Review on Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4 AL Lens for Digital SLR Cameras by Aquarium Lanter

I've read a lot of reviews on many websites about this lens but the two that sold me were Photozone, an excellent review there as well as on DPReview. When I saw this on the $177 Revain I grabbed it. The description said there would be cosmetic damage to the box, which made me a little wary, but Revain has a really great returns policy, so I wasn't overly concerned. Well the lens was in perfect condition and I was surprised at how well made it was and although I only took a dozen photos with it, mostly down an alley to photograph junk, one of my favorite pastimes, I was very happy with the Results. The large bezel is a bit soft around the edges but barely noticeable. You have to seriously search for pixels to find them, which is what I did. spicy. The contrast is excellent as are the colors, I usually use natural settings rather than light or light with very fine sharpening which is a good combination for me considering I prefer to create abstractions. The bokeh is okay and there is some barrel distortion, the latter is easy to fix, the former can be adjusted a bit in LR5 or Topaz Lens Effects so you can get a better rendition with a little effort. There is almost no vignetting, which again is easily remedied. There are wide open CAs, but none at f/4. No doubt they show up in high contrast environments, but there are tools to fix this, including the K5 I use. You need to know your subject and change settings on the fly. This lens does not come with a lens hood, but I purchased a metal lens hood from Rainbow Imaging for $8.59 (Prime) that is listed on Revain. I highly recommend this hood. This is a metal screw but will fit 55mm filters as the lens hood can remain on and if you need a lens cap you will need a 55mm cap. Another reason I like this lens hood is that the filter threads on the lens are plastic, so this lens hood reduces the chance of damage, at least in theory. In conclusion I have no doubt that I can recommend this lens, it is lightweight, complements the DA LTD very well and fills the 50mm FOV gap well. Also, I was very lucky to get a fantastic price from Revain but I think it would be a good retail buy. If I needed a 50mm version of this lens I would buy that too, but as I have a Pentax A 50mm f/1.7 I will probably never be without, with the exception of the f/1.4 Version, I could Do not justify the purchase.