Pentax DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED Lens Review
The Pentax SMC DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED lens is a long-awaited, which is a little of the long series gap in the lineup beyond a cheap Pentax DA 50-200mm ED kit lens fills. Despite being a hot spot in consumer demand, it took a while to come Pentax with an offer in this area. Typical for Pentax DA lenses it the APS-C image circle covers only. The field-of-view is equivalent to 83-450mm in classic terms so that it can be used for many aspects of the tele photography. At around 260-350US $ it is very inexpensive lens.
The workmanship of the 55-300mm is about in line with the typical Pentax DA consumer zoom lens, which we have seen lately and there is nothing with wrong that – the design is based on a common combination of plastic and metal parts with a fairly tight tolerances has made. Both operate the zoom and focus control rings pretty smooth. The lens uses a mono-cam zoom mechanism (an inner lens tubes), which extends when zooming towards the long end of the zoom range. The tested sample (not like a brand-new) zoom creeping.
The lens has no internal AF motor and relies is operated by the camera on the slotted drive screw. This produces a noise during AF operations and the AF speed is comparatively slow although reasonably accurate on the K10D. The lens features a Quick-Shift system offering the manual focus option in single-shot AF mode to MF mode with no change to the camera.
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The Pentax lens exhibits negligible distortion at 55m. In the 100-300mm range, you can expect a moderate degree of pincushion distortion, which can be seen at times under field conditions.
Typical for most lenses with an APS-C format covering the lens Pentax shows more vignetting at max. Openings (~ 0.8EV). The problem is largely reduced and no longer relevant area when closing the aperture by 1 f-stop.
The Pentax 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED is capable of quite respectable resolution figures in the entire zoom range. The center performance is usually a very good level with a more typical high penalty on the long end of the zoom range. The border performance is a bit soft at max. Aperture can increase the quality, if a little be to stop down. The contrast in the images box is pretty snappy – probably a positive effect from the ED element (s).
Lateral CAs (color shadows at harsh contrast transitions) are well controlled (<1px) between 55mm and 200mm. At 300mm CAs be visible across in critical situations, but with a peak width of around 1.5px on the picture.
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The Pentax SMC DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED is a viable choice when it comes to an affordable long range telephoto lens. The resolution figures are pretty decent, and under field conditions, it shines with a good look unlike typical. The secondary features (vignetting, distortion, CA) are about average for a lens in this class. All-in-all it is optically superior in comparison to its smaller cousin, the SMC DA 50-200mm ED 4 to 5.6. The processing quality of the lens is fine and the AF is fast enough for most applications. A solid offer in relation to its pricing.
BUY PENTAX DA 55-300MM F/4-5.8 ED NOW AND SAVE MONEY WITH DISCOUNT!
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