Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM 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
KAF3 Mount cameras.
What type of photography is the Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM lens good for?
The type of photography that you are planning to use the Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated its suitability to various photography scenarios:
Reasons to Buy Pentax smc DA 17-70mm F4.0 AL IF SDM Lens
Here we've included a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Pentax smc DA 17-70mm F4.0 AL IF SDM lens in a list form to help you determine whether it offers the features you need.
| Autofocus |
| Distance Scale |
| DoF(Depth of Field) Scale |
| Full-time Manual Focusing |
| Fast Aperture at Tele end |
| Constant f4 aperture throughout the range |
| Minimum focus distance of 0.28m / 11.0 inch |
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| Lens Extents while zooming |
Lens Mount
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM 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 , and .
Size, Weight and Filter Thread
Size and weight is a very important decision factor when searching for your next lens. Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM has a maximum diameter of 75mm and total length of 94mm when not extended. It weighs 485g / 17.1 oz.
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM has a filter thread of 67mm. Below are links to the filters that we recommend you to consider for your Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM:
Focal Range
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM has a focal range of 17-70mm and 4.1X zoom ratio which has a 35mm equivalent focal range of 25.5-105mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
Optical Image Stabilization
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM 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 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC OS HSM C in Pentax KAF3 mount that have similar focal range but features Optical Image Stabilization.
Lenses Similar to Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM With Optical Image Stabilization
Zoom Method
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM 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 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM has a Max Magnification Ratio of 0.31x and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.28m. For a non-macro lens, the 0.31x is considered a high magnification and will come handy for close-up shots.
Below are the 3 Standard Zoom type Pentax KAF3 mount lens alternatives with highest max magnification ratios:
Aperture
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM is a fixed aperture lens with a constant max aperture of f4 from 17mm all the way to the 70mm .
| Focal Length |
Max Aperture |
Min Aperture |
|
17mm
|
F4 |
F22 |
|
70mm
|
F4 |
F22 |
Optical Formula
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM's optical formula consists of 17 elements in 12 groups .
Body Colour
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM is available in Black color.
Popular Comparisons of Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM
Here are the eight most popular comparisons of the Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM amongst Camera Decision readers.
Top Alternatives of Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM Lens
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