DA 10-17mm Fisheye: My favorite lens!

By PF Staff in Influential Photo Gear on Dec 2, 2012

Looking for a great lens for real estate interiors? Super close, super wide shots of your favorite subject?  The Pentax DA 10-17mm fisheye might just be what you need.  

Kit lenses are fine for basic everyday use; the one that came with my Pentax K20D though, just didn’t get wide enough for my needs. Use the DA 10-17mm and you get up to 180 degrees of coverage. I shoot for real estate agents, they need the most out of a photo for their limited web space. Using a tripod and shooting 5 images HDR per image, this lens easily covers the whole room. Though being a fisheye lens there will be some distortion on the sides. I can usually remove most of this using Paint Shop Pro X4 ultimate’s fisheye distortion tool. This lens is also ideal for museum use (when allowed).

The photo of my sister in-law’s dog was taken with the DA 10-17mm. It was taken hand held with a K20D, 1/10th /sec f4, asa 6400. The lens was set at 15mm. I also have a shot of the same dog’s head only at 10mm, makes him look allot bigger!  Notice the excitement on his face about getting his picture taken…

In closing, I would have to say that this lens is one I cannot do without. Even though the lens has a super hard coating, it would be nice to have some sort of filter protection available for it. I am extra careful with it, so far no scratches. Would love to try it out on the new K30!

-K200Duser