[sibyrnes]

It looks like it's going to be a long time before Pentax comes out with a new wide angle prime. So, what are my best options? No reviews here yet on the Samyang 20mm. Has anyone used this lens? How would its IQ compare with Pentax 20mm lens of the past? I'm wondering if I would be better off with the Samsung or a used FA20mm, A20mm or M20mm. i don't really care so much about the speed of the lens as much as image quality. Auto focus would be nice but not necessary for my intended use - mostly landscapes. Opinions?

[Na Horuk]

It looks like it's going to be a long time before Pentax comes out with a new wide angle prime.

i think Pentax is working on a prime between 20mm and 28mm, and it should come out by [extreme speculation, do not quote] sometime 2018, after the 50mm and 85mm. But yes, that is still far away.

Ultra wide angle FF primes:
Samyang 14mm, 20mm, 24mm, (and others, but those are telephoto)
Irix 11mm, 15mm
Venus 15mm
Zenitar 16mm (fisheye, old, but some people produce good photos with it. Very affordable)

I think a couple users on this forum mentioned the Samyang 20mm being pretty good. You can check the Samyang lens club thread?
I have M 28mm. Some say its the worst 28mm that Pentax ever made, but I still find it good! It is acceptably sharp on APSC. If you buy F 28mm you should be doing fine. Those are sharp and have AF.

I also have Samyang 14mm. Super sharp lens! But buy it from a reputable store, because QC was a problem with Samyang. Many of us had to return a Samyang 14mm because it was decentered (part of frame being unusually blurred because a lens element is out of alignment). This is often a problem with Ultra wide lenses in general, but you should still hope for a good copy of the lens.

One final thing, Samyang is also sold under some other names like Rokinon, Bower, ProOptic, Walimex, Falcon.. sometimes even the same store will sell the same lens, with different brand label and different price. Optically, these are all the same. Usually they even look the same on the outside, just with a different brand label.
That said, if I had FF and was looking for ultra wide, I would go with Samyang 20mm. I trust their optics. 14mm on FF is awkwardly wide, and 20mm is more useful. You will have to get all the others anyway, some day

[pepperberry farm]

if looking at a manual focus lens, why not an SMC M or A 20mm or an SMC A 24mm?

[ajack]

There are the FA 31mm Limited and FA 35mm, although it sounds like what you really want is "ultra wide". If you are willing to go used (and manual) there are tons of older options from the Pentax back catalog.

[twomonger]

Samyang and the Korean manufacturers in general have serious issues with QC. Buyer beware.

Lens Rentals | Blog
Lens Rentals | Blog

[emergo]

I have no experience with them, but Laowa / Venus has a 15mm f4 for K Mount (mentioned above), and a forthcoming 12mm f2.8 zero distortion lens on the way, also for K Mount. It'd probably still be cheaper to go with the Pentax FA 20mm f2.8, or older Pentax M or A lenses, though.

LAOWA 15mm f/4 Wide Angle 1:1 Macro Lens | LAOWA Camera Lenses - Venus Optics

(Pre-Order) Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D | LAOWA Camera Lenses - Venus Optics

[YankeeDan]

A no cost solution is to use a standard lens and take panoramic shots in portrait mode and stitch them together in Lightroom.

[jatrax]

Pentax A 20mm if you can find one. I managed to locate one with the original hood. Most likely a new, fast 20mm will be 'better' in some way but I find the A 20mm to be quite good for landscapes. I also have the FA 20-35 f/4 which I quite like but the A 20mm is nicer to work with for some reason.

[sibyrnes]

I think a 20mm is what I really want. I have a K24mm that I liked a lot for film, but it just doesn't seem to cut it for FF digital and I would like something a little wider. I guess my real question is how does the Samyang(or Rokinon or what ever) compare to the older Pentax 20mms and which of the old Pentax 20's is the best? Has anyone made comparisons based on actual use?


Cost is not a big factor to me. Now that I have a K1 I want to get the most out it's potential for landscapes worthy of large prints.

[mattt]

Older Pentax 20mm's still deliver the goods if you can find one. Great value too

[IgorZ]

There is also irix 15 f2.4, so slightly wider than what you want, but cheaper than Pentax 20mm lenses, if cost is a factor

[pres589]

Voigtlander had a 20mm that seems quite good. The Sy 20 is quite interesting but hardly any reviews of it. Not sure why. It's kind of big though, and I think that fat max aperture is wasted on such a wide lens. I know that's kind of their thing.

[Na Horuk]

Well the Samyang 20mm is still quite "new" and a lot of Pentaxians by now already have their wide angles covered. Samyang makes primes that are big, heavy, super sharp, with bright aperture, often with miscalibrated focusing scale. Pentax makes lenses that are more compact, have reasonable aperture, and have a special look to them. I think the "character" and compact size are the main advantages of the Pentax system in general. Sigma Art and Samyang make super sharp, fast, big lenses. These are the general rules of lens brands. Some people prefer Sigma Art sharpness, others prefer Pentax contrasts and colors.

But hey, if you have a good budget, think about the DFA 15-30mm. I am using affordable primes (14mm, 21mm, 28mm, 35mm), but if I had bigger budget, the DFA 15-30mm would cover.. pretty much all of wide angle to ultra wide angle needs.

[twomonger]

Well the Samyang 20mm is still quite "new" and a lot of Pentaxians by now already have their wide angles covered. Samyang makes primes that are big, heavy, super sharp, with bright aperture, often with miscalibrated focusing scale. Pentax makes lenses that are more compact, have reasonable aperture, and have a special look to them. I think the "character" and compact size are the main advantages of the Pentax system in general. Sigma Art and Samyang make super sharp, fast, big lenses. These are the general rules of lens brands. Some people prefer Sigma Art sharpness, others prefer Pentax contrasts and colors.

But hey, if you have a good budget, think about the DFA 15-30mm. I am using affordable primes (14mm, 21mm, 28mm, 35mm), but if I had bigger budget, the DFA 15-30mm would cover.. pretty much all of wide angle to ultra wide angle needs.

Some of the lenses you mentioned are not full frame, and therefore would either needed to be used in crop-mode (kind of defeating the purpose of having a K-1 if that's all you're going to use), or suffer from severe vignetting.

[Paul the Sunman]

It's not what you're looking for, but I have been very impressed with the DFA 15-30 at around 20mm. But I agree; a compact high quality 20mm FF AF prime would be very attractive.


Pentax DFA 15-30 @ 21 mm, f/8.