[krp]

For awhile now I've wanted an ultra wide angle lens. My Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 is a good lens but sometimes I wish it was wider. I plan to use the lens not only for landscapes but also for astrophotography (milky way, startrails, meteors). So f2.8 would be nice. Ideally I would save up and buy the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, but they don't make it in Pentax mount. So these are the choices I've found:

Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 - I rented it last week and I liked ghe FOV, I just felt f4 was too slow, plus there was coma in the corners
Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 - Slightly faster, harder to buy used
Samyang/Bower/Rokinon 14mm f2.8 - Cheapest of the 3, high ratings, but no filter ring

Right now I'm leaning towards a Bower 14mm f2.8 that I found for only $329. But I'm worried I'll miss the filter ring since I occasionally use CPL or ND filters. Also is 14mm wide enough compared to 17mm to justify buying the lens? One reviewer claimed the 14mm has no coma which would be great for pictures of the stars compared to my Tamron.
I would appreciate any help from others who have used these lenses especially if anyone has astrophotography experience.

[jimr-pdx]

I had great plans for my 15mm Sigma fisheye at the Oregon Star Party; alas we were unable to attend. If you don't mind distortion it's a nice option. I paid under $400 and it's AF and has the 'A' aperture setting so fully auto when you want it. Works on full frame/film as well, I took a few nice shots on my old ME this summer. The fisheye design means true field of view is close to a 12mm rectilinear lens.

Good luck in your search! You will definitely see the difference between 14 and 17mm, when you're shooting wide even a single mm can really start to show.

[civiletti]

Sigma 8-16
Samyang 14

[DSims]

Ideally I would save up and buy the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, but they don't make it in Pentax mount.

Pentax has something on their lens roadmap for 2013 that looks like the Tokina 16-28, but not that lens, unfortunately.


Here's a similar discussion from a little earlier today:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/197044-trying-...ml#post2075488

[Vicboy]

the Samyang Lens Club

Here's my shots taken with a "Samyang 14 2.8"

The reason is because I wanted to do landscape astrophotography. Here are the reasons why I picked the Samyang 14.

Cheap
Wide angled
Low light
Coma control
Manual focus

And the Samyang has done me well. From what I know, this lens is praised for being good at astrophotography too.

[krp]

I had great plans for my 15mm Sigma fisheye at the Oregon Star Party; alas we were unable to attend. If you don't mind distortion it's a nice option. I paid under $400 and it's AF and has the 'A' aperture setting so fully auto when you want it. Works on full frame/film as well, I took a few nice shots on my old ME this summer. The fisheye design means true field of view is close to a 12mm rectilinear lens.

Good luck in your search! You will definitely see the difference between 14 and 17mm, when you're shooting wide even a single mm can really start to show.

I haven't heard much about that lens. I think I shoot enough landscapes though that the distortion might be annoying, but I might get a fisheye lens someday. I should have taken more test shots with the Sigma 10-20mm I rented, so I have a better idea of the difference between focal lengths.

the Samyang Lens Club

Here's my shots taken with a "Samyang 14 2.8"

The reason is because I wanted to do landscape astrophotography. Here are the reasons why I picked the Samyang 14.

Cheap
Wide angled
Low light
Coma control
Manual focus

And the Samyang has done me well. From what I know, this lens is praised for being good at astrophotography too.

I read your review, thanks for the info. Can you tell me if the distortion is easy to correct? I didn't see a lens profile for it in ACR, do you know if the Pentax 14mm f2.8 profile would work?

[Vicboy]

I haven't heard much about that lens. I think I shoot enough landscapes though that the distortion might be annoying, but I might get a fisheye lens someday. I should have taken more test shots with the Sigma 10-20mm I rented, so I have a better idea of the difference between focal lengths.



I read your review, thanks for the info. Can you tell me if the distortion is easy to correct? I didn't see a lens profile for it in ACR, do you know if the Pentax 14mm f2.8 profile would work?

Yes there is. I used the Samyang 14 - Canon 5D and it works. You can find the link to that profile sneakily hyperlinked in the review. I do have to say that: I had no other options. Samyang was the only one I could afford, but I didn't regret it
Maybe you should check out the Sigma 10-20 3.5.