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SMC A-Zoom 28-135 F/4

MattMatic
Posted 19/03/2008 - 16:36 Link
Quote:
Is the 24-90 sharper than the Pentax 16-45?

Brute force sharpness - 16-45 just pips the 24-90.
Bokeh and rendition - 24-90 wins.

It will be interesting to see how the new Pentax 17-70 performs in comparison to them both... but that could be a while.

The 24-90 is very sharp and well controlled. It's shorter than the 16-45 which is helpful. It's a tough choice between the two, but lately I've been using the 24-90 more and more
(Especially since I compare the 31 Limited against the 24-90... and the 24-90 stood up extremely well indeed at f/8-ish Don't knock the 24-90 - it really is a gem, even if the mechanical construction could've been better.)

Matt
http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)
johnriley
Posted 19/03/2008 - 16:44 Link
I wouldn't dream of knocking the 24-90mm as it's a great lens. Unfortunately a little long for me (I prefer the wider 16-45mm) and a variable aperture (again the 16-45mm is constant f4 which is useful).

I have a 24-90mm in pristine condition, hardly used, and I'm toying with selling it, but I always chicken out. If I decide to sell I'll offer it here first.
Best regards, John
MattMatic
Posted 19/03/2008 - 16:57 Link
Quote:
I'm toying with selling it, but I always chicken out.

LOL! I did that for nearly a year... until I compared against a 31 Ltd - here - and was astonished at the small difference (at least in this very limited test). Certainly saved me several hundred quid (although the 31 is incredibly made). Since then my regard for it has grown and it's been on the camera almost 100%. Related to this, I took the 16-45 on holiday last year and didn't get anything that really "bit me"... this year the 12-24 & 24-90 are coming
Matt
http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)
Reuben0
Posted 19/03/2008 - 17:31 Link
MattMatic wrote:
Quote:
Is the 24-90 sharper than the Pentax 16-45?

Brute force sharpness - 16-45 just pips the 24-90.
Bokeh and rendition - 24-90 wins.

I agree with this 100% on the K10D

I recently did the comparison again on the K20D (and also compared the 16-50). The 24-90 displayed quite a lot of red-cyan CA which I never really saw on the K10D and I'd have to give the verdict to the 16-45 (the 16-50 was slightly better than both of them though )

R
Donut
Posted 31/03/2008 - 22:28 Link
Unfortunately the 24-90 is out of my price range. Anyone compared it to the Sigma 17-70 or Pentax 28-105? These are my current favoured options.
Cheers
Donut
George Lazarette
Posted 31/03/2008 - 23:02 Link
Flink wrote:
Hi!

I cannot stress enough just how powerful the 24-90 is.
Flink

But of course you do have an especially good example!

G
Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.

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