Name: Pentax SMC P-DA 55-300mm F/4-5.8 ED Auto Focus Telephoto Zoom Lens with Hood.
Brand: Pentax
SKU: PX55300AFD
Price: 396.95 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.5 (21 reviews)

Pentax SMC P-DA 55-300mm F/4-5.8 ED Auto Focus Telephoto Zoom Lens with Hood.

Pentax 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED

Pentax

Pentax SMC P-DA 55mm-300mm F/4-5.8 ED AF Lens with Hood #21720

Adorama

Photography

Lenses

SLR Lenses

Pentax SLR Lenses

Pentax 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED 

Top Rated Gear: Pentax SMC P-DA 55-300mm F/4-5.8 ED Auto Focus Telephoto Zoom Lens with Hood. Compatibility: Pentax K-01, Pentax K-3, Pentax K-3 II, Pentax K-30, Pentax K-5 IIs, Pentax K-50, Pentax K-500, Pentax K-70, Pentax K-S1, Pentax K-S2, Pentax KP

&#149; The versatile DA 55-300mm ED zoom lens offers an extreme telephoto zoom range, perfect for those moderate to long shots. ED elements compensate for chromatic aberration, while the Pentax SP coating which protects the exposed lens elements. Developed specifically for Pentax digital SLRs, the DA 55-300mm ED zoom has a focal length equivalent to 82.5mm to 450mm in the 35mm format. 

Very impressed by crispness of image and range of this lens.

Excellent value

The lens is very solidly constructed and functions well. Thus far, I have conducted several "tests" with it, and it appears to do most of what I want it to do. It does appear somewhat limited if the main application is wildlife photography, particularly if the subject is not very large, and far away. On the other hand, the next step up is MUCH more expensive. I'd categorize it as a good general purpose medium to semi-long telephoto lens.  The lens occasionally searches during autofocusing, but I think that is not a problem with the lens, but the particular set of points that my K5 is using for the autofocus.

Very good medium range telephoto lens

First off I purchased the Pentax k-5lls and absolutely love it. I didn't however want to invest a ton in lenses and had planned on purchasing the Sigma 18-250 macro as my walk around lens and then purchase some primes. I decided to also purchase the Pentax DA 55-300 just to compare with the Sigma and verify it was as good as reviews were saying. Well, I will say the Sigma is a very, very good lens, however for my needs the Pentax is the better choice and here is why. First the Sigma is very quick to focus and extremely quiet. The Pentax is also quick to focus, but unlike the Sigma it is very loud when focusing. While both take very sharp pictures for a zoom the Pentax edges out the Sigma when it comes to the amount of noise in images taken in low light, high ISO situations. Also the Sigma images are a bit darker even though I used the same setting for both lenses. The final thing that pushed me to keep the Pentax and return the Sigma is that I noticed when I was taking the pictures the Sigma images were quite a bit smaller at the same focal distance (in this case 250mm). When I compared them later in Photoshop I concluded that the Pentax at 250mm was equivalent to approximately 135-145mm on the Sigma. I don't know why this would be the case, but it was enough to push me to keep the Pentax. 

So, all that to say that I am very happy with the Pentax DA 55-300 and would highly recommend it, along with Adorama.

absolutely love it

After shooting six hundred images, I am in love with this lens. The autofocus is a somewhat noisy screw drive, scary for hummingbirds, but I simply pre-focus and lock and then wait for them to come to the feeder. I am using this lens for wildlife shots and landscapes. I also have the Pentax 18-135 that is a lighter walking around lens, but the 55-300 is not much heavier and is no burden. Bokeh is acceptable, with some spirit circles at 300mm showing up at macro zoom ranges of six to eight feet. I also use this lens for architecture shots in my work. I found the lens good in low light with a tripod and   longer exposure times.

Great Lens for the Price

I had this same lens for a few years until I accidentally dropped it on a rock in the middle of a lens change in Alaska. I thought so much of this lens that I just had to replace it with an identical one. I think that for the value it's a very good lens that any photographer should have in their bag.

I would buy this lens again...I did!

This is rather good glass, considering its price. It's sturdy, relatively light, and gives consistent picture quality throughout entire zoom range. Contrast is good. 4-5.8 of diaphragm number is perfectly adequate for outdoor use. 
Focus ring travel is useful for manual operation -- about 180 degrees of travel (the drawback of this is relatively long time for focus motor to throw the ring from min to max).
My lens had a pronounced back-focus at 55-100 mm focal length so I'd sent it to Adorama for replacement (hurray Adorama for easy returns!).
Bottomline: this is a nice lens to have in your travel case.

Nice lens for it's price

Love the lens

I don't need 3 lenses any more.  That is great!  It is really sharp and easy to use.

I like it, I REALLY LIKE IT!

I took this lens to a Safari and I have to say that it served its purpose. I wanted something light and not too expensive. I thought about buying this lens, a Tamron, or a Sigma, and at the end, I settled for this one. I took some nice photos. However, many photos had low contrast. Sometimes, it was difficult to focus too.

Good portable telephoto zoom

This lens is one of the few tele zooms that has excellent image quality at 300mm, better than the other brands (C, N, etc). It is not the fastest focus, but it is certainly ok for most situations in daylight, and doesn't hunt as much over water as my previous 70-300mm vr lens, so works well in marine environment. It is about half the size I expected, which was a nice surprise Comes with case, caps and hood. I really like the Pentax method of allowing polarizer use with hoods, something all makers should imitate.
Now if Pentax will make this lens with DC focus, and add WR, I would go to five stars. A great lens for the money.

Surprising Image Quality!

I recommend this lens for outdoor use or indoor with excellent (stage type) lighting.

A very good lens for the price.

I've used this lens on several occasions to photograph wildlife and sports events. I was able to zoom in quickly on a bird in flight as it flew diagonally away from me. As with most zooms, the f-stop is important and I find it helpful to bump the f-stop up one or two notches to keep down graininess. This is a good lens for the price and I would recommend it as a god addition to one's kit.

A good zoom for the price

Finally upgraded from another tele-lens. This one is much superior - well worth the price. I ALWAYS take this lens no matter what kind of shoot I'm doing.

Very flexible lens

This is a great lens for the money. It occaisionally misfocuses but that usually only happens in low light. Other than that I am very happy with it. For the money its a lot of bang for the buck

Great lens for the money

I shoot outdoors and macro w/ and extension tube. This is a considerably better lens than the Tamron 70-300 that I had for resolution and color accuracy. It is worth the extra cost if you are concerned about those things. It is only slow focus in low light, otherwise it's great.

Great lens for the money.

I'm still learning but I'm glad I bought this rather than one of those really long 1300mm or whatevers I saw on [...]. After minimal research I found that most folks find those big ones aren't good with light. Big and cheap but otherwise not nearly as wise a purchase as this great Pentax lens. From Banks Lake and Grand Coulee Dam to the Ellensburg Canyon, and Wild Horse Wind Farm, I've enjoyed playing and learning about and from this lens. For anyone near where I'm at in photography this is it if you want to get closer to your subject. I'm still waiting to find the Big Horn sheep in the Canyon! And this lens will be with me when I take my drive to Grand Canyon.

Great first 2nd. lens for this newbie

Very sharp right up to 300mm, and a sensational value, even as prices creep up. 

This lens is too good not to be in the kit of any halfway serious Pentax photographer.

A Gem

Every time I come back after taking this lens out to the park, the images surprise me. The lens consistently produces sharp pictures. I haven't but if you use a tripod, I am sure you will get even better results. And oh, this quality lens is just under $300!

The attached pictures were taken at 300mm and f5.8.

Great telephoto zoom on a budget

This is a surprisingly excellent lens, given the low cost.  I rarely give a 5 star rating, but this very light and sharp Pentax lens deserves one, especially given its cost.  Unlike most longer telephoto zooms, it remains sharp and quite contrasty when viewed  at full 300mm extension and also quite sharp at the shorter focal lengths.  I bought this lens to replace a Tamron 70-300 LiD, which is quite OK for the money but whose sharpness fades beyond 180 or 200 mm.   I can find no faults with this newest Pentax.  Its optical quality really is very good and the build seems robust while remaining  lightweight.

Pentax SMC P-DA 55-300mm F/4-5.8 ED Auto Focus Telephoto Zoom Lens with Hood.

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