HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm f/4 ED SDM WR Performance

First the resolution figures, and at 70mm central sharpness is very good from f/4 all the way through to f/22, only becoming really affected by diffraction at f/32 which is just fair. The edges are very good from f/4 to f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32.

At 100mm, sharpness centrally is very good from f/4 to f/22 and good at f/32. The edges are very good from f/4 to f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32.

135mm sees the sharpness centrally as very good from f/4 to f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32. The edges are good at f/4 and f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11, good at f/16 and f/22 and fair at f/32.

At 210mm, central sharpness is good at f/4, very good from f/8 to f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32. The edges are fair at f/4, good at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22 and f/32.

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Performance is actually very similar to the f/2.8 version, perhaps just a whisker below in terms of sharpness, but still notable for its evenness from centre to edge and its character. The resolution isn't the highest ever recorded, but it is very good and it retains the indefinable quality that Pentax lenses show in general. That is where the balance of lens properties lies and is part of the lens maker's art, going beyond having just the ability to separate black and white lines on a photographic chart. Very few of us spend our lives shooting test charts.

Pentax HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm f/4 ED SDM WR MTF Charts

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well handled, even with the in-camera corrections switched off. Central CA is extremely low, and although there is some edge fringing it is far less than many other zoom lenses and can be corrected in software if desired.

Pentax HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm f/4 ED SDM WR Chromatic Aberration Charts

Distortion is also very low for a zoom lens, showing -1.18% barrel at 70mm, +0.38% Pincushion at 100mm, +1.11% pincushion at 135mm and +1.57% pincushion at 210mm.

Bokeh, the quality of the out of focus areas, is very smooth and ideal for portraiture or any other application where smooth gradation is wanted in the out of focus areas.

The new Pentax HD coating does its job well and there is virtually no sign of flare even in quite difficult conditions such as strong backlighting.

Vignetting is modest and is not particularly obvious in most images.

Pentax HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm f/4 ED SDM WR Sample Photos

Pentax HD Pentax-D FA 70-210mm f/4 ED SDM WR Aperture range

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