Review on Compact and Sharp: Explore the Pentax DA 40mm f/2.8 XS Lens by Olivia Turner

Very good lens, sharp and no framing at all (the framing annoys me so much that I no longer use the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 zoom for this reason) . My K-3 with this lens fits easily in my fanny pack and I don't have to worry about the lens hood when shooting with the built-in flash. The small size of the hole, about the size of a thumbnail, allows you to shoot animals and birds in zoo cages through a hole in the 1x1 inch wires. One downside to the small size is that the lens cap here is a small rubber plug that's easy to lose, so keep an eye on it. Here many reviewers noted that 40mm is a somewhat unusual 'intermediate lens', so the question is what can be shot with 40mm? My answer: children. They are too mobile to fit in the narrow field of view of a 50mm lens and at 21-24mm the distortion is already too much. Therefore, 35-40mm is ideal. I also often use this lens for landscapes. While 27mm polarizing filters are available, I simply shoot through a manual 72mm polarizing filter when needed.