Which Wide lens

Pentaxor · 02-20-2010, 05:48 PM

Originally posted by jsherman999

If you don't mind the size, the Sigma 10-20 is a very good choice.

Each lens in your list has it's strengths and weaknesses - you'll have to decide
which to buy depending on what strengths and weaknesses are most important to
you.

As a dedicated wide-angle lens, I don't know if you can beat the DA 12-24 in
overall quality and versatility. What the DA 15 gets you over that is a bit better
flare control, somewhat less CA, and mostly the ability to throw it in even the
smallest bag to take along anywhere, giving you no excuse to miss a Wide Angle
Shot of Opportunity (WASOO!)

.

Jay, I think the 10-20 is the next big thing as to IQ and it certainly can't be beat for it's price, no offense to the Tamron.

yes, the DA15mm certainly has some qualities that are unique for a wide lens. and might have both a creative perspective as well as technical application for a wide angle. though the uncanny center sharpness seems to be out of place in a casual wide-angle shots that require strong sharpness along the borders rather than soft, it does somehow play a part on what you shot at wide open as opposed to what you shot with it at stopped down at f8 and lower.

and Yes, I don't exclusively shoot with my DA12-24 for architectures but also other stuff as well.

just like this one.

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Alex00 · 02-20-2010, 05:50 PM

The sigma 10-20mm seems the sharpest. I was looking thru the sigma 10-20 club i feel the lens has great capability

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/84539-sigma-10-20mm-club.html

Pentaxor · 02-20-2010, 06:17 PM

Originally posted by Alex00

The sigma 10-20mm seems the sharpest. I was looking thru the sigma 10-20 club i feel the lens has great capability

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/84539-sigma-10-20mm-club.html

not really, but it is acceptably sharp when stopped down to f8. but still not the sharpest. >>> dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen

Alex00 · 02-20-2010, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

not really, but it is acceptably sharp when stopped down to f8. but still not the sharpest. >>> dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen

What is your suggest for being the sharpest. Have you tried any??

Alex00 · 02-20-2010, 06:54 PM

Is tokina 12-24 and pentax 12-24 the same???. seems to do better according to your dpreview link. , but it is for nikon not for pentax, unless i'm mistaken.

Pentaxor · 02-20-2010, 07:18 PM

Originally posted by Alex00

What is your suggest for being the sharpest. Have you tried any??

yes. all 3 ultra-wide zoom lenses + some Nikkor lenses which I had before but I won't mention them as they are off-topic.

one of the things that I don't like about the Sigma is it's colour rendering, weak borders and corners at wide open. but it is good enough and can be great when you go past beyond it's shortcomings. price and 10mm could be quite tempting.

Pentax 12-24, as I mentioned before, it suffers from horrible CA at the wide end at wide open, and it is quite pricey. but it is one darn sharp and contrasty all over the focal length from f4 to f8. so it's price is warranted due to it's overall performance.

the Tamron is quite or somehow a better performer overall as compared to the Sigma. but there is something about it's rendering that I really don't like or rather find annoying. it is sharper but is still soft at the corners. colours for me are dirty. quite weak on the contrast which is what I don't want in a wide lens. but the 10mm and 24mm could be quite desirable for people with a more versatile lens or with a lens setup of 10-24 and 28-75.

at the end of the day, I had to choose between the 10-20 and 12-24, where which I ended up with the 12-24 due to luck and 1st preference. otherwise, I would had the 10-20 because I could had it within my budget. so in a way, I'm thankful that the 10-20 deal didn't materialize. I got myself what I wanted from the start, for a price that I would and could pay for.

Pentaxor · 02-20-2010, 07:32 PM

Originally posted by Alex00

Is tokina 12-24 and pentax 12-24 the same???. seems to do better according to your dpreview link. , but it is for nikon not for pentax, unless i'm mistaken.

it is a Pentax variant. same optics, same design, different print name and body. something like the Samsung 35/2 and Pentax 35/2 which have a consortium just the same. both are the same but different names.

although they only sell the Tokina variant exclusively or compatible for the other brands at a much more cheaper and affordable price, probably due to a consortium between Pentax and Tokina not to engage each other on the same K-mount market, otherwise the Pentax DA would surely lose due to huge price difference ( Tokina $400 against Pentax $700+ or $1000+).

Last edited by Pentaxor; 02-20-2010 at 08:06 PM.

Alex00 · 02-20-2010, 07:37 PM

Althought pentax may be sharper, CA is a turn off. I'm looking at some 12-24 samples. This could be the deciding factor.

Pentaxor · 02-20-2010, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by Alex00

Althought pentax may be sharper, CA is a turn off. I'm looking at some 12-24 samples. This could be the deciding factor.

true, as I said, it is up to what weakness you are willing to compensate or deal with. for me, it's the 12-24's CA. but I could live with it.

Alex00 · 02-21-2010, 01:06 AM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

not really, but it is acceptably sharp when stopped down to f8. but still not the sharpest. >>> dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen

Going thru the dpreview graphs again. I see the tokina 12-24 is the best lens all around regardless of the CA. I guess CA can always be fixed in post processing. According to the grpahs and number it looks like the best spot is at 18mm. f5.6. Do you agree. What is the sweet spot on your pentax 12-24.

Pentaxor · 02-21-2010, 02:29 AM

Originally posted by Alex00

Going thru the dpreview graphs again. I see the tokina 12-24 is the best lens all around regardless of the CA. I guess CA can always be fixed in post processing. According to the grpahs and number it looks like the best spot is at 18mm. f5.6. Do you agree. What is the sweet spot on your pentax 12-24.

same sweet spot and same rendering. they are not really different from each other except the brand name. but usually I shoot with it at 14mm because that's the focal length that I use more often for interior shots with close corner shots. I only use 12mm when the need for it arises or when the setting gets really tight. 18mm for acceptable or longer wide shots such as landscapes and a bit on architecture with considerable distance from where I shoot. and 24mm for casual walkaround shots, close-up shots of people with background, and flowers (shown in my example above), or simply architectures. I usually shoot between f4 and f5.6. but most often at f5.6. I only shot at f4 when lighting becomes a bit more challenging.

Jewelltrail · 02-21-2010, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Alex00: The sigma 10-20mm seems the sharpest. I was looking thru the sigma 10-20 club i feel the lens has great capability.

It is sharp, and not only @ f8. I shoot a lot with mine and am never let down by its sharpness, or anything else for that matter. I think it is an amazing lens.

Ben_Edict · 02-21-2010, 05:23 AM

Originally posted by Jewelltrail

It is sharp, and not only @ f8. I shoot a lot with mine and am never let down by its sharpness, or anything else for that matter. I think it is an amazing lens.

exactly my experience.

Ben

Marc Sabatella · 02-21-2010, 10:48 AM

Originally posted by Alex00

I'm just assuming this based on the reviewes from many sites and compared to other wide lenses. I have no way of knowing, but i did research it allot.

Right, and what I'm saying is what virtually every review says, also. It's just false to say that most reviews say the lens is soft - quite the contrary, virtually every review notes it is as sharp as they've ever seen in the center and also across the entire frame when stopped down. You're taking a couple of comments about corner softness wide open *way* out of context.

Alex00 · 02-21-2010, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by Marc Sabatella

Right, and what I'm saying is what virtually every review says, also. It's just false to say that most reviews say the lens is soft - quite the contrary, virtually every review notes it is as sharp as they've ever seen in the center and also across the entire frame when stopped down. You're taking a couple of comments about corner softness wide open *way* out of context.

Assuming dpreview did there tests correctly, dpreview shows the 15mm at any aparature suffers from sharpness compared to all three lenses sigma 10-20, pentax 12-24 and tamrom 10-24. dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen

However it does show no distortions at all since of course it's not a zoom lens and viginating at f4, little at f5.6

02-20-2010, 07:37 PM	#23
Alex00 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 294 Original Poster	Althought pentax may be sharper, CA is a turn off. I'm looking at some 12-24 samples. This could be the deciding factor. Last edited by Alex00; 02-20-2010 at 07:56 PM.

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02-20-2010, 05:50 PM	#17
Alex00 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 294 Original Poster	The sigma 10-20mm seems the sharpest. I was looking thru the sigma 10-20 club i feel the lens has great capability https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/84539-sigma-10-20mm-club.html

02-20-2010, 06:17 PM	#18
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Alex00 The sigma 10-20mm seems the sharpest. I was looking thru the sigma 10-20 club i feel the lens has great capability https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/84539-sigma-10-20mm-club.html not really, but it is acceptably sharp when stopped down to f8. but still not the sharpest. >>> dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen

02-20-2010, 06:47 PM	#19
Alex00 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 294 Original Poster	Originally posted by Pentaxor not really, but it is acceptably sharp when stopped down to f8. but still not the sharpest. >>> dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen What is your suggest for being the sharpest. Have you tried any??

02-20-2010, 06:54 PM	#20
Alex00 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 294 Original Poster	Is tokina 12-24 and pentax 12-24 the same???. seems to do better according to your dpreview link. , but it is for nikon not for pentax, unless i'm mistaken.

02-20-2010, 07:18 PM	#21
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Alex00 What is your suggest for being the sharpest. Have you tried any?? yes. all 3 ultra-wide zoom lenses + some Nikkor lenses which I had before but I won't mention them as they are off-topic. one of the things that I don't like about the Sigma is it's colour rendering, weak borders and corners at wide open. but it is good enough and can be great when you go past beyond it's shortcomings. price and 10mm could be quite tempting. Pentax 12-24, as I mentioned before, it suffers from horrible CA at the wide end at wide open, and it is quite pricey. but it is one darn sharp and contrasty all over the focal length from f4 to f8. so it's price is warranted due to it's overall performance. the Tamron is quite or somehow a better performer overall as compared to the Sigma. but there is something about it's rendering that I really don't like or rather find annoying. it is sharper but is still soft at the corners. colours for me are dirty. quite weak on the contrast which is what I don't want in a wide lens. but the 10mm and 24mm could be quite desirable for people with a more versatile lens or with a lens setup of 10-24 and 28-75. at the end of the day, I had to choose between the 10-20 and 12-24, where which I ended up with the 12-24 due to luck and 1st preference. otherwise, I would had the 10-20 because I could had it within my budget. so in a way, I'm thankful that the 10-20 deal didn't materialize. I got myself what I wanted from the start, for a price that I would and could pay for.

02-20-2010, 07:32 PM	#22
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Alex00 Is tokina 12-24 and pentax 12-24 the same???. seems to do better according to your dpreview link. , but it is for nikon not for pentax, unless i'm mistaken. it is a Pentax variant. same optics, same design, different print name and body. something like the Samsung 35/2 and Pentax 35/2 which have a consortium just the same. both are the same but different names. although they only sell the Tokina variant exclusively or compatible for the other brands at a much more cheaper and affordable price, probably due to a consortium between Pentax and Tokina not to engage each other on the same K-mount market, otherwise the Pentax DA would surely lose due to huge price difference ( Tokina $400 against Pentax $700+ or $1000+). Last edited by Pentaxor; 02-20-2010 at 08:06 PM.

02-20-2010, 08:04 PM	#24
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Alex00 Althought pentax may be sharper, CA is a turn off. I'm looking at some 12-24 samples. This could be the deciding factor. true, as I said, it is up to what weakness you are willing to compensate or deal with. for me, it's the 12-24's CA. but I could live with it.

02-21-2010, 01:06 AM	#25
Alex00 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 294 Original Poster	Originally posted by Pentaxor not really, but it is acceptably sharp when stopped down to f8. but still not the sharpest. >>> dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen Going thru the dpreview graphs again. I see the tokina 12-24 is the best lens all around regardless of the CA. I guess CA can always be fixed in post processing. According to the grpahs and number it looks like the best spot is at 18mm. f5.6. Do you agree. What is the sweet spot on your pentax 12-24.

02-21-2010, 02:29 AM	#26
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Alex00 Going thru the dpreview graphs again. I see the tokina 12-24 is the best lens all around regardless of the CA. I guess CA can always be fixed in post processing. According to the grpahs and number it looks like the best spot is at 18mm. f5.6. Do you agree. What is the sweet spot on your pentax 12-24. same sweet spot and same rendering. they are not really different from each other except the brand name. but usually I shoot with it at 14mm because that's the focal length that I use more often for interior shots with close corner shots. I only use 12mm when the need for it arises or when the setting gets really tight. 18mm for acceptable or longer wide shots such as landscapes and a bit on architecture with considerable distance from where I shoot. and 24mm for casual walkaround shots, close-up shots of people with background, and flowers (shown in my example above), or simply architectures. I usually shoot between f4 and f5.6. but most often at f5.6. I only shot at f4 when lighting becomes a bit more challenging.

02-21-2010, 03:09 AM	#27
Jewelltrail Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Rhode Island Photos: Albums Posts: 4,180	Quote: Alex00: The sigma 10-20mm seems the sharpest. I was looking thru the sigma 10-20 club i feel the lens has great capability. It is sharp, and not only @ f8. I shoot a lot with mine and am never let down by its sharpness, or anything else for that matter. I think it is an amazing lens.

02-21-2010, 05:23 AM	#28
Ben_Edict Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: SouthWest "Regio" Photos: Albums Posts: 3,309	Originally posted by Jewelltrail It is sharp, and not only @ f8. I shoot a lot with mine and am never let down by its sharpness, or anything else for that matter. I think it is an amazing lens. exactly my experience. Ben

02-21-2010, 10:48 AM	#29
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	Originally posted by Alex00 I'm just assuming this based on the reviewes from many sites and compared to other wide lenses. I have no way of knowing, but i did research it allot. Right, and what I'm saying is what virtually every review says, also. It's just false to say that most reviews say the lens is soft - quite the contrary, virtually every review notes it is as sharp as they've ever seen in the center and also across the entire frame when stopped down. You're taking a couple of comments about corner softness wide open way out of context.

02-21-2010, 11:54 AM	#30
Alex00 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 294 Original Poster	Originally posted by Marc Sabatella Right, and what I'm saying is what virtually every review says, also. It's just false to say that most reviews say the lens is soft - quite the contrary, virtually every review notes it is as sharp as they've ever seen in the center and also across the entire frame when stopped down. You're taking a couple of comments about corner softness wide open way out of context. Assuming dpreview did there tests correctly, dpreview shows the 15mm at any aparature suffers from sharpness compared to all three lenses sigma 10-20, pentax 12-24 and tamrom 10-24. dpreview.com - Lens Review - Fullscreen However it does show no distortions at all since of course it's not a zoom lens and viginating at f4, little at f5.6