HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE Review

HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE Performance

Sharpness at 55mm is centrally very good from f/4.5 to f/16, becoming soft at f/22. The edges are soft at f/4.5, good at f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11, good at f/16 and soft at f/22.

100mm shows very good central sharpness from f/4.5 through to f/16, with f/22 being quite soft. The edges are very good from f/4.5 to f/11, good at f/16 and soft at f/22.

200mm sees a slight drop, centrally being very good from f/5.6 to f/16 and soft at f/22 and f/29. The edges are a good standard from f/5.6 to f/16 and soft at f/22 and f/29.

Sharpness drops off again at 300mm, being centrally good at f/6.3, very good at f/8, good at f/11 and f/16 and dropping to soft at f/22 and f/32. The edges are generally soft but offer good sharpness at f/8.

When we say sharpness, what we are measuring is resolution and the lens does not resolve the finest detail as it is zoomed in towards 300mm, but it does show excellent contrast and as a consequence offers nice, punchy images. It is debatable whether the smallest aperture, be it f/22 or f/32 is of much value, but then again the option is there and some subjects may well suit the overall softness at those settings.

This also ties in with the bokeh, and without a doubt, the quality of the out of focus areas is extremely smooth. The effect for portraits and flower studies, for example, is very pleasing.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well controlled at the centre of the field at all focal lengths, especially the widest. The edges are best at 100mm in this respect but overall are well corrected. There is visible CA at the edges, but it can be sorted in software if desired. JPEG shooters can simply switch on the camera's built--in correction.

Flare is not an issue as none was observed. The relatively new HD coating serves well and there is no loss of contrast and no sign of any artefacts.

Distortion starts off at 55mm with -1.78% barrel. At 100mm we see +0.88% pincushion, after which it's pincushion all the way, +1.41% at 200mm and +1.30% at 300mm. These figures are good for a zoom lens and, as always, correction can be applied in-camera or in software.

Value For Money

The HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 EDPLM WR RE can be found at £379. The previous version is the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR, still available at £269.

Sigma offers three alternatives, the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro Super DG (£179), the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro DG (£169), and the Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 DC Macro HSM (£499).

Unless the retractable lens body, the electromagnetic diaphragm or the faster PLM focusing are the deal makers, then the previous Pentax lens looks to be a very attractive proposition at £269.     

For more options have a look at the Top 26 Best Pentax Lenses.

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