Pentax 22270 DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR Lens

This is an inexpensive but durable and weatherproof Telephoto zoom lens for cameras with the Pentax DA mounting, and it has the benefit of a metal lens mount. The range varies only between 55mm to 300mm on my K5 and K30 cameras, and would be longer (85mm to 460mm) on a full format 35mm camera. All the standard DA functions operate as one might expect.As one might expect with such a long lens, using a tripod or monopod makes it so very much easier to keep the images sharp and well composed, almost every take is useful compared with wasting more than half them when hand-held. On the longest shots not even the K5 image-steady can cope with the bigger wobbles likely from the wind or a racing pulse - my respect for archers and marksmen went up another big notch after using this lens on a recent country walk.The aperture mechanism can be noisy and feels like it is rattling when trying to track a rapidly changing scene on Live View, but if used normally with the optical reflex viewfinder then it only kicks in for the take.The auto-focus can get confused if left to its own devices with rapid or extreme scene changes. Fortunately, I've found that occasionally using the manual focus to keep the image nearly right most of the time gives it a big helping hand, and then for the take it is much quicker and very accurate.The zoom tracks focus reasonably well when varied through the full range; once focused on the object it does not then loose the image in a blur, and it will give the rather slow autofocus a useful head-start on a take, but it does not track well enough for serious use as a video zoom lens. The nearest an image can be focused is about 1.2 metre away, but then this is a Telephoto and not a Macro lens, and the moon is quite sharp enough, as were some twigs on the top of a tree two hundred metres away in the park, and even the leading on the windows of a stately mansion more than a mile away on the other side of a valley. (See my pics, mansion 2462c and detail 2462d).My sample works well with my K5 (weatherproof body and lens) and K30 (not quite as w/p) Pentax cameras, both of which only had a 18-55mm kit lens. In each case I found that the 'AF Fine Adjustment' was best in the middle of the -10...+10 range at '0', so I have left these camera settings on Off, ie Factory Defaults, for each lens in both. The moon was helpful in checking this; being an object at infinity, with night time requiring maximum aperture.This lens feels slightly heavier than the older non-weatherproof Pentax 55-300mm lens I tried in a shop, but it is a lot lighter than most of the other more expensive professional 300mm/450mm lenses I have used in the past on 35mm cameras. I'm quite happy with it being not too big or too heavy.The only thing I would have wished was different is that the nice little weatherproof bag the lens comes in should have had a belt loop. So I have sewn one on.Oh yes, most importantly, this lens allows the camera to take excellent distant pictures without too much intervention or thought from me.

Great for my needs. Quality lens at a very good price.

Excellent lens, arrived very promptly and well packaged. Bought it mainly because of the weather sealing to replace a non-weatherproof lens. It is coupled to a Pentax K50 (also weather sealed) and was used last weekend on two particularly wet trips to a zoo and an airshow, I made no attempt to protect them from the rain yet they performed faultlessly. Despite the weather they produced excellent, sharp pictures at both locations. Seems like a really good investment.

As far as light-weight telephoto zooms go, this is an excellent little lens. I also have the Sigma 70-300 APO DG, and the Pentax is superior in every regard. It's smaller, lighter, and -- most importantly -- takes sharper pictures with much better bokeh and much better contrast. Plus it's weather-sealed, meaning there's no need to worry about mist or rain when shooting with one of Pentax's many weather-sealed camera bodies. I use this lens on a 16mp Pentax K-30.For those interested, the minimum aperture is f/4 until 100mm, f/4.5 until 200mm and f/5.6 until just before 300mm. Between 70-100mm, it's an acceptable portrait lens when used wide-open.Pros (compared to the Sigma lens):* Contrast is maintained all the way to 300mm (compared to a substantial drop-off in contrast after 200mm with the Sigma)* Sharper than the Sigma at the long end (both lenses are amply sharp enough below 200mm on my K30)* Lighter, smaller and easier to handle (the zoom ring especially feels great to use)* Quick-shift focussing (the ability to use manual focus even with the camera is set to auto-focus) is a wonderful thing, and partly ameliorates the relatively slow screw-drive focus* A long focus throw for accurate manual focus* Bokeh (especially tangled-branches bokeh) is beautiful with this lens, thanks to the rounded aperture blades* 55mm at the short end adds versatilityCons (in general -- many of these apply to the Sigma/Tamron offerings also):* Screw-drive focus is slow and very noisy. Focussing is even slower than with the Sigma, and creates enough noise to frighten away any bird you were about to shoot. Quick-shift focus is in part a way around this, but it's not ideal. This upgraded lens model really should have had a DC or SDM motor.* 300mm is still a little soft (but show me a compact zoom lens in which it's not). It's sharper than the Sigma and (in my limited testing experience, the Tamron equivalent also).* f/5.8 at 300mm is slow* Chromatic aberrations are generally well controlled, but they do very occasionally appear in photos (in contrast, they never appear in the Sigma lens). It's easy enough to correct these with software, though, and they're certainly nothing like those that the Tamron 70-300mm equivalent lens (aka "Purple Monster") generates* No internal focus (the lens barrel extends as you focus), meaning you have to wind it back to infinity when storing each time (but at least quick-shift makes this easier than with the Sigma/Tamron)* No macro mode unlike the Sigma/Tamron lenses -- minimum focus distance is around 1.4mUltimately I won't be going back to the Sigma, and if you're considering the Pentax, Sigma or Tamron options I'd take this every time. The better contrast, sharpness and quick-shift all make it worth the extra cost.

Excellent lens for the budget. It feels solid, metal mount. Lens hood included.Initially the hard bit is to get used to shooting with the lens. If you're not used to shooting with long zooms then getting sharp images might be user error rather than camera/lens issues. Once past that, I've taken some very sharp images indeed.Notice though that at 5.8 @ 300mm it's not a bokeh lens really. But you get what you pay for. Excellent build quality, just not very bright aperture.WEATHER SEALING!Know what you want from a zoom lens. can you afford what you want? If so, there are better options out there. However this is by no means a bad lens.

Nice lens for your WR Pentax. Early daysusing it but seems nice and sharp with quick focus.

I was unsure if I would have to pick up this one or the heavier and more expensive [ twice the price] SMC Pentax-DA* 60-250mm F4 ED [IF] SDM. I did some few tests and I like very much this 55-300mm lense. The only down side is the Autofocus slowness [ mostly in high zoom]. For the rest, pictures are sharp and really good. I can't wait testing this objective next week in Greece.

I purchased this zoom lens for my Pentax K-70. This lens is very well built. It's a bit heavy but not too heavy. The auto-focusing is quite loud and not the fastest (my Sony G series zoom/prime lenses are much faster at focusing, for example) but it works fine. Furthermore, this lens takes some getting used to in terms of using it correctly. When the lens is zoomed in to 200-300mm, it is very hard to get a sharp image without a tripod, so definitely have one handy if you plan on capturing subjects far away.The lens hood is very nice and I like how it clips onto the perimeter of the len's body. Overall, I recommend this lens as a good starter lens for your Pentax camera.

Perfecto. Es un lente anterior, ya existe una versión nueva. Pero este es un lente medio paso más luminoso. Enfoca perfecto y ls imágenes son nítidas (aun en ISO-1600).

Good as expected

Pentax Obiettivo HD DA, 55-300 mm, F/4-5.8 ED WR - rapporto prezzo/prestazioni *** ottimo **Premesso che non sono un fotografo professionista, la mia recensione cerca di fornire delle informazioni oggettive per permettere di avere più informazioni nella valutazione del proprio acquisto.Detto questo non vi tedierò con tutti i dettagli tecnici reperibili ovunque ma cercherò di riassumere quelle che sono le caratteristiche un po' meno note.--- La garanzia è 2 anni e europea, pertanto nella valutazione del prezzo considerate che una garanzia italiana fornisce 4 anni di garanzia --- Intanto partiamo dalla confezione esterna marcata RICOH. All'interno troviamo l'obiettivo con in dotazione il paraluce circolare (più ovviamente i due classici tappi anteriore e posteriore), il tutto contenuto nella custodia antistrappo, antipioggia ed anche imbottita. Sono presenti inoltre garanzia (europea) e manualetto (1 pagina) in lingua inglese.- Il peso dell'obiettivo e paraluce è di circa 530 grammi.- Il diametro frontale è di mm 58- I materiali di costruzione sono tangibili e si sente la classica qualità Pentax, l'intero obiettivo è considerato WR (Weather resistant).- Le lenti sono trattate con il processo Pentax "HD High Definition"- La messa a fuoco minima è purtroppo a circa 1,5mt- Non ha possibilità di selezione meccanica/ottica della modalità marco- Ha la funzione quick focus che permette di lavorare contemporaneamente con l'autofocus in prima battuta e, se necessario, utilizzare la ghiera manuale per un ulteriore affinamento (più facile a farlo che non a spiegarlo). Inoltre, sempre nella fase affinamento, sulla mia Pentax K-x, è sempre disponibile l'avviso acustico ed ottico della corretta messa a fuoco.- Il motore di messa a fuoco è il classico Pentax degli obiettivi in dotazione sempre molto veloce. Ovviamente alle focali estreme bisogna abituarsi anche interagendo con la modalità di messa a fuoco.- Non certo è luminosissimo ma su questa fascia di prezzo non credo si possa trovre di meglio ed in ogni caso si comporta bene anche con luminosità non ottimale (foto scattate pomeriggio di marzo, giornata un po nuvolosa)- Acquistato da Amazon a circa 320 euro può essere considerato superiore ad altri (non Pentax) sulla stessa fascia di prezzo anche per la perfetta integrazione tra obiettivo e corpo macchina.Per quanto riguarda la resa credo che la cosa migliore sia vedere le foto scattate a 300 mm, ad una distanza massima di 15 metri (alcune intorno ai 4) con la macchina Pentax K-x a 12 MegaPixel.Le foto non hanno subito ritocchi e tranne che per il soggetto luna (utilizzo del cavalletto e posa manuale) tutte le foto sono state scattate a mano libera con la "shake reduction" attivo utilizzando l'autofocus.Rimango comunque disponibile per eventuali domande su quanto descritto.Grazie per aver letto questa recensione,spero ti sia stata utile.

口径58ミリのコスパレンズ。1年以上の使用です。赤いラインのズームレンズ。軽く扱いやすい大きさで、購入前の予想に反してシャープな写りの高画質レンズです。安レンズという先入観はあったが、この性能ならば十分に使える。AFは、速い方ではないが、普通に使えます。口径58ミリは、保護フィルターや偏光フィルターなどお安く手に入るので経済的。周囲の評価通り、AFの作動音が大きめ。このレンズを空港の展望デッキで使用することが多いが、ヒコーキの排気音でやかましい環境ながら、レンズの作動音がよく聞こえます。野外の使用では問題はないとは思いますが屋内では少々辛い思いをするかも。全体的に、基本設計の良いレンズで、個人的には、問題はありません。APS-Cの上級機(K-５Ⅱ・K-3・K-３Ⅱ)すべて組み合わせて使用したが、K-3が、一番相性が良かった。レンズフード付属あり。偏光フィルターが扱いやすいフードです。