[kevinschoenmakers]

I just came across this article on the ByThom website, and I think something similar would be very interesting for the Pentax community as well. It would provide us (and potentially even Pentax) with an interesting and vast amount of data about which lenses are popular, in need of an update, longed for, and so forth.

The survey would be a long list of lenses (perhaps just one entry for the K, M, A versions) with for each lens a multitude of choices:

• I own this lens
• I own this lens but want to sell it
• I used to own this lens but I didn't like it
• I own this lens; if this lens were upgraded/if there was a modern version of this lens I'd buy it (for example: A28mm2.8)
• I don't own this lens, I have no interest for it
• I don't own this lens, I have no interest for it because I own a third-party equivalent of this lens
• I don't own this lens, I might buy this lens
• I don't own this lens, I plan to buy this lens
• I don't own this lens, I'd consider buying it if it were upgraded/if there was a modern version of this lens (for example: DA*16-50)
• etc.

Then, in addition, we could have a list of potential new lenses, and how people would respond to these lenses if they were to become real (for example: DA28mm, DA17-70WR, DA100-400mm, DA135mm, etc.).


With a little effort we could amass a treasure of information. With Pentaxforums involved, its members spreading the word to other forums, and some people volunteering to work out the logistics and processing, this could be a great success.


I'm up for it.


Edit: now posted at https://www.pentaxforums.com/survey.php

[Adam]

Would you be able to set something up like this using an external survey service? I'd then be able to promote it here and post the compiled results at the end.

Great idea!

[kevinschoenmakers]

Using Google Forms it would look like this:

Pentax Lens Survey

I guess this is good enough (lots of scrolling though), best thing is it automatically compiles the data into a spreadsheet.

If we were to make a new gmail account, and had, say, 5 people who'd actively help with setting this up and analysing the data afterwards, that'd do it, I guess. I could host it, so that's one thing solved.

[hcc]

Using Google Forms it would look like this:

Pentax Lens Survey

I guess this is good enough (lots of scrolling though), best thing is it automatically compiles the data into a spreadsheet.

If we were to make a new gmail account, and had, say, 5 people who'd actively help with setting this up and analysing the data afterwards, that'd do it, I guess. I could host it, so that's one thing solved.

For feedback: The idea is great.

I tried the above url. It is somehow 'heavy' if the same choices are offered for every single Pentax lens.

I would recommend something simpler, faster for the lens section. For those who do not own the lens, it should be simpler to dismiss/ignore (?) a lens on the list

Any way, food for thoughts.

[Adam]

And have the ignore field at the top and checked by default.

Apart from that, everything looks good. You're welcome to host it if you'd like, or I can throw it up here if you'd like it to look official. I'll gladly help out with tabulating and interpreting the results (obviously we'll need percentage-based tables), and anything else that might be needed to promote the project on the site. I'm making this a sticky, as it's a wonderful idea!

[kevinschoenmakers]

First, thanks for the support Adam. I was actually thinking last night it would probably look a lot better if the URL started with pentaxforums.com, rather than home.planet...etc., so yes, it would probably be a good idea if you hosted it.

And have the ignore field at the top and checked by default.

What do you mean by this?


Furthermore, after some thinking, I decided it's probably better to leave out all the lenses that are no longer for sale right now. This will make the list considerably shorter, so it'll be less of a hassle to fill out, and less of a hassle to analyse. Instead I thought an option for ever lens that says 'I don't own this lens; I have a manual equivalent that suits me just fine', would be interesting. For example, I think the DA*55 will be suffering from this.

So, the revised options list would be:

• 1 Yes, I own this lens
• 2 Yes, I own this lens but want to sell it
• 3 Yes, I own this lens, I'd consider buying it again if it were upgraded
• 4 No, I don't own this lens, but I used to own this lens
• 5 No, I don't own this lens; I have no interest for it
• 6 No, I don't own this lens; I have no interest for it because I own a third-party equivalent of this lens
• 7 No, I don't own this lens; I have no interest for it because I own a manual equivalent of this lens
• 8 No, I don't own this lens, but it's on my wishlist
• 9 No, I don't own this lens; I'd consider buying it if it were upgraded

I've added 'Yes' and 'No' so it's easier to spot which are 'own' and which are 'don't own'. The numbers will make it easer to analyse, because one can quicklier tell what the answer is.

The answers, by the way, are compiled like this (click for bigger):



It can be exported to Excel, and hopefully someone here knows how to work that program, because I don't. Hopefully there's a workaround to counting everything manually.


What's more, we need a list of lenses for the 'if this lens were to become a reality, would you be interested in it?' part of the survey. So please, come with suggestions. What I've got so far (I've not bothered with differentiating between DA, DA* and DA ltd. DAL means 'a very cheaply made lens'):

• DA 10-17mm f3.5-4.5 Fisheye WR
• DA 11-16mm f2.8
• DA 12-24mm f4 WR
• DA 17-70mm f4 WR
• DA 18-105mm F4-5.6
• DA 24mm f2
• DA 28mm f2
• DAL 35mm f2
• DAL 50mm f1.7
• DA 55-300mm f4-5.8 WR
• DA 85mm f1.4
• DA 100-300mm f4-5.6
• DA 135mm f1.8/2.8
• DA 400mm f4/5.6

In conclusion, what this would give us:

• Which lenses are owned by the most and least people
• Which lenses are most in need of an update
• Which lenses suffer most from the fact people have a third-party lens, or a manual lens
• Which future lenses are most wanted
• Which lenses are least liked (wish to sell+needs upgrade+used to own)
• How many owners of the K10D, K200D and K20D bought a WR'ed kitlens
• Which lenses would people like to see WR'ed
• Which bodies are most popular
• Probably some more I can't think of right now

Now, I would really appreciate some feedback. Are the choices all good, anything missing or anything that should be phrashed differently. Any more 'future lenses' that need to be on the list. Etc.

[Adam]

In that case, I'll gladly host it here. Just let me know when everything is ready

What I meant was that the first choice among the radio buttons for each lens should be "Skip" or something to that effect, so that we don't get erroneous selections or people just getting lazy and mass-selecting the same option after they're replied about the lenses they own. But, I guess on the other hard, response to all of the questions on this survey would be optimal.

As far as lenses go, I don't have any suggestions for future ones, but I think we should include all the DA lenses in addition to the latest FA's. Let's not venture into the FA* territory, though, as those are once-in-a-blue-moon lenses and aren't exactly affordable.

Adam
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[kevinschoenmakers]

I don't think a 'skip' button is a good idea really. There'll be about 30 lenses. It'll be a long list but not undoably so.

I think a good criterium for which lenses to include would be 'lenses you could reasonably expect to be able to buy new'. So besides all the DA and DFA lenses, that would mean the FA31, FA43, FA77 and FA50.

I'll complete the form tonight or so. I'll let you know!

[kevinschoenmakers]

Oh, I just noticed Google automatically compiles the data into graphs, with percentages and everything. So awesome.

[kevinschoenmakers]

Well, here it is: Pentax Lens Survey

Feedback appreciated!

NB: this is not yet meant to be filled out.

[Adam]

Looks good! All I'd suggest is you remove the numbering from the radio choices, as they hamper readability. Shoot me a PM when this is ready to be posted on PF!

[kevinschoenmakers]

Looks good! All I'd suggest is you remove the numbering from the radio choices, as they hamper readability. Shoot me a PM when this is ready to be posted on PF!

I added the numbers for two reasons:

- readability of the results. They are abbreviated, and it then becomes hard to distinguish 'No, I don't own this le...' from 'No, I don't own this le...'
- Potentially easier for the user, because he or she can remember 6 is 'I don't own this lens, and I have no interest for it' and won't have to read the whole sentence again for the next lens.

[ChipB]

This looks really great, but I do have a suggestion.

Some of the lenses listed (like the DA(L) 55-300) have an older Pentax equivilent(sp?) (like the DA 55-300) or the FA 50 f1.4 (F 50mm f1.4). Perhaps one of the options should list "I have an older Pentax equivilent".

[NaClH2O]

I'm not sure how much participation you would get. Looks pretty daunting to me. I'm not sure I'd want to spend the 15 or so minutes it would take to answer that huge thing.

NaCl(definitely for the "equiment oriented" people)H2O

[Adam]

I'd imagine that over time, we'd end up seeing quite a few responses. This information could prove quite valuable!