| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2016 Location: West coast Posts: 25 | | Review Date: February 11, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast and sharp with unuasual range | | Cons: | Heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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Since the reviews on this lens are scarce and I love it so much, Ifigured I would repay a little of the invaluable knowledge I got fromthis forum by letting others know about this lens.
After getting theK-1, I had to rethink my set of lenses to match the newcomer. I wason the lookout for a versatile zoom for nature trips and such.
Beautiful wife and Iwere on the verge on departing for one of our numerous excursions tothe seaside when I received the 26A in the mail. It had been on mywanted list for quite a while but being on the cheap, I had waitedfor a budget opportunity. I swapped the 28A I had used the previousday on the exact same place in identical weather and which was readyto go in my bag for the 35-210.
What a difference !I only missed the wide 28mm end but the difference in sharpness ishumongous, I was impressed. So much so that at the time of writingI'm waiting for my sixth copy of this lens to be delivered ...LBA, you know the stuff … I find this lens so good on the K-1, Iwanted to make sure I had plenty of it before contributing howevermodestly to its price increase.
Other than the 26A Ididn't compare it directly to the 40A which I find very sharp butunusable outdoors due to the huge amount of PF it inflicts upon yourpictures.
Besides this lot of26As I do have a couple of 19AH, various flavors of Vivitar Series1's including the DOS one, this lens wins hands down and by a largemargin.
I didn’t compareit to my 60-300 -which is a fine lens- since it’s meant fordifferent situations.
Back to the 35-210marvel:
I love old fashionedsingle action zooms, call them one touch / push pull, not everyonedoes however.
It is made almostentirely out of metal and to my taste it handles beautifully.
The 6x zoom rangemakes it useful for landscape architecture and interior photographyalike.
Colors seem true tolife, sharpness is amazing, it demonstrates very little purplefringing ,corner sharpness is good and it is very fast for a 6X zoom.Sharpness, contrast and color color consistency are maintained allthe way from 35mm to 210mm. The focus throw is ample so accuratefocusing is easy.
I initially thoughtit was marginally soft at 200mm the first time I used it , it was infact a sfumato effect due to the level of air humidity at thesea-side, in fact it bears high resolution, nice color and goodcontrast with little CA all over the range. Bokeh is unobtrusive,pleasant enough but nothing to rave about either.
It is the perfectmatch for my k-1 with a PK-A ring adapter.
I’ll have to listsome cons in order not to be accused of erring on the prejudicedside:
Well it’s heavy soI didn't try it on my k-50 since it's supposed to be my light rig 
Focusing isobviously manual and I do fit some other glass on the camera for fastmoving subjects.
So as long as youdon't mind manual focusing, this is an excellent wide to tele zoomwith great sharpness,
The macro mode isdifficult to engage and once you’re there you get almost nofocusing latitude other than stooping back and forth.
      
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| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 892 | | Review Date: April 24, 2016 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Large range, can be found cheap and can use KA adapter | | Cons: | Some purple fringing | | Sharpness: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5
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I bought this lens in a box with a Pentax S1A with a Takumar lens, a Carenar 28mm that had been butchered and no longer worked or ever would! and a Chinon 200mm F3.5. All were looking rather worse for wear and for less than 10 US dollars with a 10 mile round trip to collect them. I got this gem.
I was surprised at a low score for this lens, presumably as the reviewer found it heavy.
I have this, a 19AH and a 23A (along with some non SP Tamrons) and wish I had more PK-A adapters. I like these lenses, perhaps the 23A most. They all exhibit purple fringing and this 26A also shows some Halo? (if that's the correct term) on the wider apertures in macro but they all seem to be sharp. I find the weight of the lens gets my mind appreciating that I should try harder to keep it steady. Not a bad thing. Wish I had that prompt when I was playing golf.
If you can buy this at a low price, get it. I doubt it would be a disappointment.
 An image taken with the "macro" 35mm end, F16. Ignore the vignetting, I had a hood from my 300mm on it as it had no hood (or adapter) when I bought it.
Added another image, showing how purple fringing is a feature of this lens at wider apertures, e.g F5.6. | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 17 | | Review Date: October 7, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Fast for the range and price. Solid, weighty, nice handling. | | Cons: | Doesn't 'snap' into focus. Best outdoors | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: Samsung GX20, Pentax K-x
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On the one hand, this lens disappointed me. Having seen the 'Modern Photography' statistics on adaptall2.org, I expected something spectacular. Instead, in my experiments in my back garden, I found that my copy is outperformed by both the 40A, and the earlier 22A, the Adaptall-2 35-135mm zooms, over the range they have in common.
On the other hand, it is, in absolute rather than relative terms, pretty good. I have two bodies, a Samsung GX20 and a Pentax K-x. If I am travelling light, I put the Tamron 17-50mm on the Samsung, and may put this lens on the K-x. With the other body to handle wide, the 35-210mm is plenty long enough in a city. It doesn't snap into focus, but if I do get the focus right, and hold it steady, at f8 it is just as good as the stellar Tamron over the range they have in common, even without a hood, and the sharpness, depth of colour and contrast is maintained all the way from 35mm to 210mm.
I think the difficulty I have in judging precise manual focus without microprism or split screen accounts for my relatively high miss rate at the long end.
At 200mm, pixel peeping reveals a bit of purple fringing at out of focus high contrast boundaries, but I haven't otherwise seen chromatic aberrations.
The bokeh is inoffensive; out of focus areas just look out focus, nothing very arty.
The macro mode is sharp, but because it is at 35mm I don't find it useful as a macro. Whilst it enhances the usefulness of the lens indoors, since the minimum focus distance otherwise is about 2 metres, the dimness indoors makes it even harder to focus precisely, so I only use it outside.
With an APS-C sensor, it is by no means an all in one lens, but as the full frame equivalent of a 50-300mm telephoto zoom, it still covers a useful range. Recommended.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076 | | Review Date: December 21, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build, close focus, zero creep ... | | Cons: | Wide on APS-C, hefty | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
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Bonjour,
Just acquired this 26A and like what I have seen thus far ... only indoor test shots, since the outside weather is wet and cold ... will post samples later.
Giving a straight across "8" rating until more test and use can be done ...
Allez et salut, Jean le Green Frog
Here's a p0rn shot to see what the 26A looks like on the K-5 with a PKA ...
 | | | | | | | Junior Member Registered: August, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 45
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 6, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build, handling, speed. | | Cons: | MFD, not wide enough. | |
I purchased this lens in early 2011 as a possible replacement for my Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 because I prefer using MF lenses and have had great experiences with the Adaptall-2 SP series. Well, I ended up keeping and using both. My thoughts:
Pros
- Exceptional build quality and very good handling for a large, heavy lens.
- Very fast for a 6X zoom.
- Decently sharp throughout the zoom range, with modest purple fringing for a lens of this age and class.
- Fixed 1:3.8 macro mode for added versatility.
Cons
- Minimum focus distance (not including macro mode) of nearly two meters.
- 35mm not wide enough (for me) for an all-purpose lens on APS-C.
- Somewhat prone to flare and reduced contrast when used without a hood.
Bottom Line:
I originally thought its speed would make this lens useful indoors, but it's minumum focus distance and focal length really restrict things in tight quarters. If these two drawbacks aren't significant to you, and if you really like old-school, manual focus lenses with great build quality, this is a good and very inexpensive option. Otherwise, you might be better off with a modern (and more expensive) 18-2XX zoom.
- Mike
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2008 Location: Den Haag, Netherlands Posts: 207 | | Review Date: September 16, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Versatile, sharp | | Cons: | Locking mechanism | |
Bought a first copy of this lens on Ebay but when it arrived I found out the locking mechanism was faulty. It could mount on the PK(A)-adapter but focussing would unlock the lens because the lens was not locked properly.
My second copy also has a small locking problem, maybe a recurring problem for the 26A lens.
Otherwise the lens is great for use on holidays or when you need the range. There is not much distortion at the wide end and at the long end the lens is still quite sharp. The colors and contrast are very good for a lens with a range like this.
Weightwise the 26A is not much lighter than the 19AH (70-210 f3.5) but the handling of the 26A is better. Although the 19AH has much smoother focussing and no lenscreep. The 26A has some lenscreep.
One the images I shot while on holiday, shot at the long end of the lens. A high iso picture, the colors at lower iso values are even better.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: October, 2009 Posts: 174 | | Review Date: October 4, 2009 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Heavy, Sharp Big Lens | | Cons: | The adaper not strong enough to support the weight | |
loves the lens, i got it for free from recycle group here in Adelaide.
loves the weight, making the camera more stable
very sharp image
pretty much what you need for your daily snapping (35mm wide enough for group pictures, 210mm gives a good zoom)
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC United States Posts: 146 | | Review Date: September 20, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $34.55
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Great Glass, sharp | | Cons: | Heavy | |
Useful lens if you need the exercise. Sharp images, particularly when stopped down. Works well with the PK/A adaptall-2 mount. Fun to play with at not a large cost. Came with an Olympus OM camera and adaptall mount which I will probably re-sell which will make the lens more of a bargain.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2008 Location: Vancouver Posts: 12 | | Review Date: January 27, 2009 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Nice large glass | | Cons: | HEAVY | |
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