Tamron AF 28-105mm f/4-5.6 IF

A budget lens that 'punches above its weight' in performance. Great value! I recently purchased a Pentax Kx DSLR camera body without a lens and wanted a "kit"-type zoom lens for it. The camera would have originally come with an 18-55mm Pentax lens, which I already have and keep on a different Pentax body, so I decided to look at other, less expensive options. This Tamron lens appealed to me because it has a little greater telephoto reach, almost double that of the 18-55mm and a bit longer than most other lenses in its class, which generally range between 28-70 and and 28-80mm. Being a fairly slow lens at 4.0-5.6, I had only modest expectations for its performance, but was pleasantly surprised to find it delivers well beyond the stated numbers, or to use a boxing metaphor, it punches above its weight. The lens has a fairly wide diameter with a 62mm filter/lens cap size, which is much wider than any other lens I own. It seems this lets in a good bit more light for overall brighter images and better low light performance. The zoom and focus rings move smoothly with just enough resistance to feel precise and with no lens creep to speak of. Autofocus is snappy with minimal hunting, and best of all, it actually focuses on the right things, which is more than I can say for some of the other lenses I own. Overall, images are very sharp and most have a pleasing bokeh to them. While it is not a true macro lens, it does do decent close-up work in a pinch. The lens is lightweight, owing to its plastic construction, but it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy. It does have a metal mount on the base, which adds to the feel of quality construction. It also feels nicely balanced on the camera--not too heavy and not too light. The lens only extends an extra inch at full zoom, so it doesn't look like a bazooka on the end of the camera. This lens can also be found in a Pentax-branded version with minor cosmetic differences. I have also seen speculation that the Pentax version may have that manufacturer's proprietary SMC coatings on the lens elements but nothing to definitively confirm that point. Performance is basically identical between the two brands. If you're looking for an affordable, general purpose "walking around" lens with a little extra telephoto reach, this is an excellent choice and a good value for a second-hand lens in the sub-$50 range.

Great lens, good fast focus, sharp images, hard to beat the value Great lens, good fast focus, sharp images, hard to beat the value. Just make sure you get the hood with it as getting hard to come by them and needed to reduce flare & increase contrast.

Good walk around and travel lens Light weight and good to travel with, photo is sharp, focus is pretty fast and accurate. The lens is not very fast but good for general usage.