Pentax Smc -DA 35 mm F2.4 AL Standard Aspherical Lens

I've had this plastic fantastic almost 2 years now, and it's been a little revelation. Here are some plus and minus points that I feel are worth noting. Positives: - Well made. Even though it is an all plastic body and mount, it's very solid. In my experience, the plastic mount is no problem, just as it's never been a problem in my 18-55mm DAL. Obviously, you wouldn't want to drop it - but even if it was all metal, this wouldn't save the glass. - It's a sharp lens, even if it doesn't have the highest resolution according to DxOMark (8 P-Mpix, depending on the body it's mounted on). The rendering is pleasant - not too clinical, although not with the character of old glass, since this is definitely a "modern" lens with better coatings etc. - AF is fast, and quiet (for a screw driven lens, of course), and there's no hunting, even in low light. - The lens handles flare like a champ, seems to be quite free of CA (my copy is, at least), even in difficult situations where most of my other lenses exhibit it to some degree. I do use a cheap rubber hood (to fit the 49mm filter diameter) to prevent stray light from hitting the front element at an angle - helping the lens to achieve optimal contrast. - The ergonomics are very good, the lens feels just right on my K-r. Perhaps it might feel light on a K-7, K-5 or K-3, but I would guess it would be fine, since lightness is hardly likely to be a downside for a lens. Since this is a fast lens, I'll talk about that in the next two points: - Light gathering ability is good enough for night shooting hand-held, and I've had some joy doing night street photography. It's perfectly adequate for indoor shooting too, provided the lights aren't too low. I would guess that the T-stop is about as close to the F-stop as could be expected. As would be expected with any 35mm lens, a shutter speed of just 1/50s is fast enough to avoid shots being spoiled by camera shake. And, since all Pentax bodies have SR, you can get about 3 stops better performance than that - meaning reasonably sharp handheld shots at 1/8s or even 1/6s are quite easy to achieve with proper technique (for still subjects, of course). - Bokeh is, for the most part, pretty pleasant. However, it's really not possible to be objective about the quality of bokeh, since it's very much a matter of personal taste! Obviously, there's a greater DoF than a 50mm f/1.8 would have, since the FOV is wider and the aperture less narrow. Also, it doesn't focus especially closely (min. focusing distance = 30cm or 1ft), so if your subject is close to a "busy" background, then the blurring of the background is likely to seem "busier" too. If you know what you're doing, then you can get quite lovely bokeh, so I'm including this as a positive. Besides, when you consider the price of a 35mm f/1.8 vs. this f/2.4, I think you can appreciate that you're getting good bang for the buck here! Negatives: - For manual focusing, the focus throw is just a bit too short, however, it is smooth at least. When you are working with apertures like f/4 and beyond, DoF isn't so fine and focus isn't so critical. At f/2.4, however, you need to be a little more patient. - There is no aperture ring. This means that if you want to use extension tubes to shoot macro, you'll need ones that support automatic aperture (KA). If you reverse mount the lens, then you might use a toothpick to open the aperture a bit to approximately f/8, as per your best guess. - The lens exhibits a fair amount of vignetting at f/2.4. It's mostly gone at f/3.5, and I can't see it anymore at f/4. It's also a little softer in the corners, but again, once you stop down a bit, that problem is gone. - There is some - While in my copy, I can honestly say that CA is NOT a problem, DxOMark state that it's 9nm, which is quite high (about 1.8px wide). I have never felt the need to correct for CA with this lens, and I don't have in-body CA correction turned on. I experience more CA with most of my other lenses. I may have an exceptional copy, or DxOMark may have been testing a defective copy with poor coatings - who knows? In fairness, these negatives aren't much of a criticism, since this is an AF lens that you're not likely to want to manually focus with, and 35mm, whether using extension tubes or reversing the lens, isn't going to give the best macro results anyway. The vignetting can actually look quite arty, and is really nice in casual portraits (even if the 52mm equiv. focal length is at least 30mm too short for classic portraits), and is gone from f/4. Perhaps the best application for this lens is street photography, where it really excels, although it's my no.1 walkaround lens. I use it for landscapes, details, casual portraits, street photography, interiors (where wide angle isn't essential) and non-macro flower shots (that's basically everything, isn't it?). I suppose the main downside is that it's just so useful, and I use it so much, that I have a tendency to just take it for granted ;) For what it's worth, I've included some sample shots.

As others have said, the optical quality is wonderful. The f/2.4 aperture is somewhat slow for a standard prime. But sharpness is very satisfying wide open and right across the frame, so there's no need to stop down (except for more depth of field of course). The background blur can be slightly nervous, probably due to the aspherical element, but mostly it's pleasant enough (and for serious bokeh I would use a longer lens anyway). Colour, depth and 'pop' are excellent, as with most Pentax glass. So why is it so cheap? Well, it makes do with a cheap (albeit reasonably robust) plastic casing and mount with basic screw-driven (but fast and accurate) autofocus. This does, however, make the lens very small and light. And because it is so cheap you can take it anywhere (to the beach for example) without worrying too much about having to 'baby' it. Overall a great general purpose walk about lens and, all things considered, a stunning bargain. For this reason I'm quite content with its plain Jane looks.

I bought this lens for my K5. I wanted a cheap lens that could provide the images one would expect from a prime lens. Pentax did a really nice job with this lens: making it affordable for the enthusiast yet pleasing to even the professionals. I love this lens. It is fast and easy. Yes it isn't weather sealed, yes it is made of plastic (durable plastic but still - plastic) and yes the lens cap is a little fiddly to get used to, BUT, the images that this lens produces are amazing for its price. I would definately recommend it to Pentax users who don't want to break the bank. Buy this lens and see what amazing IQ you get for your buck. Francois :)

While I can't deny the convenience of a DSLR, one thing I miss from my old film SLR is the special sharpness you get with a prime lens - somehow zoom lenses always seem to be just a little soft in comparison. Problem is that most DSLR prime lenses are really expensive, and I could never justify the cost. While I'd have liked a slightly wider angle than this, it's a focal length which works very well in most applications, being roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera. This one is a lot cheaper than many primes, is very sharp, and works far better in low light than the kit zoom lens. It pretty much stays attached to the camera all the time because it just takes better pictures. It is slightly plastic in construction, but not in ways that I would expect to matter in the slightest. I love it.

This was an excellent buy. I'd been disappointed by the clarity of the photos produced by the 18mm-135mm lens that came with my K-30, particularly in low light. Had been about to write the camera off as a bad decision and move on, but thought I'd try this lens first. Has made all the difference. Despite the lack of zoom it provides me with virtually all the capability I need on a day to day basis. Everything from landscape shots to snaps at a dinner table. Excellent for portraits. Not a surprise, I guess, that it's better than the 18-135 in low light, given the much larger maximum aperture. It does have a plastic body, but in practice feels well built. Focusing is super-fast. Worth being aware though that depth of field is extremely shallow on maximum aperture, as noted in other reviews. Often this produces a nice effect. Other times it's a bit annoying, with one person in a group out of focus if not exactly the same distance from the camera. All in all, the K-30 is now a keeper.

Quick delivery and as described

Plastic Fantastic - non ha bisogno di presentazioni. Obiettivo perfetto.

Cet objectif est très abordable mais pour autant il n'est pas de mauvaise qualité! En comparaison avec les objectifs de kit, c'est magique, il est lumineux, compact et son piqué est très bon. Ce n'est pas un niveau des objectifs de pro et la construction est en plastique, mais à ce prix c'est vraiment très bien. C'est cet objectif qui devrait être dans les kits pour débutant. Commencer avec un 35mm en APSc c'est probablement la meilleure manière d'aborder la photo avec un réflex, surtout avec ce rapport qualité prix.

This is a great lens, lightweight and compact; it allows me to photograph people without attracting a lot of attention. The autofocus on this lens is very fast and accurate, and allows me to capture moving children . This has helped me to increase my keeper rates to around 90%, around a 30% increment when compared to my zoom lenses(Tamron 28-75 & 24-135); which always never had the subject in absolute focus when speed was necessary. This lens has made me understand why people love Pentax primes, and rejuvenated my passion for photography. I can carry this lens everywhere and shoot for hours without any signs of tiring. Prior to this, I sometimes used to dread taking my camera out of my bag. But now I do not think twice about doing so. One con I can think of is the usage of six aperture blades for this lens. Due to that attribute, this lens produces a smoothy blurred background with hexagonal circles of confusion; at any aperture above f2.4. This is an area where I certainly miss my zoom lenses; which produces very creamy bokeh with beautiful circles of confusions. I wish the lens was a f1.8 lens, which would have made this lens a true classic. However, I do realize why Pentax could not offer a faster lens as the DA 70mm limited is the fastest DA branded lens; which runs for 500+. If Pentax started offering lenses faster than that I guess it would be harder for them to market the 70mm limited. On the plus side, however, since this is a f2.4; the DOF at that f-stop is not razor thin and allows me to take great pictures w/o worrying about subjects being out of focus. Now, I have seen people complaining about the build quality of this lens. In my honest opinion, it is very good and tightly built. Sure the lens barrel wobbles slightly but I have held the 40mm limited (which I returned since I did not like the FOV) and Canon 24mm f2.8, and IMHO the build quality of the 40mm is not that superior than the DA 35mm f2.4, and the Canon is pretty appalling compared to this lens. So, I don't have any complaints with the build quality of this lens. Other camera manufacturers have been getting away with far less. It is certainly near the build quality of my Tamron 28-75, which has loosened up a lot after 2+ years of reliable service.

KPでスナップ撮影に使用。キレイに撮れます。安いです。コスパ最高です。 緑のラインは素敵ですがカメラに付けた時の姿はあまり格好良くはないかな。