Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED is a Fixed aperture Auto Focus (AF)
Telephoto Zoom lens with 35mm FF max sensor coverage, and it is designed to be used with
KAF3 Mount cameras.
What type of photography is the Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED lens good for?
The type of photography that you are planning to use the Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated its suitability to various photography scenarios:
Lenses in Pentax KAF3 Mount with Same Focal and Aperture Range
Reasons to Buy Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED DC AW Lens
Here we've included a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED DC AW lens in a list form to help you determine whether it offers the features you need.
| Weather-sealed |
| Autofocus |
| Distance Scale |
| Hood supplied |
| Tripod Collar |
| Full-time Manual Focusing |
| Focus Distance Limiter |
| Zoom Lock |
| Fast Aperture at Wide end |
| Fast Aperture at Tele end |
| Constant f2.8 aperture throughout the range |
| Covers Full-Frame Sensor |
| 9 Diaphragm Blades for Smooth Bokeh |
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Buy Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED from Amazon or B&H PHOTO
| Lens Extends while zooming |
| Heavy |
| Pricey |
Lens Mount
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED is compatible with cameras that have a Pentax KAF3 lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Pentax KAF3 lenses are Pentax K-3 III Monochrome, Pentax KF and Pentax K-3 III.
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Size, Weight and Filter Thread
Size and weight is a very important decision factor when searching for your next lens. Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED has a maximum diameter of 92mm and total length of 203mm when not extended. It weighs 1755g / 61.9 oz.
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED has a filter thread of 77mm. Below are links to the filters that we recommend you to consider for your Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED:
Focal Range
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED has a focal range of 70-200mm and 2.9X zoom ratio. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 105 - 300mm.
Weather Sealings
The Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED 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 D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED with a weather-sealed camera body such as the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome, Pentax KF and Pentax K-3 III.
Tripod Collar
With a total length of 203mm and a weight of 1755g, the Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED is a large lens. Fortunately, it comes with a tripod collar which you can use to attach the lens directly to a tripod or monopod instead of attaching the camera. This connection helps to better balance the lens/kit combination.
Optical Image Stabilization
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED 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).
Alternatively, you can check the Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM in Pentax KAF3 mount that have similar focal range but features Optical Image Stabilization.
Lenses Similar to Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED With Optical Image Stabilization
Zoom Method
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED 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.
Zoom Lock
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED has a Zoom lock feature which eliminates Zoom creep where focal length of the lens changes with gravity when it's held downwards or upwards.
Maximum Magnification Ratio
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED has a Max Magnification Ratio of 0.13x and has a minimum focusing distance of 1.2m. 0.13x means that the max magnification ratio is very low and not suitable even for modest close-up shots.
Below are the 3 Telephoto Zoom type Pentax KAF mount lens alternatives with highest max magnification ratios:
Aperture
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED is a fixed aperture lens with a constant max aperture of f2.8 from 70mm all the way to the 200mm .
| Focal Length |
Max Aperture |
Min Aperture |
|
70mm
|
F2.8 |
F22 |
|
200mm
|
F2.8 |
F22 |
Optical Formula
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED's optical formula consists of 19 elements in 16 groups . Following special elements are used in this design:
- HD
- AB
- Super Protect coatings
Lens Hood
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED 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-RBM77.
Body Colour
Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED is available in Black color.
Popular Comparisons of Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED
Here are the eight most popular comparisons of the Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED amongst Camera Decision readers.
Top Alternatives of Pentax D FA 70-200mm F2.8ED Lens
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