smc DA 21mmF3.2AL Limited - PENTAXWORLD

Pentax smc DA 21mmF3.2AL Limited

Reviews	Views	Date of last review
2	2854	Mon, 16 February 2009

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
100% of reviewers	None indicated	9.0

Description:	With newly developed, high-performance optics, this new lens measures only one inch (25 millimeters long) and weighs a mere 4.9 ounces (140 grams). Mounted on a PENTAX digital SLR camera body, the lens protrudes very little from the camera's front panel, making it an ideal choice for carry-everywhere, instantaneous snapshot photography. This versatile angle of view produces natural images with a moderate perspective and an expanded depth of field (or a wide in-focus area), making it ideal for many different types of subjects and occasions, including snapshots, landscape, travel photos, and architecture. The DA 21mm incorporates a hybrid aspherical lens in its eighth optical element to effectively compensate for a variety of aberrations, which cause adverse effects on overall image quality. In order to assure high-quality image reproduction over the entire focusing range, it also features a floating mechanism, which is designed to adjust the degree of aberration compensation in relation to the focusing distance.
Keywords:	Prime wide angle
MSRP:	US$480
Weight:	4.9 oz. (140g) without hood; 5.5 oz. (155g) with hood

Author

Review Date: Tue, 29 May 2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	well built and very small
Cons:	alittle overpriced IMO

This lens is great if you like primes. I personally dont care for them (except for the 50mm). I felt very "limited" with this lens. So I sold it for something more useful. It is indeed sharp. For some reason, I kept getting inconsistent exposure when this lens was on my camera, which was also something that made me dislike it. For instance, whenever I tried to take landscape shots, The sky almost always was blown out. Im not sure if it was a problem with my camera, or the lens.. but lets put it this way, I didnt have such a problem with my other lenses.

remnant

Registered: September 2008
Location: Ghent, NY USA
Posts: 10

Review Date: Mon, 16 February 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	small size, rugged build, primo materials, tack sharp images.
Cons:	I'm thinking... what's not to like? Well, maybe the lens hood.

Back in the late '70's I owned a Pentax ME Super and I thereafter soon bought several "M" lenses to go with it (most notably the 28mm F2.8 and the 135mm F3.5). These lenses were given the "M" classification because of their Miniature size. I always loved the optical and mechanical performance of those little wonders. I have now finally found in the 21st Century an equivalent (actually they're even a bit better!) in the Pentax Limited Series. I am now the proud owner of three of that breed: the DA 21mm f3.2, the DA 35mm f2.8 Macro and the DA 70mm f2.4. I love the 21mm- it's perfect for street photography,landscapes, all around "snapshots" and, with it's close focusing, even near macro. It's small in size and light in weight which makes it a joy to carry and it is actually made of real metal! It focuses quite fast with AF and if needed it can be overridden to manual focus without pushing any buttons or moving any levers. While it is in the wide angle family, it is not an ultra wide, so there is little to no distortion to be found. I would highly reccomend this lens (and any member of the Pentax Limited Series, for that matter) to anyone who wishes to push the boundaries of their photographic experience and invest in some superior quality primes. You can see the difference!