The HD 55-300 WR is one of the most long-awaited lenses in the K-mount arsenal, answering the cries for a weather sealed version of the highly popular zoom. In just the short time it took for the lens to reach the hands of our shooters until the publication of this review, we've already amassed a...

• +

  Weather Sealed, Excellent second lens for beginners, particularly with either 18-55 WR or 18-135 WR, Good overall image quality, with excellent image quality and sharpness at F8, Maintains relatively fast F4-4.5 aperture until 210mm, Convenient and practical zoom range, Great value, Quick-Shift...

• -

  Screw-driven autofocus not updated to DC motor, Very large focus throw makes it prone to hunting and 'near misses' in AF mode, Corners are extremely soft and lacking in contrast, Highlight bokeh becomes straight-edged very quickly, Point bursts (starbursts) are very unattractive until closed down...

This 5.5x zoom lens provides an angle of view equivalent to an 84.5-460mm telephoto lens on a 35mm format camera, when mounted on a Pentax Digital SLR. It sports the latest HD lens coatings that promise to help suppress flare and improve light transmission.

Overall, this lens is a competent performer, capable of decent sharpness when used within its limits. The weather sealing and HD coating are also a welcome addition, especially as the price has been kept reasonable.

• +

  Good sharpness in the centre throughout the zoom range, Good build, Weather resistant construction, Reasonably priced

• -

  CA levels a little high at 300mm, Drop off in sharpness towards the edges of the frame as the lens is zoomed in

Below you will find sample photos taken with the Pentax 55-300mm and Pentax K-x . All images are unedited. Click on an image to enlarge it, and then use your mouse scroll wheel to cycle through the gallery.

Some users will say that the autofocus of this lense is slow, some will complain about it not being silent, etc...Well, for me personally, this is not a big deal. Fast action shooters may require faster AF but this is not a strongest side of it.

I hate to write this review. I had decent hopes for this lens, and it failed to deliver. I was not expecting performance on par with my DA* 50-135, but I was expecting decent performance.

• +

  Zoom Range, WR

• -

  Focusing, Sharpness, Performance

I purchased this for a specific purpose, team sports (my kids school athletic events). It was a good decision. The zoom is very good, effective 82 to 450mm on the Pentax K3 II. It is reasonably sharp, and the f4 to f5.8 range is excellent for daylight long distance (track, soccer, etc).

The lense works very well. I previously tried 3 Pentax 60-250 lenses. All focused slowly and had blurry images. This one focuses near perfectly and can produce nice photos. The focus isn't super fast, but perfectly usable. Bokeh isn't as nice as the 60-250, but it is pleasant.

Walking around outside type lens, plus boating, caravanning, four wheel driving, maybe biking. Not so much indoors. Trusty weapon.

• +

  Light, good range, quite sharp, nearly point and shoot

• -

  Screw AF thing

Good choice.I am very pleased.

I travel quite a bit, so this lens eliminates having to change lenses so much. Just the thought of not having to go through my lenses when packing my bag and trying to choose which lenses to leave behind is a a help.

Lense has exceeded expectations both in focal length for pics and autofocus speed. Sharp pictures even on the edges. Gladly give up all of the lense coatings on the more expensive model to get the weather resistance. Worth every penny as the standard use lense in my kit.

cause a lens to focus, and it is clear that this lens reaches focus faster with newer bodies. The means of getting to focus, under command of the camera, happens to be a very reliable, albeit audible, mechanical linkage.

• +

  sharp, light, cheap, reliable

• -

  is not 55-300 f1.2

I haven't used it much, but it appears to have all of the quality that I expected.