Pentax smc DA 70 mm f/2.4 Limited review - Summary

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Pentax smc DA 70 mm f/2.4 Limited

20 November 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:

interesting, original and solid barrel,
very small physical dimensions and weight,
excellent image quality in the frame centre and good on the edge,
low chromatic aberration
low distortion,
sensibly controlled coma,
relatively good against bright light work,
good work of autofocus.

Cons:

too high vignetting.

What could be said in this summary? Only the comparison between the number of pros and cons shows that this lens is really worth having in your arsenal, especially that, apart from good optical properties, it is small and interestingly stylish. The Pentax or Samsung body owners can have only one doubt: how will operate a newly-launched 50-135 f/2.8 lens at 70 mm. If its performance is very good (and taking into account the results of a Tokina 50-135 we can expect that it might be the case) perhaps it’s not worth buying a 2.4/70 now. Maybe it would be better if you saved a bit more money and purchased a more universal 50-135 model, equipped with an SDM? We will try to answer this question in the near future.

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Sample shots:


Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/2.4, exp. 1/60 sec., ISO 800 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.4 MB	Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/3.5, exp. 1/45 sec., ISO 800 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.5 MB	Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/90 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.5 MB

Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.6 MB	Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/1000 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.5 MB	Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/2.4, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.2 MB

Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/180 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.1 MB	Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.5, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.2 MB	Camera: Pentax K10D Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/90 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 2.2 MB