[Derridale]

I've been reading the glowing comments about the DA 15mm f/4 Ltd, and seeing the great results in the hands of the experts.

Has anyone considered the non-limited version that is close in focal length - the:

Pentax Lens 14mm f/2.8 ED IF DA

Anyone done any comparisons between these two lenses?

Given that I already have a Sigma 10-20 (my second favourite lens), would one of these prime lenses give me noticeably better results?

There is a good review of the 14mm on Photozone, at:

Pentax SMC-DA 14mm f/2.8 ED [IF] - Review / Test Report

The review comes up pretty good, and in fact seems to have at least as good results as the 15mm Ltd in many areas, and better in some. It's not a pancake lens, but that isn't a worry for me. The build quality is described as excellent, and given that I am very careful and gentle with my lenses, I coubt that there'd be much advantage in the "Limited" edition purely for the build. I already have the 31mm Ltd - a truly beautiful lens. But if the 14mm is built anywhere near as well, I'd be happy with that.

Any comments most appreciated, along with recommendations.

[Wheatfield]

The 14 is a good lens, but it is a horse.
I sold mine in favour of the 15LTD based on that.
There is another thread in this section of the forum that is essentially the same as this thread.
Perhaps seek it out.

[pkaliaf1]

For interior handheld shots aperture 2.8 is an advantage. Also in apertures 4 - 5.6 DA14 is sharper than DA15 (at least my copies). DA15 has less distorions but DA14 with disortion correction ON (at K-7 and K-X) is most of the times just fine. And the DA14 built is very nice.

Regards
Paul

[Marc Sabatella]

As mentioned, there are actually quite a few exsitng threads comparing these lenses (usually including the 12-24 as well, and/or a Tamron zoom). The numbers and user reports in the various other threads on this topic all point to the same thingL there really isn't a lot of difference in IQ between any of these lenses. The advantage of any of the zooms is that they are zooms a zoom. Also, in the case of the Sigma, the fact that you already own it. The advantage of the DA14 is that it's f/2.8. The advantage of the DA15 is that it is tiny in comparison to either of the others. There's really not much more to it than that.

[joeyc]

This topic comes up every once in and awhile. In all honesty, I feel the DA15 is a much superior lens for many reasons:

DA15 Advantages...
1. Size - very small, discrete
2. Low distortions - almost amazing
3. Great resistance to flare
4. Moderately sharp wide open - that being said, most wide angle shooting is down stopped down

DA14 Advantage...
1. 1 Stop faster - probably not that important to most


However, the DA14 has a very pronounced mustache distortion. It was unacceptable for my shooting. Inside, it was an issue with any interior shooting (for real estate, architecture).

It comes down to how you will use the lens mainly. If I was never going to use the DA14 for architectural or real estate shots, I'd probably be content. However, I also prefer small lenses - like the limiteds - so I might favor them regardless.

I've been reading the glowing comments about the DA 15mm f/4 Ltd, and seeing the great results in the hands of the experts.

Has anyone considered the non-limited version that is close in focal length - the:

Pentax Lens 14mm f/2.8 ED IF DA

Anyone done any comparisons between these two lenses?

Given that I already have a Sigma 10-20 (my second favourite lens), would one of these prime lenses give me noticeably better results?

There is a good review of the 14mm on Photozone, at:

Pentax SMC-DA 14mm f/2.8 ED [IF] - Review / Test Report

The review comes up pretty good, and in fact seems to have at least as good results as the 15mm Ltd in many areas, and better in some. It's not a pancake lens, but that isn't a worry for me. The build quality is described as excellent, and given that I am very careful and gentle with my lenses, I coubt that there'd be much advantage in the "Limited" edition purely for the build. I already have the 31mm Ltd - a truly beautiful lens. But if the 14mm is built anywhere near as well, I'd be happy with that.

Any comments most appreciated, along with recommendations.

[Derridale]

Thanks troops

I did search for a comparison on the forum, but for some reason nothing showed up. I probably used the wrong combination of words!

Size of the lens isn't an issue for me - I figure that the camera body itself is big enough to attract attention, so the lens - as long as we're not talking a big bazooka - is neither here nor there.

Given that they both get good reviews, and that the 14 is one stop faster as well as $Aus400 cheaper here, that may be the one to go for. But then again, given that I already have the Sigma 10-20 which I love dearly, I'm starting to wonder if I will be getting anything I can't already do?

Decisions, decisions.... I guess it comes down to the realization that the limiting factor is the guy behind the camera - me - as far as the 10-20 goes, and that perhaps I don't really NEED a new wide-angle lens at all.

But then again, there's this LBA thing, and I did just get a nice little windfall.....

Hmmm - what to do???

[jmc7104]

I have the 16-45 which I was shooting at 16mm f4 and was pretty happy with results until I got my 14mm 2.8 shooting at f4. Unbelevable difference the improvment with the 14 versus the 16-45. I keep finding myself having to walk up to my subject in order to fill the frame. jim

[Marc Sabatella]

You might try simply searching on threads with word "wide" in the title - most of the comparisons also include the DA12-24 as well as Sigma and Tamron zooms.

Actually, just while typing this up, I notice the forum software itself suggests other similar threads at the bottom of the screen:

DA 14mm vs. DA 15mm Calex Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 21 03-20-2010 04:59 PM
DA 14mm/2.8 vs. DA 15mm/4 Ltd. deadwolfbones Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 30 02-10-2010 02:55 PM
super wide for restaurants? 14mm, 15mm or 12-24mm? dreilly Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 23 01-21-2010 06:59 PM
Samples Wanted: DA 14mm, DA Limited 15mm or DA 12-24? dopeytree Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 3 06-13-2009 06:50 PM

[Rondec]

You might try simply searching on threads with word "wide" in the title - most of the comparisons also include the DA12-24 as well as Sigma and Tamron zooms.

Actually, just while typing this up, I notice the forum software itself suggests other similar threads at the bottom of the screen:

DA 14mm vs. DA 15mm Calex Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 21 03-20-2010 04:59 PM
DA 14mm/2.8 vs. DA 15mm/4 Ltd. deadwolfbones Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 30 02-10-2010 02:55 PM
super wide for restaurants? 14mm, 15mm or 12-24mm? dreilly Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 23 01-21-2010 06:59 PM
Samples Wanted: DA 14mm, DA Limited 15mm or DA 12-24? dopeytree Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 3 06-13-2009 06:50 PM

Yes, funny. Once you start a thread, similar thread populate at the bottom. Maybe this is the best way to search the forum?

[Derridale]

Thanks Marc - I'll check out those threads too, and apologies for the duplication.

[jsherman999]

....
But then again, there's this LBA thing, and I did just get a nice little windfall.....

Hmmm - what to do???

.



Buy me.......

[Pentaxor]

if only the DA14 was smaller.

[Derridale]

You selling your DA 15mm, Jay?

Or are you simply suggesting that the 15 is the one to go for, over the 14?

If you're selling a 15, drop me a PM....

[audiobomber]

I have the 16-45 which I was shooting at 16mm f4 and was pretty happy with results until I got my 14mm 2.8 shooting at f4. Unbelevable difference the improvment with the 14 versus the 16-45. I keep finding myself having to walk up to my subject in order to fill the frame. jim

Are you just talking about FOV? Because sharpness at f4 slightly favors the 16-45 according to Photozone.

My situation is vaguely similar to the OP's with his 10-20. I constantly read about the 14mm and 15mm, but they're hard to justify when I have a great copy of the 16-45. The 14mm is a stop faster, the 15mm is smaller. Other than those advantages I don't see a compelling reason to buy a wide prime. (I have a 10-17 if I need to go wider).