The little lens that could.
Digital Camera Review has the look at this nice prime lens.As most of my friends know, I have a special place in my heart for prime lenses, and for Pentax. Modern zoom lenses give casual shutterbugs the most flexibility when composing but you will never find a zoom lens with the macro capabilities of the Pentax DA 35mm Macro Limited. The extreme close focusing and ability to isolate your subject with shallow depth of field makes this lens a must have for serious photographers. The 35mm focal length also works well as a general purpose lens, though the huge focus range means it can take a little more time to find correct focus.
In short, the new 35mm Limited is an amazing lens with fabulous edge-to-edge sharpness, amazingly close focus, great bokeh, and exceptional build quality common to the Limited series lenses. Once again, Pentax has delivered a fantastic professional-quality prime lens at a reasonable price.
Pros:
- You can get so close to your subject that the lens touches them
- Excellent contrast
- Amazing bokeh for selective focus
- Great color
- Tack sharp with solid edge definition
Cons:
- Huge focus range means this might not be the best “general purpose” lens
- Hood is great, but sometimes gets in the way for macro photography
If you’d like to see the full review along with test shots, head on over to DCR.
