Pentax SMC DA* Series 50-135mm f/2.8 ED IF SDM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Pentax and Digital SLR Cameras by Pentax
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Digital camera reviews of Pentax SMC DA* Series 50-135mm f/2.8 ED IF SDM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Pentax and Digital SLR Cameras
Digital camera Review: An Extraordinary Lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received this lens yesterday. I ordered the day before using Amazon's overnite delivery for Christmas Eve and it really worked. I ordered at 6:30 pm on 12/23 and the lens was delivered to my house at 4:30 pm on 12/24. Great performance by Amazon and UPS.
I've spent most of the day today testing this lens with my K-7D. I've tested vs some of the best digital lenses that Pentax makes and this lens is a standout. At 50mm it may be just a slight bit less sharp than the 40mm f/2.8 limited but at the same settings it's a slight bit sharper than the 50mm f/1.4 FA lens. The photos from this lens are amazing. It is well worth the money.
It's big and it's heavy, and attached to the K-7D one has a brick solid combination. The build quality is excellent. I've had no problem with sluggish AF as some have mentioned and the focus is fast and silent. The focus and zoom rings are large and easily turned with no zoom drift as some have complained about with other Pentax zooms. Today as I tested this lens outdoors it was raining all day. Not to worry. With the weather proofing of this lens and camera combination, I had no concerns and no troubles. I just wiped the whole rig off with a towel when I was done.
I highly recommend this lens.
Digital camera Review: As good as it gets!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit that I was a little skeptical before buying out this lens. It is not precisely cheap and some people have complain about focusing problems with this product. I decided to go for it and I could not be happier. It is an excellent lens.
Pros:
-The optic is excellent. Color rendition, contrast, focus accuracy is as good as it gets.
-Silent focus (I don't think it is faster than non SDM lenses, but it's much more quite and that's a delight!)
-Construction wise is really sturdy and the fact that is weather sealed is a plus.
-The focusing ring does not turn when the auto focus is engaged.
-Manual/Auto focus clutch is easy to slide, plus you have the "Quick Shift Focus" mechanism of all Pentax DA lenses.
Cons/room to improve
- Minimum focus distance (1 Meter/ 3.3 foot) There's definitely room for improvement!!
- Focal length is a little short, but you should weight if it would be a problem or not for you. (A 50-150mm would have been nice).
- Lens is a tad heavy and does not have a tripod collar like its counter part Tokina!(not that I need a tripod collar, but it would have been a nice add on)
All in all an excellent performance and excellent value for the price. I'm really happy for having it. If you get to buy it, remember to get a good multi-coated UV filter to protect it.
Cheers!
Digital camera Review: Awesome Pro-level accomplishment, thank you Pentax!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's not an easy decision for most of us to spend $800 these days, but if one is into a fun of quality picture taking, this lens matches or even betters primes, hands down. There is a limit to what shaking human hands can handle when lens is hand-held and this focal length IS the perfect combination of it all.
Awesome sharpness, weight, speed, focal length, size, and can be hand held without any compromise. It is the digital equivalent of a classic film pro-sports zoom glass "f2.8, 80-200mm" (actually even a bit better 75-203mm). SDM (kind of "super-sonic") auto-focus or the dual mechanical drive for older non-SDM Pentax AF bodies works fast enough even for Hummingbirds I like to take. As for sharpness, ALL settings are admirably SHARP and using other than f2.8-5.6 is for particular DOF need only. If you ever wondered about this lens, this is it. Naturally, perfect lens for everything doesn't exist (yet).
Digital camera Review: Best lens!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this lens since the first week it came out and I am still amazed by the pictures it is taking!
This lens produces the most VIVID, SHARPEST, CLEANEST, and most importantly, 3-D feel pictures I have ever seen.
Mt. FUJI picture is an excellent example. I took that one on a bullet travel at 150 mph yet it came out as sharp as it can be at ISO 100.
Get this lens now and enjoy take picures with it. You will be hooked.
Digital camera Review: DA* 50-135mm, Excellent but not for all.
Summary: 5 Stars
1st copy had loose MF ring. My review is based on the 2nd copy.
This lens is great. Before I purchased I had a Pentax K10D, 18-55mm kit, and FA 100mm macro.
Build: 9/10
Although this IS a DA* lens, don't assume this lens is made of solid metal, although this is not a bad thing at all. About 80% of the lens is covered by the soft, rubbery rings and the only part that isn't made of rubber is the golden DA* ring, green DA indicator ring at the bottom, and the medium between the MF ring and zoom ring. Don't make this a deciding factor though, because this lens is made of real high quality plastics and most of it is in rubber anyways.
Auto-focus Performance: 9/10
The AF is relatively quiet compared to my other lenses, but it is about the same speed as them. In broad day light this lens is a dream to use, even in low light it works pretty well (it will accurately AF in a room that has about 2 80 watt+ light bulbs but anything less bright the lens will not accurately AF but this is a problem with MOST if not ALL lenses). The lens basically has the speed of the FA 100mm on focus limiter and the quietness of Canon USM. The SDM sound is comparable to the Sony 70-200mmG lens just for reference, speedwise and sound wise.
Manual Focus Performance: 8.5/10
The MF ring is very smooth and slightly damped and about equivalent to my macro lens (although not as precise due to the clamp that exists on that lens). It is not comparable to the old K/M/A/M42 lenses that have extremely damped rings, but compared to the Canon and Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, this is about the same or better (according to user).
General Usage 9.5/10
I spent a lot of time debating whether to get this lens or the Sigma 70-200mm. After 5 months of constantly working I had enough money to finally purchase one of the lenses. For shooting events (in-door or outdoor), weddings, or in-door sports, this lens is a dream. Even the 50mm isn't wide enough for me sometimes (That's why I am going to purchase a used 35mm f/2) To be honest, if you compare 50mm to 70mm, I don't even know how I would survive. The 50-70mm is REALLY useful. For shooting outdoor sports or where you can't get real close, the 70-200mm lenses might suit you better, but even 200mm isn't really long enough for sports or birding and adding a TC would make them really bad quality (although from the Tamron TC shots that is subjective). The Sigma performs much softer at 200mm and especially with the 1.4X TC.
Also remember this lens weighs only about 1.5 lbs (700 grams) and about 1.7lbs (800grams) with hood on. The 70-200mm lenses weigh about 3 lbs (1300 grams). This lens, although quite big with hood on, is just small enough to where it doesn't scare your subjects. If this lens was any bigger width wise or length wise, some subjects would freak out and some of your pictures might look artificial. For those of you that don't know if you can or can't handle the weight, I recommend going to [...] and renting a 50-135mm AND 70-200mm for 3 or 7 days and see if you can handle the weight/ focal lengths. For most 135mm won't be long enough for wild life or out door sports, but at the same time, 70mm might be too much for indoor/ out door events and weddings.
Another awesome quality of this lens is the weather sealing. At first I was extremely skeptical of the weather sealing until a unfortunate turn of events forced me to use this lens under the rain. In the end, it was STILL working with no water ANYWHERE. I don't suggest putting this under a faucet or waterfall though because the weather seals can only handle light/medium rain, dust storms, snow, and sand. Anything more extreme will allow sand to scratch your elements, water to ruin the AF motor and cause fungus/mold, or make your elements "misty". This is also a big plus over the third party offerings (although they aren't bad at all from the images I have seen)
Image Quality: 10/10
Now this is where the lens REALLY shines. It is sharp as my macro lens even when it is set to f/5.6 and my 50-135mm is wide open (even more contrasty too!). If you stop it down it gets even MORE sharp, although there isn't enough head room because f/2.8 is already near perfectly sharp. The photozone review of this lens isn't great, but from user reviews and other online reviews, I can agree with them. This lens is unbeatable IQ wise.
Overall: 9.7/10
I'd say the only reason this lens isn't perfect is because of the rather small FL range. If this lens was 50-200mm f/2.8 OR a 35mm-135mm f/2.8, it would be perfect, but that would make it super expensive (the Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 variant of that is about $1500 and it isn't even f/2.8 at 200mm). If you love to shoot portraits, weddings, events, or indoor sports, I can highly recommend this lens.