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  DSLR Tips



 
Pentax *istDL review with 18-55mm f3.5~5.6 DA lens Gordon Laing, December 2005


 



 




Outdoor
/ Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting

Pentax *istDL purple fringing comparison

  To measure purple fringing caused by lens chromatic aberrations and sensor blooming, we photographed a custom test chart, left, with areas of very high contrast. We used the bundled lenses at their widest and longest focal lengths with the aperture wide open in Aperture Priority mode. The crops are taken from the upper left corner of the chart and presented here at 100%.

The Pentax *istDL with the 18-55mm DA lens exhibits a little purple fringing at its widest position in line with its rivals. Fringing is virtually eliminated at 55mm, like most of the competition..

Pentax *istDL
Canon EOS-350D
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D
Nikon D50
Pentax *istDL at 18mm f3.5
Canon EOS-350D at 18mm f3.5
Konica Minolta 5D at 18mm f3.5
Nikon D50 at 18mm f3.5
18-55mm DA at 18mm f3.5
18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f3.5
18-70mm DT at 18mm f3.5
18-55mm DX at 18mm f3.5
Pentax *istDL at 55mm f5.6
Canon EOS-350D at 55mm f5.6
Konica Minolta 5D at 70mm f5.6
Nikon D50 at 55mm f5.6
18-55mm DA at 55mm f5.6
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f5.6
18-70mm DT at 70mm f5.6
18-55mm DX at 55mm f5.6


Pentax *istDL macro comparison

Pentax *istDL macro test   To measure macro performance we photographed a custom chart using the bundled lenses at a distance and focal length which delivered the maximum possible reproduction. The dark lines are 10mm apart.

The image left was taken with the Pentax *istDL and the 18-55mm DA lens at f8. Like other budget digital SLR lenses, the best macro performance was achieved using its longest focal length of 55mm. Here the lens captured an area measuring 66x44mm from a distance of 12cm. This is essentially the same as the competition, although superior to Konica Minolta.

Canon EOS-350D
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D
Nikon D50
Canon EOS-350D macro test
Konica Minolta 5D macro test
Nikon D50 macro test
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f8
Max area of 66x44mm at 13cm
  18-70mm DT at 70mm f8
Max area of 82x54mm at 20.5cm
  18-55mm DX at 55mm f8
Max area of 70x49mm at 13cm

Results continued...

Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting


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