Light, sharp and lens hood included

i lost the lens hood. Somehow it unlocked itself from the lens and dropped off...

Finally bought a *istDS, so I could do a quick test between the 28-70 f/4 and 28-105 f/3.2-4.5. Results - the 28-105 is 1 stop sharper. Meaning? at f4, the 28-105 is as sharp as the 28-70 at f5.6, plus is has a longer zoom range.

Similar Products Used:

FA28-70f/4.0, f28-80f/3.5-4.5, FA28f/2.8, F100f/2.8 macro

-Lightweight -Build quality -Sharpness and contrast -Good color rendition, saturation -Cheap

I can't find any weakness

I have bought the Pentax SMCP FA 28-105mm f3.2-4.5 AL. Thanks to my friend, Jimmy Vo, he carried from SanJose to Saigon. I have shot 2 rolls, one in outdoor, one with flash then I don't believe my eyes. My first impression: .This is fantastic lens. The pictures are very sharp, contrasty. The flare is very well controlled. .With only 58mm filter thread, this lens is smaller, lighter, cheaper than most zoom lens such as: Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di (67mm filter size) Tokina 28-70mm f2.6-2.8 (77mm filter size) Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX (82mm filter size) .Auto Focus is fast. It's smoothly for turning, setting the manual focus ring, zoom collar. This lens works very well with my Pentax IST, is an excellent lens. I really love this lens even it was assembled in Vietnam. Go for this lens, you will be happy.

Customer Service

No need

Similar Products Used:

Tokina 28-70mm f2.6-2.8 (77mm filter size) Pentax FA 50mm f2.8 macro lens Pentax FA 28mm f2.8

Colour rendition, light weight, compact, sharpness, non-rotating front element, value: definitely 5/5, 58mm filters. Overall, 4 out five is too low, more like 4.5; therefore I have rated it here as 5/5 to be fair.

Some vignetting, some flare with direct sun, MAYBE not as sharp as the 28-70 sometimes.

I owned the FA 28 - 70 f4, and thought it was great - extremely sharp. But I was suspicious of its build quality (my aperture jammed so it was repaired, then sold). So I bought this one, and took it to China for a month. It's very good. The sharpness, I feel, compares with primes and is only slightly bettered by the 28-70 overall, although the 28-70 is slower. [Some people have been knocking this lens for it's sharpness, but don't forget it is a f3.2, which is only 1/3 stop from f2.8, so it is wider than your average 28-105. Even wide open it is good. When stopped down, I think it is very good indeed.] The colours are vivid (I read someone's comments of the Nikkor equivalent as having 'earthy' colours. I would describe the colours of the Pentax as 'happy') and the bokeh is much improved. It is also better made than the 28-70. There's slight distortion at each end - didn't bother me. Some vignetting though - watch those filters! I also had some flare when shooting into the sun, though not always - an aspect that was better with the 28-70, in my opinion. It is compact and only weighs 285 grams (NOT 255g as Pentax says) so with the little MZ 5n, the partnership is less than 700g - very nice and convenient

Customer Service

Excellent - I had a couple of minor problems with lens and camera, and they sorted it out politely and promptly. To be honest, I think the camera "problem" didn't exist and that I was just being a bit paranoid, but they still gave me a replacement. They certainly care about their customers - something you feel when you talk to them at photoshows.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax FA 28-70 SMC Pentax KA 50mm f1.7 Olympus 28, 35, & 50 Primes

- excellent sharpness and contrast - very high color saturation - low distortions - practically free from vignetting - relatively fast for a zoom lens - lenshood is supplied with lens - pretty resistant to flare thanks to 'SMC ghostless coating' - incredibly small and lightweight! - cheap for delivering such high-quality results.

- distortion noticeable (barrel at short end, pincushion at long end), but more than acceptable for a zoom lens. - Made in Vietnam, but is this considered a weakness?

Excellent lens - Unbelievable how such a small und lightweight lens can deliver such an outstanding performance. I tested the lens with print (Fuji Superia 100) and slide film (Kodak Elite Extra Colour and Fuji Provia 400F) and am literally blown away by the results. Sharpness is very good throughout the range (even shot wide open), and contrast is nothing short of excellent: the images show very high color saturation and have lots of "punch". Distortions are relatively low, but noticeable (esp. pincushion distortion at the long end). Vignetting is no problem, even with slide film. The lens has a "Made in Vietnam" badge on it, but the build quality seems very reasonable.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax FA 50/1.7, Tamron 70-300 LD, Vivitar 100/3.5 Macro.

Sharp across the frame Contrasty Good flare control,particularly with the hood supplied. Non rotating front element Feels nice to use(Balances well on camera) Reasonable close focus facility.

Slight distortions at the extremes of the zooming ranges but acceptable & certainly better than a lot of zooms in this price range.

I Bought this lens on the strengths of what I`ve already read & hav`nt been disappointed.A superb lens that is on the camera 95% of the time.I can`t believe how sharp this lens is compared to the 28-80 f3.5-f5.6 which I had Previously. For the price this is certainly a very good lens & would certainly advise buying.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Zuiko 35-70 Pentax 28-70 f4 Pentax 28-80 f3.5-5.6

Advanced optical design (hybrid aspherical lens elements, SMC ghostless coating) gives great performance. Good bokeh, good portrait lens Very compact design Lightweight Non rotating filter thread (internal focus) Nice zoom collar and aperture ring

Some distorsion at 28mm and 105mm (which is common for this focal length) "Made in Vietnam" (no problem yet, feels quite solid screwed together, time will tell)

I bought this lens as a replacement for my Tokina AF 28-105 f/3.4-4.5 and Pentax FA 28-70 f/4 AL. It combines the focal length of the Tokina with the good optical performance and compact design of the FA28-70 f/4 AL. It balances very well on my MZ-5N and MZ-10 bodies. Autofocus is faster than on the Tokina. Optically, this is a very good performer when considering the price. Distorsion and vignetting at 28mm is lower than on the FA28-70 f/4 AL, and distorsion at 105mm is on pair with the FA28-70 f/4 at 70mm. Sharpness is high throghout the focal range, with a peak at around 50-90mm. Bokeh is good, making this a good lens for portraits. This is the best consumer oriented standard zoom for Pentax AF today, and there''s no longer a reason for buying one from Sigma, Tamron or Tokina. This lens gives excellent performance for the money and I highly recommend it.

Customer Service

The personell at Pentax Scandinavia are always friendly and helpful.

Similar Products Used:

Tokina AF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 AL, Pentax FA 28-70 f/4 AL, Takumar A28-80 f/3.5-4.5