DA 18-135 WR

Have read a lot of differing opinions on this, so time to try it out for myself.

Davex.

Well done - let us know how it goes?

Mine arrived this morning (£399 from Park Cameras, new but without box - from a K5 kit). I hope to post feedback and samples soon.

Regards

John

Factoid A: A bunch of us (English types) have just invested in this WR lens

Factoid B: Medium term weather forecast for England is now a dry 'Indian Summer'.

Coincidence :

This English type bought hers on a hot, sunny day in April.

It didn't get much use during the summer though, and I may yet sell it, even though I am generally pretty happy with it. Funds are tight and getting tighter and it is an extra for me.

Although I have the DA18-135 WR I have never used it in the rain. It is not that I worry about the camera getting wet but I prefer to keep dry myself. The only time I found the WR really useful was on a windy day when I was trying to photograph a fountain.

Actually it is my current favourite general purpose lens due to its modest size, weight and fast accurate focusing. My pictures seem sharp enough and the reported softness at the borders and vignetting does not seem particularly noticeable in normal use.

Well done, Sir.

Would you mind buying snow shoes, ice axes, sou-westers, heavy fleeces, 4x4 vehicles, a couple of St Bernards, and about 1000 tons of coal.

That should guarantee a mild winter.

G

Buy some skates - you may need them to get off your boat

I've already bought the snow boots, thermals and fleeces and since the WR lens didn't help with the summer maybe we'll have record snow fall to go with the record wet summer.

It is a nice lens, ignore the measurebators. Does exactly what is says on the tin, good all weather walk around lens with fast AF and nice bokeh.

Had to hand mine to my wife as the price for getting a K-5. I may need a second one.

I have to say, my recent thread on my experiences with the 18-135 will be my last such, given the lack of interest, and suggestions like this.

When helpful information such as "nice lens" is preferred to a fairly time-consuming exercise in photographing, cropping, uploading and commenting, in order to give hopefully at least a reasonably objective view, and all the while taking great pains to try and find a balance between ultimate pixel-peeping and real-world examples, the incentive to repeat the exercise does dwindle a little.

Chris,

I thought your pictures were very useful, much more so than reading lots of technical details (which I assume is what's meant by 'measurebating'). However they (and others I've seen) do put me off it somewhat, v. my current zooms - if I want something to take the place of both the 16-45 and 24-90, it will probably be the 17-70.

Regards,
Stan

I found your set of photos illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of the DA18-135 very useful. link

I think Tyr's point was that the lens has had some rather damning reviews due to measurable deficiencis such as vignetting and softness at the borders etc., but that in normal day to day useage it is a very nice lens in size, weight and rapid, silent focus which are less easily scored attributes.

Chris, don't underestimate the number of silent viewers who are watching and learning. Your pictures may have been more useful to more people than you realise.

I looked and learned

Chris- I read your post on the 18-135 and i found it useful. I have no problem with the folks who like the lens.

Your images make me think that the lens falls a little short in the IQ department- I know all reviews are subjective, however every review from JRs to yours to the various magazines have commented that the lens could be better in terms of IQ. The disappointing thing is that other marques appear to have better IQ from lenses that go past 200mm at the long end.

Its a lot of money for an average performer- granted it is small, handles well and focuses fast, but for me that doesn't reveal itself in the final image. Border performance is important for lots of photography and you have shown this lens isn't the best here.

It is very good info for a potential buyer.