Which Wide lens

Pentaxor · 02-22-2010, 12:07 PM

Originally posted by Jewelltrail

When I was reviewing my options: either the Sigma 10-20 or the Pentax Da 12-24 I took a good deal of time. There were many factors which pulled me in either direction. I did give the Sgma at least +1 for 10mm, but could not give this to the Da for 20-24mm since my Tamron 17-50mm already covered me from 17 to 24mm. This proved to weigh, decisively, in favor of the Sigma, along with Sigma's excellent handling of CA.

focal length needs is another deciding factor in buying a lens. on my part, 12mm is overly sufficient for outdoors that I didn't have to use the wide 12mm. I usually play along 14-1

ScooterMaxi Jim · 02-22-2010, 12:28 PM

Originally posted by Alex00

Fisheye does not do the job of a wide angle lens even after correction.

I don't understand the reasoning for the blanket comment. Rectilinear lenses provide one kind of distortion (stretched edges, compressed center), and fisheyes give you another kind of distortion (expanded center, compressed edges). If you are using a cropped sensor camera, perspective distortion should be corrected on either type of lens; and a corrected FF fisheye can (and in the case of the Zenitar does) give you better overall sharpness edge-to-edge than any number of current rectilinear zooms. That reasoning is based on using a high quality interpolation program. Granted, rectilinear lenses (especially those with some barrel distortion) require less overall correction than true fisheyes. However, the amount of optical bending required for rectilinear lenses tends to diminish edge sharpness more, so there's a trade off.

Pentaxor · 02-22-2010, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by Jewelltrail

When I was reviewing my options: either the Sigma 10-20 or the Pentax Da 12-24 I took a good deal of time. There were many factors which pulled me in either direction. I did give the Sgma at least +1 for 10mm, but could not give this to the Da for 20-24mm since my Tamron 17-50mm already covered me from 17 to 24mm. This proved to weigh, decisively, in favor of the Sigma, along with Sigma's excellent handling of CA.

focal length needs is another deciding factor in buying a lens. on my part, 12mm is overly sufficient for outdoors that I didn't have to use the wide 12mm that often. I usually play along 14-18mm and thus hitting the sweet spot of the lens. the 12mm is sufficient and never needed anything wider for my close corner indoor shoots. so basically, I needed the added versatility and very useful extra reach of 24mm more for filling in the gap at that focal length as compared to something wider. and I love the results of the DA12-24 at 24mm. if I went for the Sigma, I would had definitely looked for a very good 24mm prime lens that would had cost me an additional $400-$500, thereby spending around 1k as compared to buying something half of 1k. I went for practicality and at the same time, a much superior overall IQ and versatility in 1 lens.

as far as cons are concerned, the 3 lenses have their own share of weaknesses. distortion for the Sigma, ugly colour rendering for the Tamron, and CA for the Pentax. so choose your own poison.

02-22-2010, 12:28 PM	#47
ScooterMaxi Jim Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,520	Originally posted by Alex00 Fisheye does not do the job of a wide angle lens even after correction. I don't understand the reasoning for the blanket comment. Rectilinear lenses provide one kind of distortion (stretched edges, compressed center), and fisheyes give you another kind of distortion (expanded center, compressed edges). If you are using a cropped sensor camera, perspective distortion should be corrected on either type of lens; and a corrected FF fisheye can (and in the case of the Zenitar does) give you better overall sharpness edge-to-edge than any number of current rectilinear zooms. That reasoning is based on using a high quality interpolation program. Granted, rectilinear lenses (especially those with some barrel distortion) require less overall correction than true fisheyes. However, the amount of optical bending required for rectilinear lenses tends to diminish edge sharpness more, so there's a trade off. Last edited by ScooterMaxi Jim; 02-22-2010 at 09:18 PM. Reason: word missing

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02-22-2010, 12:07 PM	#46
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Jewelltrail When I was reviewing my options: either the Sigma 10-20 or the Pentax Da 12-24 I took a good deal of time. There were many factors which pulled me in either direction. I did give the Sgma at least +1 for 10mm, but could not give this to the Da for 20-24mm since my Tamron 17-50mm already covered me from 17 to 24mm. This proved to weigh, decisively, in favor of the Sigma, along with Sigma's excellent handling of CA. focal length needs is another deciding factor in buying a lens. on my part, 12mm is overly sufficient for outdoors that I didn't have to use the wide 12mm. I usually play along 14-1

02-22-2010, 12:32 PM	#48
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Jewelltrail When I was reviewing my options: either the Sigma 10-20 or the Pentax Da 12-24 I took a good deal of time. There were many factors which pulled me in either direction. I did give the Sgma at least +1 for 10mm, but could not give this to the Da for 20-24mm since my Tamron 17-50mm already covered me from 17 to 24mm. This proved to weigh, decisively, in favor of the Sigma, along with Sigma's excellent handling of CA. focal length needs is another deciding factor in buying a lens. on my part, 12mm is overly sufficient for outdoors that I didn't have to use the wide 12mm that often. I usually play along 14-18mm and thus hitting the sweet spot of the lens. the 12mm is sufficient and never needed anything wider for my close corner indoor shoots. so basically, I needed the added versatility and very useful extra reach of 24mm more for filling in the gap at that focal length as compared to something wider. and I love the results of the DA12-24 at 24mm. if I went for the Sigma, I would had definitely looked for a very good 24mm prime lens that would had cost me an additional $400-$500, thereby spending around 1k as compared to buying something half of 1k. I went for practicality and at the same time, a much superior overall IQ and versatility in 1 lens. as far as cons are concerned, the 3 lenses have their own share of weaknesses. distortion for the Sigma, ugly colour rendering for the Tamron, and CA for the Pentax. so choose your own poison.