[ChristianRock]

Longer than typical focal lengths for landscapes are underrated. I often used a 50 or 55 my the k-3, and i suspect i'll even use the 77 sometimes of the k1

The main reason I'm thinking about buying a DA 70mm Limited is for landscapes. I find it amazing for that purpose. So I am very much in agreement.

[dms]

If you like a lens it is best to not sell it till you are sure the replacement is satisfactory. If not and you buy back another copy of the lens you sold, it may be inferior/not okay. Lenses are quite variable (especially so for consumer zooms) and the one(s) you have may be exceptional examples.

---------- Post added 08-25-20 at 06:46 PM ----------

(As mentioned above) If you like the 10-17mm FE, and use it (at longer FL) like a regular wide angle, you will IMO love the 17-28mm FE. I have several FE's, and the 17-28 images are quite good, it is the most versatile, color fringing is small, and handling is very good. Actually I use it as a wide angle on APS-C. The 17-28 FE are (reasonably) regularly available at KEH.

And it is a very small lens!

[acoufap]

I'm not the best at keeping up to speed on rumors and announcements, so I missed the announcement of the DFA 21. That is very tempting to wait for. It will undoubtedly be much smaller and lighter than the 15-30. And a weather sealed limited lens!

The DA*11-18 is another option. In FF mode very well usable at 18 to 16mm with hood, 15 without hood, AW and filter thread 82mm. Significantly more lightweight than DFA15-30 but much more restricted to wide angle on FF. If you also will use APSC cameras it‘s very nice because you get the same extreme wide angles on both formats APSC and FF - APSC @ 11 and FF @ 16. 15 @ FF even is wider than what you can get on APSC.

I reckon what's been said already answered your question; the DFA 15-30mm is one of the best they've made, in my opinion. But in the meanwhile, you might consider the Irix 15mm - nearly as good, no zoom and no autofocus, but a great lens at a pretty good price (about half that of the DFA 15-30mm). That way you can keep your APS-C lenses, perhaps (the only way to make a profit on used lenses is to use'em and get your money's worth out of them that way).

[MossyRocks]

I've really like what I've seen from the Venus 12mm.

I like that lens but use on my K-3 or K-3ii and it is among my favorites. For my uses my only complaint is that there is some slight coma wide open until you get to f/4 where it is gone and by slight coma I mean it is only noticeable at a 50% or greater magnification and only in the corners.

Longer than typical focal lengths for landscapes are underrated. I often used a 50 or 55 on my k-3, and I suspect i'll even use the 77 sometimes on the k1

I've gotten some nice landscapes using some long glass too, especially with sunsets. I've used my 50mm lenes, the 77, and the most recent keeper my 300mm. With that one I got a nice sunset shot from one of the county parks but with the narrow field of view had a very nice silhouette of the foreground objects that were way off in the distance but got the deep color near the horizon of second sunset with some clouds that were also near the horizon.

I guess I just kind of view lenses as tools and once you get comfortable with how they behave and what they do you find all sorts of uses for them. This is probably why I don't sell things, and haven't bought much of anything this year, well I did get the Laowa 12mm but that was because I needed a better tool for ultra-wide astrophotography since what I had was unusable for that task.

[Sykil]

Get the DFA 15-30, period. I love my 15-30 for landscape work, period.

You do understand that the other lenses you listed, 20-40, 10-17, and the 35 (if I remember correctly), will only work on the K-1II in crop mode. If you really like the 10-17 on the K-3, you need to track down it's predecessor, the F 17-28, which does the exact same thing as the 10-17 on the K-3. There is not really any replacement for the 20-40 though.

On the HD 10-17 (i.e. the newest version) you can remove the hood and get unblocked circular edges, which is nice.

The 17-28 is great if you specifically want to translate the 10-17 view on APS-C to full-frame, but it has issues. The minimum focus distance is not nearly as good, and the lens has a reasonably common (but repairable) problem with the distance scale and potentially focusing. Which reminds me that I got one for $30 that I need to repair.

[johnha]

My wide choice on the K-1 is an FA20-35/4, it's hardly off the camera. Much smaller/lighter/cheaper than the 15-30 and usable on my film bodies. The focal range is more to my taste too. It works well on both APS-C and FF, as do 28, 35 & 50mm options.

As for the DA10-17, I've compared mine at 17mm to my K17 FE on the K-1 - I can hardly tell the difference. I wouldn't need anything wider.

[PDish]

I have several DA lenses , but none were ultrawide. I decided on the F 17-28 and FA 20 as my go to on full frame for wide angled shots. For landscape, I like the colors and focusing of the F 70-210 and it's good for portraits as well. The only thing you will lose with the DFA 15-30 is weight as these others are not as heavy. I don't own it , but from the looks of it, it is a very nice lens. My backpacking gear is the FA 20, DA 40 and F 70-210, light and compact. Hope it all works out for you.

[Rondec]

If you need wide angle and sealing, but are OK with manual focus, the Irix 15mm Blackstone would be a cheaper option. I do own and shoot with the DFA 15-30 and really like it. Biggest negatives are size and lack of ability to take filters.

On the DFA 21 front, that lens probably won't come out till next year and I expect it to be pretty pricey -- certainly more expensive than the DFA 15-30.

[Henk T]

I found recently at a nice price a second hand Sigma 17-35/2.8-4 DG to cover the wide end for my K-1.

[skyclad666]

Two other no suggestions for excellent FF wide angle lenses, all MF (but who needs AF on wide angles ?)
- Laowa 15/4 macro : a unique wide angle macro 1:1, very compact, takes 77mm filters, shift capacity on APS-C. This one is.always in my bag.
- Irix 11/4 : the widest rectilinear wide angle, very sharp, a bit heavy

[Bunch]

On the DFA 21 front, that lens probably won't come out till next year and I expect it to be pretty pricey -- certainly more expensive than the DFA 15-30.

I'd be stunned if it's more than the 15-30. High quality zooms are almost always more than primes, until you start getting into the telephoto prime range. I think charging more than 1k for the 21 would be a mistake.

[gatorguy]

As a less expensive alternative, I'm using a da 12-24 on the k1ii, and it indeed performs fine stopped down from 16mm up. For me the compromise is acceptable, because of the lower cost and size, I don't shoot astro. This was my wide angle solution for the k3ii, and I've kept it after replacing it with a k1ii. I pair it with the 28-105kit lens and an old 70-210

I do too, and it's been more than acceptable. For the few times I really want to go ultra-wide that's what panos are for. Stitching a couple pics together isn't hard with good software. I don't do enough of that to warrant a $1300 expense to accomplish it.

The Pentax 12-24 delivers really impressively on APS-C, ie K70, KP, K3, and with minor limitation about equally as well on FF K1 IMO.

[Rondec]

I'd be stunned if it's more than the 15-30. High quality zooms are almost always more than primes, until you start getting into the telephoto prime range. I think charging more than 1k for the 21 would be a mistake.

Maybe. The FA 31 limited typically runs in the 900 dollar range (I think I bought mine for 950-ish). I just would be surprised if a FA limited 21 with in lens motor and sealing goes for less than a thousand.

[johnha]

Maybe. The FA 31 limited typically runs in the 900 dollar range (I think I bought mine for 950-ish). I just would be surprised if a FA limited 21 with in lens motor and sealing goes for less than a thousand.

Sounds cheap - in the UK the FA31 is usually £1300+