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Pentax SMC-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Pentax
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published April 2007
Introduction
The Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL is one of the kit zoom lenses currently
sold combined with the K10D or the Pentax budget DSLRs. It is a DA series lens
so it is dedicated to the APS-C format with a reduced image circle.
Its field-of-view is equivalent to 27.5-84mm in the 35mm format.
Kit zooms tend to be pretty crappy beings but Pentax has actually done
a comparatively good job here. Naturally the outer construction is based on
lots of plastics but its quality is quite fine with relatively tight
gap tolerances and there's even a metal mount. Unlike most kit lenses from
other manufacturers the DA 18-55mm AL does also features a usable,
dedicated focus ring. Both the zoom and focus ring operate quite smooth.
As you can see above the lens extends a little bit towards the extreme ends
of the zoom range. The front element does not rotate so using a polarizer
is no problem.
The lens has no internal AF motor and relies on a slotted drive
screw operated by the camera. As a result AF operation will generate a
moderate degree of noise. The AF speed is extremely fast and surprisingly
accurate on the K10D.
Thanks to a "Quick-Shift Focus System" manual focusing is instantly
possible once the AF has achieved focus - this works very well and
noiseless (unlike Sony's DMF system for instance).
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length | 27-82.5 mm (full format equivalent) |
| Equiv. aperture | f/5.3-f/8.4 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 12 elements in 9 groups inc. 1 aspherical element |
| Number of aperture blades | 6 |
| min. focus distance | 0.25 m (max. magnification ratio 1:3) |
| Dimensions | 68 x 68 mm |
| Weight | 225 g |
| Filter size | 52 mm (non-rotating) |
| Hood | petal shaped (supplied) |
| Other features | - |
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