Pentax SMCP-DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited Wide Angle Auto Focus Lens

2022-04-16T16:33:01

Love the rendition of this lens. Top quality glass and the lens has an old school feel when you hold it. Focuses quickly and accurately. Very happy with my purchase. Once again Adorama was fast and packed it well.

DENNIS S.

2021-11-01T10:49:04

The Pentax SMCP-DA 35mm f/2.8 HD Macro Limited Lens is a great lens! It allows me to take extreme closeup's of flowers and insects that are in my small flower garden. The photo captioned "A Bumble gathering nectar" was entered in the 2021 Smithsonian Magazine Annual photo contest and it has received an editors pick selection.

John A.

2019-11-06T07:48:47

I added this lens to my K70 kit because I really enjoy macro photography. All of the reviews I’d read said this is a good lens and my experience confirms that. It’s easy to get many “keepers” with this lens. Not only is the subject sharp the bokeh is excellent as well. If Pentax made a long telephoto lens, say a 70-300 mm, in the “Limited” series I’d definitely get one. I like using a 35mm focal length for landscape photography and this “macro” lens works great with this application also. So, one lens with multiple uses.

Robert L.

2018-10-25T14:01:21

Excellent macro lens!!!

Graham B.

2017-06-23T09:24:47

I purchased the silver because it is very similar in size and shape to my Pentax 50mm prime lens and different colors makes it easy to grab the right one. The bokeh is outstanding and the images are tack sharp

Charlie C.

2015-04-04T21:00:00

Put this lens on and just "Cruise"A great wide-angle lens & a perfect Macro. The A/F is right-on & the sharpness is all you want. Your first grip on this lens lets you know that you just made a great purchase. Of 14 pentax lenses I own, I put this lens in first place, even ahead of my 77mm gem. There are NO THINGS that aren't so great, Period!!

ROBERT M.

2013-04-03T21:00:00

I would definitely recommend this lens for someone who just wants a quick lens to take pictures with in almost any situation. I probably almost always has this on my camera by default. It takes masterful pictures, crisp, clean, clear, colorful. It really is a versatile lens that would be a great addition to anyone's collection.

FARAZ Q.

2012-12-16T19:00:00

I just switched to Pentax (K5 II) and mostly photograph landscapes, city-scapes, church events and a little macro with flowers. I was wanting a sharp, fast lens for landscapes, buildings, people in buildings and a little macro use with flowers if needed. This lens will work for all of the above for me. I find it easy to focus, sharp, retains good colors, and very sharp. It can also be used for one to one macro, but for bugs the minimum focus distance is very close so you need good light. For flowers it's pretty good, but still can block light. I don't shoot a lot of macro, so that is down the list of importance for me. I highly recommend this lens, it is very sharp. I gave it four starts because of real macro use the lens has to be very close to the subject.

WILBURN E.

2012-04-21T21:00:00

This lens is so much fun, the focus distance is ridiculous! You can get right up to the subject, even sometimes touch it with the lens filter and still be in focus. I only use this in manual focus mode.

M O.

2012-02-21T19:00:00

I lifted the title of this review ("An Optical Paragon") from a review of the same lens by Michael Johnston (The Online Photographer), and I wholeheartedly agree with him. Not only is the Pentax 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited extremely well designed and built (very compact, all metal body, quick-shift focus clutch, built-in retractable metal hood, etc.) the optics inside it are simply awe-inspiring. Like most "true Macro" lenses (1:1 reproduction), this lens has a flat, undistorted field-of-view and incredible edge-to-edge sharpness from wide-open to f/22 (very little falloff from diffraction). How this is accomplished is a mystery, but I'll take it! Beyond the obvious technical details, the lens is also a comfortable "normal" focal length on an APS-C sensor camera (1.5x crop from 35mm, which all current Pentax DSLRs are at this time). This means it is a great lens to just put on the camera and walk around with, whether taking snapshots of family, or traveling light in the city or country. As a Macro, there is almost no instance where the minimum focus distance will be a limit; it can be practically pushed up against a flower or bug and still AF reliably. The only downside, if any, is that as a Macro lens it has a very long "focus throw" which means it can take a while to switch from focus on a very close object to way in the distance, and there is no focus-limiter built in. In practice, this is seldom a problem as the lens is very light and easy for the camera motor (screwdrive) to move about, so it is decently quick to refocus. The final word on this lens is that Mr. Johnston was right about more than just the optical qualities of the lens. I'm a skeptic and very honest about the faults or weaknesses of my gear. This lens, however, deserves the 5-star rating because it is not only so technically accomplished and such a pleasure to use, but also that it really produces "special" images with that lovely, smooth "Macro bokeh," and has a warm, detailed rendering that is perfect for living things (plant or animal). It is also very flare resistant and really brings out micro-details even in the shadows with a good camera sensor behind it (K20D, K-7, K-5, K-01, etc.). The only thing I can say in caution to a buyer is that you should know going in that this is a "normal" lens at 35mm, and not a "wide-angle" as the name suggests. It is also (obviously) not a zoom, so you will have to move yourself back and forth to frame things, but this is part of the pleasure of prime lenses for me (getting me physically involved in composing my image), and for some it might be frustrating... but then they wouldn't be reading this review, would they?

MARK B.

2011-08-02T21:00:00

I bought this lens since I needed an actual 'normal' lens to compliment my Pentax a 50mm 1.7. The 35mm macro is now my most used lens. The autofocus is slow (due to the macro), so catching fast action shots is not this lens' strength. But the color and dazzling sharpness more than make up for it. Does well on my Pentax K-x handheld, but excels when mounted on a tripod. The lens cap is a little to nice to use, considering that it seems to hold on via sheer will.

DEL G.

2010-05-18T21:00:00

I am a photography student and whenever I turn in my assignments everyone wants to know what kind of lens I'm using. It took me a while to get used to it but now I can't put it down, I do a lot of abstract photography and this lens is perfect for it.

E

2010-01-11T19:00:00

Lightweight and great resolution. Cos it is macro it can hunt on auto-focus

SE

2009-05-03T21:00:00

This lens is fantastic. It's razor sharp above f5.6, and not at all soft below that. The lens has a nice heft to it. All metal, and smooth as butter. The manual focus ring is nice and wide, and not having to switch between manual and auto is terrific. Not much can be said about Pentax Limiteds that hasn't already been said. They're just really, really nice glass.

Damian S.

2008-07-04T21:00:00

A twenty-five year Nikkor user and I beleive this Pentax Limited lens is perhaps the best lens I have ever owned. It’s sharp across the entire image with dreamy bokeh.

stephen_woolverton