Tech97

★★★★★  Solid lens, good reach, image quality is so-so
Date posted : Sunday, Oct 13 2019

Bought this to replace my kit 50-200.Pros:- Weather sealed- Good reach length- Weather SealedCons:- Image quality is just okay, barely a step up from the 50-200 if it is- Focus huntingOverall this is a step up in terms of length over the 50-200 kit lens, but I'm not sold on it's image quality over the kit lens. I'm going to have to do some comparisons to verify.

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Ryu Tanaka

★★★★★  Good lens
Date posted : Friday, Sep 27 2019

I bought this lens for a trip on the Alaska Ferry, replacing my 555-200mm lens. I got a lot of great pictures of whales and beds, as well as scenery. Crisp images, excellent color, and fast auto focus.

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Carim Del Río

★★★★★  I wish it was 18-300mm and it would be perfect. But I guess it will probably be twice ...
Date posted : Wednesday, Jul 31 2019

I wasn't expecting much from this lens. I got it for $190 from discovery japan warehouse. I have the 18-135mm and wanted extra range. This lens feels really solid. It took me a while to get used to the short focal length of 55mm. I'm just so used to the 18. I wish it was 18-300mm and it would be perfect. But I guess it will probably be twice as expensive. It's not too heavy but feels solid and balances really well with my k-50. The hood is also really nice, I wish it wasn't so long. The autofocus is slower compared to my 18-135mm and a lot noisier. This is meant to be used outdoors so not too big of an issue. I took this to the zoo and got some great shots (for my amateur standards).Update: I sold the lens when I sold my k-50. But then I chanced upon a k-3 and bought the lens again. It's even better on my k-3.

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J. Dauntless

★★★★★  Excellent quality
Date posted : Tuesday, Jun 11 2019

Excellent, focus and picture quality surpassed what I expected at this price point. I needed it in a dark stadium on a K3-2 and it got the shots I needed.

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Tam Pon

★★★★★  Works great!
Date posted : Tuesday, Apr 16 2019

I bought this lens for its WR feature since moisture is always a factor on the Big Island (Hawaii). I've used it to shoot botanical gardens and ocean scenes. Works great!

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Jordan Belville

★★★★★  Very good, lightweight, sports oriented zoom
Date posted : Thursday, Apr 11 2019

I purchased this for a specific purpose, team sports (my kids school athletic events). It was a good decision.The zoom is very good, effective 82 to 450mm on the Pentax K3 II. It is reasonably sharp, and the f4 to f5.8 range is excellent for daylight long distance (track, soccer, etc). I have yet to have a chance to use it for night time sports. Since they play in a small school league, the average football game is lit by what feels like 2 150 watt light bulbs at opposite ends of a 100 yard black tunnel. I look forward to seeing what this lens will do.The lens is not as sharp as I would like, it feels ever so slightly soft, but I am also investigating the cameras jpg conversion function as well as other functions that may affect apparent sharpness.Focus is fast, and usually precise, but in "burst" mode the camera loses focus on rapidly moving targets (like runners coming towards you). This could be the camera or the lens. For tracking sideways motion with decent depth of field it is not noticable. The brightness and ease of zoom make this a joy to use to find and center on tight action shots.However, as an overall sports lens, not overly expensive, lens for the K3 II it's really a great value. Recommended.

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Mark M

★★★★★  A Great Lens
Date posted : Monday, Apr 1 2019

I bought this for my wife. It is a very good quality lens and shoots very good photos on her Pentax K-30.

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Kindle Customer

★★★★★  Great lens
Date posted : Sunday, Feb 24 2019

I purchased this lens ahead of a recent trip that would take us through the Strait of Gibraltar. Despite the time (1am local time), wind (nearly 40 knot apparent wind on deck), and chop (the ship was swaying 3-4 feet), I managed to get decent pictures of the rock even though it was several miles away.The lens produces beautifully clear images, good focusing mechanism and fast action.

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