Pentax SMC DA* Series 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL IF SDM Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras by Pentax
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Digital camera reviews of Pentax SMC DA* Series 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL IF SDM Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras
Digital camera Review: I sent the first two back
Summary: 2 Stars
They are still having problems with quality assurance. This lens arrived and it looked great. I took several test images of a large 2 foot square black-on-white ink line drawing. It had sharply defined ink pen lines all over it, all the way to the edges. The images showed that the focus was unacceptably out of alignment from left to right and also a bit out from bottom to top. Looking at the test images over all, it seems like it might be a good lens if they can get me one with the alignment right.
Ammended 9/24 2009
The replacement arrived I tested it today using the same method and the alignment on this replacement lens was out of alignment in roughly the opposite direction by a similar amount, making the left edge significantly less sharp focused than the right. I returned it for replacement. We shall see what we get on the next try. I really would like to to get a properly aligned example of this lens that can provide images with a consistent focus left and right and top and bottom.
Ammended 9/29/2009
Amazon declined to send a third lens, offering simultaneously that getting two defective examples was very unusual, and strangely that, were they to ship a third, it would likely suffer the same defect. They volunteered to refund my shipping cost and purchase price, and recommended I contact Pentax. I will post clips from the center and each of the two extreme edges of the test image on this site.
It was very easy to alert Amazon and initiate a return. I really would still like to get a good one of these lenses. Apparently you do need some amount of luck to accomplish that.
My advice to anyone wanting one of these is, be prepared to test what you get, and do not order it a week before your big vacation trip expecting to have one arrive at the last minute that is good enough to use.
Digital camera Review: Looks and feels solid. Nice bokeh. Wish it had faster AF and better QC.
Summary: 4 Stars
This lens looks great and feels very solid. Taking into account the professional specs and the price of the lens, it seems to be a real bargain. Well, it is almost true... but not exactly so.
But firstly, the positive:
- Image quality is very good, especially when stepping down by at least one f/stop
- It has good bokeh
- Works with the old "screwdriver" bodies, as well as has SDM
Now, the negatives:
- The quality of this lens is very inconsistent. I knew about this before buying my copy, so it did not come as a surprise when I discovered that my lens was a bit "off". In my case one corner is slightly softer than the rest of the image, but it is only noticeable on test shots wide open and is not field relevant. So I decided to keep it and not to go into a gamble with exchange for another copy.
- You may have a strange effect when this lens is focusing spot on in the daylight and is a complete disaster in incandecent or lower light situations. You may even experience this problem to some extent in all light conditions, depending on you copy of the lens. This happens sometimes with my lens set at 16 mm zoom position. My lens shows in some cases FF, and in some - BF, which may be a problem when shooting at large apertures. My SMCP 35 f/2.0, 77 f/1.8 or 50 f/1.4 do not have this problem on my both cameras (K10D and *ist DS), so I explain this phenomena by lens behavior.
- The focusing is quite slow - both with SDM and with the screwdriver. This is not what you would expect from the professional-grade lens. Perhaps this is a price to pay for supporting the SDM-enabled and the legacy "screwdriver" bodies in one lens.
Digital camera Review: My best lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this lens. It focuses so quickly and quietly that the only way you know it happened are the dots in the view finder. The first time I used I thought the lens wasn't focusing but it was just really quick and quiet. Focus is dead on. I already had the firmware upgrade on my K10D so it was dead on right out of the box. The image quality is fantastic even at 16mm. I haven't noticed any distortion on any of my images that you might expected from a super wide lens. This is the lens I should have gotten with my K10D instead of the Tamaron lens set that I got instead. I haven't had the lens that long so I don't know if I will have the QC issues that others have reported. If I do I will update this review.Digital camera Review: Nice while it worked
Summary: 2 Stars
As with many others my SDM died. The lens will no longer auto-focus, only works on manual. I guess I'll send it in for repair or buy something else. It did take beautiful pictures while it worked though so I'll give it 2 stars.Digital camera Review: Once it's on, it stays on.
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this lens for 95% of all my pictures*. After the initial lens addiction, i realized it was what I did with the lenses in my bag rather than the number of lenses, so when I switched over to Pentax I took the simple approach, and 'splurged' on this lens to go with my K-7.
What a great pairing! Both camera and lens are nicely weather resistant, I've shot under pouring rain without issue, you can find other users who have done similar (and worse) and come with back with a functioning lens and camera.
The construction is up there with the best lenses. Hefty, but easy to use. And it looks very good wide open.
AF response is nice and snappy on my K7. I believe some complaints of AF are due to different model cameras with weaker AF motors or sensors in those cameras. I'm sure the performance of this lens will really impress when it is paired up with the upcoming K5 camera which is supposed to have improved autofocus.
The one complaint that I have is that it is a chunky lens, though probably on average with similar lenses from other manufacturers. I realize at this level, you are getting big glass in a seriously sturdy housing, so you won't get a smaller lens without compromising those qualities. In all, I am glad I picked this lens as my one-and-only (so far).
*My other lens is an old 50mm f/1.4, fully manual lens.