[mikeSF]

FA77 without a doubt.

The great Oz has spoken!

[Michaelina2]

FA77 without a doubt.

I'm not knocking the 15 or 77... both are great lenses.

However, if price is an issue, the DA 70 Limited is a worthy substitute on the long end. On the short end, the DA 10-17 Fisheye is a fun lens for effect that's not too fishy from 15-17. With a little research I bet you could get both for about the price of a 77.

Cheers...

[pencilnink]

I'm not knocking the 15 or 77... both are great lenses.

However, if price is an issue, the DA 70 Limited is a worthy substitute on the long end. On the short end, the DA 10-17 Fisheye is a fun lens for effect that's not too fishy from 15-17. With a little research I bet you could get both for about the price of a 77.

Cheers...

Although both lenses you suggested are great as well, at the moment fisheyes aren't at the top of my priority list and I wanted to use the FA77 on my ME super as well.

[v5planet]

I own both of these lenses and I faced your dilemma last year around this time. Both lenses are excellent and small, and you will be happy to own them. Something to know is that they are definitely not cut from the same cloth -- the 77 is a much better lens; it's got a magic something that my other three Limiteds (15, 35, 43) do not. But having said that, I'd still recommend starting with the 15, especially given your photographic interests and current lens lineup.

The 77 is going to be close enough in speed and FL to your Helio 44-2 that - though you will appreciate its beautiful rendering and superb image quality - you will not really be able to do any sort of photography you're not currently able to do. The 15, on the other hand, will open up the world of wide angle imaging. It does so unobtrusively, too, by being wrapped in such a small package that you are encouraged to bring it with you everywhere, even if you didn't expect to take any wide angle shots.

[SpecialK]

I would get whichever one you want least, first. Then you will have still something "better" to look forward to.

[robgo2]

The focal lengths are so different that it is impossible for anyone to provide meaningful advice. Both lenses can give great results, but the choice has to come down to you and your shooting needs. From a purely optical quality standpoint, the FA77 is far superior, but it cannot give you the viewing angle of the DA15.

Rob

[lytrytyr]

The focal lengths are so different that it is impossible for anyone to provide meaningful advice. From a purely optical quality standpoint, the FA77 is far superior.

Aren't the focal lengths (and speeds) so different that it is impossible to compare the optical quality in any meaningful way?
The DA15 is certainly capable of comparable resolution within the same field of view, and doesn't seem as prone to PF as the FA77.

[mikeSF]

the OP is not asking how these two lenses compare to EACH OTHER, just which to buy first.

[RioRico]

the OP is not asking how these two lenses compare to EACH OTHER, just which to buy first.

Ah, but that requires a comparison of their characteristics, as well as their intended uses. I'll stipulate that both are excellent optically; which is more excellent, deponent sayeth not. So it's back to the OP: Whaddya wanna do first? (Or: If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else.) I've already suggested coin-flipping. The trick isn't to to decide based on how the coin lands, but how the flipper WISHES it would land whilst it's still in the air. And if the coin lands on edge, rob a minimart and buy both.

[Digitalis]

the FA77 is great fun, and so is the DA15 Limited. To be honest I would get the FA77 first because the DA15 isn't what I would call a general purpose lens, and it cannot compete with the FA77 when it comes to bokeh.

[pencilnink]

I own both of these lenses and I faced your dilemma last year around this time. Both lenses are excellent and small, and you will be happy to own them. Something to know is that they are definitely not cut from the same cloth -- the 77 is a much better lens; it's got a magic something that my other three Limiteds (15, 35, 43) do not. But having said that, I'd still recommend starting with the 15, especially given your photographic interests and current lens lineup.

The 77 is going to be close enough in speed and FL to your Helio 44-2 that - though you will appreciate its beautiful rendering and superb image quality - you will not really be able to do any sort of photography you're not currently able to do. The 15, on the other hand, will open up the world of wide angle imaging. It does so unobtrusively, too, by being wrapped in such a small package that you are encouraged to bring it with you everywhere, even if you didn't expect to take any wide angle shots.

Which lens did you get first; also, which stays on the camera more?

the OP is not asking how these two lenses compare to EACH OTHER, just which to buy first.

That's true, either way I will end up with both in the end.

the FA77 is great fun, and so is the DA15 Limited. To be honest I would get the FA77 first because the DA15 isn't what I would call a general purpose lens, and it cannot compete with the FA77 when it comes to bokeh.

I love the bokeh of the FA 77; due to your various experience with photography equipment, how would the rate the 77 against the rest of your collection?

[lytrytyr]

The DA15 isn't what I would call a general purpose lens.

Depends on your point of view.
To me, it's the APS-C equivalent
of the 24mm lenses that were common for reportage
on 35mm film back in the seventies.

[mikeSF]

i like RioRico's coin suggestion.
...but truthfully, this thread is carrying on way too long...i suggest ordering BOTH now on your credit card and later worry about selling your organs, etc, to pay the bill...

[v5planet]

Which lens did you get first; also, which stays on the camera more?

The answer to both questions is the DA15. I don't consider either lens to be "general purpose", but I haven't shot without my tripod in a few months now, so I'm often thinking wide, deliberate compositions.

Admission: I do enjoy the output of the 77 much more than the 15, when I use it. The bottom line is that their relative worth is going to depend on what you need and want to do. The FA77 feels like a much higher quality lens, but it can't shoot wide, and you don't have anything that can, so my advice remains: start with the 15.

[Digitalis]

I love the bokeh of the FA 77; due to your various experience with photography equipment, how would the rate the 77 against the rest of your collection?

Compared to the Canon 85mm f/1.2L and the Leica Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 which I commonly use on my Canon 1Ds MkIII it can certainly hold its own, but against the legendary FA*85mm f/1.4 the FA77 comes up a bit short. With the FA77 corner sharpness is a concern at apertures below f/3.5. But at smaller apertures the FA77 performs superbly for landscape/architecture/still life work. The Pentax FA77 f/1.8 Limited renders things in a rather distinctive way - a mark of a good lens is a lens that has a "signature". In my subjective opinion on full frame the FA77 edges out the Canon 85mm f/1.2L in terms of bokeh quality - even though there is a one stop difference in aperture between the two lenses. And the reason for this is because the canon EF 85mm f/1.2L has a rectangular baffle at the rear of the lens that can show up in the bokeh at close focusing distances - also the EF 85mm f/1.2L focuses by wire which means there is essentially no tactile feedback on where you are in the focusing range, and also the EF 85mm f/1.2L is a brick of a lens. My canon shooting colleagues envy the compactness and construction quality of the FA77, and they also envy the built in lens hood.