[cxdoo]

It's not just street-lights, it's also the sun !

And FWIW the sun too.

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Last edited by cxdoo; 09-11-2015 at 01:47 AM. Reason: Fixed broken link.

[Nicolas06]

SMC vs HD:

Size and handling are essentially the same.
Flare resistance is essentially the same.
Sharpness is essentially the same.
Bokeh is essentially the same.
HD comes in silver if you want it.
Starbursts are much cleaner with the SMC.
Everything else is essentially the same.

I'll be keeping my SMC 15 and 21. Even if they're black.

If I recall right, it actually depend of the ltd lense we speak of. HD DA70 get improved bokeh. HD DA21, HD DA35, HD DA40, HD DA70 get improved resistance to flare and keep better contrast in contra light. I suspect that all indeed get better flare resistance but that for the HD DA15, you have really to push to get any flare to begin with. I think the improvement is most visible with the 35 and 40mm.

For starbust, this is true, but only SMC DA15 and SMC DA21 are truely great for starbursts so that (to me) a non factor for the other lenses.

[kentster]

how is lens for shooting at night? trying to decide between 14/15

[pathdoc]

If you got the HD15 and you really miss the starbursts, there are filters for that.

[monochrome]

For most people 80% of their pictures are taken during the day, so I would think that the benefits you get on 80% of your pictures would outweigh the benefits you gain on 20% of your pictures.

From the posts in this thread it appears, for the DA15 Limited, most owners bought the lens specifically for its starburst effect and use it to gain that effect. In this particular case I'd wager your percentages are reversed. The HD coating seems to reduce somewhat the clarity and sharpness of the starburst effect.

[monochrome]

Your conundrum explained pictorially.

Which one is the HD one?

Which one has the rounded blades.

I pick the blonde.

[Nicolas06]

From the posts in this thread it appears, for the DA15 Limited, most owners bought the lens specifically for its starburst effect and use it to gain that effect. In this particular case I'd wager your percentages are reversed. The HD coating seems to reduce somewhat the clarity and sharpness of the starburst effect.

I did that actually at buying time. Still I never used the feature in practice after 1 year of usage. I got some starbust without looking from them but it was on the 21 and it is less known for that and when I brought it, there was no HD version.

It is not the same to make a choice when you buy and to actually use the feature. For the DA15 I don't think there any strategy from Pentax behind (or they would have kept the starbust on the HD DA15) but I think that some feature are intended just as that.

Features like the low pass filter, the bundled flash, the astro tracer or the pixel shift technology are all things that can look cool that some will really use and depend on but that some will still consider as a buying argument... But will never use in practice.

Well to not use a feature is not an issue... Except if you paid more to get it or you had to make a tradeoff to get it;

For me back in time the SMC version was more expensive new than the HD one for example and I may have benefited more from the added flare resistance even if the SMC is already great. If I had to choose again, I would go for the HD version.

[cxdoo]

The HD coating seems to reduce somewhat the clarity and sharpness of the starburst effect.

Considering it was deliberately made to have better flare resistance, it's only logical; starburst is flare.

[Rondec]

Considering it was deliberately made to have better flare resistance, it's only logical; starburst is flare.

I am pretty sure the star burst is diffraction. It isn't seen very much at wider apertures, but when you get to f8 it becomes really apparent.

[sTi]

AFAIK the starburst effect is reduced because of the rounded aperture blades of the HD versions, it has nothing to do with SMC vs HD coatings

[jatrax]

From the posts in this thread it appears, for the DA15 Limited, most owners bought the lens specifically for its starburst effect and use it to gain that effect.

I certainly did. And do. Might seem silly to buy a lens just for starbursts but it does that very, very well. Among other things