Originally posted by TKH Thanks Jim for sharing your pics with us.
I learned when I received my DA15 last week that I have to put the AF adjustment of my K20D to +10 to receive correct AF sharp pics. My K20D also needs +10 for my DA*55 since a few weeks. Thomas (you see his test work in the other DA15 thread as user tzcobretti has the same fact. He gave his K20D last month to Pentax service and now his DA lenses work perfect at +-0 adjustment) After my hiking trip to scotland next month I will send my camera to the service too.
To receive a reallistic meaning of the ground sharpness of a lens, you have to fokus manuell. All other results are only results of the AF adjustment of you indivuduell camera. Give it a try and send your camera to service too and you will be surprised of the performance of your lenses.
Rainer
LOL! My K20D is at Pentax in Colorado for service as I write this, because of poor focusing accuracy with my DA*55.
However, these shots were made using my K-m, which has no AF adjustment in software. I've checked its autofocusing accuracy with the DA15 using Tim Jackson's chart, and it's spot-on as far as I can tell. I do agree that careful manual focusing with an eyepiece magnifier is the best way to go for critical testing, and I'll try this with my DA15 when I have some more time (it's income tax week at my house right now).
Here's a test shot using the DA15 @ f5.6, resized to 1024x685 pixels to compare to Rainer's indoor church shot. I applied a little sharpening after I resized it, and I think it looks comparable for sharpness even in the corners. Note the low amount of geometric distortion - the DA15 is superior to the DA14 in this regard.
Edit: It looks like the Forum SW resized my image downwards so it isn't as crisp as when viewed at 1024x685 on pBase:
http://www.pbase.com/image/111091007 - sorry!
Regards, Jim