PENTAX DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ED FishEye Zoom Price

JackProton · 02-19-2009, 11:10 PM

I WANT this lens. I'm a relatively new K100D owner and also own other DSLRs by other manufacturers. The lens is a LOT cheaper on Pentax mount than the Tokina version for my other cameras - $356 vs. $560. The question is whether $356 is a great price and I should consider buying it NOW at this price OR whether I should wait and see if the price falls even further. Yes, I know, no one can predict the future but it would help to know whether you think this is a very good price for this rather unique Pentax/Tokina lens. (In other words - just a little push please

).

**Damn Brit** · 02-19-2009, 11:14 PM

Hi Jack, welcome to the forum.
That's the price on Amazon, you don't usually find cheaper than Amazon prices. Lens prices have been going up.

JackProton · 02-19-2009, 11:28 PM

Thanks! Yes, you make a very good point -- prices are going up. Yep, I've got the lens in my Amazon cart (waiting for a click).

*farfisa* · 02-19-2009, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by JackProton

Thanks! Yes, you make a very good point -- prices are going up. Yep, I've got the lens in my Amazon cart (waiting for a click).

It's the button on the left

They do come up in the marketplace here on the forum. One went mint for $320 a few weeks ago:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/s...-ed-if-af.html

Still, if you get shipping included and no taxes, $356 for a brand new one is pretty darn good!

SpecialK · 02-19-2009, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by JackProton

Thanks! Yes, you make a very good point -- prices are going up. Yep, I've got the lens in my Amazon cart (waiting for a click).

Click it, man!

Mine was $320, but that was after a $100 rebate. So, $356 is not a bad current price.

JackProton · 02-20-2009, 12:15 AM

farfisa, thanks for the pointer. Its good to know what the used ones are going for.

SpecialK, how long ago did you buy yours? And how often are rebates offered for Pentax gear? Do they do it at least twice a year like certain other manufacturers or is it just every so often?

*heliphoto* · 02-20-2009, 12:21 AM

As others have said, that seems a decent price - I bought my used here on the forum marketplace for $330. But buying new, you'll get a warranty etc...

In case you haven't seen it, maybe the Fisheye Fever Club thread will push you over the edge

.

dazman · 02-20-2009, 02:02 AM

At that price buy it! To give you an idea of how cheap that is, in Australia the FE was $540 in November...$610 in December and now $820. Now click to buy the lens

BBear · 02-20-2009, 07:05 AM

That is the ONLY lens left for me to buy... everytime someone has one for sale in the market place, it sells rather quickly.

On another note, why would the Tokina version cost more? Is it better than the Pentax or Pentax is charging them for using the formula?

SpecialK · 02-20-2009, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by JackProton

SpecialK, how long ago did you buy yours? And how often are rebates offered for Pentax gear? Do they do it at least twice a year like certain other manufacturers or is it just every so often?

I got it Nov 06 with my K100D body. It was a influencing reason I went with Pentax. Don't know about the rebate cycle, though I got the 50-200 (now retired as the 55-300 is much better) and the AF540 (hardly use it) with rebates on occasion..

Nimrad · 02-22-2009, 01:57 AM

It's going for 350 dollars here: Pentax BEST 10-17 DA ED FISH-EYE ZOOM LENS 21580 NEW - eBay (item 280314137110 end time Feb-23-09 18:20:41 PST)

*heliphoto* · 02-22-2009, 02:08 AM

Originally Posted by Nimrad

It's going for 350 dollars here: Pentax BEST 10-17 DA ED FISH-EYE ZOOM LENS 21580 NEW - eBay (item 280314137110 end time Feb-23-09 18:20:41 PST)

Yeah, if no one else bids

... It might only be the box they're selling anyway - no picture of the lens, no warranty, no big name store like amazon to back up the purchase - people are crazy!

From the listing...

• Super Macro
An ingenious internal focus system allows photographers to focus from as close as approx. 1" (approx. 2.5 cm), giving them the power to fill the whole frame with surprisingly small subjects.

It does focus close but Macro??? - nah. Hilarious stuff.

**J.Scott** · 02-22-2009, 04:00 AM

The Pentax site states that this lens has a minimum focus distance of .14 meters which is equal to 5.51 inches - not 1 inch. Although this seller has a 100% positive feedback I dislike those that misrepresent a product.

If you read down further on that auction it states the proper minimum focus distance. Where they got that 1 inch thing is a mystery.

bdphoto · 02-22-2009, 12:27 PM

Could be because the minimum focus distance is to the sensor, not the front of the lens. You may indeed end up with only 1" or so of working distance from the front of the lens to the in-focus part of the subject.

The "minimum focusing distance" specified for my DA 35 Limited is 5.4 inches. Working distance is more like 0.9".

wasser · 02-22-2009, 03:46 PM

I purchased one off Ebay from Prodigital2000 for $350 shipped. It also included an 8 year warranty.