Pentax 16-45mm f/4 ED AL SMC P-DA

Pentax 16-45mm f/4 ED AL SMC P-DA User Reviews

• 7 out of 10 points and not recommended by dugong5pm (52 reviews)
  IQ, sharp, build quality

  focal range, price

  a good lens, in terms of quality of images produced, though it's not on a "wow" side.
  It's a good "upgrade" option from the kit lens (18-55), but it's a bit overpriced in my opinion. It has quite an unusual focal range.
  
  I prefer the already great lens kit (18-55). It's smaller, has a more normal range, and of course..the price :)

  reviewed June 4th, 2013 (purchased for $360)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by dbpaule (4 reviews)
  good build, shardness, 16mm wideangle, weight, good AF speed

  extending tubus at wide angle

  This quite nice lens is sharp, speedy at AF and feels nice in the hand. IMHO it's better than the 16-50 SDM, because of the faster AF. It's well known that the SDM-Motor will live 2 years and then you'll need a new. The only prblem here could be that there is a flash shadow using the internat flsh (I don't do so...).

  reviewed June 14th, 2011
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by kyrochan (2 reviews)
  sharper and wider

  the new Sigma and Tamron @2.8

  This lens is fantastic, it is the "must have lens" on the K10 and the k20. Really spectacular. I think the only reasonable alternatives are the new tamron and Sigma but they lacks in colour and aren't 16mm!

  reviewed July 15th, 2008 (purchased for $300)
• 7 out of 10 points and recommended by rainerknappe (24 reviews)
  sharpness from f4.5, price ok, quiet sturdy, 16mm and f4

  rare design, CAs, distorsion at 16mm, sharpness up to f4.5

  These days the old DA 16-45 f4 is getting strong competition - the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 with Pentaxmount, the new Pentax 16-50 f2.8 and Sigma EX DC 18-50 f2.8 macro - they are all quiet better in the optics and buildings.... the DA 16-45 is really NOT a bad lens (resolution from f4.5, small amount of Vignetting and distorsions from ca.18mm and a solid construccion) but the new offers are more modern and using better optics and they are not more expensive (only the new Pentax will cost you the double, but its wethersealed and will give you professional results).........

  reviewed February 4th, 2008 (purchased for $300)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by joekashi (7 reviews)
  Very wide angle, quite sharp, especially at wide angle settings, reasonably priced

  a little chromatic abberation but not bad

  This is a significantly better lens compared to the Pentax 18-55 kit lens, which itself is pretty good for a kit lens. Quite good optically except for chromatic aberration correctable in Photoshop.

  reviewed January 26th, 2008 (purchased for $380)
• 8 out of 10 points and recommended by desertphoto (1 reviews)
  Nice range with constant f4

  Blocks built in flash when at 16mm, No aperture ring

  I bought this lens on eBAY noting it was supposed to have been used only a couple of times. When received, it was in like new condition. I have only had this lens for a couple of weeks at this writing and so far I like it very well. Like many users have noted, I have also found the fact that the barrel extends fully to reach widest coverage, backwards of many designs, to be a slight hinderance. In doing so, the built in flash on the K10D is obscured at the wide end of the lense's coverage, creating a dark shadow in the foreground of the image. Since this is actually a 'J' lense, there is no aperture ring so this lense cannot be used in a manual setting mode.
  
  The images produced by the DA16-45 are of very nice quality and appear sharp in the samples I have shot so far. I also have the DA18-55 kit lense and the DA16-45 is much better than it. I have not noticed any of the CA fringing reported by others but so far as I haven't shot any scenes where it is reported to occur.
  
  The hood is massive and fills the slot in my camera bag fully so keep that in mind if your bag is smallish. The feel of the operation is smooth and the overall size and weight of the DA16-45 complements the K10D very nicely I think.
  
  If it were not for the reversed barrel extension on the wide end and lack of an aperture ring for manual settings, I would have probably rated this lense a 10 overall.
  
  Gene Brewer
  Ridgecrest, CA

  reviewed December 18th, 2007 (purchased for $285)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by avtomat (1 reviews)
  16mm wide angle, Constant F/4, Nice Bokeh, minimal Distortion, Good Flare control.

  Slow AF in low lighting. Noisy Auto focus. awkward extended rotation to achieve wider angle.

  This truly a great piece of lens, consider getting this lens with the K10D body instead of the kit lens. You get much wider angle at 16mm and constant F/4. I tried several close up shots even though this lens wasn't meant for close ups it still produce great sharp quality image and nice bokeh. Sharpness and color reproduction are great.
  
  Contruction feel is good and doesn't feel really cheap. Great control over flare, minimal distortion even at 16mm, corner darkness isn't a problem. Can use circular polarizers and petal hoods.
  
  Sad points about this lens that it focus slowly in low light and take quite a while to focus. Auto Focus quite noisy and the way the lens is extended to get 16mm instead of the usual way around. Those are the only cons about this lens. This lens is highly recommendable and should be bought without any doubts! A No Brainer considering the price for this lens which produces much better image quality and sharpness. It's a steal.

  reviewed January 21st, 2007 (purchased for $355)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by nighthunter64 (5 reviews)
  Very nice and sharp images, great fixed aperture f4

  extend when low focal length

  Ok this lens is great kit lens.
  
  - Great angle at 16mm
  - Fixed Big aperture a f4
  - Feel good construction quality.
  
  Cons: when you want to do 16mm wide angle
  the lens extend out and if used indoor with
  flash it can create lens shadow.
  
  but I still recommend to all this lens coz for outside pictures and all around lens its a good above average lens. Sharp pictures... !!!

  reviewed January 12th, 2007 (purchased for $349)
• 8 out of 10 points and recommended by ivegotacamera (4 reviews)
  constant aperture, good open

  zooms at wide angle, interferes with flash

  This is my main lens and covers my favorite ranges. it gives really good quality images and has a nice grippy zoom ring. Like most modern lenses it's a little too plasticky feeling for my tastes, but seems well made.

  reviewed January 8th, 2007 (purchased for $390)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by _Mike_D (12 reviews)
  Great image quality, not too much barrel distortion,

  lens extends when zoomed OUT

  This is a must have lens for any Pentax users. It is a very sharp lens with an excellent wide angle zoom range. Flare is VERY well controlled as well, this lens easily has the best flare performance of any lens I have used.
  
  The only complaint I have is that the the front element extends outward when you zoom OUT. this is annoying when you are trying to get a wide angle close up of people because you literally need to shove the lens inches away from their face.
  
  Also, the lens has a great close focus ability. Here is an example of a close up shot that I took with this lens when I didn't have my macro with me:
  http://www.one-blind-eye.com/index.php?showimage=126
  
  Overall I highly recommend this lens to anyone looking for something better than the kit lens that comes with their camera.

  reviewed January 1st, 2007 (purchased for $400)
• 8 out of 10 points and recommended by farmerjim (2 reviews)
  Very Sharp, smooth zoom and manual focus.

  When at 45mm the lens is at its shortest physical length. When at 16mm, the lens is at its longest physical length. For those using the internal flash, it does leave a shadow at the bottom of the image.

  Although the focus ring is at the front of the lens, it does not rotate when focusing. Circular Polarizers and Gradient Filters, as well as the included lens shade, work just find with the lens.

  reviewed November 28th, 2006 (purchased for $409)
• 9 out of 10 points and recommended by danag42 (4 reviews)
  Excellent sharpness, very little distortion

  Front element rotates when focusing, so you need to watch it with a Polarizer.

  This is a much better choice for the Pentax pro digitals than the kit lens that is usually bundled. It's a constant apeture zoom, and stays sharp even when opened wide.
  
  The front element seems to revolve as the lens focuses, so you'll need to double check when using a polarizer.

  reviewed August 6th, 2006 (purchased for $410)