| Author: | | Showing Reviews 1-15 of 53 | | Pentaxian Registered: January, 2009 Location: East Bay Area, CA Posts: 2,164
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: December 5, 2010 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $450.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | great extreme wide FOV, sharp even at wide apertures. | | Cons: | some flaring, focus ring is narrow. | | New or Used: Used
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Sure, it is a specialty lens, but one I always keep in my bag. Sometimes you find yourself framing up a shot and just need to pack more image into the frame - THIS is the lens for that!
I find the IQ of this lens to be comparable to my DA 16-45 and the FE is still quite sharp even at f/3.5. Because it is so wide, it is not practical to use a hood, so be careful with your strong lightsources or you may get some flaring. In high contrast situations, this lens most definitely produces purple fringing, but it is often easy to correct in PP.
I find the zoom ring to be smooth and well damped but really wish the focus ring were wider, as i prefer manual focus when time permits or in the dark and I sometimes find myself having to fumble around to find it. Auto focus is speedy and less noisy than other DA lenses i've used.
Bokeh is not much of an element here because at such sort FL, much of the field will be in focus, however, this lens does close-focus nicely, so when you get up really close and dial it wide open, you can achieve a pleasing OOF effect.
Overall, the lens feels solidly build and is comfortable to use. I tend to prefer M-shooting using an aperture ring, but for this lens, I do not mind making an exception.
I looked back on my FE photos over the last year and nearly 3/4ths were shot from the 10mm end of the range. The distortion effect is very pronounced here, particularly if you get up close on your subject or place some straight lines toward the edges of the frame. I never understood why people apply a defish app to fisheye pics - that seems to miss the whole point, IMO. Just get a good rectilinear ultrawide instead.
For the price, this fisheye is near the high end vs the competition, but produces much superior images, so it just depends what tool you require to do the job.
Highly recommended and overall a fun lens for exercising your creative eye!
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 243
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: November 25, 2010 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $500.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Compact, good build, fun | | Cons: | Some purple/blue fringing and CA | | Sharpness: 4
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 5
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 7
New or Used: New
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Nicely made, not the lightest of lenses but well balanced and of solid, precision feel. Some fringing and CA effects with a K-7. No internal reflections or flare, you can shoot straight into the sun without any problems.
Fun to use but takes some practice since some shots work better than others.Great for shooting 360 degree panoramas, being arty or just messing about.
Edit :
I've had this lens for over a year now and the novelty has largely worn off. These days I tend to use it mainly for 360 degree panoramas since it lacks sharpness over all of its zoom range. At 10mm you can live with this as you'd be using it for the fish-eye effect, but at 17mm it is worse than the kit 18-55 at 18mm. Purple and blue fringing can also be bad in some situations.
The http://www.pentaxforums.com/userrevi...isheye-cs.html is a better and cheaper fisheye alternative if you don't need autofocus and zoom.
   
  
And an interactive 360 degree panorama - click image below and follow instructions, or better still use this link :
http://www.360cities.net/image/snow-in-manchester
Have a play with the different views or follow the big arrows for other of my 360 degree panos nearby.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2007 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,135
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: March 20, 2009 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | very sharp, fun fun lens, unique (FE zoom), build quality, small, close focusing | | Cons: | Purple fringing, Chromatic aberrations | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 8
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I love this lens, it gives very fun shots and the widest angle of view you can get (180° and about 169° horizontally if I'm not mistaken). Because it's not rectilinear like the Sigma 10-20mm its effective field of view is much wider than the Sigma.
Its center sharpness is impressive, the corners are a bit difficult to judge due to the huge fisheye distortion. It's the only Fisheye zoom (the Tokina 10-17 is the same design and the Pentax also designed a similar lens for their film cameras). At 17mm the distortion is much less and gets closer to more rectiliner wide angle. Its close focusing ability makes it even more versatile and I love it for... macros!
It's also very small, about the same size as the kit lens I believe, but with a very good build quality. Focusing is fast (everything after 0.5m or so is in focus anyway) and smooth and provides quick shift. The cap and hood are uncommon and you cannot put filters but it's normal for that kind of lens, just be careful to not bump the front element.
The only downside of the lens are the CA and especially the purple fringing. I think this is mostly due to the fish-eye design anyway but it can spoil some shots.
Pictures taken with the DA 10-17mm fisheye | | | | | Forum Member Registered: April, 2008 Location: Vancouver Posts: 87
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: July 31, 2008 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $565.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very fun and unique, fast focus, affordable compared to other fisheye lenses from Sigma, Nikon, etc. | | Cons: | None | |
I love my fisheye! Some people may scoff at the fisheye's unique barrel distortion look, but it adds a whole new creative flair to the art of photography. It lets me view the world in a whole new way.
I recently went on a trip and used this as a walkaround lens. It was light, focused quickly even in low light, and the pictures were very sharp. There is so much creative possibility that I haven't used it long enough to probe its extent yet.
Try it at night with flash, I know it's a faux paux to use flash with a wide-angle fisheye , but you'll have so much fun that you won't regret it  | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2006 Location: So California Posts: 8,250
1 user found this helpful
| | Lens Review Date: January 23, 2007 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $320.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | It's really wide. It's fisheye. | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I wrote the first review, before the lens review section was created. It has some sample images in it.
http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...4-5-ed-if.html
At 10mm, watch where you put your feet. I noticed a couple shots with my left elbow in it, too :-)
Some PF, but that does not bother me.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2011 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 5 | | Lens Review Date: April 28, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, super-wide, light-weight zoom | | Cons: | none | | New or Used: New
Camera Used: K10,20,5
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This is my favourite lens. I keep it mostly at 13mm and use it for landscapes.
It's sharp, light-weight, versatile, and super-wide. No problem shooting into the sun.
There's some CA, but there is with most of my lenses. Stays on the K5 all the time!
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: April, 2010 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 1,829 | | Lens Review Date: April 25, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, light for a zoom, bright colour, extraordinarily versatile | | Cons: | CA can be bothersome | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: New
Camera Used: K 20, K-5
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When I went to purchase this lens after seeing great results and hearing such positive reviews, the salesman tried to discourage me suggesting it would be a one trick pony. I have used it on a daily basis for a challenge on the forum and regularly heard comments like "I don't normally like fish-eye but I like this" or "I can't believe this is a fisheye!" This is a brilliantly versatile lens with nice crisp colours. Autofocus is fast and accurate allowing you to hold the camera in unusual positions, shoot and get very unique images. CA can be quite significant but no worse than my DA* 16-50. As well, filters cannot be used so you will want to look after the front element, keeping it covered and clean.
A fish-eye is a great creative addition to a photographer's arsenal. Composition is very important to make the most of the results but it often breaks many of the rules that may be dragging you into a rut. Some examples:
At 10mm
The morning after by jmschrei, on Flickr
At 17mm
Red fin by jmschrei, on Flickr
Playing up the fishiness
Spring returns to the concrete jungle by jmschrei, on Flickr
Or not
Along the rails by jmschrei, on Flickr
And getting in close (you can get up to 13mm from your subject)
Pussy willow by jmschrei, on Flickr
Nature in abstract by jmschrei, on Flickr
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 737 | | Lens Review Date: April 7, 2012 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: N/A
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, beautiful color rendering, very little flare, versatile, focuses very close, superb build quality, compact, fun to use. | | Cons: | PF in some situations, special lens cap not easily replaceable, protruding front element requires caution | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: Pentax K-x
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I've only been out a couple of times with it, but I can say I don't think I'll ever part with this one. This is an immensely fun lens to shoot with, and it's given me compositional ideas I normally would never have thought of.
It's probably the only wide angle I'll ever need. At 10mm, it's a very fishy fisheye. As you zoom up toward 17mm it morphs into a more traditional, almost rectilinear wide angle lens. Very cool.
This lens is plenty sharp, especially when stopped down a bit. The color rendering is among the best I've seen from any lens. The colors really pop. Rich, saturated, and contrasty. Clouds stand out from the sky in sharp relief. I rarely need to do anything with the colors in post with this lens, unless it's just for creative effect.
The build quality is superb. Zoom and focus rings are the smoothest I've ever encountered. Everything on this lens screams quality. Even the lens cap is quality... made of machined aluminum.
This lens does have some purple fringing, which can show up around tree branches against the sky or other contrasty situations. I usually only notice it when pixel peeping, though.
A couple of downsides that are a necessity of any fisheye lens are the lenscap, and the protruding front element. The lenscap is an aluminum slip-on affair that is beautifully made, and has a felt ring around the inside rim to grip the lens. Only problem is, if you ever lose it or the felt loses it's grip with age, you'll need to buy another one from Pentax. I don't know how much it would cost, but I have the feeling it wouldn't be cheap.
The other thing is the protruding front element. You have to be VERY careful with the cap off, and take care when replacing the cap that you don't bang it against the glass. Because it's such a wide-angle fisheye, there's no rim around the front to protect it, nor a way to attach a filter. I can't fault it for that, though. All fisheyes are that way. It's a necessity of that type of lens.
What xfloggingkylex said in another review about there being a learning curve is correct. This lens has such a radically different field of view that you have to learn to spot subjects that are good for a fisheye. A couple of things I've learned:
1) It's great for dramatic closeups. Flowers, statues, people in the foreground, etc. Having your subject close to the lens makes the photos really pop.
2) The farther off-center an object is, the more fisheye distortion it has. Use it to your advantage.
As I'm still a fisheye newbie, I expect to learn a lot more about using it as I shoot with it. After learning a few tricks, I find myself looking at everything with "fisheye-eyes". It's addictive & fun.
Bottom line, it's a top-quality piece with great image quality that's a blast to use. Usually kind of pricey, but well worth it.
Here's a photo I took with it on it's first trip out. (color altered in Photoshop.)
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 17 | | Lens Review Date: December 8, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | super wide, sharp, fast focus | | Cons: | some corner issues | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
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I picked up this lens on ebay recently, slightly used. I was skeptical about the image quality but wanted a fun lens just for goofing around. I got way more than that. The lens is well built and handles perfectly. It's way sharper than I was anticipating, even wide open. I've noticed a bit of color fringing but nothing really field relevant so far.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Rockville, MD USA Posts: 102 | | Lens Review Date: December 5, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $380.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Wide, build quality, unique. | | Cons: | CA, framing issues (not lens related exactly) | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 9
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 8
New or Used: Used
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I have the Samsung version of this lens which I bought off a forums member. When he sold it to me he said that he was never able to get the hang of it any his pictures all came out with weird exposure or other issues. I didn't understand what he meant until I used it.
Wow, there is nothing that can prepare you for the change in style needed to use this lens. Lots of my first pictures had soooo much ceiling in them, or the exposure was off. There is just so much more to worry about getting right when you hit the shutter. Before (28mm) it was just the subject and what was immediately around it. Now I need to worry about the floor and the walls, any drastic exposure changes anywhere in the frame and high contrast especially near the edges for CA. This lens is fun to use and definitely makes unique pictures, but there is a learning curve to it.
The first weekend I went out for a walk around the neighborhood with it to see what I could do. I came back generally displeased, partially because it was a cloudy day with very flat lighting, and partly because I hadn't been able to view the world with such a wide FoV; that really changes how you take pictures.
I was happy with the pictures at 17mm, they lose a lot of their barrel distortion and don't suffer from CA, but it was still tough to get pictures I like.
All in all I like the lens, I have revisited HDR using it on a tripod and have been pleased with taking pictures of my apartment showing the entire room at once. I need to get out on a sunny day and try again.
Oh and focusing with your subject basically touching the glass is hard to get used to as well, because it looks so far away in the viewfinder.
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2011 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 6 | | Lens Review Date: October 27, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $450.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Built like a tank. Unique effect. Makes no room to small. Great colour. Close focuses. | | Cons: | Weight. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
New or Used: New
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I've had this lens for about 5 years now and have kept it through 3 body upgrades - K5 now
The reality is that does what nothing else in camera bag does - it makes playing with perspective fun!
It may not be the most practical lens to have, but the reality is that several of my favourite landscape, sunset and funny portrait shots have been taken with this heavy piece of glass - and the photos always look unique versus my friends.
For the price it's extremely well built and a good value.
PS> It's also a rock star at a downtown 500 sq' condo party. | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 2,189 | | Lens Review Date: September 16, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $260.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Solid, zoom range, quick shift, versatile | | Cons: | Not much | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 6
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
New or Used: Used
Camera Used: K-7
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The most amazing feature of this lens is its versatility IMHO. At 10mm, it is a true fisheye (180 degrees); at 17mm, it is a wide angle.
I bought the lens originally because I wanted a fisheye lens and the lens was recommended by several Pentaxians. The lens is definitely a fisheye lens at 10mm, I learned however to use the lens at other focal lengths and there are some big differences from 10m up to 17 mm.
I like the hood which is fixed: you will not forget it, and it protects nicely the rounded front glass. Another nice feature is Quick-Shift.
Like any fisheye lens, you need to use properly the lens. Do not shoot facing the sun. Beware of your shadow, your feet, your cap at 10 mm. There is some strong barrel distortion, lateral chromatic aberrations, purple fringing, poor bokeh, .... This is linked with the fisheye type, not with the lens itself IMO.
Lastly an anecdoct. I have a 18-250mm lens. I feel that the 10-17mm complements very nicely the 18-250mm....
All in all I can highly recommend the lens and I am grateful by the adamant advice from senior Pentaxians to get this lens. They were right.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: January, 2011 Location: Vientiane Posts: 97 | | Lens Review Date: September 16, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $450.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | great colors, build quality | | Cons: | filter, lens barrel | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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This is my favorite landscape lens. Never regretted taking this over sigma 10-20. This represents the great pentax colors. On daylight it renders a semi HDR look. Thank you pentax for this lens.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2007 Location: Prague Posts: 1,088 | | Lens Review Date: August 15, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $450.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | close focus and extreme view angle | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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For a fisheye, this lens is quite versatile. Able to fosus very close to subject, able to accomodate filters when zoomed in (cokin holder with 58mm thread works well). Usable on film camera when zoomed to 14-15mm. The zoom covers broad range of view angles from 180° to a mere 100° which makes it very powerful tool to adjust composition,
Of course FE is primarily a fun lens, but this one brings in a lot more fun than any other FE.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2010 Location: Hong Kong / Irvine, CA Posts: 256 | | Lens Review Date: July 12, 2011 | I can recommend this lens: Yes |
Price: $470.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | close focus, 180degree | | Cons: | need to be care of the front element | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Autofocus: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
New or Used: New
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It's such a fun lens.
I bring it with me all the time.
It's much wider than 12-24mm and it can focus only 10cm from the object.
Pentax has the only zoom fisheye so everyone pentaxian should get one.
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