Hi,
even though I like primes more than zoom lenses I find a one lens
combination very useful when I travel with a bike or motorbike.
I didn't found the results with my Sigma 28-105 4-5.6 satisfactory
and so this lens was at home all the time. Now Pentax came with
this FA24-90 and I grab the first lens my dealer had :-)
First I was a bit disappointed when I hold this lens in my hands.
For this high price I think the build quality should be better.
In daily work it is OK, not wobbly or so, but it feels cheap to me!
After I got back the first films I saw it a bit different.
Ok I have no chance to compare it to other "good" zooms but the
results are really astonishing.
distortion:
at 24mm little barrel distortion
around 40mm it is neutral
at 90mm little pincushion distortion
The distortion at 24mm is really unbelievable for a zoom lens
with this zoom factor!
vignetting:
at 24mm and wide open there a bit vignetting. Not a smooth darken
from the middle to the edges. It looks more like light blocking from
a filter (I haven't used a filter)
around 40-50mm there seems to be no visible vignetting
at 90mm and wide open there is less and a bit more "smooth"
vignetting than at 24mm.
flare, colors, contrast:
I haven't made special test but this lens seems to be very resistant
to flare and
all the photos have great contrast and "strong" colors, in any case
better than
e.g. my M28 2.8!
sharpness:
another point where I can't believe that this is a 3,75x zoom lens.
Even wide open (at 3.5/4.5) it is sharp ... for a zoom! Not as sharp
as e.g. the FA43 at f4 but sharper than the FA43 at 1.9! As to be
expected up to f8 the sharpness increases a bit.
Im not a big fan of formal tests as they do not say all (anything ?!?)
about a lens.
On vacation I used the MX with FA43 and FA77 and the MZ-5 with
the FA24-90. At a first quick inspection you can't see which
combination was used and that say enough to me :-)
So optical I can only say good things about this lens and it will not
stay at home like my old Sigma 28-105.
Have a nice day
Andreas
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