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24-35mm
M 24-35/3.5 is highly recommended. This beautiful little lens is well-made,
lightweight, metal, has very good handling and first class optics.
24-50mm
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M 24-50 is reported to produce flare.
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A 24-50 was compared to M24-35 and is said to be larger and not as sharp or as
contrasty
28-70mm
FA28-70/4 AL is a cheap, consumer zoom that features light, plastic build,
loose and narrow focus ring, but, nevertheless, delivers excellent results.
It's sharp, and the flare is very well controlled. There is some distortion
present at the wide end: use it for architecture shots at your own risk.
28-80mm
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Non-SMC A28-80/3.5-4.8 zoom is a bad performer at the long end, has low build
quality, and even lower resell value.
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The SMC version of A28-80 has a slightly better reputation but still nothing to
be excited about.
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FA28-80/3.5-5.6 is badly build and little optical quality to brag about.
28-105mm
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The original FA28-105/4-5.6 with power zoom feature is large, twice as
expensive as the new one, and features very good optical design, which produces
sharp images with good color rendition. Good manual focusing and 1:3 macro
capability at 105mm end.
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The new FA 28-105 (IF), which is sometimes also called "silver", is the Pentax
version of an original Tamron lens. It is more affordable and smaller than the
old version. Optically, it is reported to be almost as good as the original.
Due to the internal focusing mechanism, it focuses fast but manual focusing is
a bit steep. Like all internal focusing constructions, you will loose a bit of
the focal length in the close up range, so the macro capability of this lens is
only standard. The focusing ring is very well damped for manual focusing.
Optically, Roberto reported it to be as good as his FA28-70/4 AL.
40-80mm
M40-80/2.8-4 is ok optically. It features push-pull zooming and varifocal
design. It's not rare and can be acquired for ~$100. [Bob S.]
28-135mm
A28-135/4
Depending on your taste, this lens might seem to you as awkwardly big & heavy,
or as being just right. With its large front element (77mm filter) flare can
easily become a problem if you are not careful with it. This lens exhibits
good optical quality throughout its zoom range and if you can get used to
carrying it around, it might become your favorite all-purpose zoom.
35-105mm
A35-105/3.5 zoom will give you an extra ½ stop of light than the A28-135/4, and
its light weight and good build makes it a good alternative to A28-135/4.
There are some distortions at both ends of its range, but A35-105/3.5 is
sharper than the FA28-70/4 AL.
35-135mm
A35-135/3.5-4.5
This lens is a lot lighter than A28-135/4. It received very unfavorable
reviews by the list members and should be avoided. So is its successor, the
F35-135/3.5-4.5, which has the same optical design.
75-150mm
M75-150/4 is a very good performer, very sharp, not prone to flare (with a
build in hood) and handles very well.
70-210mm
-
FA 70-200/4-5.6 should be avoided. While the resolution is not the worst, the
color rendition, contrast, flare, and build quality are really bad.
-
F70-210/4-5.6 is optically a great performer. With its excellent sharpness and
contrast, it's much better than the SMC-FA70-200/4-5.6 and the SMC-F80-200.
The "ringer" is the similar looking Pentax-F 70-200/4-5.6, which was mentioned
as a “nice” and sharp lens, but not AS good as the SMC-F, and kind of confusing
in nomenclature. In the USA this NON-SMC lens was sold as "Takumar-F" and in
the rest of the world as "Pentax-F".
-
SMC-A 70-210/4 is a very good lens with constant aperture. It features
push-pull zoom and focusing ring and build in hood. Build quality as well as
the optical quality is very good. As with many other push-pull zooms, zooming
ring's creep has been reported for the majority of samples.
80-200mm
-
M80-200/4.5 zoom has two models that are different optically. The earlier and
lighter version is said to be very sharp and contrasty (maybe even better than
the M200/4).
-
F80-200/4.5-5.6 is light, quite sharp, and is reported to be slightly better
optically than the F and FA 100-300 zooms.
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FA*80-200/2.8 AL(IF) is an outstanding lens
80-320mm
FA80-320/4.5-5.6 is somewhat superior to the Pentax 100-300/4-5.6 zooms. It
features slightly better optical performance and lack of power zoom. It gets a
little soft at the long end. Also, as Roberto mentioned, "try to get a
matching hood (58 mm). Forget about the one suggested by Pentax. It's a
"normal" hood also supplied for the 80 mm "normal" for the 645 system. When
installed on the 80/320 and zoomed all the way to 320... well, it makes
everyone look at you funny, because the damn thing looks like a toilet plunger.
100-300mm
-
F100-300/4-5.6 is not build very well, not does it feature good optical design.
-
FA100-300/4-5.6 is identical to the F version, both in terms of build and
optical design. In addition, it features power zoom that can only be used on
some of the PZ-series bodies. It's been suggested that you might want to
consider the newer FA80-320 if you are considering a zoom lens in this range.
135-600mm
Pentax 135-600/6.7, as David S. has reported, is not as sharp as A*300/2.8 with
the 2XL converter and doesn't balance well on the tripod because of the
position of the tripod mount.
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Acknowledgements
Most of the information presented here (99.9%) is compiled from the postings of
the PDML members. Below, I'll attempt to list contributing PDMLers in
absolutely no particular order. If you
think that you name is missing here, send me email and I'll add it right away.
List of PDML members (by Valentin)
|
Yoshihiko Takinami
Frederick Wasti
William Robb
Dario Bonazza
Alin Flaider
Bill D. Casselberry
Roger Stockton
Roberto Burgos S.
Ralf Engelmann
Alin Flaider
Buford Terrell
Kent Gittings
Aaron Reynolds
Alex Wetmore
Valentin Donisa
Stan Halpin
Bob Blakely
Doug Brewer
Bruce Rubenstein
Mark Cassino
Raimo Korhonen
David S.
Antti-Pekka Virtanen
Joseph McAllister
...
And numerous other names that I probably missed.
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These ratings are based on the results of tests performed by certain
organizations and/or individuals. Realizing that these ratings are subject to
controversy within PDML, they are provided here for informational purposes only
and do not always represent the actual quality or usability of a particular
lens.
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SMC-F 50/2.8 Macro
SMC-F 50/1.4
SMC-A 85/1.4
SMC-F 50/1.7
SMC-F 100/2.8 Macro
SMC-A 135/1.8
SMC-A Macro 200/4 ED
SMC-FA 50/1.4
SMC-A 50/2
SMC-FA 300/4.5 ED IF
SMC-F 300/4.5 IF ED
SMC-FA Macro 100/2.8
SMC-FA 28/2.8 AL
SMC-A 200/2.8 ED
SMC-FA 20/2.8
SMC-FA 24/2 AL (IF)
SMC-F 135/2.8 IF
SMC-F 70-210/4-5.6
SMC-F 28-80/3.5-4.5
SMC-FA 28-70/4 AL
SMC-F 28/2.8
SMC-FA 28-105/4-5.6
SMC-F 35-70/3.5-4.5
SMC-A Pentax 400/5.6
SMC-FA 400/5.6 ED IF
SMC-F 70-200/4-5.6
SMC-FA 70-200/4-5.6
SMC-F 35-105/4-5.6
SMC-A 24-50/4
SMC-F Fisheye 17-28/3.5-4.5
SMC-F 24-50/4
SMC-F 35-135/3.5-4.5
SMC-FA 80-320/4.5-5.6
SMC-F 100-300/4.5-5.6
SMC-FA 28-80/3.5-4.7
SMC-A 70-200/4
SMC-A 28-80/3.5-4.5
SMC-FA 28-200/3.8-5.6 AL IF
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Perfect
Perfect
Perfect
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Great
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good
Very good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Poor
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