Pentax 50-200

This Pentax 50-200 lens is the old kit lens that is often sold as a package with a Pentax DSLR camera. You can get the best price from Amazon. Adorama also have it in stock.

The new variant has the Weather Sealing feature with slightly better optics.

This glass is made for people who occasionally need the extra zoom when they are using the kit Pentax 18-55 lens. And as such, one should not expect good quality image from it.

Unfortunately, I found this glass to be worse than any equivalent Canon or Nikon kit lenses (the 55-250 and 55-200 respectively).

If you are looking for a much better quality glass, you should look instead at my review of the Pentax 50-135 lens.

If you are still curious about this Pentax 50-200, read the complete review below.

Pentax 50-200 Specs

Back to: Menu • Introduction

Official Name:
Pentax SMC DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED

Focal Length Markings:
50, 80, 100, 135, 200mm

Features:
SMC – Super Multi Coating – Minimizes flare in the pictures.

DA – Only compatible with cropped sensor DSLR camera.

ED – Extra Low Dispersion Glass – Technology to make the image sharper by correcting the light wavelength that travels through the elements.

Full Technical Specs

Technical Specifications
Groups / Elements	10 / 11
Angle of View	31.5 – 8.1°
Number of Blade Diaphragm	6
Minimum Aperture	f/22-32
Minimum Focusing Distance	43.2in.
Filter Thread	52mm
Weight	9.2oz.
Dimension (Diameter x Length)	ø2.6 x 3.1″ (66.5 x 78.5mm)
Macro Magnification Ratio	0.24X
Available at	Amazon, Adorama

Optical Performance

Back to: Menu • Introduction

Pentax 50-200 Sharpness

At 50mm, center sharpness is great at any aperture. At 100mm and 200mm, the center sharpness is weak at the widest aperture of f/5.6.

Border is very weak at any focal length and aperture here.

To get the maximum sharpness, you need to shoot at f/8.

Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor

Center Sharpness

Focal Length / Aperture	f/4	f/5.6	f/8	f/11
50mm	Great	Great	Excellent	Great
100mm	n/a	Good	Great	Great
200mm	n/a	Good	Great	Great

Border Sharpness

Focal Length / Aperture	f/4	f/5.6	f/8	f/11
50mm	Fair	Fair	Good	Good
100mm	n/a	Good	Good	Great
200mm	n/a	Fair	Good	Fair

Distortion

There is a slight distortion on 50mm but it can be ignored. At 100mm and 200mm, the distortion will become a mild pincushion distortion but again, they are not to the extreme degree.

I would say that the distortion control here is average.

See the distortion grid test below to see the test result.

Vignetting

Vignetting control is not a strong point here. You will be able to notice it at every focal length at the widest aperture.

You will need to stop down to f/8 to reduce vignetting significantly.

See the vignetting test result below for each focal length and aperture.

Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration can be considered low here and can be safely ignored at any focal length and apertures.

See the test table result below.

Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High

Chromatic Aberration

Focal Length / Aperture	f/4	f/5.6	f/8	f/11
50mm	Low	Low	Low	Very Low
100mm	n/a	Very Low	Very Low	Negligible
200mm	n/a	Very Low	Very Low	Very Low

Build Quality

Back to: Menu • Introduction

Materials

Plastic with metal mount. Quite decent for a kit lens.

Zoom Ring

Zoom ring operates very smooth. It will extend when zoomed towards the extreme telephoto end of the range.

Focusing

Focusing ring also operates very smooth. The front element of this glass does not rotate so you can use a polarizing filter easily here.

There is no internal autofocusing motor here so it has to rely on the Camera’s screw drive. This will cause the autofocus operation to be a bit noisy.

Thankfully, the speed is quite fast and accurate. There is a Quick Shift Focus system which allows manual focusing to be instantly available once the focus is locked.

Image Stabilization

The Image Stabilization feature is installed in the camera body, not on the lenses. Check your DSLR camera if it has Image Stabilization feature.

Compatibility

The DA designation means that this glass is only compatible with cropped sensor DSLR. It should not be used with a full frame DSLR or 35mm film SLR camera.

Sample Image

Back to: Menu • Introduction

Below are some sample shots that I took using this Pentax 50-200 glass. Click on any thumbnail to open the image.

Get the best price online from these sites: Amazon, Adorama.

Conclusion

Back to: Menu • Introduction

Here I will be summarizing this Pentax 50-200 review.

Drawbacks

• Soft on the center at 100mm and 200mm at the widest aperture
• Soft on the borders at any focal length and apertures
• Visible vignetting at every focal length at the widest apertures
• Moderate autofocus noise

Positives

• Good center sharpness at 50mm
• Decent build quality for a kit lens
• Good chromatic aberration control

Good For

• Kit telephoto lens
• Photographers not willing to spend a lot of money for a telephoto lens but willing to take some sacrifice in image quality

Not So Good For

• Low light, sports or action photography
• Anyone wanting to get sharp pictures from a telephoto lens

What Others Are Saying…

by “Richard Sundmacker”

I was surprised that a low end lens, especially a zoom, could produce such sharp images. I was at one time a serious…
Click here to see the full review

by “Gnarlydad”

The lens pictured does not match the lens described: the green ID ring in the image identifies this as a Pentax DA Lens…
Click here to see the full review

Where to Buy

Support this site, buy the Pentax 50-200 lens from these sites (best price online):

Amazon (Best Price + FREE Shipping)

Adorama

See the related post below to see more options.

• Pentax 50-200
• Pentax 50-135
• Pentax 55-300
• Pentax 60-250

Thanks for reading my complete Pentax 50-200 review and hope you’ll get a lot of value out of this.

Tags: pentax 50 200 lens, pentax 50-200, pentax 50-200mm, pentax 50-200mm lens, pentax 50-200mm review

Help Me Help You

Like this site? Want to keep reading for free? Want to see more good reviews and helpful articles coming? You can help me for FREE!

It's extremely fast and easy. Here's how - Start your online shopping by clicking any of these links: Amazon, B&H Photo Video or Adorama. Those are the sites that I personally use to buy almost everything for years. They are proven to be safe, secure and credible.

How will this help me? When you buy your lenses or anything else from them, I got a tiny fraction of the sales which I will use for paying the maintenance cost of this site. They will also lend me more lenses to review if I hit a certain sales target. The price you pay for any item from those sites is always the same whether you use the above links or not. The only difference when you use the links is that you help me keep this site fresh, alive and FREE for you and for all readers. So, it's a win-win situation for all of us. You, me, everyone.

Please note that I always put you, my readers, as a first priority. Although I sometimes those vendors lend me lenses to review, I am always unbiased in my review. "I will be brutally honest with every review. Don't expect me to always write good stuff about the lens." That's what I told my vendors. And thankfully, they're fine with it.

Finally, you're not planning to shop, but have some extra cash to give out, consider making a small, $5 donation by clicking the "Donate" button below. This can also help paying off the maintenance cost of this site.

I hope to keep serving and helping you with your photography needs.

Many thanks for your support and thank you for reading!

Cheers,
Luke Darma

P.S: Stay in touch with me on Facebook and Twitter (you can add me as a friend):

Luke Darma | Create Your Badge