[Rondec]

Screening QS29 II | Mike Parry | Flickr

Had to PS the granny out of this to get the best from it. I'm going to agree with MikeSF regards this lens. Having used it some more, conclusion is that it's not that epic, especially considering the even more epic price. Save your money and go with the Samyang 2.8/14.

I'm still pretty pleased with my copy and I like having the zoom aspect as well. 15mm is a little wide for a lot of shots and so I tend to shoot between 18 and 22mm the most. f4 it is pretty sharp and doesn't have that much distortion.

Soybean Field.

[HopelessTogger]

I'm still pretty pleased with my copy and I like having the zoom aspect as well. 15mm is a little wide for a lot of shots and so I tend to shoot between 18 and 22mm the most. f4 it is pretty sharp and doesn't have that much distortion.

Soybean Field.

You're right about focal length and aperture. I am managing to get reasonable results >21mm and >f/6.3 I guess. But for the price (£1499!!!), I'm not best pleased.

[johnc]

I've got both the 15-30 and the Samyang 14mm. The Samyang is absolutely superb for the price. However, there is something of a need for a UWA zoom if you ask me, partly because just a small 1mm change in focal length has a big effect on composition at UWA. I would honestly take both out, if I was doing street and architecture in particular.

On the plus side, 15-30 is very flexible and capable, as well as pretty sharp. Distortion is well controlled, and easily corrected in post giving straight lines to architecture with a minimum of fuss. Colours seem vibrant (to me). There are negatives, cost, size (diameter!), and weight are a pretty much a given in this class at FF. The price absolutely needs to settle below the £1200 mark in UK (in my opinion!).

I am not disappointed so far, in some respects I bought this lens as a FF 'replacement' for my Sigma 8-16mm. It comes close to achieving this without really going quite as wide, and outperforms the 8-16 on distortion, metering/AF accuracy. In short, I can definitely get better images with K1+15-30 than with K-3 and 8-16mm. Granted, this advantage comes at a significant weight and cost penalty.

On the wishlist? I guess flare resistance, while generally OK, could be a notch higher (spoiled by DA15!), and I would personally prefer a little wider FL, say 14-24mm. Does anyone do a 12mm zoom in FF?

Would I have preferred an F4? Well maybe from a size perspective, but I do feel the need for astro now and again, so I would still have hankered after an F2.8.I didn't try either for astro yet, a key application for UWA. So I will reserve my final judgement!

I was in Milan at the weekend, I didn't take the lens - and regretted it! Luckily I did take the Samyang.

John

[HopelessTogger]

Auger III | Mike Parry | Flickr

[Rondec]

Lightning at Night.



This is a shot at f2.8 and 15mm -- mostly just to show the performance I am getting with it (full size on flickr).

[mikeSF]

here's one from last night with the DFA15-30 at 15mm. It is a composite, so not intended to be construed to indicate the SOOC performance of the lens, but should at least indicate its potential.
I used the astrotracer on the K-3II.

Along the Stanislaus River
K-3II w/Astrotracer & DFA15-30

[pixiac]

The Aviator.

[johnc]

Very nice all! Especially well done Mike, superb image. I am DYING to try some Astro with the K-1 and the 15-30. It's too bad I am surrounded by trees and light pollution even when it is not rainy - I badly need a trip out. Still, the evenings are drawing in so there will hopefully be some opportunities soon.
John

[Rondec]

A couple of shots from Tucker Lake with the DFA 15-30.

[mikeSF]

Very nice all! Especially well done Mike, superb image. I am DYING to try some Astro with the K-1 and the 15-30. It's too bad I am surrounded by trees and light pollution even when it is not rainy - I badly need a trip out. Still, the evenings are drawing in so there will hopefully be some opportunities soon.
John

i hear you. in the san francisco bay, we have no chance of dark skies without driving 2+ hours somewhere. As such i spent my first several astrotracer years getting one or two photos per year, not good. This year, i have already made 4 trips for night shooting and feel good about it.

This time, i specifically took the DFA15-30 to try it for that purpose.

[Rondec]

Man Fishing.

[Rondec]

Path Along the Wabash (Pixel Shift with the 15-30).

[Rondec]

Path to the Lake.

[Rondec]

Sunrise Tucker Lake.

[Rondec]

Tucker Lake (DFA 15-30)