I Finally Own This Controversial Pentax Lens!

[@warrenmerrill532]

Seriously looking forward to hearing about your experience with it! I've owned the Pentax DFA70-200 2.8, but finally sold it only because of the weight being a detriment. Image-wise it was phenomenal. I keep looking at the 70-210 but not yet willing to pull the trigger. I'll let you be the sacrificial lamb. :)

[@LeeIveson]

I'm looking forward to using it! I'm going into it with an open mind, I'm not expecting DA* quality but I'm also expecting an improvement in image quality over my 55-300 PLM. It ticks a lot of boxes on paper, so hopefully it's good!

[@ColletteOldroad]

If you think Motocross is tricky, try white water canoeing - deep steep valleys and it's usually winter and sometimes raining, and it's fast action. There's anannual event , The Tyne Tour, this year its 1st to 3rd of November, the best of the action is a Warden Gorge which is a few miles north of Hexham. Lots of opportunities for the new lens.

[@LeeIveson]

@@ColletteOldroad Thanks for the heads up, I'll put that in the calendar!

[@welshskies]

Congrats Lee, I look forward hearing all about your new glass (NB There is a very good Pentax specialist in England, SRS Microsystems of Watford). I eventually guessed the 70-210 F/4 after I cogitated on the type of images you would take out in the mud watching motocross. It's a lens I don't have. I decided my favourite 300mm f/4 wouldn't be flexible enough and the monster 150-450mm would be too big, heavy and long, I hope you enjoy it, I really enjoy your videos, I like your style mate. Greetings from rural Wales.

[@LeeIveson]

@welshskies I keep meaning to get down to Wales at some point, the scenery just looks epic! Funny I bought my first ever Pentax camera (K-70) from SRS! And yes the 70-210 will fit my needs out at the tracks fore sure. Cheers mate

[@shred3005]

Big coincidence that although I've been thinking about this lens to replace the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 on my K-1, it was just today I was out shooting with my Sigma and decided that it's time for me to make the jump and get this Pentax. It's just about size and weight for me. But wow you pay a lot in the UK. This lens new from the Australian dealer is AU$1,499. That's GB£765 shipped and before discounts.

[@LeeIveson]

Wow that's not far off half price 😫 We get hammered over here in the UK price wise for pretty much everything to be fair! That's the main reason I went for the 70-210 f4 size & weight. Hopefully it's sharp enough & has fast AF then I'll be happy!

[@henrikgrnnemark8405]

Hi Lee, Congratulations on your investment:) I have an identical unit mounted on my K1. It was also my most expensive purchase btw;) So far no regrets, I think that it is a great and versatile lens. I had the privilege of testing it against its F/2.8, 70-200 counterpart. For the type of shooting you are doing, I think you made the right choice. Just in the weight department alone. Though not a PLM lens, I hope that you will find the autofocus satisfying. Btw! The sound in this video was a bit thin/hash. Fyi. Otherwise nice studio👍🤓

[@LeeIveson]

Nice! I can imagine it works super on the K1 being made for full frame. Yeah, my thought process was pretty much exactly that, I don't really need the f2.8 aperture & the extra size & weight would probably become a pain on the long days out at the dirt bike tracks! Hmm I'll check to see what I did with the audio on this one, I've been playing around in a few different video editors so I might have messed something up, thanks for the feedback.

[@GODSPEEDseven]

Awesome acquisition!! Anxious to see how you find it compared to your PLM lens. F4 is plenty. I sometimes use DA* 60-250, and unless you were looking to do portraits with 60mm, f2.8 would be pointless for my type of use. What I like about this lens you got, it's that it has internal zoom/focusing. So very good at the weather-sealing.

[@LeeIveson]

Cheers mate! Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how this thing stacks up against the 55-300 PLM but also my Canon EF 70-200 f4 lens too. The size, weight & weather sealing were all main reasons for me to buy this lens. Cheers

[@KobieMC]

Ahh, I was so close in my guess! Congrats and looking forward to your comparsion 👍🏽

[@LeeIveson]

Yeah, it came down to size & weight more than anything else to be honest Kobie. I can't wait to get out there & put some time on this thing, then I'll be doing some showdowns with the Canon gear! Cheers

[@SummersSnaps]

How was this lens ever controversial, did I miss something?

[@LeeIveson]

Just going off some of the previous reviews of this lens, it seems to go down like a Katie Perry song Hot & Cold 😂

[@H70334]

Have fun, I’m just using it on my vacation in the Netherlands. Great lens, fast focus and pretty sharp. Exciting to see your first pictures.

[@LeeIveson]

Nice! Enjoyed your vacation, plenty windmill shots to be had over there! I'm looking forward to getting out with the lens now! Cheers

[@peterlebengood7160]

Looking forward to your thoughts on the 70-210. Also hope you do a comparison between the 70-210 and the 55-300 PLM. I have the 70-210 and shoot it on both APSC and full frame. I really like it and haven’t noticed the softness reports at 210mm on my K-1 MII. On my K-3 MIII, it is fantastic. Everything is internal so no dust or moisture issues.

[@LeeIveson]

@peterlebengood7160 Yes I'll definitely be doing a comparison to the 55-300PLM. I've heard/seen mixed reviews on this lens so it will be interesting to see what I find. Oh yeah, the internal focusing is much needed for what I shoot!

[@Klaus-macht-Bilder_de]

Congratulation to the new lens! I had a look to it some time ago. For me it has a vey unfavoarable form factor. In upright position it does not fit in any of my bags. So for a long time I carried the DA200/2.8 with me - less flexible but not too bad in combination with teh DFA24-70. If mor flexibility is needed and size (and WR) does not matter I can recommend the old Sigma 100-300/4 or for a most compact solution the Sigma 70-210/4-5,6 UC (difficult to find one without sticky body surface.

[@LeeIveson]

@Klaus-macht-Bilder_de I used to own the DA*200 f2.8 it was such a fantastic lens, the only downside for myself was the slow & prone to failure SDM (which is why I sold it). I have contemplated the Sigma 100-300 f4 so many times, but again it has one thing that always stops me in my tracks which is the lack of weather sealing, which is a must for what I shoot. So it came down to the 70-200 f2.8 & the 70-210 f4 for me.

[@cgriggsiv]

I finally got my Pentax DFA 15 to 30 f 2.8 for the K1 Mark II and it produces them very beautiful photographs

[@LeeIveson]

@@cgriggsiv I bet it does! That is a fine combo, I can imagine the colours are sublime 👌

[@paulkilleen3526]

good choice forgot about that lens . nice to see what you think about it . the weather sealing always a plus my sigma 70-200 no seals

[@LeeIveson]

Weather sealing is a must for what I'll be using it for! The size & weight difference win out over the Pentax 70-200 f2.8 at least for myself.

[@bigrobotnewstoday1436]

I had a 70-210 old screw drive lens years ago for Nikon I liked it a lot back in the day.

[@LeeIveson]

I've got a copy of the old manual SMC Pentax 70-210 f4 which I really enjoy using from time to time, I just love that focal range I suppose.

[@igor_timofeev]

I'm curios how far it's from old trusty F70-210/4-5.6 (I own one) except SDM and constant f/4 of course

[@LeeIveson]

It depends at how your looking at it, if it's just in terms of the image produced from the lens then probably not enough to warrant the price tag. HOWEVER for myself & the reasoning I have behind buying the lens it ticks all the boxes (at least on paper so far) which is that I need a weather sealed lens with internal zoom, constant aperture, not too big & heavy, good image quality, fast & reliable AF. Time will tell how well this lens works for me, but I feel it is the right lens based on my criteria.

[@justindsphotos]

I’ve been looking at this lens for a while for my K1. I have the old Tamron 70-200 f2.8 and I hardly use it, so I am not sure how much I would use this. I do have the old A 70-210 f4 and that was fun to use with film. Looking forward to your review. 👍

[@LeeIveson]

@justindsphotos It should be fantastic on the K1 since it is made for full frame. My first impressions video is already up mate, I also made a follow up video as I had a few focusing issues first time out. Full review will be coming when I've had a good amount of time using the lens in different situations 👍

[@TheLocalredhead]

Can't wait to see what you get with it

[@sebastianreith9474]

Hi, the 70-210 is a great lens. Mine is mainly used for travel wildlife photography. Unfortunately it can’t keep up with the 150-450’s AF speed.

[@LeeIveson]

It does seem like it will be a nice fit for my work. That's interesting I didn't think the 150-450 had very quick AF? I need to go back & have a look at that now haha

[@Tkarma77]

Its a nice size.. reasonably sharp and can take some nice pictures.. interested to know how you find it.. above 150 or so I don't find it sharp enough

[@LeeIveson]

Size & weight are really well suited to what I need this lens for, that's pretty much the main reason I went with the f4 over the Pentax 70-200 f2.8 lens. I have been out to test the lens & I've found a few niggles which I'll be addressing in the next video, I suppose it will be my initial impressions of the lens but by no means a review obviously.

[@b.2221]

Congratulations mate I hope that this beauty lives up to your expectations.

[@findefuchs]

I'm considering this lens for football photography, currently using the 55-300 plm, the 50-135 sdm has too slow af, the 70-200 f2.8 is too expensive so this 70-210 f4 seems perfect. Your videos are perfectly timed!! Can't wait so see focus speed in comparison to the PLM!

[@LeeIveson]

@findefuchs The 55-300 PLM is a great all-rounder for sure, but the external zoom unless protected sucks in dust when I'm at the dirt bike tracks. And although I don't really need the 70-200 f2.8 lens it will be nice to at least have a constant f4 throughout the range. My first impressions video of the 70-210 will be up this Friday if you want to check that one out 📸

[@findefuchs]

​@@LeeIvesonYeah the 55-300 is great especially the AF. But when the weather turns bad or it's evening and you need fast shutter speeds, the aperature is to small... If the 70-210 has fast enough AF, I think it would be better than the 55-300 for my needs😁 I'm looking forward to the video!

[@Gynra]

My favourite telephoto zoom is the DA* 60-250 f4. It's a very versatile lens, but may not be fast focusing enough for your needs, Lee. That said, I manage to get some good shots of my hyperactive sprocker spaniel with it on the K-3 iii.

[@LeeIveson]

That was a lens I looked at, along with the 70-200 f2.8 which was the main contender here. For myself I need reliable fast AF so just going off my old DA*50-135 & DA*200 SDM lenses I couldn't take the risk with the 60-250 f4. Size & weight also played a big factor in going with the f4 lens over the f2.8 lens. I'm really looking forward to using it so we will see how I get on with it & what I find to be good bad or indifferent (if that's the saying 😅)

[@Gynra]

@@LeeIveson Both my 16-50 f2.8 and my 300 mm f4 suffered SDM failures, but I've had no problems with the 60-250 in the 10 or so years I've had it. However, I can understand your needing a more modern lens which focuses faster.

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

I do wonder, the people with e.g. an A9iii with 100 photos per second, do they really have an easier workflow at the end of the day? Seems the massive file sorting would be more work rather than less work.

[@LeeIveson]

Well if your shooting something like the A9iii you are pretty much guaranteed the shot (at least for sports/fast moving subject style photography) BUT . . . 100% it would be a pain to sort through all the files, I personally would not be shooting one of those things at 120fps for stills unless it was for a very specific reason! But there's no denying the tech or should I say global shutter is unbelievable!

[@pafaccount4454]

Why not the 60-250 f/4? It would actually be lighter and have more range.

[@LeeIveson]

The DFA 70-210 is lighter than the 60-250? The Slow AF is also a problem for what I need & if the SDM of the 60-250 fails there's no way to convert that lens to screw drive as far as I'm aware? It's also an external zoom which means it is going to suck in dust at the motocross tracks.

[@pafaccount4454]

@@LeeIveson The autofocus part is fair, but if you look up a comparision the 60-250 is lighter.

[@cgriggsiv]

So as of DFA lenses I have the 15 to 30 I also have the 28 to 105 not official DFA but it is a full frame 80 to 325 and that lens oh my goodness the colors that 80 to 325 has got to be my absolutely most gorgeous photographs that I get for both landscape and animals

[@LeeIveson]

@cgriggsiv Is that the silver 80-320mm lens?

[@cgriggsiv]

@@LeeIveson yes

[@cgriggsiv]

@@LeeIveson With manual aperture ring

[@scrptwic]

Lee Can you do a comparison between 70- 210 to the 55-300 PLM when you get a chance. The comparison would interesting more do than the Cannon lens

[@LeeIveson]

@scrptwic Yes I'll definitely be doing a comparison between the 55-300PLM & DFA 70-210! 👍

[@slimphotog]

Like the studio setup.

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate, always a work in progress but getting there!

[@spacemonkey200]

F4 is the new 2.8. Everyone is saying it. ❤

[@LeeIveson]

Well the f4 ticked all the boxes I needed on paper at least. So we will see!

[@andrewmartin8739]

Not the lens I thought , however congratulations and look forward to an actual performance review video in the future

[@LeeIveson]

Thanks mate. Yep I'll be giving this lens a full body workout haha

[@vincemokry9643]

Yes! 150-450 would have been too heavy for what you do. Good choice, mate

[@LeeIveson]

@vincemokry9643 I think so too. Cheers mate

[@dragangrasic1328]

Exciting news! This lens is going to make a lot of good photos! But why exactly is it controversial, except being a D FA design made for FF? I also use FF lens on my APS-C camera, a Sigma f2.8/70-200mm EX DG HSM II. PENTAX 70-210 weights 859 g, while Sigma is over 1,3 kg. The gain is f2,8 of course and a silent and quick AF mechanism. The weight doesn't bother me as I would use a monopod or tripod anyway.

[@LeeIveson]

@dragangrasic1328 Well, I say controversial as there's been mixed reviews on this lens. Some love it some trash it. For myself personally, I think I would find the 70-200 f2.8 a little to big & heavy for the track days. I'm constantly on the move, running around, laying on the floor, and climbing dirt mounds for like 6hrs 😅

[@dragangrasic1328]

@@LeeIveson In the PENTAX world the super light (for the range) DA 55-300 is a steal IMO. The best thing about the lens, it exists in various versions for different budgets. However, the f2,8/70-200 while admittedly heavy is a standard pro-grade lens for portraits, sports and everything where more reach and less than ideal light is present. On APS-C it becomes a 100-300 though.

[@LeeIveson]

@dragangrasic1328 Yeah I have a copy of the DA55-300mm PLM, as you say such good value for money and so versatile, I've taken many an image with that lens!

[@Xitrun]

Is this 70-200 good for k1 full frame?

[@LeeIveson]

Yes it is made for full frame, as is this lens.

[@l.nauwelaerts195]

Enjoy, Lee!

[@LeeIveson]

Will do mate, thanks!

[@leehaze1]

Nice video! I look forward to your shoots.

[@LeeIveson]

@leehaze1 Cheers Lee, I'm looking forward to using it! 📸

[@barryhiggott9458]

Well I got that wrong didn’t I. Anyway enjoy the lens, it wasn’t for me so I sold mine but I’m sure it will work for you. I’m pleased you have the K3iii too, I’m sure that after you had the loan camera there was no going back.

[@LeeIveson]

Yeah I can see this lens not being for everyone, the Pentax 70-200 f2.8 would be most tog's first choice I would think. The reasoning I went with the 70-210 came down to a few things. 1. I didn't really need the low light capabilities of that f2.8 would bring. 2. The size & weight is much more convenient for long days at the Motocross tracks. 3. Needed to be weather sealed & internal zoom. I also really want to compare my Canon 7Dii & EF70-200 f4 to the K3iii & DFA 70-210 specifically for fast action!

[@richardkrasicki6086]

​@@LeeIveson Lee, the Tamron 70-210 did not perform well on APC cameras, I am sure C.Frost tested this lens.

[@LeeIveson]

@richardkrasicki6086 Yeah I've seen a few reviews of the Tamron version and the Pentax version. I got out to test the lens last weekend for my first impressions video, which will be up tomorrow.

[@richardkrasicki6086]

@@LeeIveson cheers mate, I will be looking forward to the vid.

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

Almost like Pentax ASMR with your mic setup 😀

[@LeeIveson]

😂 I hate that stuff! Hannah puts it on her phone to annoy me haha

[@jimzielinski946]

Its a great feeling getting that perfect (maybe even that dream?) lens. Enjoy.

[@LeeIveson]

Yep! I've wanted to try this lens for so long now, hopefully it does not disappoint!

[@MichaelRusso]

I thought it might be the 150-450mm :)

[@LeeIveson]

@MichaelRusso Don't get me wrong, the 150-450 would be a great option for sports, but the weight would become an issue as I'm moving around the track all day. I think the 150-450 would shine in situations where you could take your time a little more.

[@MichaelRusso]

@@LeeIveson Agreed, the 150-450 is a bit much when it comes to weight and size. Your new lens and the 55-300mm are probably the pest choice for your type of sport action shooting as you are more in front of the action.

[@jimpurcell]

Very cool! Enjoy.

[@LeeIveson]

@@jimpurcell Cheers mate

[@kiwipics]

Why on earth is it controversial ?? .. 🤔 The 300mm f4 green star maybe ..

[@LeeIveson]

@kiwipics Purley just going off the reviews I've read/seen on this lens. It's had some good & some not so good 🤔

[@xmeda]

Sad one rather than controversial. Gutted Tamron OEM lens without VC and with much shorter warranty sold without tripod leg and with more than 200% price here when compared to original. Fortunately these will be over soon. Tamron stopped DSLR lens production long time ago and Ricoh is only selling stock.

[@LeeIveson]

@xmeda You really have a soft spot for Pentax 😂 Why do you hate on them so much?