[campdog]

Im still putting my lens kit together and thinking of getting a Pentax Prime wide angle lens or a wide angle zoom. I have a Sigma 10-20mm but thought someone might know of a better lens.Also maybe use for panoramic shots stitched together.
My kit now consists of Pentax K10D Grand Prix and a K5
Sigma 10-20mm
Pentax FA 31 1.8 LImited
Pentax FA* 28-70 2.8
Pentax FA* 80-200 2.8
Pentax 100 2.8 Macro.

Just wondering if somown has any ideas.

John

[Ash]

A better lens than the Sigma 10-20 in what way? That Sigma is very good for an UWA lens, but I do find the Pentax DA 12-24 has the edge on it for overall image quality. Nevertheless, the difference is not going to be noticeable for most of the work people use it for. Your only other rectilinear option in UWA by Pentax is the DA 15 Ltd.

[hcc]

The Pentax DA10-17mm Fisheye provides both WA and Fisheye options. At 10 mm, it is a fisheye. At 17mm it is a WA. It may complement nicely your own lens collection.

Food for thoughts. I hope that the suggestion may help.

[axl]

A better lens than the Sigma 10-20 in what way?

That's very important question.
Sigma 10-20 (especially the older f4-5.6 version) is excellent lens. Touch cool rendering (especially comparing with your FA* zooms and FA31) but other than that. I have to say that the widest lens I've tried, which renders as nicely in terms of tones, hues ets, as the FA*28-70 and 31ltd is either FA*24 or K24/2.8. Mind you I haven't had chance to try the FA20 though, which is supposed to be excellent. But 10-20 handles CAs better than FA*24! So yes, better than Sigma in WHAT WAY?

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

The Pentax DA10-17mm Fisheye provides both WA and Fisheye options.

Note that the DA10-17 is wider at 17mm than the DA12-24 at 12mm. These lenses complement each other, they don't overlap in usability. The focal range is just misleading in this case.

Sigma also has an 8-16 that is interesting.

[elho_cid]

Your only other rectilinear option in UWA by Pentax is the DA 15 Ltd.

Why everybody forgets about the DA14/2,8? Thats a great lens and IMO the best wide angle for crop.

[campdog]

Sorry I had better make myself clear. Better as in image quality and possible better suited for panoramic work.I was thinking of maybe an all pentax stable.I just notice that Pentax always seems to have a better lens in most ranges and thought there might be one in wide angle.
John

[fisheye freak]

Looks like a pretty good outfit. The 10-17 fisheye zoom will keep you "covered" in the wide angle domain. If outright quality is more important than good composition, then the fixed 14mm f/2.8 and maybe a Sigma 10mm f/2.8 fisheye might do the trick. Personally, 6 lenses should be the maximum in a kit to take out in the field. Any more becomes totally unwieldy. One subtle advantage of having more zooms and thus less lenses is less lens swapping to get dust on the sensor. Your field kit should reflect what shots you will be taking most frequently. If you are doing a lot of panorama work and have the time and carrying capacity, a GigaPan will completely negate the need for wide angle lenses and a half decent point and shoot will give the same result - a gigapixel file.

[Mareket]

I've had the DA 15 for a while,and whilst I'm sellling it for the cash now, I'm looking to replace it in the future with the Sigma 8-16, which from what I've heard is near enough unbeatable in terms of IQ and giving incredible images. The only caveat I know of is that it takes no filters and it's REALLY slow, only f/5.6 on the long end :/

But I hear it's the ultimate wide angle if you don't mind the size and weight of it. And if the range isn't TOO wide for you.

[causey]

Jost got the Samyang 14/2.8. It's the sharpest UWA in K mount, period. I've looked at hundreds of pics taken with all UWA available for Pentax on flickr and tried two copies of the Sigma 10-20 before buying the Samyang. The Samyang is stunning. Heavy and manual (with the A setting), with visible distortion, but cheap and capable of unparalleled performance.

[RioRico]

Ideas? You want ideas? Here are some ideas.

• The least expensive way to go wide and sharp is the Zenitar 16/2.8, slightly fishy on APS-C.
• The DA10-17 (the lens that drove me to Pentax) is super-duper but not really a landscape lens IMHO; it's for tight (rounded) spaces and exploiting angles.
• For me, the best lens for stitching pano 'scapes is any good 28mm; wider lenses always distort.
• I could mention my Tamron 10-24 but you probably don't want to hear about that.
• The DA12-24 get lots of love and probably has the edge on quality and hay, it's only money.

When I want wide, I put my Tokina 21/3.8 on a FF film camera.

[northcoastgreg]

Im still putting my lens kit together and thinking of getting a Pentax Prime wide angle lens or a wide angle zoom. I have a Sigma 10-20mm but thought someone might know of a better lens.

As has already been noted, the UWA lenses currently sold by Pentax are the DA 10-17, the DA 12-24, the DA 14, and DA 15. I have three of those four lenses (I don't have the DA 14). Of those lenses, the 15 is overall the best, although not by much. It has a little more sharpness and clarity than the DA 12-24, and is a slightly more consistent performer in terms of handling distance and lighting challenges. The DA 12-24 has impressive corner to corner resolution up close, even at 12mm; but at distances much longer than 20 feet, it quickly loses resolution toward the borders as the distance increases. The DA 10-17 is not as sharp as the 15 or the 12-24, but has the same stunning color rendition and overall rendering.

I don't have any first hand experience of either of the Sigma 10-20s. From images I've seen of the first Sigma 10-20, I would say the Pentax glass has better color rendition, with deeper, more brilliant blues and darker, richer greens. However, if you're satisfied with the images you're getting from the Sigma, I see absolutely no reason to exchange it for a lens with the Pentax label on it. Perhaps the best plan would be to get the DA 10-17 as a compliment to the Sigma. If you find yourself preferring the colors and rendering of the 10-17 to the Sigma, then replace the Sigma with either the DA 12-24 or the DA 15.

[campdog]

One of the reasons I have the 10-20mm was for using on a Pano head and stitching images together.As someone said the 28mm is ideal and I can use the widest of my 28-70mm for this.It is also the same filter size as my FA*28-50mm.My camera bag is already overwight so maybe I should leave things alone. I have some great shots with the 10-20mm.Thanks everyone who replied as I now have some more information to study up on.
John

[RioRico]

For distortionless source shots for stitched-together panos, I have a suggestion: Look for a decent MF 28mm lens. Pentax, Vivitar, Sears, Tamron, Chinon, Soligor, all have good affordable 28's. Any will likely do better than the wide end of your zoom. Zooms are usually weakest at their extremes, where they also tend to be used the most. Funny about that...

[cali92rs]

I don't know about using an UWA for stitching panos....wouldnt the subject be too small? Anyway, I have a DA 14mm...its a big sucker, especiallywith the hood attached. Some say it isn't very Sharp wide open, but why use this lens wide open anyway? You can't get subject isolation because of the huge DOF. I had the sigma 10-20 NIKON, and while I loved 10mm, it was not super sharp. The 15mm is not wide enough for me with a crop sensor camera. If I was in the market, I would opt for either the sigma 8-16 or the Pentax 12-24. But if I had my wish, pentax would release a 8 or 10mm prime lens.