This lens is remarkable for its compact size and excellent picture-taking qualities. Without the lens cap it extends only 15mm - about 5/8 inch - from the front of the camera body on which it is mounted. This makes it a great "stealth lens" for taking photos when one does not want to draw the attention of one's subject, as a large zoom lens is likely to do. It is a member of the Pentax Limited Edition lens series which said to comprise some of the finest autofocus lenses available today.

Although Pentax only claims coverage of the 16x24mm APS-C digital sensor format, the DA40 will actually cover the full 24x36 35mm film frame as well. I see very slight softness in the corners at f2.8 on film at high magnification, however; while sharpness is excellent over the entire frame on digital.