( 14 reviews )
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Posted: May 17 2009
For the constant f 4.0 and quality of this glass along with the sharpness and color you just can't go wrong. I just love the quality and fair prices of pentax products! I just can't wait to do some night shooting with it.
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Posted: Mar 12 2009
This lens will be one of Pentax's classics, I think. There's nothing very sexy about it. It uses the old Pentax screwdriver-in-slot AF (as opposed to their new in-lens HSM), its maximum aperture's only f/4, and its zoom range ends at an odd point, 45mm (67.5mm equivalent on Pentax DSLR's) -- a bit short of traditional portrait length. It lacks the build quality of Pentax's premium DA* lenses. It isn't weatherproof. But at this price point it's a gem. The build is decent, and by using plastic instead of metal, putting the AF motor in the camera rather than in the lens, limiting the aperture to f/4 and the zoom range to 3X, Pentax kept the lens light and small. It's not expensive, it has a constant aperture, autofocus is fast and accurate, and (most important) it's optically excellent. I already have the Pentax DA* 50-135/2.8, a beautiful zoom, and thought of buying the matching DA* 16-50/2.8, but I was put off by reports of poor quality control in the 16-50. So instead (and for half the price) I bought a 16-45. When it arrived I tested it by photographing a tabletop still life, including a test pattern, with my Pentax 21mm, 31mm and 40mm Limited primes at all apertures from f/4 through f/16, then making the same photo with the zoom at the same focal lengths and apertures. In almost every case the 16-45 matched the primes for center focus and sharpness, even at f/4. Yes, the primes are better -- they have better corners, less vignetting, more overall contrast, an indefinable "snap" that gives the primes what I think of as the Pentax Look. And yes, the zoom does have an optical flaw: blue/yellow fringing where bright and dark areas are juxtaposed. (Seldom a problem, but it's there.) I'm hanging on to my primes. But where the subject is dynamic, not static -- a party or a public event, for instance, as opposed to studio or landscape work -- a zoom is just the ticket. I'm confident this one will deliver good results, indistinguishable in most prints from what I'd get with a prime. If you can make do with f/4 and don't mind paying less for more, I recommend this lens.
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Posted: Mar 6 2009
Sharp, light. F/4 is usable, F/5.6 is already very sharp. The wide angle is better than 45mm end. Lens is well built. Strongly recommended! B.T.W. Amazon provide excellent costumer service.
