Inexpensive Digital Cameras

Pentax SMCPDA 16-45mm Zoom f/4.0 ED/AL Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras The Pentax interchangeable lens system provides a complete line of high-quality lenses to satisfy your every creative need. Offering a wide range of focal lengths, functions and effects for different formats, Pentax lenses are designed to maximize each camera’s capabilities.
Customer Review: The Pentax 16-45mm f4 is a Keeper.
Ditto Dana G’s review. I migrated from a pretty extensive Nikon film system, and have used all kinds of other brands of film camera equipment, either on assignment or as a community college photo instructor during the 70’s and 80’s. I tried a variety of zooms, including varifocals with ELD glass. They were visibly softer than their equivalent single-focal-length counterparts. I noticed this after I had spent a long time using one particular varifocal. One day I switched back to a prime and when the prints came in, WOW! You could even tell with a casual glance at a 3X5 proof, that there was a huge difference. And the wide angle range in those 1970′5 and 80’s zooms alway seemed extra soft and distorted. So I just gave up on zooms until I experienced digital.

I’m not one of those people who photographs charts. But I’ve a LOT of experience looking at real world images. In fact, as long as the lens seems to be working I don’t really pay attention to it. However, in this case, I was shooting some photos of rocks along the Maine coast, from a tripod, and I decided to try to use a few Pentax prime lenses–a 40mm SMCP DA 2.8 and the Pentax FA 50mm 1.4–just to see if zooms had improved. All shots were in the 35-60 mm range, around f5.6-f8. When I uploaded these images into Photoshop, I was flabbergasted. The 16-45 mm gave nicer color and was at least as sharp as the two primes. Since then, I’ve had occasion to compare it against my Pentax DA 14mm 2.8, and I haven’t noticed any real-world difference at the wide range either. But it’s the fact that, if there were a difference, I would have to look really, really hard to see it that impresses me!

I find that I use the !6-45 more than any other lens that I own. I purchased it as an “upgrade” from the kit lens. And, as an aside, the Pentax K10D seems as if it were custom designed for migration from film or prosumer digital. The value for the money in this system is unmatched by any other maker. Amazon’s latest body price=$530 after rebate. Not bad for a camera with shake control, self cleaning ccd’s and the build-quality of a $1,500 Nikon.

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