[Darlene]

While i asked "santa" for the 15mm prime primarily for street use, I was surprised that it did so well (at least for where I am in photography) indoors.

Flash - no
Aperture - f/4
ISO equivalent - 3200
Exposure time - 1/10s
Exposure Bias - +1/3
Metering - Multi-segmented
Exposure Program - Aperture Priority
AF - Center spot
Focal Length - 15mm

[GabrielFFontes]

The thing is that, at 15mm, it isnt difficult to handheld at slow speeds! Congratz on the new lens

[Darlene]

It is just that I thought of it as an outdoor lens and now see it has a lot of capabilities. Thanks.

[RioRico]

There's the old 35mm film ROT (rule of thumb): use a shutter speed of 1/FL handheld. Turns out that's not quite good enough for SHARP pictures; we need 1/(3*FL) for that. Ah, but with SR on our fine Pentax dSLRs, we can gain a 2-to-3-stop advantage, so 1/FL works again.

Short focal lengths gain from this rule. To shoot a 50mm lens real-sharp handheld with SR on, use 1/50 second or faster. For a 15mm lens, that's 1/15 second. And for generally acceptable sharpness, practice the zen of shutter-pressing at 1/8 second. Inhale, exhale, squeeze...

That's a nifty thing about shooting in the 10-20mm range. Time slows down. Objects move across the wide visual field more slowly. Of course, they look further away unless we close in. Wide lenses are for getting close, close enough to bother a poor innocent cat. Well done!

[kaiserz]

1/FL, FL stands for focal length right?

[Anvh]

1/FL, FL stands for focal length right?

Yes.

So for 30mm lens 1/30th of a second should do, 15mm 1/15, 200mm 1/200, ect I think you get the idea

[elho_cid]

DA14 fits this purpose better... But still you cannot beat DA15 for street

[Darlene]

Thanks for the shutter speed info, Rio. I admit I don't tend to think that out as often as I should, The SR is a savior of many of my shots. I wondered about the 14mm f/2.8, but it was more than "santa" could afford right now. I do have the 35mm f/2.4 as well.

[GabrielFFontes]

So, about that 1/FL shutter speed rule, i always calculate that the SR let us do speeds like 1/0,5*FL or even 1/0,25*FL easily!! For example, in my opinion, it isn't difficult to take pictures at 1/30 or 1/50 while using 200mm, or using the fifty to take pictures at 1/25, etc...again, just my opinion. Of course you cant count on that everytime...

[mattt]

DA14 fits this purpose better

DA 14mm is such a hog though - nice to have the speed but it scares people with the big hood and 72mm Objective!! Just acquired 21mm and "it's so weeee"

[Darlene]

Yes, I wanted something small. I hope to get more primes with time. The 21mm sounds like a good one also.

[Basset]

DA14 fits this purpose better... But still you cannot beat DA15 for street

If "street" means shooting candid photos of people, as opposed to buildings / cityscapes, I'd say the DA 21 is a stronger option.

[mattt]

I can say from most recent experience, having grown accustomed to FoV of 35mm on APS-C that the 21mm requires a much more... involved proximity. I love 35mm, its taking me some time to get used to 21mm - everything is so far away

I would expect that 15mm would require being even that much closer to fill a frame - I think I would find it even more uncomfortable. 300 mm from across the street is my comfort level right now tho

[RioRico]

The SR is a savior of many of my shots. I wondered about the 14mm f/2.8, but it was more than "santa" could afford right now. I do have the 35mm f/2.4 as well.

You might consider the Tamron 10-24, not the fastest but at that focal range it needn't be. Price is under US$500 and there may still be a discount coupon active. It's not a huge lens (with the hood off) and I've used it for street from 15-24mm and for tight interiors from 10-16mm.

So, about that 1/FL shutter speed rule, i always calculate that the SR let us do speeds like 1/0,5*FL or even 1/0,25*FL easily!! For example, in my opinion, it isn't difficult to take pictures at 1/30 or 1/50 while using 200mm, or using the fifty to take pictures at 1/25, etc...again, just my opinion. Of course you cant count on that everytime...

It depends on your standard for acceptable sharpness. I have also shot 200mm handheld at 1/25 second but I don't expect crystal clarity there. For maximum handheld sharpness: f/8-f/11, SR on, 1/FL or faster. For acceptable sharpness: whatever works.

I can say from most recent experience, having grown accustomed to FoV of 35mm on APS-C that the 21mm requires a much more... involved proximity. I love 35mm, its taking me some time to get used to 21mm - everything is so far away

I would expect that 15mm would require being even that much closer to fill a frame - I think I would find it even more uncomfortable. 300 mm from across the street is my comfort level right now tho

Wider glass is for getting closer. I'll use 15mm in crowds where I can hold the lens close to jam-packed faces. To shoot individual faces in not-so-jammed-up gatherings, I'll use 85-105-135mm lenses. To snipe passersby from a comfortable remove, it's a 300mm, or maybe the Lil'Bigma 170-500. And to shoot attendees at a mafiya funeral, I'd use the 1000/10 mirror from a safe distance, like 200m away.

[Darlene]

For me, right now my primary interest for this lens is architecture and attempting to capture the flavor of downtown, our River Walk, Alamo Plaza. Of course, that would include some people, but mainly buildings and their surroundings. I have tried doing this with a 35mm prime and it is too tight in some instances. I initially thought the other two lenses I received last month, the 16-45mm and the 18-135mm, would handle what I wanted to do and then I realized I wanted something small for excursions into touristy areas that doesn't scream "camera" so much. But otherwise, those two lenses, the 18-135 for its versatility, and the 16-45mm being the range I shoot in mostly, fulfill my needs in other environments. I have also used my 35mm f2.4 indoors and outdoors. I suppose in the future I need a good portrait lens. But am not sure what that would be.