Pentax smc DA 35 mm f/2.4 AL
11. Summary
- small and compact construction,
- splendid image quality in the frame centre,
- decent image quality on the edge of the frame,
- slight chromatic aberration,
- low distortion,
- very low coma,
- negligible astigmatism
- good transmission and work against bright light,
- autofocus working with lightning speed.
Cons:
- plastic casing and mount,
- noisy focusing mechanism,
- noticeable vignetting.
It is not easy to write a summary here. On the one hand I would like to praise this lens a lot. Such a good pros/cons ratio is a rare thing in this price segment and the flaws are definitely nothing serious; many pros are really important and of high calibre for a change.
Please Support UsIf you enjoy our reviews and articles, and you want us to continue our work please, support our website by donating through PayPal. The funds are going to be used for paying our editorial team, renting servers, and equipping our testing studio; only that way we will be able to continue providing you interesting content for free. |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
On the other hand, though, you can say Pentax didn’t make any effort here. The lens is entirely made of plastics, with rather slow f/2.4 aperture; it is more expensive than the Nikkor 1.8/35 which is also a well-done construction, significantly faster and with a metal mount.
You might wonder why Pentax didn’t offer a bit more solid lens with an aperture of f/1.8-2.0. The answer is, I suppose, very simple. The Nikkor 1.8/35 is not a real competitor here because the owners of Pentax reflex cameras can’t use it. It leaves a significantly faster Sigma 1.4/30 on the battlefield but its price might be too high for many amateur photographers. After all it is over two times more expensive than the Pentax 2.4/35. The full frame Pentax FA 35 mm f/2 AL. is also not a real competition; when we tested it its price on Polish market was about 1100-1200 PLN but it has skyrocketed lately to a quite mad level of 2800 PLN. Some users can think about the Pentax DA 35 mm f/2.8 Macro Limited. It is not much slower and the aperture can be compensated by macro properties and the high build quality, typical of the Limited series. The only problem is that the price is once again over two times higher…
To sum up those users of Pentax digital reflex cameras who want to buy a cheap standard lens are so to speak condemned to the 2.4/35 model. If there is no competition the lens doesn’t have to be exactly a bargain.
Sample shots
 |
 |
 |
|
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.4, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.13 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.4, exp. 1/8000 s, ISO 125 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.78 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.4, exp. 1/2500 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 10.76 MB |
 |
 |
 |
|
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.4, exp. 1/640 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 7.57 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 7.37 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.55 MB |
 |
 |
 |
|
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 7.34 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/3.2, exp. 1/3200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.47 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/3.5, exp. 1/320 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.23 MB |
 |
 |
 |
|
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 7.87 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/1250 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 11.55 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/100 s, ISO 800 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 9.27 MB |
 |
 |
 |
|
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/250 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.57 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 400 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 7.79 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 640 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 6.57 MB |
 |
 |
 |
|
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/7.1, exp. 1/800 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.92 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 800 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.44 MB |
Camera: Pentax K-5 Parameters: 35 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/180 s, ISO 800 File: JPEG, 4928×3264 pix, 8.76 MB |
