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07-28-2014, 06:10 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by bpv_UW Quote
The sigma 8-16 (in K mount) is an interesting option that I don't know much about. Does anyone have sample images they care to share?
The only thing I really miss about the DA15mm f/4 ED is the ability to use standard filters and flare resistance. The sigma 8-16mm does have an issue with flare, but it can be controlled.


Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DC


Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DC


Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DC


Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DC

07-28-2014, 08:45 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by bpv_UW Quote
What this leaves me wondering, is if there are non-K-mount wide angle lenses that could be adopted for K-mount and provide better overall performance than the Da 15? At this point, for the sake of discussion, I don't care about price, size, or weight. I also don't care about auto-focus or auto-metering for a wide angle lens; full manual operation would be fine.
Brandon, I would suggest a Zeiss Distagon 15/2.8 in M42 mount, made for industrial use:

F-Mount Lenses | ZEISS United States

(Just click and scroll down, disregard the page title.)
07-30-2014, 07:23 PM   #18
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Again, thanks all for the great input.

@Digitalis: that Sig 8-16 sure produces some nice images. Unfortunately, I'm fairly addicted to using a CPL on wide landscape shots, so I'm not sure I could go that direction given the inability of it to take a filter.

@lytrytyr: any idea where I could hunt down one of those Zeiss 15's in m42 mount?

Thanks all,
Brandon
07-30-2014, 08:00 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by bpv_UW Quote
any idea where I could hunt down one of those Zeiss 15's in m42 mount?
Here would be a place to start:

Distribution Partner | ZEISS United States

07-30-2014, 08:01 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by bpv_UW Quote
Again, thanks all for the great input.

@Digitalis: that Sig 8-16 sure produces some nice images. Unfortunately, I'm fairly addicted to using a CPL on wide landscape shots, so I'm not sure I could go that direction given the inability of it to take a filter.

@lytrytyr: any idea where I could hunt down one of those Zeiss 15's in m42 mount?

Thanks all,
Brandon
On the lenses you can pickup a Contax Carl Zeiss 15mm Distagon in the C/Y mount and then use the Leitax.com to modify it to the M42. Be aware that you want the MM version of the C/Y mount (f22 in green) and not the AE version (f22 in white). I have done this successfully (28mm and 85mm) using the K mount. The M42 is not much different. You can acquire the lenses through ebay, B&H and Arondoma used, KEH.com, mflenses.com, fredmiranda.com. There is also a zeiss lens site for enthusiasts, that also has a buy/sell board and can help on sources (sorry, I have the link on my other computer, that I am not in front of - zeissimages.com/). The lens is not inexpensive...Even if the Sigma accepted filters, you would probably not want to use a CPL on a lens wider than about the mid 20's mm. That has to do with the inability to uniformly apply the polarization across the face of the lens. It's just a matter of pure physics. ____________

The Zeiss database at pebbleplace does not show a MM version of the 15mm. I would contact Leitax.com and see if they could advise on the ability of converting an AE mount, as they have been successful lately on a number of lenses. It's probably going to be difficult in finding a new M42 mounted lens - other than going through the factory. There use to be a zeiss dealer in Westlake Village in CA that carried a pretty wide line of Zeiss. You could try to ask if he could custom order. The other avenue is to post a question at zeissimages.com about availability. They have excellent sources.According to their website, they only make the 15 in the F and EF mounts, with the ZS (M42) in only the 50 and 35mm focal lengths.

Last edited by interested_observer; 07-30-2014 at 09:12 PM. Reason: http://www.zeissimages.com/
07-30-2014, 10:05 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
Even if the Sigma accepted filters, you would probably not want to use a CPL on a lens wider than about the mid 20's mm. That has to do with the inability to uniformly apply the polarization across the face of the lens. It's just a matter of pure physics.
Correct, and since the Sigma 8-16mm has such an incredibly wide field of view I find that the need to darken skies by using polarizers is unnecessary*. However I do miss the ability to use dense ND or even GND filters on this lens.

*though I'm well aware that polarizers do much more than that.
07-31-2014, 10:09 AM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
According to their website, they only make the 15 in the F and EF mounts,
Check the link I gave earlier to see that the new 15mm is produced in an industrial M42 version.
QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
with the ZS (M42) in only the 50 and 35mm focal lengths.
The ZS was the consumer M42 line for Zeiss.

It also included the 25/2.8:

Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 ZS Distagon Lens for Universal (M42) 1463-831

07-31-2014, 10:52 AM   #23
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The trouble is to find something optically stronger than the DA15mm (stopped down) that also takes filters. Not too many wide angle lenses beats the 15mm at F8-11 in tests.
07-31-2014, 11:28 AM   #24
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The new Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 takes 95mm filters.
Expensive, but should be big enough to clear.
since the front element is about 55mm in diameter.
07-31-2014, 08:29 PM   #25
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I'll have to spend some time investigating those avenues for obtaining a Zeiss 15; thanks for the tips.

Re: the tokina 11-16, it appears this doesn't have an aperture ring. Given this, if one were to mount an F-mount version on a K-mount body, wouldn't the aperture be stuck wide open? Or am I missing something here?

Thanks,
Brandon
07-31-2014, 08:56 PM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by SGOMMO7 Quote
Hey, I just thought I would answer both of your questions for you.

As for: is there any chance of damaging lens or camera if one just tries to mount an F mount lens on a K mount camera with no adapter or modification?

There is a negligible chance of damage to your camera or the lens.
I know of people who have used a good number of Nikon lenses on a Pentax without ever encountering any type of damage. Of course that being said, I can't speak for every possible Nikon lens with every model of Pentax camera such as for example; the K-01.

If there was going to be a problem it would probably be the tendency of some elements on the base of Nikon lenses to protrude deeper into the camera body, when mounted then K-mount lenses, worst-case scenario it could end up rubbing against/scratching a surface on the inside of the camera, ( though obviously the sensor would not be at risk). Personally I would not be hesitant to try a Nikon lens on my Pentax DSLR.


As for: are there adapters that would allow one to use F mount lenses on K mount camera (rather than just attempting to attach the lens unmodified or irreversibly modifying the mount)?

No, not without a corrective lens element. Nikon and Pentax are set up so closely that any adapter would throw off the flange distance, thus making it necessary for a corrective lens element, and being a chain is only as strong as its weakest link that corrective element will severely degrade the quality of your images.


Any adapter, ( that would not include a corrective element) would at best work as an extension tube decreasing the FoV, and making your wonderful wide angle into something more akin to a short tele/standard, hence utterly defeating your purpose of gaining more wide angle options for your Pentax system.
If you want to try something less ambitious I might suggest:

Rokinon FE14M-P 14mm F2.8 UMC version or

Samyang 14mm F2.8 UMC version

same lens just a rebranded

you can read our Pentax forums the Pentax 14 mm versus Rokinon 14mm. The sample they had outperformed the Pentax 14 mm even stopped down. And I believe this is the old version the new and improved UMC update totally sweeps the floor with the old version. You can read on lenstip the review of the Samyang 14mm and compare it to the new UMC version Samyang 14mm. In this new version for the Pentax mount Amazon claims it has 9 diaphragm Blades on the Rokinon FE14M-P 14mm F2.8 UMC version! The disadvantage of this lens is twofold:

1 in order to use filters you would have to use an expensive cokin solution. You would have to get their extra large square filters then attach via an adapter that would have to clamp around your lens barrel.

2 it has complicated distortion. If having a very flat field of view is of paramount importance. Advanced software with the actual lens profile would be needed. Lightroom/DxO
Agreed on all aspects other than the fact that use of adapters invariably results in significant degradation to your better quality optics (sorry to all the adapted NEX users - it is what it is). See the meticulous Roger Cicala for the reality check LensRentals.com - There Is No Free Lunch, Episode 763: Lens Adapters
08-01-2014, 09:59 PM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by bpv_UW Quote
Re: the tokina 11-16, it appears this doesn't have an aperture ring. Given this, if one were to mount an F-mount version on a K-mount body, wouldn't the aperture be stuck wide open? Or am I missing something here?
Yeah, that looks right unfortunately. To control the aperture without an aperture ring would either require an adapter, (which more than likely you wouldn't want in this situation), an extensive hardware revision, or taking off your lens and stuffing a small piece of cork to hold in place the aperture lever every time you want to change apertures.
08-01-2014, 10:32 PM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by SGOMMO7 Quote
Yeah, that looks right unfortunately. To control the aperture without an aperture ring would either require an adapter, (which more than likely you wouldn't want in this situation), an extensive hardware revision, or taking off your lens and stuffing a small piece of cork to hold in place the aperture lever every time you want to change apertures.
Yes, that is too bad... but I wouldn't mind using this one adapted to Sony E/FE... or even to m4/3 for landscape or architecture (given the limited options for FL's below 17-20mm in this format... as a value proposition, at least). The required aperture controlling adapters are available. Picking up a D3200/D3300 as a second body at an opportune time (a refurb on Black Friday, for example) could make sense for certain Pentaxians: you'd also gain access to Nikon's most attractive lens options not really matched in K-mount -- the 28/1.8 G... the 60mm macros... the 85/1.8 G... et.al. A good complement to a K3?

I've seen "factory" refurb D3200 kits for sale on fleabay for $330 [my demon-possessed Nexus spell checker insists, "fleabag", despite being switched off: quantum computer?]. Make that a D3300 twenty-one months from now, and I could see that option being a go for myself. The biggest hitch I see there is the lack of AF fine tuning adjustment [?], particularly for third party lenses. A deal breaker? I'm not sure...
08-02-2014, 08:18 PM   #29
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Well, add my name to the long list of people who would kill (OK, not really) to have the Tokina 11-16 available in (or adaptable to) K-mount. Oh well.

I think what I'll do for now is rent the Da 12-24 and the Sigma 8-16 and directly compare to the Da 15, and see what comes out as the winner.

Keeping the Zeiss 15 in mind for the future, but too rich for my blood at the moment.

Thanks for the advice, all, and I'll post impressions of my comparison at some point when I have a chance.

Best,
Brandon
08-02-2014, 11:41 PM   #30
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Well, Brandon, I for one am most interested to learn all the details of what you find in those comparisons... particularly since you have a really nice set of lenses there; so I feel you are in a position to make some objective judgments, unclouded by the kind of enthusiastic overstatement that can be encouraged by a sensation of pride and novelty. I'm the "just give it to me straight, Doc" type myself; and as you know, I've twisted options around inside my head about as much as one reasonably can. I have that 12-24mm, you know, but have had to deal with some physical recovery before getting to wring it out; same with the seductively attractive in hand, SMC DA15 Limited, only recently arrived. I'm a total novice when it comes to 'hands-on' with post-processing, so I'm not sure I know all I might need to in order to display truly consistent and sorted-out comparison shots.

The newly arrived Tokina 20-35mm/f.3.5-4.5 FF zooms (2!) also cover a good deal of the landscape zone FL's, as well as according me the option of getting out to the 20mm F.O.V. on film. There's a cityscape in the lens database reviews taken with the f.2.8 version of the Tokina which just blows me away every time I see it. The sharpness, and especially, the transparency I see there... as well as the very notable absence of distracting geometric distortions... were such that I was initially confused by thoughts this was a "model set", or the result of focus stacking tricks, etc. The two-point-eight is a bit of a beast, though, and almost twice as expensive -- not exactly what I'd care for to cover just the FF equivalent F.O.V. of 30-42mm; which is about all I care about, given the other options I can go to in high grade primes. I'd like to believe Ken Rockwell is right that the more compact version is actually the better performing lens -- but then, this is K.R. we're talking about, so who knows? He only occasionally even attempts to credit the fine distinctions, the sort that would mean a lot to you or me, I think, Brandon. This seemed like the next logical option to try until the photofairy does indeed show to grant me my under $1K, HD FA 25mm/f.1.8 or 2.0 versatile, border-to-border sharp "wide-normal" wish! -- Fred

Last edited by Kayaker-J; 08-02-2014 at 11:49 PM.
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