wavefunc's reviews

  • Pentax 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SMC P-DA

    6 out of 10 points and recommended
    For a kit lens, it has very high build quality and acceptable image quality.
    Too slow (f/3.5 is only at 18mm, immediately dropping to 4.0 at 19). Heavy vignetting and visible barrel distortion at 18mm

    See pros and cons above. It's above average for a kit lens, and hard to beat in terms of value for a $100 3x zoom. Still not great optical quality though.

    reviewed January 9th, 2007 (purchased for $100)
  • Pentax 50mm f/1.4 SMC P-FA

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent image quality, very fast aperture, great bokeh, small and light for the quality
    None that I've noticed, except that it's hard to find it in stock!

    This was my first purchase after the 18-55 kit lens, and I was looking for a sharp lens with a bright aperture for low-light indoors stuff. This has fit those criterea well. Stopped down a couple stops it's about as sharp as you can get, and even wide open it's still not bad at all. The bokeh is very smooth and pleasing too.

    If a 50mm is indeed what you want (it's more of a portrait lens / short telephoto for digital) then you can't go wrong with this lens. Personally, I think I would have made use of a 30mm more, but when I can use a 50, this is ideal.

    reviewed February 4th, 2007 (purchased for $230)
  • Pentax 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED SMC P-DA

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    small and lightweight, very good image quality for the price.

    If you want a low-cost, small, and/or lightweight zoom for this range, then this is the perfect lens. The image quality isn't the greatest, but is as good as one could expect at this price and weight. I got it because I wanted a telephoto zoom that I would be able to take on long hiking trips where weight was an issue, and I was on a tight budget. This lens fit those criteria and I'm very pleased with it overall.

    reviewed August 22nd, 2007 (purchased for $180)