jtainter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Gianfranco, the DA 16-45 is a fine lens. I have tested it
formally against the excellent FA 20-35. It is definitely in
that class, and perhaps just a bit sharper than the 20-35. I
have used the FA 24-90 but have not formally tested it. My
impression is that the DA 16-45 is in the same class as the
sharpest zooms I own -- the FA 20-35, the Tokina AT-X Pro 28-80
f2.8, and the Sigma EX 70-200 f2.8.
>
Hi Joe,
I too own the 20-35 and the Sigma EX 70-200. If it is in the
same league I'll buy the 16-45 as soon as I can.
> One amazing thing about the lens is that it is quite good wide
open. Pentax's own MTF evaluation is that the lens is actually
best at f4.0 from 16 to 28 mm., and at f4.5 from 28 to 45 mm.
That's extraordinary performance. It's also, of course, quite
fine stopped down. I have shot it at f16 with very nice results.
I have found that the 24-90 is fine (in the centre, at least)
wide open on the *ist D, although not extraordinary. The fact
that it performs that well wide open is veeeery interesting, as
I shot a lot wide open.
> It goes well on the *ist D. There are occastional CA problems,
but you will probably see these on many lenses. I have noticed
it on only two shots out of several hundred. There is software
to correct CA problems, and I would guess that more software
(perhaps PS plug-ins) to correct this problem will be
forthcoming.
That's good.
How's the handling? On the shelf it looked quite big mounted on
the *ist D. I read on the KMP (thanks Boz!) that it weighs
almost the same as the 24-90, but it is a bit longer.
> For *ist D zoom users, I cannot recommend this lens highly
enough. It is one of the best zooms Pentax has made. The images
it gives me are stunning. One is in this month's PUG (keep in
mind that it is a reduced jpeg). For some reason Pentax is
producing few of them, so if you want one grab the one you saw.
They are hard to find. The price looked good, comparable to
discount price here.
Surprisingly, I thought that the price was a bit high; the shop
where I saw the lens yesterday has almost only grey market stuff
(the people were a bit rude too: they refused to show me the
lens if I wasn't going to buy it).
In another shop (where I ordered the lens at first, before the
importer told us it was not available yet) the price was 415
Euro with the Italian warranty.
Tough decisions...
Thanks again for the enablement...
:-)
Ciao,
Gianfranco
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