Pentax SMC DA 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR Lens

Overall, this is a capable, compact and comfortable-to-use lens that has the capability to overcome a range of different challenges, both photographic and meteorological.

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  Fuss-free operation

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  Distortion at extreme focal lengths

Since the DA 18-135mm lens it arrived in the hands of Pentaxians, the 7.5x all-in-one zoom has amassed quite the following. As of the publication of this review, there are 82 user reviews that amount to an average rating of 8.52 out of 10.

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  Weather Sealed and overall excellent build quality, Excellent kit lens for beginners as well as "foul weather standard zoom" for advanced users, Highly accurate, fast, and silent DC autofocus, Maintains faster aperture across entire range as compared to similarly sized 18-55mm kit lens, Great...

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  Corners are terribly soft and lacking in contrast, especially at wider angles due to high distortion, Distortion at wider angles can be problematic, particularly indoors, Narrow focus ring and focus ring placement makes manual focusing cumbersome, Lack of focus distance scale, Vignetting is very...

With the widest zoom range of any current Pentax lens (7.5X), the new 18–135mm f/3.5–5.6 ($500, street) is the closest it has today to an all-in-one zoom. A 27–202.5mm full-frame equivalent, this is also one of the few lenses in its class with a weather-resistant (WR) O-ring on the lensmount.

Weather resistant, compact, sporting the new DC motor and all in a very compact package, this new Pentax lens is very appealing. Braving the English rain, we shall see if its performance lives up to its potential.

The new Pentax 18-135mm lens is a very welcome addition to the Pentax lens lineup, and seems like a natural companion to the K-5 and K-30. It boasts impressive AF performance as well as above-average image quality, and offers a flexible multi-purpose zoom range, which when combined with its...

John Riley reviews the SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC, a weather resistant, compact lens.

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  Superb handling, Weather resistance, Silent DC motor, Close focusing, Quick Shift manual focus, Visually appealing images

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  High distortion levels, High CA levels, Low fine resolution at longer focal lengths, High price

We were quite enthusiastic about the Pentax DA-SMC 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] WR at the time we received it. Regarding the high pricing of the lens we were expecting a very good performance throughout its broad zoom range and all that in a very compact, high quality body.

I held off for a long time before giving this lens a try, due to the poor review on Photozone. I balanced that against good reviews here, a pretty solid Popular Photography review, and many good reviews on Pentax forums.

This lens is my everyday all purpose lens. I take it everywhere. It is fast, quiet and more than adequate for my needs as amateur photographer.