[yusuf]

Update: updated comparison on A7 here

I recently acquired Pentax M24-35 f3.5 lens to use with film and DSLR. I also have very well liked Sigma 24mm Superwide II so thought of doing some comparison, both crop and full frame. All the pictures are as is from the camera with absolutely zero adjustment. For the lens picture, scroll to the bottom.

M24-35 at 24@f3.5


Sigma 24@3.5


M24-35 at 24@f8


Sigma 24@3.5


Full Frame Test
I don't have any full frame camera yet, but NEX+Lensturbo helps & gives idea how it will perform when Pentax releases FF. With lensturbo, it becomes like a 16-20mm lens on APS-C

M24-35 at 24@f8 (with Lensturbo)


Sigma 24@f8 (with Lensturbo)


I also have SIgma 19mm/2.8 so here is the comparison with M24-35 at 35mm+lensturbo, which will be like 20mm on APS-C

M24-35 at 35@f3.5 (with Lensturbo)


Sigma 19mm @f3.5


M24-35 at 35@f8 (with Lensturbo)


Sigma 19mm @f8


Overall I liked this old lens - it produces pretty good results in such a compact package, perfect for landscape on FF and perfect fro street on APS-C. Size is just perfect to carry it anywhere, almost the same size as M85.



Glad I picked this up.

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Last edited by yusuf; 06-28-2014 at 12:57 AM.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Great comparison and very useful info about this under-rated lens. It's particularly fascinating to see the Lens Turbo shots -- makes me wish they made a DSLR version.

The images from the M24-35 in your test shots are generally consistent with my own experience of the lens. It has a slightly warm rendering that makes it particularly appealing under cloudy skies and in shade, just like the conditions in your test shots, and the comparison with the notoriously cold rendering of the Sigma shows this well.

[LowVoltage]

Nice comparison. The M 24-35mm looks like it could be pretty useful. The Sigma has the edge when it comes to purple fringing at larger apertures, but since these were straight out of the camera I'm sure both lenses would clean up nicely during post processing from a RAW file.

It's odd, I owned a Sigma Super Wide and it never quite lived up to my expectations. It was okay, but not what I was hoping for based on the reviews. Your samples are quite sharp.

[yusuf]

It's odd, I owned a Sigma Super Wide and it never quite lived up to my expectations. It was okay, but not what I was hoping for based on the reviews. Your samples are quite sharp.

Was it Superwide or Superwide II? The one I am having is Superwide II and according to some reviews it's sharper than the older version but I have no personal experience.

[TaoMaas]

Glad to see that you decided to go ahead and pick this up. For the price, I don't think you could go wrong.

[yusuf]

Re-compared both on A7.

Sigma 19mm has been my favourite wide-angle lens on NEX6. However, after buying A7, I decided to compare these two lenses again and both rocks, while sigma a touch sharper @f8, you really need to pixel-peep.

1) 24-35 @24mm is a bit wider than Sigma 24mm
2) I like 24-35 colors slightly better, a bit warmer.

Overall, it looks like 24-35 is a lens to company A7(r). It's sharp, rendering & colors are nice and zoom gives some flexibility without compromising much. Sigma 19mm is seriously a great lens for the price.

Here are pictures, overcast day & light was changing fast but manage to get nearly same exposure.

24-35 @ 24mm f8 on A7


Sigma 24 @ f8 on A7


Sigma 19mm @f8 on NEX 6 (28mm equiv)