Pentax DA 50200mm f/45.6 ED Lens for Pentax

Must Buy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens for Pentax DSLRs. It’s sharp and produces nice images. It’s a good price and definitely produces better results than the Sigma 55-200mm–sharper and lighter.

Great compact telephoto lens to pair with the DA 18-55 kit lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The DA lenses are optimised for the APS-C sized sensor on Pentax DSLR’s and as such will not work on 35mm film. The smaller size however has enabled Pentax to dramatically reduce size while preserving the quality optics. It’s unbelievable just how compact this zoom is – when its fully retracted it’s about 1cm (half an inch) taller than the kit lens, that’s it!

The zoom and focus rings are very smooth, more so than the DA 18-55 which most Pentax DSLR owners will be familiar with. I haven’t observed any zoom creep when carrying the lens – something typical of bigger budget telephoto lenses. I would much rather have this more compact lens over one of the 70-300 zooms from Pentax/Sigma/Tamron not only for its comppact size, but also because the 50-70mm range is one that I use a lot. On the other hand, 200mm is not quite enough reach for birding or wildlife enthusiasts.

After about half a year of use, I am still really happy with my purchase. If you own a Pentax digital SLR, this lens would be a great addition to your bag. If top-notch image quality is very important to you, you might want to wait for the upcoming Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 lens – but the fast aperture comes at a price (both monetary and weight) and with the clean high-ISO ability of the current cameras, it is no longer something that is absolutely required.

Excellent “kit” tele-zoom, complementing the standard zoom lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The Pentax K10D SLDR is a superstar in the competitive under-one-thousand camera market, giving the much higher-priced Nikon D-80 a stiff run for the money. The Pentax (and Sony Alpha) camera-body-based anti-shake construction allows for lower cost lenses than Canon or Nikon [where the anti-shake function is built into each lens you purchase]. Hence the production cost of Pentax (and Sony/K-M) supplementary lenses is much lower for the quality received. As the K10D standard kit lens is an 18-55mm zoom [26 to 82 mm in 35mm equivalents], the 50-200mm tele-zoom [75 to 300 mm in 35mm equivalents] nicely extends the standard lens range, bringing your lens power into the portrait and medium tele category … perfect for most hobbyists.

The f5.6 aperture when fully zoomed transmits adequate light for autofocus to function well [unlike the f6.3 limit in some other kit zooms]; the one caveat being that very fast sport and action shots may encounter modest focus delay. The construction quality was noted ‘best of the kit lens group’ by PopPhoto, with minimal (basically invisible) distortion at either end. This is about as good as it gets in the one hundred-buck field; sure you can buy bigger and faster zooms, but you’ll also carry more weight (and fewer coins). Highly recommended.

pentax telephoto
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I haven’t had adequate time to use product to give it a proper review. I have used it a couple of times and it works as expected. I believe for the price it was a excellent purchase and would recommend it to anybody interested in a telephoto. Shop and compare and I believe you will agree.

Nice Light, Good Quality Lens – Recommended!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The “Pentax DA 50-200mm” lens has performed very well on my K100D. When carried with the 18-55mm lens Pentax includes in the K100D/K200D bundles, I have a fairly good range covered.

The lens is very well made, compact, and very light. The quality of the images is simply fantastic.

It is also very affordable!

Highly recommended!

Manual Focus “Glitch”
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just recently purchased the Pentax K10D which included the 50-200mm Pentax lens. I decided to get familiar with the new equipment by taking pictures at an airshow. I knew that most of the aerial shots would require manual focusing (set to infinity for distances of over 500-1,000 ft) which seemed to work well with the lens and camera. The only problem I noted was that in manual focus mode, the focus ring moved too easily so that when you change the zoom you could also alter the focus. When I later looked at the hundreds of manual focus shots I took, I was disappointed to find that many were somehow slightly out of focus, enough so to ruin otherwise great shots. What I discovered was that the infinity setting for sharp focus at distance was not at the hard focus stop of the ring (at the infinity indicator) but about two or three millimeters back. That slight difference in focus ring positioning can make or break a great shot, but it is difficult to detect the off-focus in the viewfinder in fast-action shooting. Normal camera handling in shooting situations like an airshow can cause the ring to drift off-focus too easily. Maybe this is normal for an autofocus lens (my old manual lenses have a much tighter focus movement), but it does not make sense for hands-on shooting since that last degree or two of lens focusing movement is good for nothing other than wrecking a shot – it doesn’t appear to provide for a special “ultra-distance” focus. Perhaps this issue is isolated to this lens unit only. Otherwise, when auto focus works on this lens, it works quite well, fast and smooth. I still don’t understand why an auto focus system can’t be programmed to default to infinity when a focus lock can’t be achieved (such as an airplane up in the sky). Aside from the issue I mention, the lens appears to be good for decent images with little purple fringing evident in the long range of the lens (a serious problem with the Canon S3). While this lens is quite usable overall, I’ve found that it still leaves you in need of greater wide angle performance, requiring that you carry two lenses at all times, like the Pentax 18-55mm. I’ll be looking next for a faster mid-range lens for optimal low-light, non-flash shooting.

Exciting Lens from Pentax
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I found this lens to be of very high quality. Small, light, and well built. Love the fast focus capabilities and the quick shift focus that takes you to manual from auto with just a twist of the focus ring. Color and contrast are good. Great lens for the price I paid on Amazon. I’ve had tons of fun with this versatile Pentax lens on my *ist DS. I highly recommend this lens to all digital *ist owners. Thank you Amazon for the great price and next day delivery. Another satisfied Pentax and Amazon customer.

Pentax DA 50-200mm
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I find this lens to be very easy to use along with the camera. Pentax has been my choice of camera, flashes and lenses since my first SLR camera.

Very good lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The lens is quite small and has a very useful range (50-200 , 75-300 35mm equivalent). When hicking, it is a perfect ‘walk around’ lens (no need to change lens).

Image quality is good (search for K100D and look at some pictures taken with this lens).

The only negative is some ‘hunting’ in auto focus under low light.

Help
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have a Pentax istD and am thinking about purchasing the DA 50-200 Lens.

A lot of the reviews mention it being paired with the K10, does this do

well with the istD’s? Help.

LIght and Simple
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a nice lens for the money especially if you need is smaller and lighter as a priority. Backpacking, wildlife on the run, sports, anywhere that you might carry the camera for a long time, you will like the weight and flexibility of the lens. We use it on a K10d an produce some great results.

Only issue is that you may develop some edge distortion depending on the focal range and setting, and at 52mm it does suffer a bit in low light conditions. Overall – it works for great for the price!

Like a charm!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I had recently bought a new Pentax DSLR camera to replace my old film-type Pentax SLR. I stuck with Pentax because my old lenses would still be compatable. Yes, and no. In no time, I convinced myself that, to fully utilize capabilities the new camera, I’d need an auto-focus lens. Smart move on my part. I couldn’t be happier with the pictures I’m getting!

Used for over 2 years
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve used this lens as one of my 2 main lenses for over 2 years – great image quality and quick AF. Only drawback is it’s not an f2.8 lens.

Cheap zoom
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
If you want a cheap (low price) zoom then this is what you want. Its not very sharp at full zoom so that is something to keep in mind if you are thinking about purchasing this lens. Mine did not come with the lens hood.

Great lens, great picture quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a professional or very serious photographer, but I CAN see the difference in image quality between this lens and the kit lens (18-55mm); this lens produces much cleaner and vivid pictures. The max zoom works great with my K10D’s Shake Reduction feature and it’s not much bigger than my 18-55mm lens (unzoomed, of course). If you want a great lens at a great price, then this is the lens for you!

Zoom Superstar
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This little guy does a great job- super sharp, fast focusing (on the K10D), and rather small. Fully zoomed out it is the same size as any of the 70-300′s when they’re not zoomed out. Makes a great addition to the kit lens. Sometimes the focus will ‘hunt’ with this lens when used in low-light situations at the longer lengths, but that’s due to it’s small max aperture of 5.6 at the long end. Get one- you won’t be disappointed.

Another Great Lens from Pentax
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens for my fiance for Christmas (and of course I had to test it out first once he opened it) and I love this lens. For the mm range it’s very compact and easy to lug around with the camera. It’s quality built and has the standard 52mm size (which is great since his old filters are 52mm). Takes great pictures both indoor and out (although you aren’t going to get the good wide angle shots you would with less mm). Would recommend this as a great starter telephoto. You can’t beat the price/quality of this lens.

Its a zoom lens.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
what else is there to say? it works pretty fast witn the K100D autofocus system and when using manually it is pretty smooth on both zoom and focus rings.

As for photos, with SLRs what you see is what you get and I havent noticed any obscurities in the lens glass at all.

comes with a front and back cap. I wish it came with a soft felt bag though.

Fine telephoto
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Small, lighweight and sharp as a tack. This is a fine zooom lens for Pentax digital SLRs. Matched with the standard kit that comes with most Pentax digital SLRs and you have a smooth range of focal lengths from about 27mm to 300mm (35mm film equivalent). What else can I say? I carry it with me all the time.

The other kit lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As a lot of people have said, this is a great addition to the 18-55 kit lens. If your looking for your preferred range this lens will help you find it and will act a a great walk around lens in many situations.

Build quality is similar to that of the 18-55 kit, feels mostly solid except when at the longer end, at which point the inside extends out. The barrel? becomes skinnier, a bit shaky and looks cheapish.

But, it takes great shots. Good color, good speed, quite sharp. In fact I’d say it is consistently sharper than the 18-55 kit lens.

Overall I would suggest getting this if you are unsure about how much you want to spend on longer glass or if you are on a budget.

Excellent value – high image quality for a reasonable price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Pentax DA 50-200 lens is inexpensive but a reasonably good performer. When combined with a Pentax body such as the K10D that offers in-body image stabilization, the main limitation in obtaining good images is not the camera or lens but the photographer’s imagination. Unless you are a professional photographer specializing in sports, this lens would be more than adequate, especially if you are looking for a good travel lens to complement the 16-45 or the 18-55 lenses.

PROS: Very lightweight lens with adequate zoom range. Good image quality. Focuses as fast as most other Pentax lenses in bright light.

CONS: f5.6 is rather limiting if you plan to photograph sporting events in twilight or artificial lighting. The depth of field at 5.6 is rather wide. Due to the f5.6, you may be forced to use higher ISO with resulting higher noise. You really should not plan on combining this lens with a teleconverter.

Nice, small tele-zoom
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This 50-200 is the best in its class for any Pentax digital SLR. It’s very small, light weight, internal focusing, and allows on demand manual focusing. If you haven’t purchased your K100D yet, you can probably find this in a two lens kit at a nice little discount.

The “on demand” manual focus (also on the kit 18-55), allows you to instantly teak the focus after the autofocus has locked on the subject. This is very handy, as the camera may pick a person’s shoulder rather than eyes on which to focus, etc. A very effecient lens hood is also included.

If you already have one of the digital SLR Pentax cameras, and if size is not critical, you might consider a long focal length lens. Pentax doesn’t really have a good option (as of this writing); therefore, I’d recommend the Tamron 70-300 LD Di zoom. It’ll give you 50% more range, a 1:2 lifesize close-up mode, and a 6 year USA warranty (vs. 1 year from Pentax). This brand new design features Low-Dispersion glass and is designed to work better than previous designs with digital sensors.

A worthy beginner’s telephoto lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Like its smaller companion, the DA 18-55, this is a good, basic, serviceable lens. It’s ability to pull in close people and other subjects at the 10 to 20 foot range is very acceptable. My lens does go a bit soft at full 200mm extension, and it has a similar ‘looseness’ that the 18-55 has. But its light weight and general utility make it a great companion, and a combo of *ist DL/DS (or K100/110D), the 18-55, and this lens is a handy and lightweight set that encourages you to take them with you more often.

Pentax DA 50-200 Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent quality lens. Have used for approx. 150 shots thus far with no problems/complaints.Pictures have been clear and crisp. This lens is an excellent addition to the kit lens provided with the purchase of Pentax K10D and Pentax K100D. Purchased this lens for a great price through Amazon.com.

50-200 good choice.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The Pentax DA 50-200 is one of the digital generation of lens dedicated to the family of digital cameras. It is not suitable for the film based 35mm cameras. It is physically small and light enough not to over balance your camera. The cost is reasonable, and the performance is excellent.

However, if the latest and greatest is all you want, Pentax has announced a DA* series lens similar to this one with a slightly longer focal length (60-250) with supersonic focusing (focusing motor in the lens) which will be available by the end of 2007. Of course if you have the now discontinued K100D body the new lens will not work in supersonic mode, but if you have a K10D or buy a new K100D Super model, this coming but not yet available lens might be an upscale choice.

For now though this is a good choice for all the ist digials and the k100d.

Amazing quality for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Having just entered the modern era of digital SLR’s I’m completely pleased with the quality, convenience and design of this lens. I had taken some air show and portrait shots but I felt the real test came at the inaugural IRL road course race at Infineon Raceway this summer. The lens behaved without flaw both in and out of the sun as I panned through turns three, four and five. A must have for any *ist owner.

Great lens for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you have the 18-55mm kit lens, then you’ll find that the 50-200mm feels just about the same. This lens is slightly heavier and slightly longer than the 18-55mm, but still very easy to handle. I uploaded two images to the user gallery above, showing the 18-55mm next to the 50-200mm.

Most people seem to decide between this lens or the Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6, which is similarly priced. After doing a lot of research, I decided on the Pentax 50-200mm because of its compact size and much lighter weight. Although I haven’t used the Tamron lens myself, the specifications show that it is longer and twice as heavy as the Pentax.

Another thing to consider is that the Tamron AF70-300mm has a 62mm filter diameter, while the Pentax DA 50-200mm and DA 18-55mm share the same 52mm filter diameter. If you already own the 18-55mm kit lens, you’ll be able to use any filters that you already have on the 50-200mm. In my experience, larger filters also cost a bit more, so sticking with 52mm filters would mean cheaper filters that you can also share between lenses.

If you’ve never used a telephoto lens like this one (and I hadn’t), then you’ll find that slight movements are really exaggerated when you’re fully zoomed in. Also, at 200mm, the widest aperture setting is f5.6 (smaller f-number means a bigger aperture), which is fine if you’re outdoors and there’s plenty of light, but can make indoor/low light photography a bit difficult. Shake reduction will definitely help, but you’ll probably want a tripod if you’re shooting at 200mm in low light.

Keep in mind that the Pentax DSLRs like the K100D have a 1.5x focal length multiplier. This means that you need to multiply the specified focal lengths of the lenses by 1.5 to get their 35mm SLR equivalent. On a digital SLR, this lens will give you the equivalent of 75-300mm on a regular 35mm SLR camera.

Overall, this is a great lens for the price.

Dream Telephoto Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens work with Pentax digital SLR’s. It’s advantage over the Pentax 35mm SLR lens is it works with the camera to do part of the work, so you can concentrate on the picture. It is light weight and quite clear.

The only draw back is that the F stop is a little slow.

Good Lens for the price
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Nice lens at a reasonable price. The 50 – 200 mm lens becomes a second lens to carry. Would only need single lens with a ~30 – 200 MM lens.

An excellent value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
There is no reason to fool around with aftermarket lenses in this range if you have Pentax digital SLR. The 50-200 complements the kit lens perfectly and the quality is exceptional for the price. Samsung appears to sell the same lens as the Samsung Schneider-Kreuznach D-Xenon 50-200mm f/4-5.6 AF lens.

Popular Photography gave the Samsung version very high marks in their July 2006 review: “Optically, the best digitally-dedicated tele kit zoom that we’ve tested so far….”

Great Value for the Money!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens is a great value for the money. I use this lens for shooting action shots at sporting events and have found it to be a perfect fit, the quality of the pictures are good and I am able to capture good action without having to be too close.

Pentax DA 50-200 mm Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The lens is doing just what I wanted. Will be using it alot more this summer. Love not having to manually adjust the camera. Quickly found I didn’t like using the manual lenses from my old Pentax film camera on the SLR Pentax K200D body I had ordered a couple of months before.

Great Second Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Get the DA 50-200mm lens as your second lens. Highly recommended as a complement to the 18-45mm zoom. It’s small and light enough to carry in your coat pocket. Lets you get in tight on distant subjects. I carried it on vacation for the express purpose of getting those quick shots you never have time to set up. Very easy to change lenses quickly. Fast focus and start up.

Pentax does an good job
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
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Hey, everything works right. The optics look good. I’m not a professional but this Pentax telephoto lens works great with my Pentax K200. I’d recommend this for your Pentax camera.

Pentax DA 50-200mm Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
WOW! This lens is so easy to use and makes good “shots” GREAT PICTURES! I recently bought the Pentax DSLR camera so I’m not really proficient yet, but after using manual focus lenses for years, it’s wonderful to have an auto focus! The ease of “fine tuning” manually with this lens is awesome!

One thing I’ve learned, the hard way, is to match your lens with the camera. Pentax allows the use of Pentax manual lens on their digital cameras. I have 3 lenses that are not Pentax and I can’t use them on my Pentax DSLR camera.

The price for this lens was also perfect. I saved hundreds over buying the most recent lens.

Pentax 50-200mm lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great lens, and with macro it covers all my needs. For the money, you cannot go wrong.

Nice Picture Quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve owned this lens for a couple of months now and have been impressed with the picture quality. Bright colors, especially during the day. I was also impressed w/ the pictures taken during a soccer game. No blur and nice colors.

A must have lense!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am new to SLRs and the kit lense can only get you so far. When i purchased this lense, I couldnt have been happier. The pictures are so clear and beautiful. I spent months trying to figure out what company to go with since there are so many to choose from, and i am very happy i picked the pentax lense for my pentax camera.

Nice lens, works great!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A very nice lens, works great!! I’m very happy with the images I’ve taken with it so far. Lens and K10D together are a little bit bulky, but definitely not unreasonable considering the range of focal lengths and image quality I can get out of this lens.

You can take a sharp picture at F8
Rating:4 out of 5 stars

Pros. Low price, sharp at F8, Light weight, Fast focus. Creamy boke.

Con. Soft at wide open.

This lens is good for fun. You can take lot of beautiful pictures but with some limitation. If you love tele photo, you better have up to 300mm. If you like macro, you should have macro coz this lens can not take picture that is closer than about 3 ft.

Anyway, I like this lens. I can take many beautiful picture using this lens.

You can see some pictures that I took using this lens in my website

[...]

Very Sharp!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am so impressed with Pentax’s DSLR’s and glass, such as this optically excellent lens, that I have sold all my Nikon gear and converted to Pentax.This lens, along with the 18-55, make for a great travel combo. Highly recommended!!

Pentax tele
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am surprised at the quality of the pictures taken with the Pentax 50-200mm lens. I highly recommend this lens to anyone looking for a lens in this range.

Great Lens For The Price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have this lens coupled with a Pentax K10D and although I have not taken a lot of photos with it, it seems to be a great lens. It is actually smaller than the Pentax DA 16-45mm, and very lightweight. The auto focus is responsive and sharp. At this point the only reason for 4 stars is that I haven’t used it enough to give it 5.

Best at this size and price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is certainly not the best telezoom money can buy, not even within the Pentax family. However, you will not find anything approaching at this size and price.

It is barely bigger than the kit lens, that is, very small, especially considering its zoom range.

It is ridiculously cheap for a lens of that type and quality.

Finally the image quality is great for a lens of that type. Check forums, pbase, etc. for pictures taken with that lens ! It’s amazing ! It maybe a bit slow especially at the long end, but thanks to Pentax dslr’s great performance at high iso, and shake reduction in the K100D, even 200mm f/5.6 is not a problem !

Together with the kit 18-55 it is the perfect startup combo. You can then add various primes or more expensive zooms as needed (or lusted) for added speed and quality…

Oh, and at the moment it is in fact the _only_ telezoom you can get new from Pentax !-)

Great lens…small profile
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I own a Pentax K10D that came with the 18-55 mm lens. I was looking for a lens that would allow better zoom. So far it has lived up to my expectations. The compact size is a plus. The profile is nearly identical to the 18-55 mm. Having a small Pentax camera bag, I can manage to fit the camera, two lenses, and all the accessories in to a grab and shoot bag. The lens work fast, feels well constructed and images have been fantastic. Excellent price too.

The Pentax DA 50-200: a very good quality economy lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Very good quality for the money. Not a fast lens but satisfactory when the camera can be supported or when light is plentiful. Build quality is also very good and all operations are smooth and precise. Nicely augments the 18-50 Pentax kit lens that came with my dslr. With a tele-converter and a tripod this lens becomes a nice medium-long telephoto. I recommend this for those with a limited bankroll and a willingness to utilize a tripod or a solid rock when in the quest for crisp photographic results.

You will enjoy this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Just enough to get a little closer to your subject: eagle’s beak or neighbor’s nose…this lens will help you stay out of trouble…easy to use… light, small, sharp and affordable…perfect choice for a traveler with limited space…(motorcycle touring)…logical addition to my reasonably priced k10d…

Excelent lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought it to cover the upper part of the tele-range. So far I’m a happy camper.

pentax K10D camera and pentax DA50-200 mm lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
the pentax DA50-200 mm lens works very well with the K10D pentax camera. Autofocus is seemless, and the lens seems to be made well. Perhaps a longer focal length might have been desirable, but the 12megapixel sensor of the camera, along with image stabilization allows one to obtain very high quality long-distance shots with ease. I am very satisfied with both the camera and lens, and would recommend them.

Good lens, great value
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you need something that reaches out a bit without burning a hole in your wallet go for this lens. Stop it down a bit and you’ll get great pictures. Not recommended for low light.

pentax lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Was hesitant to buy from a new vendor with no reviews. My worries were unfounded. The lens works great and I have used it over the Holidays with excellent results.

The lens was shipped much earlier than listed . which was a wonderful surprise. THIS ITEM WAS PURCHASED THRU AMAZON.

DA 50-200 Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As advertised. The lens works great! It gave me the range I was looking for at a price I could could live with. I would recommend the lens for anyone with a Pentax camera if they were needing the 50-200mm range. I get good sharp clear pictures and the color definition is as good as with the 18-55mm that came with the Pentax ist ds when I purchased it.

Unbeatable at this price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great zoom. The pictures come out sharp. This lens gets plenty of light with my K200D, despite not being rated “fast”.

This is a good complement to the 18-55 kit lens of the Pentax K200D.

You cannot do better for a new lens at this price.

Good Basic Lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Light weight construction and could be better with a 300mm zoom but for the price is a good quality lens. Pictures come out clear and focus is quick.