focus @ 35mm first in order to insure sharp pictures when zoomed between 18-24mm. From f4 to f16 no pre-focusing is needed at any zoom setting.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: January, 2014 Posts: 76 | | Review Date: September 29, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $880.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | f1.8, internal focusing and zooming, overal IQ | | Cons: | AF | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5ii
Autofocus: 3
New Or Used: New
| |
One day with one lens (my short personal experience)
I have had opportunity to shoot with Sigma 18-35 1.8 A for whole day and I have decided to share my experience.
Built: First thing you notice is that this lens is big. It's quite same as DA*50-135 in terms of weight and size. But it is good balanced - so six hours of outdoor shooting was not a big problem (but notice that I don't use neck strap - but gorilla sling strap).
It's very well built lens. Quality plastic and metal. Zoom ring is smooth. And focusing ring is "transmitted" so it has longer throw in when manual focusing. It has maybe the best manual focusing ring that I ever seen in AF lens. The only odd is quite cheap feeling from lens cap.
IQ: It is nice. I must say, not that superb that I anticipated from all that chart around web. But one thing is really impressive - it is sharp from f1.8. Its quite better on 3.5. But on opposite side, it is not better (in fact it is worse) from 5.6 or 8 up.
It is not so superb in terms of aberration as web reviews indicates - quite same as with WA primes. Flare resistence is good. Contrast as well. Bokeh is sometimes pleasant, but sometimes quite disturbing.
Focusing: Focusing is silent and fast (no blazing fast but fast enough). It locks everytime. But with very bad consistency.
Real experience in field:
I must say that this lens excels in portraits (despite its FL). And close focused shots are its strong side as well as interior shooting. But landscapes are different cup of tea. Landscapes aren't that sharp and clear that some other lenses can produce. But what is really big problem is focusing. Focusing consistency issues is killing this lens. My copy has big BF and FF issues. And it is oposite cross focal lenghts. When I correct AF on 18mm it is far away on 35mm. And even on one FL. I can calibrate it on close focus, but then, landscapes are very soft... This is really big issue.
Bottomline:
It is nice lens. Weight and size is not that big problem. But I can't rely on it in terms of focusing. I made about 400 photos. But I can get really in focus about 20 of them. Ok, some of them are operator fault, but even that its very bad keeper ratio. I really recomend to buy this lens only in shop where you can easy return it. I hoped, that this will be my new workhorse lens on short FL, but not. But, I really like that shots where it nailed focus, so maybe i try another copy later.
Some test shots (not best ones or worst, but quite representative) are here (no PP, f1.8 except the landscape 6.3)
 18-35 f1.8 by jannis.lontheo, on Flickr
 18-35 f6.3 by jannis.lontheo, on Flickr
 18-35 f1.8 by jannis.lontheo, on Flickr
 18-35 f1.8 by jannis.lontheo, on Flickr
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2014 Location: at a Bean & Leaf Posts: 1,832
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 22, 2014 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast, Close focus, All-time MF, Sharp wide open, Nice colors (unlike EX) | | Cons: | Frog-egg bokeh, Needs AF adjustment, QC issues (Decentering) | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-5iis, K-3
Autofocus: 7
New Or Used: New
| |
I've used this lens on two Pentax bodies, the K-5iis and K-3 (needed -3 AF adjustment on K-3)
Image Quality:The lens produces exceptional IQ right from F1.8. Wide-open is sharp from 18mm-26mm, and becomes less so at 35mm (needs to be stopped down past f2.2). I've compared this lens with a good copy of Sigma EX 30mm f1.4, and they both are exceptionally sharp, almost indistinguishable from f1.8. This are amazing results, most at larger apertures lenses suffer from low contrast and aberration, but the 18-35mm seem unaffected by such issues.
Build/Handling: The lens has a nice feel to it, the high quality plastic is quite nice, and the 17 elements make quite a sizable and heavy chunk of glass. The HSM is responsive and moderately fast (albeit not as fast as previous HSM lenses (50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4 or the 70-200mm f2.8) They have been reports of quality control issues, some forum members have had de-centering issues, so check you copy for flaws.
Bokeh/Rendering: I like the new coating on the Art series, its a much welcomed improvement over the EX line. (warmer more pleasing tones) The bokeh on this lens is very pleasing and superior to most zoom I've used to date (The Tokina 280, AT-X Pro 28-80mm f2.8 being the exception.) However on certain background conditions with strong specular highlights, strange concentric OOF emerge (people have dubbed this frog-egg bokeh) which is distracting.
The lens also exhibits very little CA, and has almost zero coma (good for astrophotography)
Conclusion: Overall this lens exhibit strong "prime-like" qualities, both in terms of IQ and Bokeh. It's a sizable piece of glass, a stack of primes in size and image quality. The close focus capabilities and the All-time MF on the HSM makes this lens a stellar performer for video recording.
26mm @f1.8
Crop:
35mm @F2.8
Crop:
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 233
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 16, 2014 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fast. Can be sharp. Well built. Quiet Motor | | Cons: | Quite Heavy and Large. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-30
Autofocus: 7
New Or Used: New
| |
As you already know. This is a really unique lens. You can't even find a f1.8 prime at 18mm never mind a zoom. And it delivers in sharpness .... most of the time. Just like the PF review. At least with my K-30, the frustrating part is that at 18mm, inside of infinity range, a significant number of times, it mis-focuses. It's hard to tell in the viewfinder and the results can be disappointing. When the focus is right, it is blazingly sharp, but the focus being right is never a given - especially in lower light, which is the whole point of this lens.
Aberration is low, bokeh is ok. The autofocus is fast and very quiet (at least in my copy). It's great for video. The lens focus and zoom are really well damped - I think the dampening may be the best of any autofocus lens I have used. The lens is mostly metal and very well built. I wish they made the filter ring metal too, but that is about the only plastic part. The hood is plastic too, but to me, it works fine and isn't as flimsy as some have complained about.
Other than the focus (which may be improved with the dock and future firmware), the only real drawback is the weight. Having gotten used to using primes on the Pentax system, this thing is a monster! My wrists hurt the first two days, but you get used to it quickly. However, I really don't think this lens fits at all with the Pentax philosophy of a light and small APS-C system.
Having said all that, I'm still keeping the lens because of its unparalleled low light capability at wide angles. Also I believe that it can be improved once firmware and the dock become available. It is quite a remarkable lens for the price, and being able to change the mount is an extra bonus. Look at it this way, you have to pay around $500-$600 for a used FA20 f2.8. This is faster, wider and longer, has a supersonic motor and is new for just $200 more. Sure it weighs a ton more, but we were all clamoring for faster glass weren't we?
Update 10-30-14
After spending another month playing with the lens, I've discovered a few more things:
I found that the lens focuses more accurately at 35mm than at 18mm. As such, the best way to "tune" the lens is to do the fine focus adjustment on the 35mm end. When you want to shoot at anything less than 35mm, just pre-focus with the 35, and then zoom back out (without letting go of the focus button). This is an old manual focus trick and it has done wonders for my "keeper" ratio. The autofocus just isn't that accurate at the 18mm end, but if you use this method, it is much improved. After the focus adjustment on my K-30, this lens is just amazingly sharp wide open. I'm very impressed, although the lens is still very big. 
One final thought: Sigma seems to produce less and less lenses in the Pentax mount. I feel that this lens will likely eventually be phased out in the Pentax mount and become another hard to obtain lens. I recommend everyone who is interested in a fast wide angle get it while it is still available. It is destined to be a cult classic.
Update 01-20-17
Having used this lens for a few couple of years now on both K-30 and K-3 bodies, I have discovered one very notable thing. Not all autofocus points work well with this lens. As amateur photographers, most of us are trained to use the center point and then recompose. Oddly enough, on this lens, the centerpoint does not have the best focus accuracy. On my K-3, the point just beneath the centerpoint gives a much better "hit" ratio. This is surprising because the centerpoint on the K-3 is supposed to be optimized for low light lenses, and for most lenses especially Pentax ones, this is true; but it just doesn't perform well for this lens. In fact having tested the focus of this lens on all the focus points the K-3 offers, I have found some of the other points are so bad that you can barely focus at all with this lens. So if you test your lens with the focus points and find the one that works best on your camera, you can get a much better "keeper" ratio, especially when combined with the 35mm to 18mm zooming trick noted previously.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2011 Location: Doha Posts: 11
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 4, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp at all apertures | | Cons: | Size/weight | | New Or Used: New
| |
Quite simply, the sharpest lens corner to corner I've ever used, and it's pin sharp from f1.8. The bokeh is great,too. It's very well built (though quite large and heavy); the zoom and focusing rings feel like they are hydraulically damped. It works really well with the K3. AF can hunt a bit in low-light, though in Live View it focuses in near darkness. Focus is spot-on on my copy, no front or back focusing issues at all. The lens hood seemed fiddly at first, but as long as you hold it where the threads are when fitting it or removing it, it works fine. I'm very impressed with it, and for the price, I think it's a bargain. You keep hearing of zooms being called "stack of primes", this one's a stack of Ltd's.
A few taken at f1.8. all on a K3.
 Doha Airport by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
 Rhus seed head by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
 Clematis by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
100% crop
 Clematis by Jon Bowles, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2009 Location: United States Posts: 23
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 28, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $799.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast and silent focusing | | Cons: | Its big! | | Sharpness: 10
New Or Used: New
| |
My new lens came today! Unfortunately I forgot to order the filter at the same time and I DO NOT use lenses without a filter. I know not everyone is a fan of filters or thinks they are necessary but I have been well served by having them at the end of my lenses. So as a result this is a limited review.
Unboxing:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14756506061/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14757335374/in/photostream/
Lens
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14779539903/in/photostream/
Its big, but not that big. Banana for scale:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14759659825/in/photostream/
More useful comparison to the DA 50-200. I figure a large number of Pentax shooters have or have seen a DA 50-200.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14757315674/in/photostream/
Comparison to the FA 77 and DA 35:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14759326112/in/photostream/
Picture at 18mm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14573010808/in/photostream/
Same spot, same subject, zoomed to 35mm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14757294484/in/photostream/
Those were shot at f/3.2 and they are tack sharp.
THis is the first "real" pic - f/1.8, 35mm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14756459171/in/photostream/lightbox/
This is full size at f/2.5. I tried shooting wide open but the in focus area is so shallow I couldn't get the bee fast enough. It was not a matter of autofocusing - that is very fast - but just getting the dot on the bee and the picture taken before the bee moved on. He was a busy bee!!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14572978939/in/photostream/lightbox/
I find the Bokeh very pleasant
Same bee. one frame later and cropped. Again you can see how shallow the in focus area is even at f/2.5.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuwildkat/14759627415/in/photostream/lightbox/
Overall I am extremely happy and can't wait to get this out for a real workout. Focus is fast an SILENT. As in I thought it was broken silent. It took me a minute to realize that that tiny rumble was the focusing. All of my other lenses are screw drive and LOUD. I may be spending a LOT of money replacing my existing lenses with ones that are quiet. The lens is big but not so big that I would not want to use it. If balances nicely on my K-5 with a batter grip. Not quite as "walkable" as my Pentax primes but more walkable than carrying an 18mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 30mm, 35mm and for me it is a potential direct replacement for a 24mm, 30mm and 35mm. I look forward to getting it inside to try the 18mm end in tight quarters.
I will update the number ratings when I give it more of a workout.
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;)
;)
