Conclusion - Pros

Conclusion - Cons

• Falloff and distortion at 18mm wideangle
• 'Soft focus' effect at 55mm F5.6 coupled with closer focus distances

Overall conclusion

The SMC DA 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 AL shows Pentax taking a refreshing approach to the kit lens concept, eschewing lightweight plastics and simplified construction in favour of a design which feels well-made and handles more like a real photographic tool than any of its competitors. From the metal lens mount to the proper manual focus ring and excellent lens hood, this 18-55mm exudes an aura of quality which is markedly lacking from other manufacturers’ offerings; and perhaps due to the luxury of not having to include aperture and focus motors or an image stabilisation unit into the lens, Pentax have managed to buck the trend and produce a lens which feels solid and is a joy to use. And it's not just the mechanical construction which is refreshingly different, the optical quality is also very respectable indeed.

Now whether any of this really matters or not to the majority of users is open to debate. I suspect most owners will rarely, if ever, choose to override the camera’s autofocus; and whilst arguably lens hoods should really be used at all times, again most users don’t understand their purpose and probably leave them in the box. But for anyone who cares a little about the craft of photography, Pentax’s approach is certainly to be commended.

Of course this is still a kit lens, and corners have had to be cut to keep cost down. It shows significant falloff at wideangle, and the performance at 55mm also lags behind the rest of the range. But overall it's a pretty good offering for its class, providing new dSLR owners with some very reasonable optics from the word go. It therefore gains our recommendation.

Detail	Rating (out of 10)
Build quality	7.5
Ergonomics & handling	8
Features	7
Image quality	7.5
Value	8

Recommended

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Samples Gallery

There are 15 images in the samples gallery. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don't abuse it.

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Pentax 18-55mm DA Samples Gallery - Posted 28 January 2008