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09-02-2010, 08:11 AM   #1
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DA 15mm vs DA 14mm vs Pentax 17-70

I know its a long shot but I wondered if anyone had compared the DA 15mm with the DA 14mm.

The reason I ask is that I currently own the Pentax DA 17-70, which I'm very happy with, but am also considering adding something wider and I'm not sure if the 15mm would be much different from the 17mm of the zoom lens. I've heard good things about the 14mm but it is quite a bit bulkier than the 15mm so I'm struggling to decide.

I know there's also the Pentax 12-24 but prices are just silly money here in the uk

thanks for any help

Simon

09-02-2010, 09:00 AM   #2
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I have a DA 14 and DA 17-70 (and the DA 12-24 as well). I had this discussion on another forum and after that I have to admit that the DA 15 is a superior lens to the DA 14. It's clearly lighter and smaller than the DA 14 but honestly the DA 14 is not that bulky either. It's about the same as a DA 12-24. One feature is that the DA 14 is an older design and as less blades than the DA 15 it makes a difference in some images. In terms of field of view, there is a lot of difference between 17 and both 15 or 14mm's in my opinion.

The thing that the DA 14 has over all of those lenses is on the wide open end f2.8. For that it suffers a bit on the corner sharpness. I'm keeping mine and have no plans for a DA 15 but again as I really bought it for indoor UWA use. If I had to choose, I'd recommend the DA 15 over the 14. However, I have to say that the 12-24 is a much more versatile lens.

Edit: I'll give you a link to a test I did with my DA*16-50, DA 14, Samsung 12-24 (equivalent to the DA 12-24), and DA 10-17 fisheye. This was all hand held in the middle of the day and was not totally rigorous but you do see some of the optical qualities. Sorry I don't have access to a DA 15. It would have been interesting.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackcloudbrew/sets/72157624473584491/

Last edited by blackcloudbrew; 09-02-2010 at 09:43 AM.
09-02-2010, 09:03 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by simonkit Quote
I know its a long shot but I wondered if anyone had compared the DA 15mm with the DA 14mm.
Quite a few people have, and there have been quite a few previous threads on the topic - you might want to search them out. Basically, it's f/2.8 and slightly wider in favor of the D14, and everything else in favor of the DA15 (eg, size, sharpness, distortion, CA, flare control, price, etc).

QuoteQuote:
The reason I ask is that I currently own the Pentax DA 17-70, which I'm very happy with, but am also considering adding something wider and I'm not sure if the 15mm would be much different from the 17mm of the zoom lens.
I'd be concerned with that too. I love my 15, but I wouldn't use it nearly so much if I were regularly using a zoom that went that low. I got the 15 mainly so I wouldn't need to carry the 18-55 around just to have a wide lens. And frankly, went into it thinking I'd rather have had a 17mm prime - I was afraid 15 would be too wide too often. I've quickly grown to love that FOV, but if I had a 17-70 that I was going to carry with me anyhow, but wanted something wider as well, I'd be thinking about something *really* wider, like one of the zooms (DA12-24, Sigma 10-20 or 8-16, Tamron 10-24, etc). The older version of the Sigma 10-20 seems the best bang-for-the-buck choice form what I can tell.
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