Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens USA

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Recent Pentax convert...

I haven't shot a lot with this lens yet but feel pleased with the photos so far. I've learned that it's heavy enough for me to need a tripod or monopod to ensure stable images.

The build quality is superb and I'm happy to have it in my collection

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I have used this lens for about one week now. Certainly more will be learned over time. I am pretty happy with this lens, even though it is my most expensive lens.

I have been using this lens to shoot portraits and natural scenery. It focuses very fast and pretty accurate on my Kx. Resolution is good to great. Ever so little bit soft wide open at the long end. But contrast remains high and it is pleasant soft instead of mushy soft that I have found on some Sigma lenses.

A bit heavy as expected, a bit pricy, but not much so when compared with its Nikon and Canon counterparts. It works on full frame film camera although I have not checked the image quality.

Very well built. Not the best for macro as expected.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Really debated whether or not I should buy this lens because of the cost.I'm so glad I decided to go ahead and shell out the bucks because it's by far the best zoom I've ever used.Sharp wide open and the build quality is excellent.The only downside in my opinion is that it's a little on the heavy side(I'm getting used to the weight).

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Sharpest lens I own. Sharper than my Tamron 300mm f2.8. Use this lens for wildlife, flower, insect, and some landscape photography. It has exceeded my expectations and I find that I use it much more often than I thought I would for its critical sharpness and color rendering. It is worth carrying the weight around and while I have been shooting Pentax for 30 years, coupled to the K5 this is the best combo I have ever had the pleasure to use. Would have been nice to go all the way to 300mm.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I've only had this for a few weeks, but the learning curve is fast and the photos are excellent.

The lens is very good wide open for sports photography with my sweet spot being at f/4.5 - f/5.6. At f/5.6-f/8 the lens is generally sharpest but the background starts to come in focus. Great contrast and I like the bokeh. The lab reviews you see online (e.g., dpreview) seem on the money. This lens is actually light enough to hand hold w/o a monopod/tripod if the shutter speed is fast enough. The build quality is excellent. THe tripod mount is easy to use.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Already had the Pentax 50-135mm, but wanted something with greater range. Since I have the other DA* and have been happy with them I decided to spend the extra on this lens over Tamron/Sigma offerings and happy that I did. I appreciate the lens foot design making it easy to store in your bag and the weather/dust resistance this lens offers. Plenty sharp and goes nicely with the K5.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I was lacking a quality tele-zoom so I shopped around for a long time debating the merits between the DA* 60-250 vs the flagship 70-200 lenses from Sigma/Tamron. Basically, the trade-off is one F-stop (DA* is F/4, the others are F/2.8) against the smaller size and superb weather sealing of the DA* lens. Ultimately, I went with the DA* because of the numerous great reviews out there indicating sharpness (see photozone.de) and prime-like bokeh.

Since buying the lens and after an initial two week period getting used to it, I have been amazed by the results I'm getting.

The focus (on a K-7 body) is fast enough that I was getting well-focused shots almost all the time at my son's flag football game (which included using a CPL filter that measured two or three stops of light loss).

The F/4 maximum aperture has not been as much an issue as I had expected; on my K-7 I confidently use up to ISO 1600 but with careful approach can go up to ISO 2500 and get excellent results. With lenses that have lower contrast and resolution, the image quality would fall apart by ISO 1600. If paired with the K-5, K-x or K-r, I expect one could go to ISO 3200 or even 6400 easily. For outdoor sports, I typically prefer to stop down to get better depth of field, so F/4 is not a limiting factor unless trying to capture very fast moving objects. As camera sensors continue to improve, I see the maximum aperture becoming less limiting.

The construction is very rugged and solid. I haven't had a chance to try out the weather sealing, though. The tripod collar is well designed as it allows for easy removal of the mounting foot. Another nice feature is the collar rotates around the lens with detentes marking each 90 degree turn (very useful if I switching between portrait/landscape with a polarizer since I can just turn the camera until I feel the click and the polarizer does not have to be rotated). Like most Pentax lens hoods, there is a small slot that can be opened to allow access to any filter ring. The small details are all very well thought out.

Compared to F/2.8 zooms, this lens is smaller and lighter while having a slightly larger zoom range. In some ways, the lens should also be compared to full frame 100-400 F/4 zooms since the APS-C format of the DA lens(es) have a field of view equivalent to full frame with 1.5x the focal length. The smaller size of the lens makes it much easier to carry around all day (I can easily hold the camera with lens and battery grip in one hand). The flexibility of the focal length range even allows for impromptu portrait taking on the wide end (given the smooth bokeh).

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Could not decide between this lens and the Pentax 55-300mm. Given the the fabulous reviews regarding the 60-250 and after having held in my hands the 55-300 I decided to go for the more stable and durable lens. I intend keeping this lens for the next couple of years.
Used it in the rainforest while it was raining and at the pacific coast in full wind and rainy weather. Lens had no problems with that weather and I was happy to own it.
Optical qualities are flawless and focus was adequate and fast enough to capture birds flying by.
Makes a perfect match to the sealed 16-50mm but I would rate the 60-250 lens with a star more.
I was afraid that the weight could be a show stopper - it's not. It actually feels just right.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Bought the Sigma 70-200 but had a problem with the auto focus quitting. [...] Bought the Pentax 60-250 instead and couldn't be happier. It's lighter and sharper than the 70-200 and has magnificent bokeh. The SDM auto focus is fast and quiet. I use it on a K10D for a walk around lens, portraits, great lens for isolating flowers and shot a hockey game to boot. Missed that one stop of light shooting hockey, but managed a sufficiently fast shutter speed at 1600 ISO. (That produced some noise easily fixed in Photo Shop with Dfine2)Can't wait to get the K-5 and mount this baby on it!!

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I use my produkt for takin photos of dogs in action. In normal, good daylight I can use it without a tripod.

It is very sharp and gives good details all the way from 60mm til 250mm. The lens also give good portrait-pictures.

It also great to have F4 all the way up to 250mm.

The thing that aren`t so great is the weight, but thats the weight of quality.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I bought this lens for a wildlife safari in Africa. It is all you would expect from a Pentax DA*. Solid, rugged, smooth, wonderfully sharp, excellent overall results. Weather sealing came in useful on a few days when light rain was stopping others from holding their lenses outside car windows. Using it on an APS-C body (K-5) gives it approx. 375mm reach. This was fine for 80% of photo opportunities in a wildlife park setting, but there were times when I would have liked some extra reach (500 - 600mm, especially for birds). SDM autofocus was quick, quiet, and accurate. Combined with the super quiet K-5 shutter, I was able to snap away and not disturb fellow passengers in the game viewing vehicle. It's not super fast at f4, but the excellent high ISO performance of the K-5 compensated for the extra stop or two that a bigger, faster lens might offer. Great value - highly recommended.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I have choosen this lens over Tamron and Sigma 70-200's because of its greater versatility regarding the focus range. Also, DA*60-250 is smaller in size and attracts less attention, which is another pro for street photography. Is is a bit soft at wide aperture, but at F5.6-6.3 it is razor sharp across the frame at any focus length. No doubt, it is a 'must have' for a Pentaxian!

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Great for portraits, wildlife and sports photos.
Very quiet and quick focus.
Soft bokeh.
Not lightweight but nothing lighter exists with this focal range.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

This is a universal lens for my purposes. I like it. I can take it anywhere. Survived my trip through europe so it is durable. My only complaint is that with the camera it can get heavy after a while.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I use this as a general carry-around, hand-held outdoor lens for hiking, nature shots, etc. It produces outstanding images and is versatile enough for all manner of subjects. The hood is handy and effective. Build quality is generally excellent. The size and weight are...formidable, though. The tension on the zoom is inconsistent--quite slack at the beginning and end of the range and more resistant from ~100-150mm. It works its way out to ~80mm quite quickly when carried. There's a barely perceptible looseness at the mount (K-x) not present with other lenses.

This is my primary lens--the versatility is worth the heft.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I was excited about reports of this lens' sharpness, but was also interested in the faster (and less expensive) Tamron 70-200 F2.8, so I did a comparison of the two.

First, the Pentax was sharp, yes, but it wasn't as sharp as the hype made me think it would be. If anything, the Tamron was actually a little sharper at the same settings.

The SDM was a bust. It was quiet, yes, but half the time it didn't work (ie, the focus motor literally didn't do anything) and when it did work, it was really slow and made strange (though quiet) noises. I got a bad copy, I'm sure, but seeing the issue in a new lens makes me wonder about quality control.

The Tamron is a full stop faster than the Pentax.

The Pentax does have a wider range than the Tamron (though 60mm isn't much wider than 70mm, and 250mm isn't that much longer than 200mm.)

The Pentax has a few nicer design features that the Tamron lacks. The build quality overall is nice and solid. The clutch-focus is nice, for instant manual focus touch-up while in auto focus mode. The hood has a little hatch in the bottom that gives easy access to a circular polarizer. The tripod collar has a very clever and convenient release, and "clicks" to help you align it every 90 degrees.

The Pentax is almost twice the price of the Tamron.

So... All in all, the lens has a few nicities, but nothing I can see to really recommend the lens to me when there's an optically superior alternative at a fraction of the price.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I've used this lens now for about 1200 shots of lacrosse games taken in the evening/night under the lights, bright sun and cloudy days. Great resolution when the focus is spot on. Tracks well on moving subjects. The focus is a bit spotty at distance, even when center focused despite the anticipated slightly increased depth of field that should come with the longer focal length wide open at f4. There's nothing to be done about shooting under the lights at night, I guess, but it does a good job. Syncs perfectly with the Sigma EF-530DG flash unit I purchased. Great for portait/candids, even under the lights, between 60 and 200mm without the flash. The mount to my K20 has a slight bit of wiggle but there are no connection problems. The manual focus and zoom rings are butter smooth and just tight enough to allow accurate adjustment without slipping out of place.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

Have only had this lens for a couple of weeks but I couldn't be happier with it. Getting back into photography after about a 25 year moratoreum and it is great. Trying some nature/wildlife photography with this lens and it is working out very well.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

This lens has an excellent range for medium telephoto work, is compact, and the ability to use a polarizer with the lens hood attached is a real plus, not to mention the weather sealing. The price from B & H was also the best I could find, an all round A++.

Comments about Pentax Zoom Telephoto 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens:

I've been useing it for 3 months with K20D.And I have DA55-300mm,too.
This lens is super sharp from wide open-F4. This is incredible. No other Pentax lens have this sharpness at wide-open. Besides that it has a good color saturation and high speed-AF,much faster than 55-300 and any other tele-photo zoom lens.
One problem is SDM system. It is new to Pentax and still not reliable enough. Mine had a problem that SDM doesn't work at all and that means MF doesn't function, either. I still don't realize the cause.
Anyway it is good lens and definitely worth buying.