Fung Tony Fung Tony :( I belive it was. sigh. I even did my Dog test as well and man, The Tamron was something. I dont know where the price difference went on the Pentax. Its almost a 90% difference. 600usd vs 1100usd.
You may have to skip on this one. Let me review this later summer after a few batches has been made. We will see a follow up review on this. I didnt like the results.
Hi Li, thanks for the comparison. Weird results on the long end shots. I think I heard you say you were shooting on a tripod for these. did you happen to turn shake reduction off on the K-1 when on tripod? I've noticed SR can cause this type of effect when shooting on the tripod. Keep up the great content loving it!
Yup! I tried everything. I even tried my phone app, trigger remote. Timer. Turning off and on the SR. ( I left the VC on the whole time on the Nikon ) . Most people are saying its a bad copy but majority of my test I saw ( I did 30 samples, ) it was more or less even when doing close up photos. Mid range landscape very even. Long distance at the tip, woah... not real good on Pentax.
Chima Chinda Yup, I have other landscape test that had showed that same result . When shooting on the long end, Tamron seems to be sharp. I even micro adjust my focus on the second try for the pentax sigh. still no dice.
Hi Li. Thanks for your review. Right before the release of this lens, Pentax released firmware updates to optimize the the K-1 and the K-1 Mark II for this lens. Did you get that firmware update for your K-1 before you did the test? It might make a difference.
@@theCameraVille Thanks for your reply. I thought the optimization firmware was for the overall performance of the lens on the camera; not just the AF. That's why I was asking if you updated your firmware first. Do you have V. 1.52 for your K-1?
Did you calibrate the lenses for infinity focus? Hard to tell whether this is a sub-par optical performance by the Pentax, or a focusing issue at long distance.
Boom Bam done Brian. Boom Bam Done . 3.5 years and I have a routine I do. I even contacted the supplier as well. Its up to Pentax on their end to contact me for a redo if they see an error. This is all brand new Pentax glass btw.
Not r eww really significant difference, but in your portrait the pentax look softer, they match at f8, but below that the tamron looked sharper. Thank you, was looking at one for my Nikon d7100 to keep the 2.8 at home and the 210 for traveling
yea. I was trying to pull it for Pentax. Like I really wanted it to dominate. In the review I said its more or less the same but really, I think Tamron takes the cake. I even manual pre manual focus on both lenses and it gave me the same results. It was hard doing a review when the results were almost the same. Tamron just had slight edge sharpness. Also the tamron was used, scratches all over and the Pentax was brand new .
@@JuanLopez-oz9kh Oh man, I always want Pentax to do well but I am here to be fair and square. No fan boyish results. Just results. I will get fan boy replies though lol! haha. Gonna be hell for me lol
I can't say for shure, but "softness" difference well might be for using Lightroom for comparison. When I Started to use CaptureOne all my Pentax files seemed to get new life. I thought I changed camera or lenses or both. C1 have much better profiles for Pentax. But to get really equal comparison between any camera in any software, you should use DCRAW to extract 16-bit TIFF and than you can import it to Lr, since it will skip Lr interpretation of files. Remember the tale that K1ii eats out details? Well that was true in Lr, since they used SAME profile for both cameras. I proved with DCRAW that all details are there if processed independently from commercial software.
That's because programs would insert additional bloat to your images. I do a few things in my lightroom to make sure I don't get fooled by the bloat. For example, lightroom turns on sharpness over 30-40% by default. I turn all that off. Don't get fool by Capture one , it was doing the same when I was using Fuji. All program perform similar in my opinion. Use what works for you in the end.
@@theCameraVille Lightroom (as well as Capture One) do interpret images well before you can move any sliders. Even if you choose "zero" profile in Lr it is still interpreted. I mentioned DCRAW, where you get extract exact image from RAW without manipulation at all if you choose that option). Than you insert TIFF image into (any) software and it be relevant comparison. All that said, softness you captured probably is from lenses itself. I just had feeling even before on bear images that Nikon images are a bit more sharpened from software. But distance shot of tower introduce another blur, not by software. It might also be AF error, but you said you took photos from MF too.
@@cdmikelis Yup, the lens seems quite soft on the long end when shooting long distance object. When shooting between 20-30 feet , it seems to be very even. And yes, I tried to produce better image than the Tamron by MF on the Pentax. I even micro focus as much as I could to have some evidence for Pentax. In the end, Pentax seemed to perform bad. In my opinion, it should just dominated right out the box, no question. After the firmware update, it should just be superior because of the major price tag.
Good work, Lee! The evidence is not so good for the Pentax lens. Maybe you have only a bad copy od this lens, I hope at least. Well, the 85mm f 1.4 * has been announced and should be out in the last months of this year. Hope the that will perform as the 50 1.4 *!
I hope I have a bad copy as well. Although the other test I did on the side ( I cant show all 30 test) really tell me that majority of the close up shots were more or less the same or even. There wasn't a Crazy jump in quality performance. I cant even find a good characteristic out of the results. Pentax has my contact, I will be open to redo the test again. ( its funny after 4 days of my 85 mm review, the 85 mm news gets release lol , I see you Pentax!)
Pentax' s sharpness seems worse at any distance.. Firstly I will think about a faulty pentax copy. The performance of the two lenses should be almost the same...
More or less its about the same with the portrait section. Perhaps I may had drifted a mm off which means shooting my dog toy, that I usually use, is a better choice. On the roof testing, I didn't see a strong result. looked even. Distance shooting was damn. It was bad.
Just one question: Did you update the firmware of your camera. To me your problems do not look like optical problems but maybe problems of fine-tuning of the image stabilitisation of the camera (sensor). There was an upgrade of firmware avaiIable for all actual Pentax camera bodies refering to the new lens. I also would like to see photos with against-the-light situations where Pentax should have some advantages due to its lens coating (e.g. portraits of people with longer hair). All in all I like what you are doing on your channel!
I seemed to answer this already below. Yup,after update, the AF was a lot faster and focused better than the nikon and tamron in my portrait section. So damn snappy. The Nikon struggled I couldnt believe it. Also, I did manual focusing as stated in the video and I already contacted my supplier, it works fine on their end when comparing to their other Pentax 70-210. Pentax watches the show and if they want to give me their copy like they do to others, I would be more than glad to redo the review. Otherwise be careful on first batches. Tend to have issue in any brands it seems. Cheers
Thanks for this great review, and showing the Tam,ron and the Pentax side by side. Mi first thought was that these are identical lenses, so thanks for clarifying (by the way, the weight difference may could come also from the shake reduction system that the Tamron for Nikon may have). Bottom line for me is that Pentax needs to be really alerted by putting out new lenses for a premium price that are not worth it. As you said, the Tamron is the better lens for actually half the price (even less in Europe). I had a similar experience with the new 11-18mm, which is a great lens, but I don't think it's worth 6 times the price of the comparable Sigma 10-20 EX. When this pricing policy continues, I may will buy a Sony and take all my Sigma Globa visions to the mount exchange. Are you maybe interested in doing some Astro-Comparison with me?
Yea this pricing is getting out of hand. When pricing a lens to close to double, I was looking forward to see a double in price image quality. Alot of the portrait images looked so close, but when came to landscape, it just falls short. Astro was something I have in mind. I will see if I can. Those who know astro photography, its the clouds, the moon, the mikway season here is around august - september. Its alot of timing and effort.
Ouch, bad result from the Pentax lens. But thank you for the video! OT: What do you think of the Pentax kit lens 28-105? Is it worth to buy it with the K1ii or should I get the body only?
I was hoping to see a huge difference due to the price tag. I couldn't find one example that it was superior vs the Tamron. Most of the time things looked very even and on the long end it wasn't good for landscape.
@@theCameraVille Given the results on full-frame, i doubt that this lens perform any good on aps-c. At least it would make the comparison with the 55-300 plm even more interesting. Did you get a answer from pentax regarding the quality of your copy?
@@vincentlavergne2946 Pentax hasn't respond, but other reviewers reported the same . Its soft on the long end. ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html I guess I had it right. People just don't believe it but .. believe it! lol
Thanks for the review, I would send that lens back right away, too much money for a piece of gear that just underperform. It is a shame Pentax is not developing some of their lenses in-house.
That is what I really want to see. I don't want to see any more rebrand from a third party. I like to see Pentax make their high quality glass with their Gold star standard for their trinity lenses ( 15-30, 24-70, a new 70-200 ). They cant rely on the third parties to do it. I find doing this test is more harder because the price was a huge difference and the quality was more the same in close range and long range, it cant compete. It felt like they gave me the same lens, and when it came down to the long range, someone messed it up for Pentax.
@@theCameraVille I am sure a new version of the DA* 60-250/4 optimized for FF would had been a much better option. There are guides on the Internet on how to make that lens FF. The lack of new lenses (This is not really a new Pentax lens) is one reason I have been considering selling my DA* lenses and look to another brand, and I almost bought the DA 560mm some months ago but I decided against it until the new APS-C camera arrives.
Hi Li! Exellent review! The difference of the lenses is not even subtle. So much so that I suspect you might have a bad copy, maybe a decentered element, or back/front focus. I think you should send it back for a check. maybe you could do a test though. Can you try a focus calibration test just for a check? Thank you!
When people watch my videos, I should make a video about this, I do check the copies and I also get duplicates when I can. I even wait for additional time for another copy to come in if it didn't perform correctly. So far I can say that the Pentax glass is brand new , the Tamron was a rental and beat up. Micro scratches all around. This is up to Pentax to respond to see if they want to send over a copy. I will be open to redo this test.
I did not know that this and other upcoming Pentax lens were Tamron rebrands. It makes me wonder if either if Pentax is somehow doing something to these lens that’s not working, or if Tamron is just setting them up for failure. At the price point they are charging in comparison to Tamron it sure not good..
I am wondering about that after this test. I'm still thinking about the test. I really try to push some good images to show you guys good comparison with the Pentax. It really sucks and I wasn't too happy. At least a slight sharpness bump would be excellent but it just seems even most of the time when doing portraits and even when doing medium shots, but long range telephotos, seems to fail alot.
the CameraVille I know you do a great job reviewing Pentax equipment . I like Pentax and still feel they are very underrated in their camera design and features they offer. However if they expect to remain competitive in the camera market place then something needs to addressed and corrected very quickly other wise we be talking about them in the past tense. I have been using a Nikon d 7100 recently and am really surprised at how much sharper and more detailed their pictures are. If I keep getting the kind of ,results I have been getting , I may wind up back in the Nikon camp.
Hello, and thank you for the review and the utmost quality and effort you put into it. I have a question : Does the “softness” of the Pentax lens can be caused by a back focus issue and be fixed with the AF precise tuning ? Thank you very much for all your work. Take care.
I try to do af adjustment, I even manual focus. Not just manual focus, micro focus when doing the test. I shouldn't struggle or have to do any of this vs a 2 year used tamron lens. This was very sad for me to do as you saw in the end. I spent additional hour tinkering with the SR,shutter speed, remote control, app control. I will revisit this lens again in the summer. Hopefully a better batch of lens comes out.
the CameraVille Thank you for the answer. I understand it is really disappointing to buy a 1100$ lens for such poor results. I am also disappointed a bit about my DFA 28-105 lens I bought with my K1. I found it to be very soft, until I dug into fine adjustments of the AF. There was a back focus that produced about the same result as the one you get with your 70-210 : the picture was always very soft, because it was always out of focus. Now I fine tuned the AF, the image quality got better, but it is always very soft from the max aperture ƒ/3.5 down to ƒ/8. Between ƒ/8 and ƒ/11, it is sharp... And the quality falls when stopping down from ƒ/13 to ƒ/22 (obviously). Therefore, the aperture range where the image is good, from ƒ/8 to ƒ/11, is not very large, and you need a lot of light to get a fast enough shutter speed. Then, I had to admit it is a good (not great) daytime allround lens, but not more. You did a positive review of this lens a while ago : I am sure if there was any issue with the DFA in general, you would have noticed it. Maybe my own lens have some problems other DFA 28-105 don’t have. I don’t know. I also own a HD FA 35mm and a DA*300mm I found to be real good lenses (the DA* is incredible), and I love the HD FA 35. Pentax can build first class lenses... but they can sell poor lenses also... Problem is there is no choices anymore in other brands if you cannot afford a 2000$ zoom or a 1200$ fix focal lens (like the DFA*50mm you can do body building with, haha !). Again, thank you so much for the answer and the quality of your reviews. Enjoy you weekend !
@@theCameraVille I'm back to report that the Viltrox didn't work that well with the Tamron 70-210mm but the Metabones V works great and is very snappy & sharp.
Hey Li. Thanks for your review. It absolutly don’t make me comfortable with the Pentax 24-70 f2.8! I hope so much that it is a master peace. Are you sure that the difference of sharpness is actually a sharpness problem? Could it be a problem of back or front focusing? It’s do weird that even at f8 the pentax is so bad... Take care.
I always manual focus my test , AF , bind focus, the entire kitchen sink. As much as I want to bash on the tamron, I hated tamron for a long time, the tamron out performs in IQ. Pentax has my contact and watches the channel. All up to them at this point.
I think the best solution for pentax remains the Tamron SP 70-200mm f / 2.8 Di LD, it costs less than 700 euros and is very clear even at f2.8. The only problem is that it is out of production...
I spoke to someone last night about that lens. It probably has focus breathing issue like their G2. ( same family ) Also its missing a coat which means either CA issue and sharpness decrease vs the G2.
@@theCameraVille A001 haves a severe Focus breathing , but its ok for lot of us , is cheaper and lighter , construction its weaker compared with mothern 70-200 , old sigmas and pentax Fa* 80-200. But its a nice piece of glass for second hand price!!!!!
Wen I ad fortune to test Nikon D810 + D610 vs Pentax K5ii + DFA*70-200 in low artificial light , actually D810 was far the worst at AF. Surprisingly K5ii with that modern lens was able to beat D610 as well, producing the most keepers among snapshots I did in crowded photo event. I really believe Pentax AF is not that bad as they tell. Now I have K3ii and AF is even better.
As stated in the video, the D810 af wasn't great in my test as well. I couldn't get a clear focus all of the time. It was missing shots left and right ; however, the end results looked more or less the same.
@@theCameraVille Exactly. Image wise D810 and K1 camera are very close by all means. Even colors are "washed" the same way when SooC. I also compared them to KP images in same environment (very low light all sort of light event), KP colors were so much better SooC than any other Pentax I had there. Similar to D610, but this camera had ton of noise especially chroma noise at same ISO (much worse than KP, similar than K5ii).
Michele Lancione Nope, which is a bad sign. I need them to come out to give me their copy because my supplier said , working as intended with the other 70-210 lens. Basically same quality as the rest.
@@theCameraVille This is so bad. I was looking to buy this lens! But your test really is revealing. I can't stand to pay so much money than the Tamron and to get less in return...
Michele Lancione Yup, as stated in the video, I was looking for a big splash. When updating the firmware, I was excited to notice the AF was snappy and accurate than my Nikon. When time comes and you compare the photo, it didnt perform well. When companies charges 90% more, I really want to see evidence straight out the gates all through the way. Not minimal or a hair better. I want to see a HUGE difference. People said to wait for a later batch, which means later summer I plan to check in and maybe pick another copy up. We will see. Depends on the releases.
Hi Fedreico. That was part of the future videos. I am removed from Pentax review currently. I am sure other Pentax reviewers will start their reviews on it
Maybe it's just me but the Tamron looked sharper in all the photos. In the portraits you can see more detail in the Tamron as well as the landscape shots.
As much as I want to do that, I set my budget for the year. I made a video about it on which lens is getting reviewed for the year. I even requested people to let me know what they want to see. If I break this budget and start going off tangent, there will be no 85 mm 1.4 or new apsc review when it will be release. ( $3,000 saved to the side) Sadly, I am mostly funding this from my own pockets because I don't get anything free from anyone which allows me to be unbias as possible. Also, 2020 is schedule to be my last year sadly.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html Seems like people in UK also experience the same. Soft on the long end. This is the Pentax quality. Best AF, BEST WR but poor on the long end.
Good test. But maybe your K-1 is a little bit out of focusing in th landscape comparison. I think you can MF in your next test. Anyway good job, and can't wait to see next tamron vs pentax.
I asked the supplier the same question and they replied, no issue here, testing on their other 2 lenses. People said to me wait for a later batch. I honestly think if the QC is this bad and I got it new, I question every Tamron rebrand.
I did a request video not too long ago and asked people to vote on what lens you want me to review. We decided 2020 videos already. If there is a time when I can squeeze in the sigma 18-300 lens, I will try but currently the year is stacked ;\.
I hope that the Pentax lens wasn’t a typical sample. It was carrying an error that was magnified as focus distance was increased. It may have a misaligned element.
This is really up to Pentax to reach me at this point. They watch the channel and if they feel a way about this, then we will do another review. My supplier gave me the thumbs up that the other copies are identical.
Pretty wired. Theoretally the HD coating should bring a better image quality but in this Pen-maron lens it did nothing... Ricoh/Pentax might be a bit worried to catch up with the market, just think positive that at least there are a new modern ff zoom lens to use. Hope that the next Pentax zoom lens(might be the 50-300) could have a better performance.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Still waiting for the DFA* 85
Wangrui Enderex I even micro adjusted for an hour on the tower with the pentax and gosh, that was something. Tamron got something special I will have to say. Im also waiting on that 85 !
@@theCameraVille There's an old expression said that Nikon devices have a better sharpness than other brands. It may be resonable, but it's also a wired theory¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Unfortunately Rico is not developing Pentax! It doesn't care about costomers! It does not target the pro photographers at all. They have very limited full-frame lenses made by tamron with low image quality and very crazy high price.
I am going to agree with you. I may have to do a serious side by side review later on the year to determine if I am staying with Pentax. This was really heart breaking to say the least. 15- 30 pentax , 24,-70 pentax, I might have to review those lenses.
The problem with the full frame market is the number of brands with big budgets saturating the market. You have to spend a lot to push more product out and, the return on development and marketing budgets are small. Pentax lenses are amongst the best so, we need to know if Li had a rogue underperformer or, if this is the way Tamron treats its work for Pentax. By rights there should be no performance difference apart from signature adjustments to Pentax’s taste.
Yea, I thought the Pentax would jump out the gates and start crushing it. Instead I sat in and check all the files side by side and couldn't find an overall difference that would be make the Pentax a better buy. It was very even most of the time , more or less. ( until I started to shoot landscapes) I think the main take away is, if you are paying 90% more than a 3rd party, it should have no excuses and perform right out the gates.
I think it's a poor sample ........ change the Pentax for another sample !! ...... anyway optically the two lenses are the same (excepting coatings) Pentax lists the two aspheric elements where as Tamron doesn't mention them .... Pentax also list the construction as magnesium ...... Tamron ... metal! No manufacturer would go through an optical change just to reduce the IQ . You can never rely on results from just one sample especially when the lenses share so much in common!
david manze Turns out this matches with the other 70-210 lenses the supplier said. People in the comments below said wait for the summer batch. I feel bad for the early buyers then.
Wow. This is just bad. Like, super bad - makes my D-FA 70-200 look like sharpness monster. Probably a faulty copy, but it doesn't speak in favor for D-FA anyway - you'd at least expect two times better QC for 2x the price for the same thing, no?
I labeled in the video. This is by no means a star glass lens so your 70-200 should be better than the Pentax 70-210 because it isn't a star glass lens. Just know that your 70-200 has focus breathing problems, so if you need that compression and reach, the 70210 will give you that. If I was to pay for this lens, should work right out the gates. the Tamron is fairly old actually. Pentax only 2 month new. Its up to Pentax to contact me about a redo if they feel it needs to be. Otherwise this is the results unfortunately.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html - Pentax 70-210 - Update Review
This is for those who doubt my review. Thanks!
;D
I think Pentax is softer in portrait test too
Fung Tony Fung Tony :( I belive it was. sigh. I even did my Dog test as well and man, The Tamron was something. I dont know where the price difference went on the Pentax. Its almost a 90% difference. 600usd vs 1100usd.
@@theCameraVille Can you test this lens on K-P?
I bought at the beginning of last year every single Pentax lens and the Pentax K1 Mark 2 so far it has treated me well
You may have to skip on this one. Let me review this later summer after a few batches has been made. We will see a follow up review on this. I didnt like the results.
Hi Li, thanks for the comparison. Weird results on the long end shots. I think I heard you say you were shooting on a tripod for these. did you happen to turn shake reduction off on the K-1 when on tripod? I've noticed SR can cause this type of effect when shooting on the tripod.
Keep up the great content loving it!
Yup! I tried everything. I even tried my phone app, trigger remote. Timer. Turning off and on the SR. ( I left the VC on the whole time on the Nikon ) .
Most people are saying its a bad copy but majority of my test I saw ( I did 30 samples, ) it was more or less even when doing close up photos. Mid range landscape very even. Long distance at the tip, woah... not real good on Pentax.
One of the best videos from You Li!
Thanks B!!
For this particular shot 9:08, the Tamron looks sharper at f4 than the Pentax at f8.
Chima Chinda Yup, I have other landscape test that had showed that same result . When shooting on the long end, Tamron seems to be sharp. I even micro adjust my focus on the second try for the pentax sigh. still no dice.
@@theCameraVille Any chance you got a faulty one? Try to get a replacement?
Hi Li. Thanks for your review. Right before the release of this lens, Pentax released firmware updates to optimize the the K-1 and the K-1 Mark II for this lens. Did you get that firmware update for your K-1 before you did the test? It might make a difference.
The AF was very snappy as stated in the review. I was sad to see the Nikon needed several tries to get it to AF in a still portrait.
@@theCameraVille
Thanks for your reply. I thought the optimization firmware was for the overall performance of the lens on the camera; not just the AF. That's why I was asking if you updated your firmware first. Do you have V. 1.52 for your K-1?
Did you calibrate the lenses for infinity focus? Hard to tell whether this is a sub-par optical performance by the Pentax, or a focusing issue at long distance.
Boom Bam done Brian.
Boom Bam Done . 3.5 years and I have a routine I do. I even contacted the supplier as well.
Its up to Pentax on their end to contact me for a redo if they see an error. This is all brand new Pentax glass btw.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html
And other reviewers in UK are also reporting the same. Its a bad design in the glass department.
Not r eww really significant difference, but in your portrait the pentax look softer, they match at f8, but below that the tamron looked sharper. Thank you, was looking at one for my Nikon d7100 to keep the 2.8 at home and the 210 for traveling
yea. I was trying to pull it for Pentax. Like I really wanted it to dominate. In the review I said its more or less the same but really, I think Tamron takes the cake. I even manual pre manual focus on both lenses and it gave me the same results. It was hard doing a review when the results were almost the same. Tamron just had slight edge sharpness.
Also the tamron was used, scratches all over and the Pentax was brand new .
@@theCameraVille its tough when you want your team to always win!
@@JuanLopez-oz9kh Oh man, I always want Pentax to do well but I am here to be fair and square. No fan boyish results. Just results. I will get fan boy replies though lol! haha. Gonna be hell for me lol
I can't say for shure, but "softness" difference well might be for using Lightroom for comparison. When I Started to use CaptureOne all my Pentax files seemed to get new life. I thought I changed camera or lenses or both. C1 have much better profiles for Pentax. But to get really equal comparison between any camera in any software, you should use DCRAW to extract 16-bit TIFF and than you can import it to Lr, since it will skip Lr interpretation of files.
Remember the tale that K1ii eats out details? Well that was true in Lr, since they used SAME profile for both cameras. I proved with DCRAW that all details are there if processed independently from commercial software.
That's because programs would insert additional bloat to your images. I do a few things in my lightroom to make sure I don't get fooled by the bloat. For example, lightroom turns on sharpness over 30-40% by default. I turn all that off. Don't get fool by Capture one , it was doing the same when I was using Fuji. All program perform similar in my opinion. Use what works for you in the end.
@@theCameraVille Lightroom (as well as Capture One) do interpret images well before you can move any sliders. Even if you choose "zero" profile in Lr it is still interpreted. I mentioned DCRAW, where you get extract exact image from RAW without manipulation at all if you choose that option). Than you insert TIFF image into (any) software and it be relevant comparison. All that said, softness you captured probably is from lenses itself. I just had feeling even before on bear images that Nikon images are a bit more sharpened from software. But distance shot of tower introduce another blur, not by software. It might also be AF error, but you said you took photos from MF too.
@@cdmikelis Yup, the lens seems quite soft on the long end when shooting long distance object. When shooting between 20-30 feet , it seems to be very even. And yes, I tried to produce better image than the Tamron by MF on the Pentax. I even micro focus as much as I could to have some evidence for Pentax. In the end, Pentax seemed to perform bad.
In my opinion, it should just dominated right out the box, no question. After the firmware update, it should just be superior because of the major price tag.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html
Good work, Lee! The evidence is not so good for the Pentax lens. Maybe you have only a bad copy od this lens, I hope at least. Well, the 85mm f 1.4 * has been announced and should be out in the last months of this year. Hope the that will perform as the 50 1.4 *!
I hope I have a bad copy as well. Although the other test I did on the side ( I cant show all 30 test) really tell me that majority of the close up shots were more or less the same or even. There wasn't a Crazy jump in quality performance. I cant even find a good characteristic out of the results.
Pentax has my contact, I will be open to redo the test again.
( its funny after 4 days of my 85 mm review, the 85 mm news gets release lol , I see you Pentax!)
Pentax' s sharpness seems worse at any distance.. Firstly I will think about a faulty pentax copy. The performance of the two lenses should be almost the same...
More or less its about the same with the portrait section. Perhaps I may had drifted a mm off which means shooting my dog toy, that I usually use, is a better choice.
On the roof testing, I didn't see a strong result. looked even. Distance shooting was damn. It was bad.
Just one question: Did you update the firmware of your camera. To me your problems do not look like optical problems but maybe problems of fine-tuning of the image stabilitisation of the camera (sensor). There was an upgrade of firmware avaiIable for all actual Pentax camera bodies refering to the new lens. I also would like to see photos with against-the-light situations where Pentax should have some advantages due to its lens coating (e.g. portraits of people with longer hair). All in all I like what you are doing on your channel!
I seemed to answer this already below. Yup,after update, the AF was a lot faster and focused better than the nikon and tamron in my portrait section. So damn snappy. The Nikon struggled I couldnt believe it.
Also, I did manual focusing as stated in the video and I already contacted my supplier, it works fine on their end when comparing to their other Pentax 70-210. Pentax watches the show and if they want to give me their copy like they do to others, I would be more than glad to redo the review. Otherwise be careful on first batches. Tend to have issue in any brands it seems.
Cheers
Thanks for this great review, and showing the Tam,ron and the Pentax side by side. Mi first thought was that these are identical lenses, so thanks for clarifying (by the way, the weight difference may could come also from the shake reduction system that the Tamron for Nikon may have). Bottom line for me is that Pentax needs to be really alerted by putting out new lenses for a premium price that are not worth it. As you said, the Tamron is the better lens for actually half the price (even less in Europe). I had a similar experience with the new 11-18mm, which is a great lens, but I don't think it's worth 6 times the price of the comparable Sigma 10-20 EX. When this pricing policy continues, I may will buy a Sony and take all my Sigma Globa visions to the mount exchange. Are you maybe interested in doing some Astro-Comparison with me?
Yea this pricing is getting out of hand. When pricing a lens to close to double, I was looking forward to see a double in price image quality. Alot of the portrait images looked so close, but when came to landscape, it just falls short.
Astro was something I have in mind. I will see if I can. Those who know astro photography, its the clouds, the moon, the mikway season here is around august - september. Its alot of timing and effort.
Ouch, bad result from the Pentax lens. But thank you for the video!
OT: What do you think of the Pentax kit lens 28-105? Is it worth to buy it with the K1ii or should I get the body only?
Thank you for stopping by.
I made a video of that lens. look it up in my library. You will find it fascinating ;) no spoilers!
So it's clear. The high price is just so third party makers release a lens with PK mount.
I'm glad you gave it a fair review.
Thanks.
I was hoping to see a huge difference due to the price tag. I couldn't find one example that it was superior vs the Tamron. Most of the time things looked very even and on the long end it wasn't good for landscape.
@@theCameraVille Given the results on full-frame, i doubt that this lens perform any good on aps-c.
At least it would make the comparison with the 55-300 plm even more interesting.
Did you get a answer from pentax regarding the quality of your copy?
@@vincentlavergne2946 Pentax hasn't respond, but other reviewers reported the same . Its soft on the long end.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html
I guess I had it right. People just don't believe it but .. believe it! lol
Thanks for the review, I would send that lens back right away, too much money for a piece of gear that just underperform. It is a shame Pentax is not developing some of their lenses in-house.
That is what I really want to see. I don't want to see any more rebrand from a third party. I like to see Pentax make their high quality glass with their Gold star standard for their trinity lenses ( 15-30, 24-70, a new 70-200 ). They cant rely on the third parties to do it. I find doing this test is more harder because the price was a huge difference and the quality was more the same in close range and long range, it cant compete.
It felt like they gave me the same lens, and when it came down to the long range, someone messed it up for Pentax.
@@theCameraVille I am sure a new version of the DA* 60-250/4 optimized for FF would had been a much better option. There are guides on the Internet on how to make that lens FF. The lack of new lenses (This is not really a new Pentax lens) is one reason I have been considering selling my DA* lenses and look to another brand, and I almost bought the DA 560mm some months ago but I decided against it until the new APS-C camera arrives.
Hi Li! Exellent review! The difference of the lenses is not even subtle. So much so that I suspect you might have a bad copy, maybe a decentered element, or back/front focus. I think you should send it back for a check. maybe you could do a test though. Can you try a focus calibration test just for a check? Thank you!
When people watch my videos, I should make a video about this, I do check the copies and I also get duplicates when I can. I even wait for additional time for another copy to come in if it didn't perform correctly. So far I can say that the Pentax glass is brand new , the Tamron was a rental and beat up. Micro scratches all around.
This is up to Pentax to respond to see if they want to send over a copy. I will be open to redo this test.
I did not know that this and other upcoming Pentax lens were Tamron rebrands. It makes me wonder if either if Pentax is somehow doing something to these lens that’s not working, or if Tamron is just setting them up for failure. At the price point they are charging in comparison to Tamron it sure not good..
I am wondering about that after this test. I'm still thinking about the test. I really try to push some good images to show you guys good comparison with the Pentax. It really sucks and I wasn't too happy. At least a slight sharpness bump would be excellent but it just seems even most of the time when doing portraits and even when doing medium shots, but long range telephotos, seems to fail alot.
the CameraVille I know you do a great job reviewing Pentax equipment . I like Pentax and still feel they are very underrated in their camera design and features they offer. However if they expect to remain competitive in the camera market place then something needs to addressed and corrected very quickly other wise we be talking about them in the past tense. I have been using a Nikon d 7100 recently and am really surprised at how much sharper and more detailed their pictures are. If I keep getting the kind of ,results I have been getting , I may wind up back in the Nikon camp.
Hello, and thank you for the review and the utmost quality and effort you put into it.
I have a question : Does the “softness” of the Pentax lens can be caused by a back focus issue and be fixed with the AF precise tuning ?
Thank you very much for all your work. Take care.
I try to do af adjustment, I even manual focus. Not just manual focus, micro focus when doing the test. I shouldn't struggle or have to do any of this vs a 2 year used tamron lens. This was very sad for me to do as you saw in the end. I spent additional hour tinkering with the SR,shutter speed, remote control, app control.
I will revisit this lens again in the summer. Hopefully a better batch of lens comes out.
the CameraVille Thank you for the answer. I understand it is really disappointing to buy a 1100$ lens for such poor results. I am also disappointed a bit about my DFA 28-105 lens I bought with my K1. I found it to be very soft, until I dug into fine adjustments of the AF. There was a back focus that produced about the same result as the one you get with your 70-210 : the picture was always very soft, because it was always out of focus. Now I fine tuned the AF, the image quality got better, but it is always very soft from the max aperture ƒ/3.5 down to ƒ/8. Between ƒ/8 and ƒ/11, it is sharp... And the quality falls when stopping down from ƒ/13 to ƒ/22 (obviously). Therefore, the aperture range where the image is good, from ƒ/8 to ƒ/11, is not very large, and you need a lot of light to get a fast enough shutter speed. Then, I had to admit it is a good (not great) daytime allround lens, but not more.
You did a positive review of this lens a while ago : I am sure if there was any issue with the DFA in general, you would have noticed it. Maybe my own lens have some problems other DFA 28-105 don’t have. I don’t know.
I also own a HD FA 35mm and a DA*300mm I found to be real good lenses (the DA* is incredible), and I love the HD FA 35.
Pentax can build first class lenses... but they can sell poor lenses also... Problem is there is no choices anymore in other brands if you cannot afford a 2000$ zoom or a 1200$ fix focal lens (like the DFA*50mm you can do body building with, haha !).
Again, thank you so much for the answer and the quality of your reviews. Enjoy you weekend !
Super Fast so my lens has a real problem ... maybe. I will send an email to the Pentax store in Paris, from which I purchased it. Thank you.
@@org1969 I agree , the 28-105 is sharp as heck. I even put mud on it lol.
@@dimitriadam2270 Yea, that needs to be fix . 28 - 105 is a nice glass!
Bought the Tamron for my Sony A6600 with the Viltrox EF-to E II Speedbooster
It is probably very sharp and snappy ?
@@theCameraVille I'm back to report that the Viltrox didn't work that well with the Tamron 70-210mm but the Metabones V works great and is very snappy & sharp.
Hey Li. Thanks for your review.
It absolutly don’t make me comfortable with the Pentax 24-70 f2.8! I hope so much that it is a master peace.
Are you sure that the difference of sharpness is actually a sharpness problem? Could it be a problem of back or front focusing?
It’s do weird that even at f8 the pentax is so bad...
Take care.
I always manual focus my test , AF , bind focus, the entire kitchen sink. As much as I want to bash on the tamron, I hated tamron for a long time, the tamron out performs in IQ.
Pentax has my contact and watches the channel. All up to them at this point.
I think the best solution for pentax remains the Tamron SP 70-200mm f / 2.8 Di LD, it costs less than 700 euros and is very clear even at f2.8. The only problem is that it is out of production...
I spoke to someone last night about that lens. It probably has focus breathing issue like their G2. ( same family ) Also its missing a coat which means either CA issue and sharpness decrease vs the G2.
@@theCameraVille A001 haves a severe Focus breathing , but its ok for lot of us , is cheaper and lighter , construction its weaker compared with mothern 70-200 , old sigmas and pentax Fa* 80-200.
But its a nice piece of glass for second hand price!!!!!
Wen I ad fortune to test Nikon D810 + D610 vs Pentax K5ii + DFA*70-200 in low artificial light , actually D810 was far the worst at AF. Surprisingly K5ii with that modern lens was able to beat D610 as well, producing the most keepers among snapshots I did in crowded photo event. I really believe Pentax AF is not that bad as they tell. Now I have K3ii and AF is even better.
As stated in the video, the D810 af wasn't great in my test as well. I couldn't get a clear focus all of the time. It was missing shots left and right ; however, the end results looked more or less the same.
@@theCameraVille Exactly. Image wise D810 and K1 camera are very close by all means. Even colors are "washed" the same way when SooC. I also compared them to KP images in same environment (very low light all sort of light event), KP colors were so much better SooC than any other Pentax I had there. Similar to D610, but this camera had ton of noise especially chroma noise at same ISO (much worse than KP, similar than K5ii).
Hi Li, thanks for this review. Very informative. Did you hear back from Pentax?
Michele Lancione Nope, which is a bad sign. I need them to come out to give me their copy because my supplier said , working as intended with the other 70-210 lens. Basically same quality as the rest.
@@theCameraVille This is so bad. I was looking to buy this lens! But your test really is revealing. I can't stand to pay so much money than the Tamron and to get less in return...
Michele Lancione Yup, as stated in the video, I was looking for a big splash. When updating the firmware, I was excited to notice the AF was snappy and accurate than my Nikon. When time comes and you compare the photo, it didnt perform well. When companies charges 90% more, I really want to see evidence straight out the gates all through the way. Not minimal or a hair better. I want to see a HUGE difference.
People said to wait for a later batch, which means later summer I plan to check in and maybe pick another copy up. We will see. Depends on the releases.
Wondering, if there is a chance for you to make a Tamron 24-70 G2 f2.8 vs Pentax 24-70 f2.8?
Hi Fedreico. That was part of the future videos. I am removed from Pentax review currently. I am sure other Pentax reviewers will start their reviews on it
Maybe it's just me but the Tamron looked sharper in all the photos.
In the portraits you can see more detail in the Tamron as well as the landscape shots.
Chima Chinda I will have to agree with you. I didnt want to be too harsh on Pentax but it wasnt good .
get the Pentax DA* 60-250 f4 and de baffle it... it could be an interesting test by the way
As much as I want to do that, I set my budget for the year. I made a video about it on which lens is getting reviewed for the year. I even requested people to let me know what they want to see. If I break this budget and start going off tangent, there will be no 85 mm 1.4 or new apsc review when it will be release. ( $3,000 saved to the side) Sadly, I am mostly funding this from my own pockets because I don't get anything free from anyone which allows me to be unbias as possible. Also, 2020 is schedule to be my last year sadly.
thank you for the test 👍
Np! stay tune in a month or two, if no word from Pentax, then this review is the way it is.
I guess the differences we see is copy variation. In the end, same lenses, same lens, maybe (!) different coating.
WorksAs Intended Its different coating. Its stated on their website. Also you can see the purple in the image which is the pentax trademark.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html
Seems like people in UK also experience the same. Soft on the long end. This is the Pentax quality. Best AF, BEST WR but poor on the long end.
Here we go again...Have the same problem with the Pentax 24-70 on my K1 This is not good at all!
Yea, I may have to go and test a side by side with 15-30 and 24-70 down the road.
Same maker nikon has vibration reduction in it and pentax does not have this. So this makes pentax lighter
Yea, very true right there. The VC is all IBIS on the Pentax. Good call Jose!
Is the tamron lens usable at low light
yup.worked great
Now I got the 70-210! The cap is really bad designed...
Its a tamron 😂😂🤦♂️🤦♂️ Think only think pentax is the glass . I wish pentax made it themself.
Good test. But maybe your K-1 is a little bit out of focusing in th landscape comparison. I think you can MF in your next test. Anyway good job, and can't wait to see next tamron vs pentax.
The Pentax was manually focus. I mentioned the focus peaking as well. I even micro adjusted several times but this was the results.
the CameraVille Oh, sorry for my bad english listening skill. Thanks for your test again.
So, do you think it is possible that there is something wrong with your copy?
I asked the supplier the same question and they replied, no issue here, testing on their other 2 lenses. People said to me wait for a later batch. I honestly think if the QC is this bad and I got it new, I question every Tamron rebrand.
That's not what I'm getting on mine, fast, sharp and beautiful, I know another Pentax user who using it and it also sharp. Just saying...
@@thek7k5 ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html
Can u review the Sigma 18-300 for Pentax ?
I did a request video not too long ago and asked people to vote on what lens you want me to review. We decided 2020 videos already. If there is a time when I can squeeze in the sigma 18-300 lens, I will try but currently the year is stacked ;\.
Nice Li 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽 keep it up!!!
thanks!
got Tamron 70 - 210 for $429 on buybig
That is a steal! 6 year warranty as well. Gosh.
I hope that the Pentax lens wasn’t a typical sample. It was carrying an error that was magnified as focus distance was increased. It may have a misaligned element.
Pentax has my contact and watches the channel. All up to them at this point.
Thanks for the honest comparison. Definitely disappointing nonetheless very much appreciated. Guess I have to consider something else for that range
Raoul Simon I was ready to bash that Tamron , but damn, it was hard to find something to prove anything . Sigh.
Suprisingly the lens not having the 18g image stabilisation system is 18g lighter.
WorksAs Intended Really a tiny difference but was quite interesting
i'm not expert. maybe it's a fault of that particular exemplar? the only way to know is to get another ona and compare two Pentaxes ))
This is really up to Pentax to reach me at this point. They watch the channel and if they feel a way about this, then we will do another review. My supplier gave me the thumbs up that the other copies are identical.
well.... so, it seems that Tamron is simply better then))
Pretty wired. Theoretally the HD coating should bring a better image quality but in this Pen-maron lens it did nothing... Ricoh/Pentax might be a bit worried to catch up with the market, just think positive that at least there are a new modern ff zoom lens to use. Hope that the next Pentax zoom lens(might be the 50-300) could have a better performance.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Still waiting for the DFA* 85
Wangrui Enderex I even micro adjusted for an hour on the tower with the pentax and gosh, that was something. Tamron got something special I will have to say. Im also waiting on that 85 !
@@theCameraVille There's an old expression said that Nikon devices have a better sharpness than other brands. It may be resonable, but it's also a wired theory¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thank you so much Li, the ‘new’ Pentax 70-210 is still…anyway…I can save my $
They should! My prediction. Pentax user deserve a true 70-200.
Unfortunately Rico is not developing Pentax! It doesn't care about costomers! It does not target the pro photographers at all. They have very limited full-frame lenses made by tamron with low image quality and very crazy high price.
I am going to agree with you. I may have to do a serious side by side review later on the year to determine if I am staying with Pentax. This was really heart breaking to say the least.
15- 30 pentax , 24,-70 pentax,
I might have to review those lenses.
The problem with the full frame market is the number of brands with big budgets saturating the market. You have to spend a lot to push more product out and, the return on development and marketing budgets are small. Pentax lenses are amongst the best so, we need to know if Li had a rogue underperformer or, if this is the way Tamron treats its work for Pentax. By rights there should be no performance difference apart from signature adjustments to Pentax’s taste.
Wow really surprise by the results... Pentax is not performing well at all...
Yea, I thought the Pentax would jump out the gates and start crushing it. Instead I sat in and check all the files side by side and couldn't find an overall difference that would be make the Pentax a better buy. It was very even most of the time , more or less. ( until I started to shoot landscapes)
I think the main take away is, if you are paying 90% more than a 3rd party, it should have no excuses and perform right out the gates.
the CameraVille I was expecting way better. I wanted to replace my old sigma 70-200 HSM II...
I think it's a poor sample ........ change the Pentax for another sample !! ...... anyway optically the two lenses are the same (excepting coatings) Pentax lists the two aspheric elements where as Tamron doesn't mention them .... Pentax also list the construction as magnesium ...... Tamron ... metal! No manufacturer would go through an optical change just to reduce the IQ . You can never rely on results from just one sample especially when the lenses share so much in common!
david manze Turns out this matches with the other 70-210 lenses the supplier said. People in the comments below said wait for the summer batch. I feel bad for the early buyers then.
ruclips.net/video/0ede8YtA4Xc/видео.html
There you go, other reviewers in UK states the same, its bad on the long end.
Wow. This is just bad. Like, super bad - makes my D-FA 70-200 look like sharpness monster. Probably a faulty copy, but it doesn't speak in favor for D-FA anyway - you'd at least expect two times better QC for 2x the price for the same thing, no?
I labeled in the video. This is by no means a star glass lens so your 70-200 should be better than the Pentax 70-210 because it isn't a star glass lens. Just know that your 70-200 has focus breathing problems, so if you need that compression and reach, the 70210 will give you that.
If I was to pay for this lens, should work right out the gates. the Tamron is fairly old actually. Pentax only 2 month new. Its up to Pentax to contact me about a redo if they feel it needs to be. Otherwise this is the results unfortunately.
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np! thanks for stopping by.
Nice Li 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽 keep it up!!!
Thanks Hariz!
the CameraVille hehe, when u want to test film? 🙈🙈🙈