[twitch]

Here's the one and only side by side example I could find, and it's not as bad as I thought for the 12-24, although the DA15 wins this round

DA12-24



DA15 (slightly more severe conditions here for the DA15)



Let's not kids ourselves though, the DA15 will flare, but it takes severe provocation

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Last edited by twitch; 11-24-2011 at 02:13 AM.

[twitch]

twitch, thats ALOT of flare. was that bare lens, ie no UV filter attached??

Thanks Mike, I suspect I must have been using a Lee Filter at the time, going through my library of images I think the one I posted was not typical of what the DA12-24 can do regarding flare (see example above). I guess this is an indication that square filters like GND's are very poor for flare, just when you actually need them

[twitch]

DA12-24 under pressure

[twitch]

OK flare aside, what gets time consuming in PP is dealing with this (straight out of camera as much as RAWs can be)... Actually looking at the crop it's plenty sharp

DA12-24



100% crop

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Last edited by twitch; 11-24-2011 at 04:04 PM.

[mikeSF]

make no mistake twitch, the images in your Flickr from the 12-24 are absolutely crackin! You are so frickin talented, brother.

[twitch]

make no mistake twitch, the images in your Flickr from the 12-24 are absolutely crackin! You are so frickin talented, brother.

Thanks Mike, I wasn't expecting that sort of compliment. Although I have a love/hate relationship with my 12-24, it can deliver some nice images.

[creampuff]

From my experience, the DA 12-24 does best without any filters. But being best suited for ultrawide landscapes, it will be inevitable that filters will be used a lot (GND, polarizing, etc.), so there will potentially be the risk of additional flare, no matter how good the filter that is used. At any rate any decent photographer should learn to use a lens hood to reduce the chance of flare from oblique light sources, and secondly, know how to clone out the really nasty flare spots during post processing.

For an ultrawide zoom lens, I personally think the performance from the DA 12-24 is terrific given the number of lens elements it has and possible amount of internal reflections that is well controlled. Seriously, I think it is pretty pointless to make a direct comparison between the DA 12-24 and the DA 15 because one is a zoom that covers a lot wider FOV and potentially subject to more extraneous light sources that could induce flare versus a compact prime ultrawide that has fewer elements and therefore can be made more compact and should in theory have better aberration control. For those taking IR photos, one thing to note is the DA 12-24 does show hot spotting in the center while the DA 15 does not. Both are good lenses, sharp even wide open so it is up to the individual photographer to choose between FOV versatility versus size and portability. Simply put, the wider FOV range from the DA 12-24 makes it more versatile but also demands more care in composition at the widest setting.

DA 12-24 without filter - sun in the center


DA 12-24 without filter - sun at the edge

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Last edited by creampuff; 11-24-2011 at 05:30 PM.

[Azzy]

I really love my 12-24 its insanely sharp and I've never shot with DA15, but sometimes I do hope for better flare resistance
Look at the mini rainbow I created lol

[Nuff]

I've finally managed to get 15mm ltd to PF, a lot! Straight RAW from LR without any editing...

[Pentaxor]

note to self: don't make great lenses look bad.

[mikeSF]

Let's not kids ourselves though, the DA15 will flare, but it takes severe provocation

the hexagons are not lens flare, they are water droplets (mist) on the front element or your square filter(if you used one). The only thing i see in this pic that i might call flare are those little ghost stripes alongside each ray on the starburst which look like some sort of internal reflection. did you use any filter??

[mikeSF]

the flaring from the 12-24 looks godawful. DA15 wins again.