HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited

Let’s be honest—dealing with harsh light in landscapes can be a pain. But the Grad ND Feature on my Pentax K3 iii camera is like having a built-in magic trick. With just a few taps, it gently darkens the sky while keeping the foreground perfectly exposed. No need to mess around with physical filters or Photoshop later. What I love most? You’re in full control. Adjust the intensity, shift the transition up or down, and boom—your shot looks like you waited for the perfect light (even if you didn’t). The results are smooth, natural, and just… right. If you shoot landscapes and want beautiful balance without the fuss, this feature is a total game changer.

Excellent as always Even on the smallest Pentax accessories always well trought out

Everything works perfectly.

Nothing to say except it’s perfect

What it always is whit to handle photo equipment is to practice . What I’ve seen so far is that it will give me plenty of satisfaction .

Sorry, i have not had the time to seriously use it.

As a whole a good experience. I don´t like to comment further details, because my native language is german. Thank you for your understanding.

works well and customizable

I am very satisfied with Star focusing & Remote assist - the job is done perfectly. If it could be possible in future to return processed RAw files in any RAW format - it would be excellent. I could say for me - well spend money.

This is a Little nice Gem! Very well made. Maybe you have to buy two of them. One for the Camera and one for the showcase😉.

Edles Teil, hervorragende Verarbeitungsqualität. Im direkten Vergleich merklich besser als mein Morpheus, was z. B. Die Beschichtungen angeht. Bildqualität exzellent. Werde mir nach und nach weitere Okulare aus dieser Serie zulegen und meine bisherigen austauschen. Ich bin sehr zufrieden.

The star focus is fantastic. In the past manually focusing a DA*300mm was a chore as I use a lightweight tripod because of trekking to locations, that and a geared head ment lots of movement in live view at x8 or x16. Not anymore. Just roughly focus manually then press the remote, job done. Perfect focus. I also use a DA*11-18mm and the official view is that you have to focus only on stars, well I had a view about 50/50 sky landscape and the camera focused and I got the green OK. I knocked a star off the review because the edit feature is a little awkward to use, but, I am very much an amateur at star photography. I use HDMI out to my TV so I can see everything on a larger screen which helps. The camera also creates a new picture file so you have an unedited original as well. I think with practice the editor will become easier to use especially if you have proper dark skies which I did not for my first attempt, lot of moonlight brightening the sky. I also used image sync as well as a Pentax remote, both worked.

Very nice look and high quality feel, actually pretty lightweight but not in a bad way. Love the manual film advance mechanism and the amount of details in this camera. Takes some time to get used to the „different“ focus wheel but straightforward after a few shots. Only thing to pay attention to is to remove the lens cap, but there is a warning led just in case. Definitely would buy again, good job

The first Tests were promising, more will follow.

il manque une documentation pour une bonne utilisation. dommage pour le prix.....

I am truly captivated by the exquisite craftsmanship of this machine. It stands out in every aspect, truly in a class of its own. While it is not a mirrorless camera, I believe the current hype surrounding electronic viewfinders (EVFs) will eventually fade. In my opinion, nothing can replicate the clarity and authenticity of a traditional pentaprism viewfinder. The K-1 II is an absolute powerhouse, packed with an impressive array of functions, and its button layout creates an emotional connection that enhances the shooting experience. Carrying this remarkable workhorse fills me with immense pride. Thank you, Pentax, for such a masterpiece.

For K1 II is very good!

Realy perfect and fast . I'm very satisfied.

Without problems. It fits super !

The most important feature was the star AF, as it helps astro landscape photography in cold conditions. Star AF works exactly as it should, and takes out a lot of trouble from the process. I have so far mostly used it with DFA21.

This lens is a joy to use. It is ridiculously light, making it a great travel, streetscape lens. I have been using it for walkabouts in Porto, architectural detail, graffitti, ocean storms, etc so far but will take on trips together with the DA 70 for a light combo. I do have several other superb Pentax lenses, manual or AF, some great macro lenses, but for travelling and walkabout they are a bit too heavy. The HD DA 40 has some magic, and great colors and separation subject-background, when shot at f/4 or f/5.6 (my favorite apertures), but is bitingly sharp after that. It is very sharp at first/2.8, corners not being bad at all, and minimal vignetting. The round iris does make a difference from my other lenses, in well-tamed bacground light spots. Very happy with this lens, and of course, with Pentax in general.

Excelent optics, silent and quick auto focus, very very sharp, nice minimal focus distance for my small portrait subjects (dogs). The only con I can think of is this is heavy AF lens. I was lucky enough to get a silver one for my silver K-1 mkII limited edition.

Works like a charm for me.

I at looking forward to purchasing other premium features

I can’t tell you because I still did not receive it !

The GND function is a good addition and works properly. I think an additional functionality should be added: the possibility of having a normal ND filter, taking a single shot, instead of the 2 that the GND uses.

I am still waiting to find a time to file a claim with you. What you have sent me includes the plastic battery compartment cover, but not the screw to hold it in place. The reason for requesting it is that I have misplaced the screw, as this is a very big design flaw in this camera. If you would be kind enough to tell me where and how to file the claim, I would be grateful.

Ich bin sehr glücklich mit der Kamera. Am Anfang war ich skeptisch, was die unterschiedlichen Aufnahme-Modi betrifft. Aber in der Praxis haben sich die Aufnahme-Modi sehr bewährt. Auch die Qualität der Kamera ist sehr hoch.

Low noise AF, excellent image quality, amazing field depth for a 4.5. A bit heavy, though. A tripod becames useful to rest your arms, not because shaky pics. I was able to shoot clear pics at 1/2000 and above, with end of day fading sunlight and low ISO (up to 400 max). High quality transport pouch is also a good thing. I've tested it only on sports so far (Surf) and I'm amazed with the image quality (detail and color) at it's max (450mm zoom). The programmable focus spots makes you ready to shoot almost instantly in a fixed/known trajectory. Overall, i'm very pleased with it.

Schnelle Lieferung! Super Verpackung!