Should I buy the Pentax 18-135mm....???

I like walking. My holidays are usually spent in the Alps mixed with day walks in places such as Snowdonia, the Lake District and Peak District.

I tend to take three lenses with me, a Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 17-70mm and Pentax 55-300mm. All bases covered.

However I rarely use the 55-300mm whilst out walking so thinking that now I'm getting older there's no point it taking room and adding weight to the rucsac. So I've been wondering whether to buy the Pentax 18-135mm to replace the 17-70mm to give me that extra bit of reach in the odd occasions I need it.

My question is, performance wise, how does the Pentax 18-135mm compare to the Sigma 17-70mm? I like the Sigma's performance very much despite in the past it getting the odd negative review. If the Pentax is as good I'll have no worries.

Lab reports on lenses don't really concern me, I'd much rather hear what people who actually use them think. Thank you.

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6th Year Apprentice Pensioner

I find the 18-135 very flexible a great walk around lens and ideal for on the mountains

The image quality is much better though on the 16-85 and to be honest I notice the wide end benefits more than the loss on the tele end.

I also use a Sigma 18-250 which provides at least ad good results as the 18-135 but at almost half the price unfortunately not WR but mine has been caught in a few showers with no ill effect.

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Cheers,

Bruce

The weather resistance will be useful I think, but if you can sacrifice that then the Pentax 18-270mm might serve very well as a single lens. I would carry a fast standard lens as well, maybe the plastic but excellent 50mm f/1.8 or the 35mm f/2.4. This is as a light. compact back up in case of a lens failure and it could be useful if the light fails.

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Best regards, John

Thank you.
I also have a Sigma 18-200mm which I used to use most of the time as my 'walkaround' lens, but after I acquired the Sigma 17-70mm it never got used.

That was until last year when I decided to take it to the Italian Alps. Frankly I was very disappointed with the results when compared to the 17-70mm. Because of this I am shying away from long reach lenses e.g 18-270mm. That was why I hoped a mid reach lens like the 18-135mm would do nicely.

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6th Year Apprentice Pensioner

I use the 18-135mm for most of my general photography, so I'm sure you won't be disappointed with it.

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Best regards, John

I use the 18-135 as my general walkabout lens, and I think that it's a much underrated lens.

Phil

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K-5iiS; K-r; ME Super; ME; DA* 16-50 f2.8; DA 18-135 WR; DA 55-300 WR; HD DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited; FA 50mm f1.4; A50mm f1.7; DAL 18-55mm; M40mm f2.8; + assorted non-Pentax lenses

My Flikr Page link

I'm also interested in people's thoughts on the 18-135. Yesterday I tried my Tamron 18-200 on my recently purchased K3. The difference in quality between images taken with lenses such as the highly regarded 16-45 and 55-300 was quite marked. Something I hadn't noticed so much when used on my K10D. Therefore I am thinking of something else as a walkabout lens.

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Pentax K3 II
DA 55-300
DA 16-45
DAL 50 1.8
Pentax Optio compact
Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR

can't write any more accolades on the 18-145 so the - answer is yes buy it

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Daronl

Hi
I recently traded in my K7, and 18 - 55, 50 - 200 kit lenses ( good deal off SRS ) for a K S2 and the 18 - 135 and certanly don t regreat it, they are a great combination. The 18 - 135 will be a good buy if you want to travel lightly and like me, don t want to carry too much additional lens weight around with you. I have a couple other `special ` lenses, a 50mm Macro and a fast 30mm 1.4, but the 18 - 135 stays on the camera.
Regards
Graham

I love the 18 to 135mm as my standard lens (12 - 24 DA F4 and 300 F4 DA star with tele adapter others currently in bag) I would have liked a bigger maximum aperture mid range and the focusing ring has no stop or distance marks . Very quiet,very dust and water resistant, nice contrast, good flare resistance.

I bought the 18-135 wr with my K3 , very rarely off the camera when out and about

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Malc

The great thing about the 18-135 is its size and lack of weight. You can add it's range, weather resistance and it's silent operation. It is my lens of choice for mountain treks. I now have the 16-85 but than is quite a bit heavier and so the 18-135 still gets lots of use.

It seems to work very well as a landscape lens, although it does like a bit of light.

I have quite a few pictures in my gallery if you want to see why I'm a fan!

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Bob