Should I be a good Pentax choirboy and buy a DA 15 Limited or buy the Sigma 10-20mm?

tokyoso · 02-22-2010, 02:13 AM

I saw some great architecture shots, how about for crowd shots?

Last edited by tokyoso; 02-22-2010 at 06:11 AM.

little laker · 02-22-2010, 02:42 AM

Personally I'm a Prime Kinda Guy (so the 15mm) however if I was to make that decision today I wouldn't.
The reason why, is Sigma is releasing a new 8-16mm F4,5-5,6 lens soon. In my opinion, it's worth the wait to look at.

tokyoso · 02-22-2010, 05:33 AM

Originally posted by little laker

Personally I'm a Prime Kinda Guy (so the 15mm) however if I was to make that decision today I wouldn't.
The reason why, is Sigma is releasing a new 8-16mm F4,5-5,6 lens soon. In my opinion, it's worth the wait to look at.

Thanks. I totally missed that announcement. What will it be priced at?

GeneV · 02-22-2010, 06:20 AM

It really depends on whether you like to travel light. The DA15 is a compact, inconspicuous prime for easy carrying and quality. Either of the Sigmas will be fairly large. I'll probably buy one of the ultra wide zooms eventually, but I will still be very happy with my DA15.

tokyoso · 02-22-2010, 08:02 AM

Originally posted by GeneV

It really depends on whether you like to travel light. The DA15 is a compact, inconspicuous prime for easy carrying and quality. Either of the Sigmas will be fairly large. I'll probably buy one of the ultra wide zooms eventually, but I will still be very happy with my DA15.

Thanks,

I'm looking for a lens to do some scenic shots, street crowds etc. I'm wondering how much pp is needed to deal with distortion and increase dynamic range (if at all) for those landscape photos?

is there any difference at all between the two when it comes to wide angle distortions? presumably I may want to take a few closer shots at something. If there isn't a big difference between the two in that regard, I'll probably just go with the cheaper one.

Great photos in both DA15 and SIGMA10-20 threads and thanks for sharing them.

rover · 02-22-2010, 08:19 AM

Buy the lens and a good pair of shoes

, not the zoom thing.

MrCynical · 02-22-2010, 08:39 AM

Of the two Sigmas, the older one is apparently sharper (thought not as sharp as the DA 12-24) and generally better despite being cheaper. There is of course also the 'third way' (sorry, British politics joke :P) of waiting to see how much Sigma's newly-announced 8-16mm will be. Even though it is likely to be more expensive than the 10-20 f3.5, at Pentax's current prices I doubt it'll be as much as the 12-24!

deadwolfbones · 02-22-2010, 09:03 AM

If size isn't a factor, get the 12-24mm. If you want extreme portability, get the 15mm. The 10-20 would be my 3rd choice.

deadwolfbones · 02-22-2010, 09:04 AM

There's also Tamron's 10-24mm, though by most accounts it's the softest of the three.

reeftool · 02-22-2010, 09:07 AM

The 12-24 is high on my wish list. I have only heard good things. Many users say the IQ is equal to primes. It is a little heavy and on the large side compared to the DA 15. Price is a factor in my case and I will probably end up with something used and right now the older version of the 10-20 Sigma or the DA 12-24 would be more apt to turn up used simply because they have been around longer.

**dunerunner** · 02-22-2010, 10:56 PM

I just got done making the same decision you are looking at now. I went with the DA12-24 and have not looked back. I like the size (when it is on my K20), to me it balences out the weight of the camera, but thats just me. I love what I have seen out of the DA15, but I like to have some zoom ability while getting what I consider very sharp shots. Will probably get a 15 someday, or maybe Pentax will come out with a new 18 ltd-- Wishfull thinking on my part.

Lance B · 02-22-2010, 11:21 PM

I have 3 lenses in the 14-15mm range, the DA14 f2.8, the DA15 f4 Limited and the DA12-24 f4 zoom, all are superb lenses.

The DA14 has f2.8 ability, but is quite big for a prime.

The DA15 is great as it is small and has the Limited look to the IQ, which is superb.

There is no doubt that the DA12-24 is a superb zoom IQ wise, but it is bulky.

Benefits of the DA15 (DA14)over the DA12-24:
* The IQ has that Limited look with 3D quality in certain circumstances. Flare control is outstanding, whichis important for a wide angle lens.
* Small size
* It has close focus ability - 180mm compared to the DA12-24's 300mm (DA14 is 170mm close focus) - it's quite a good feature to have the extra close focus ability for those sometimes dramatic near to far shots that come across so well with an extreme wide angle lens. I have quite often been limited by the close focus ability of the DA12-24, so much so that I rarely put it in my bag in case I am limited by it again.
* DOF scale on the lens. Important when you want to get the correct depth of focus. This is missing on the DA12-24.
The above features of the DA15 (and also the DA14), is what makes me decide to use them over the DA12-24.

A few sample DA15 shots:

The sun is actually in the top right hand corner of this photo and the flare resisitance is amazing:

aaronius · 02-22-2010, 11:34 PM

I will get the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 because it is cheaper and it offers a wider view of 10mm compared to 15mm on the Pentax. Plus it is a zoom so it offers abit more flexibility.

Jasvox · 02-22-2010, 11:43 PM

It all depends, do you want a fixed focal length of 15mm or a range of 10-20mm? Both lenses are very good and image quality should be superb for each.

Jason

PentaxPoke · 02-23-2010, 12:10 AM

"Pentax Choirboy?" That just sounds creepy. No, don't do that.

Buy whatever lens makes you happy though.

View Poll Results: Should I be a good Pentax choirboy and buy a DA 15 Limited or buy the Sigma 10-20mm
DA 15mm F4 Limited	37	43.02%
DA 12-24mm F4	13	15.12%
Sigma 10-20mm F3.5	10	11.63%
Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6	26	30.23%
Voters: 86. You may not vote on this poll

02-22-2010, 02:13 AM	#1
tokyoso Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tokyo Photos: Albums Posts: 723	Should I be a good Pentax choirboy and buy a DA 15 Limited or buy the Sigma 10-20mm? I saw some great architecture shots, how about for crowd shots? Last edited by tokyoso; 02-22-2010 at 06:11 AM.

02-22-2010, 08:19 AM	#6
rover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 149	Buy the lens and a good pair of shoes, not the zoom thing.

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02-22-2010, 02:42 AM	#2
little laker Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,703	Personally I'm a Prime Kinda Guy (so the 15mm) however if I was to make that decision today I wouldn't. The reason why, is Sigma is releasing a new 8-16mm F4,5-5,6 lens soon. In my opinion, it's worth the wait to look at.

02-22-2010, 05:33 AM	#3
tokyoso Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tokyo Photos: Albums Posts: 723 Original Poster	Originally posted by little laker Personally I'm a Prime Kinda Guy (so the 15mm) however if I was to make that decision today I wouldn't. The reason why, is Sigma is releasing a new 8-16mm F4,5-5,6 lens soon. In my opinion, it's worth the wait to look at. Thanks. I totally missed that announcement. What will it be priced at?

02-22-2010, 06:20 AM	#4
GeneV Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 9,830	It really depends on whether you like to travel light. The DA15 is a compact, inconspicuous prime for easy carrying and quality. Either of the Sigmas will be fairly large. I'll probably buy one of the ultra wide zooms eventually, but I will still be very happy with my DA15.

02-22-2010, 08:02 AM	#5
tokyoso Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tokyo Photos: Albums Posts: 723 Original Poster	Originally posted by GeneV It really depends on whether you like to travel light. The DA15 is a compact, inconspicuous prime for easy carrying and quality. Either of the Sigmas will be fairly large. I'll probably buy one of the ultra wide zooms eventually, but I will still be very happy with my DA15. Thanks, I'm looking for a lens to do some scenic shots, street crowds etc. I'm wondering how much pp is needed to deal with distortion and increase dynamic range (if at all) for those landscape photos? is there any difference at all between the two when it comes to wide angle distortions? presumably I may want to take a few closer shots at something. If there isn't a big difference between the two in that regard, I'll probably just go with the cheaper one. Great photos in both DA15 and SIGMA10-20 threads and thanks for sharing them.

02-22-2010, 08:39 AM	#7
MrCynical Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 132	Of the two Sigmas, the older one is apparently sharper (thought not as sharp as the DA 12-24) and generally better despite being cheaper. There is of course also the 'third way' (sorry, British politics joke :P) of waiting to see how much Sigma's newly-announced 8-16mm will be. Even though it is likely to be more expensive than the 10-20 f3.5, at Pentax's current prices I doubt it'll be as much as the 12-24!

02-22-2010, 09:03 AM	#8
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: La Crescenta, CA Posts: 7,450	If size isn't a factor, get the 12-24mm. If you want extreme portability, get the 15mm. The 10-20 would be my 3rd choice.

02-22-2010, 09:04 AM	#9
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: La Crescenta, CA Posts: 7,450	There's also Tamron's 10-24mm, though by most accounts it's the softest of the three.

02-22-2010, 09:07 AM	#10
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,419	The 12-24 is high on my wish list. I have only heard good things. Many users say the IQ is equal to primes. It is a little heavy and on the large side compared to the DA 15. Price is a factor in my case and I will probably end up with something used and right now the older version of the 10-20 Sigma or the DA 12-24 would be more apt to turn up used simply because they have been around longer.

02-22-2010, 10:56 PM	#11
dunerunner Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Black Hills Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,100	I just got done making the same decision you are looking at now. I went with the DA12-24 and have not looked back. I like the size (when it is on my K20), to me it balences out the weight of the camera, but thats just me. I love what I have seen out of the DA15, but I like to have some zoom ability while getting what I consider very sharp shots. Will probably get a 15 someday, or maybe Pentax will come out with a new 18 ltd-- Wishfull thinking on my part.

02-22-2010, 11:21 PM	#12
Lance B Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 593	I have 3 lenses in the 14-15mm range, the DA14 f2.8, the DA15 f4 Limited and the DA12-24 f4 zoom, all are superb lenses. The DA14 has f2.8 ability, but is quite big for a prime. The DA15 is great as it is small and has the Limited look to the IQ, which is superb. There is no doubt that the DA12-24 is a superb zoom IQ wise, but it is bulky. Benefits of the DA15 (DA14)over the DA12-24: * The IQ has that Limited look with 3D quality in certain circumstances. Flare control is outstanding, whichis important for a wide angle lens. * Small size * It has close focus ability - 180mm compared to the DA12-24's 300mm (DA14 is 170mm close focus) - it's quite a good feature to have the extra close focus ability for those sometimes dramatic near to far shots that come across so well with an extreme wide angle lens. I have quite often been limited by the close focus ability of the DA12-24, so much so that I rarely put it in my bag in case I am limited by it again. * DOF scale on the lens. Important when you want to get the correct depth of focus. This is missing on the DA12-24. The above features of the DA15 (and also the DA14), is what makes me decide to use them over the DA12-24. A few sample DA15 shots: The sun is actually in the top right hand corner of this photo and the flare resisitance is amazing:

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02-22-2010, 11:34 PM	#13
aaronius Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 188	I will get the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 because it is cheaper and it offers a wider view of 10mm compared to 15mm on the Pentax. Plus it is a zoom so it offers abit more flexibility.

02-22-2010, 11:43 PM	#14
Jasvox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3,107	It all depends, do you want a fixed focal length of 15mm or a range of 10-20mm? Both lenses are very good and image quality should be superb for each. Jason

02-23-2010, 12:10 AM	#15
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411	"Pentax Choirboy?" That just sounds creepy. No, don't do that. Buy whatever lens makes you happy though.