Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR is a Variable aperture Auto Focus (AF)
Super Telephoto Zoom lens with APS-C / DX max sensor coverage, and it is designed to be used with
KAF2 Mount cameras.
What type of photography is the Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR lens good for?
The type of photography that you are planning to use the Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated its suitability to various photography scenarios:
Reasons to Buy HD Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR Lens
Here we've included a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the HD Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR lens in a list form to help you determine whether it offers the features you need.
Weather-sealed |
Autofocus |
Distance Scale |
Hood supplied |
Full-time Manual Focusing |
Versatile Lens with a Zoom Ratio of 5x |
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Lens Extents while zooming |
Slow Aperture at Tele end |
Variable Aperture |
Lens Mount
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR is compatible with cameras that have a Pentax KAF2 lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Pentax KAF2 lenses are , and .
Size, Weight and Filter Thread
Size and weight is a very important decision factor when searching for your next lens. Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR has a maximum diameter of 71mm and total length of 112mm when not extended. It weighs 466g / 16.4 oz.
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR has a filter thread of 58mm. Below are links to the filters that we recommend you to consider for your Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR:
Focal Range
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR has a focal range of 55-300mm and 5.5X zoom ratio which has a 35mm equivalent focal range of 82.5-450mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
Weather Sealings
The Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR is a weather-sealed lens, which provides extra protection to prevent water and dust get inside the lens and camera body under light rain, snow and wind. In order to have effective protection, you have to pair the Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR with a weather-sealed camera body such as the , and .
Optical Image Stabilization
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR doesn't have an optical image stabilization system so the only option to stabilize the image taken with this lens is to mount on a camera body with IBIS (sensor based In-body image stabilization).
Zoom Method
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR features Rotary (extending) zoom method where the length of the lens changes as you zoom in or out. This makes it possible to design the lens with a smaller minimum length ( generally when it is zoomed out) compared to internal zoom lenses. The disadvantages of this design are being harder to seal against dust and moisture, weight balance shifting while zooming and zoom creep in certain lenses.
Maximum Magnification Ratio
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR has a Max Magnification Ratio of 0.28x and has a minimum focusing distance of 1.4m. For a non-macro lens, the 0.28x is considered a high magnification and will come handy for close-up shots.
Aperture
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR is a variable aperture lens with a max aperture of f4 and a minimum aperture of f22 at 55mm, and a max aperture of f5.8 and minimum aperture of f32 at 300mm .
Focal Length |
Max Aperture |
Min Aperture |
55mm
|
F4 |
F22 |
300mm
|
F5.8 |
F32 |
Optical Formula
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR's optical formula consists of 12 elements in 8 groups . Special elements used in this design is ED glass elements.
Lens Hood
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR comes with a removable lens hood which is handy to reduce lens flare and glare in your photos. The model number of the hood is PH-RBI 58mm.
Body Colour
Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR is available in Black color.
Popular Comparisons of Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR
Here are the eight most popular comparisons of the Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR amongst Camera Decision readers.
Top Alternatives of Pentax DA 55-300mm F4.0-5.8 ED WR Lens
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