Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW is a Fixed aperture Auto Focus (AF)
Standard Zoom lens with APS-C / DX max sensor coverage, and it is designed to be used with
KAF4 Mount cameras.
What type of photography is the Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW lens good for?
The type of photography that you are planning to use the Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated its suitability to various photography scenarios:
Lenses in Pentax KAF4 Mount with Same Focal and Aperture Range
Reasons to Buy Pentax DA 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW Lens
Here we've included a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Pentax DA 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW lens in a list form to help you determine whether it offers the features you need.
| Weather-sealed |
| Autofocus |
| Full-time Manual Focusing |
| Fast Aperture at Wide end |
| Fast Aperture at Tele end |
| Constant f2.8 aperture throughout the range |
| 9 Diaphragm Blades for Smooth Bokeh |
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| Lens Extends while zooming |
Lens Mount
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW is compatible with cameras that have a Pentax KAF4 lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Pentax KAF4 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 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW has a maximum diameter of 84mm and total length of 117mm when not extended. It weighs 712g / 25.1 oz.
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW has a filter thread of 77mm. Below are links to the filters that we recommend you to consider for your Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW:
Focal Range
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW has a focal range of 16-50mm and 3.1X zoom ratio which has a 35mm equivalent focal range of 24-75mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
Weather Sealings
The Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW 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 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW with a weather-sealed camera body such as the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome, Pentax KF and Pentax K-3 III.
Optical Image Stabilization
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW 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 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM in Pentax KAF4 mount that have similar focal range but features Optical Image Stabilization.
Lenses Similar to Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW With Optical Image Stabilization
Zoom Method
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW 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 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW has a Max Magnification Ratio of 0.24x and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.3m.
Below are the 3 Standard Zoom type Pentax KAF mount lens alternatives with highest max magnification ratios:
Aperture
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW is a fixed aperture lens with a constant max aperture of f2.8 from 16mm all the way to the 50mm .
| Focal Length |
Max Aperture |
Min Aperture |
|
16mm
|
F2.8 |
F22 |
|
50mm
|
F2.8 |
F22 |
Optical Formula
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW's optical formula consists of 16 elements in 10 groups . Following special elements are used in this design:
- ED
- anomalous glass
- aspherical elements
- HD coating
Body Colour
Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW is available in Black color.
Popular Comparisons of Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW
Here are the eight most popular comparisons of the Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW amongst Camera Decision readers.
Top Alternatives of Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 ED PLM AW Lens
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