Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens USA

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I was highly surprised to find this lens is not only very sharp, but provides excellent color rendition across the exposure range.. Smooth focusing and, light weight make this a great travel and street option. Best kit lens I;ve ever seen......BY FAR!!!

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I'm fussy about my lenses. I don't mind lending my K-5 but not my prescious lenses (14mm, 31mm, 55mm, 100mm macro). So, I decided to get this lens. This one I don't care if it gets damaged. The build quality is typical low-end consumer "kit" grade. BUT the optics are pretty good. Not good for low light - always use a flash. As a "loaner" for my K-5 it's perfect. I've nicknamed it my "party/pub" lens.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I have been using Pentax equipment for about 50 years. For most of that time, I used Kodachrome film and projected my slides on a 40 or 50 in. screen. Since 2005, I have converted to digital and view my pictures primarily on a 50 in. HD Plasma TV set.

I have always enjoyed Pentax equipment because of their small size, light weight and overall quality. I have never had a problem with any of my cameras or lenses.

I recently purchased a K5 body to complement the istDS + DA18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL lens I have been using for the past seven years. When my wife decided she was going to use that camera and lens, I had to find a general purpose lens to tack on to the K5.

I considered a number of other Pentax zoom lenses but finaly settled on this one because I was happy with the one which came with the istDS and this one promised to be just as good if not better plus it is weather resistant.

It may not be the sharpest or fastest zoom available but, used in the medium focal lenghts (24-45mm) and apertures (F5.6-F11), it produces sharp, contrasty images with minimal detectable distortion.

The best lens I currently own is a Pentax-M 50mm f1.7. It can take sharper pictures than the zoom lens but, when viewed on an HD TV screen some 8 - 10 feet away, I cannot see any difference.

I am also willing to trade some speed for portability. With the ability to ratchet up ISO value and still have acceptable image quality, I am not sure fast lenses are as much of a necessity as they used to be.

Granted, I am not in the business of taking test chart pictures and counting resulting pixels, but for the asking price this lens more than meets my needs and expectations. For more critical work, I have a number of excellent M series prime lenses I can always fall back on.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

Great inexpensive allpurpose lens,

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

Bought this lens for the WR to go along with my K5.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

Not an expert with all the photography gadgets but this lens is a nice choice for beginners. Comes with the hood. Even asked help from the sales representatives over the phone and they seem very knowledgeable about their products. Shipping/ tracking updates were reliable. Would buy again from this photo store.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

The plastic mount on my kit lens broke (the DAL , "L" for "light"). The DA is better. Metal mount, full time manual focus, and lens hood included. Unlike some other kit lenses, the front element does not rotate and there is a weather striping ring on the mount. A very nice lens for the price.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I wanted to like this lens because of its quality build, but its performance lacked. It doesn't like flourescent lights or dark scenes mounted on a K7. The other thing that I didnt expect was the external moving parts while focusing. Having used Canon, Nikon, and Sony slrs prior, this was something i didnt expect. Also, it is very noise when focusing. On a positive note, the feel of this lens was excellent. Lightweight, sturdy, and weathersealed. I had no hesitation bringing it out in the rain.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

Metal lens mount, replacing the plastic kit lens [DA L(Light)] mount that cracked when the`camera fell to a carpeted floor. The DA also has "always available" manual focusing and distance markings. Optically it seems about the same as the kit lens, but sturdier with a somewhat smoother operation.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I bought this lens just so I would have something to use in the rain, expecting something like Nikon's and Canon's kit lenses only with a few gaskets added on. I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality of the lens I received. There is little slop in the zoom and focus rings, and little features like the non rotating front element, included hood (with filter door), distance scale, quick shift af and rubber grips make it feel very solid. The lens uses screw drive af, which combined with the k7's snappy motor makes this lens focus much quicker than competing products for other mounts which use low quality lens based motors to keep costs down. It is louder though.

Image quality is nothing to rave about. The lens is a bit soft at all focal lengths and apertures and has noticeable green/magenta chromatic aberrations. In most situations it is sufficient to get the image I want.

I have used the lens in heavy rain several times with no ill effects. With a weather sealed body the peace of mind is well worth the low cost of this lens for anyone who plans on shooting in harsh weather and doesn't already own a wr or da* lens.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

This is a good general purpose lens for walking around with. It is light, sharp, has good contrast, and is weather resistant. The main reason I got it was portability, I didn't want to carry around heavy lenses while on vacation.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

An excellant lens. More lens than the price suggests. I used this for the first time at a family get together and was just blown away with the images. For the money, you can't beat it. As always, Pentax is just great.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I recently ordered this lens as a replacement for the original one I bought with the camera. I used it on a recent trip to Florida and it works as well. [...] I plan to use your company again for my future needs.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

This lens replaces the old 18-55 DA lens because of its weather sealing. There is very little image difference between the two of them. I think my old kit lens is a great copy.
For landscape photos during the winter months and in wet or dusty conditions, it is a great lens. Add a close up lens and it does decent macros with good brokeh. Add a Minolta .8 teleconverter lens and it becomes a good 15-44mm lens. Distortion can be corrected in camera on the KX.
A very versatile lens configuration that is a great buy.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

This lens is workhorses, very nice contrast, fast autofocus, WR is very nice, just like water proof, I took alot pictures during raining, white water rafting, biking. It works very well with my K10 and K7. Must buy....

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

The is a good performing lens at a reasonable price. Solid Value.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

I threw this on the new, little Pentax KX and couldnt be happier! The build construction is superior to the kit lens and I also think it takes sharper images. Perfect all purpose lens for the Pentax KX. Although the KX isnt weather-sealed at least its sealing dust and moisture from getting into the lens or sensor. The lowlight performance was awesome! I just cranked up the ISOs on the Kx and I was taking shots nearly in the dark and coming out with good shots! The flash didnt come up. Its very light, going along with the compact and light body. It doesnt seem cheap, but I also now I got what I paid for which is actually a pretty sweet little lens. The KX and this lens is my set-up I bring to concerts or Im hiking in the woods. We'll see how well it holds up...

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

It's a versatile lense of a reasonable weight and size with good clarity. I was looking for a 17 to 200 all purpose lense but when I couldn't find what I wanted at a reasonable weight I selected this.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

My initial impressions of this lens are quite positive.
Excellent sharpness across its focal length even wide open.
lens is way better than their kitlens counterparts in terms of built, optical quality.
For this prices I would recomend this lens to anyone needing a Weather resistant lens.

Comments about Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR Zoom Lens:

It's not an exceptionally fast lens; but I don't consider that a minus. It's very sharp; & it works just fine with my Pentax K100D. I have been using Pentax cameras & their lenses for years. And I believe they use good glass on their lenses!