DA* Club

TomTextura · 04-09-2012, 04:02 PM

Here are a few photos with the DA* 16-50 on my K-5.

I like this lens a lot and find it to be very utilitarian. Sure, there are a few things to gripe about with this lens (flare, noticeable distortion at 16mm, slow AF and a little soft wide open at times) but it does so much and does it well (super useful 24mm to 75mm EFL, weather sealing, very sharp stopped down, nice bokeh and pretty damn good performer wide open often enough) that I feel it's a well balanced lens that is very practical and would be hard to do without. It's one of my most used lenses, a real workhorse.

Will share more DA* pics later.

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TomTextura · 04-09-2012, 07:35 PM

Here are a couple I took with the DA* 50-135 this last New Years from Alki Beach in Seattle. They're both pretty heavily cropped. The EXIF says manual exposure but I'm fairly sure I took these using Bulb mode. For my first time shooting fireworks I'm satisfied even though I know they could be significantly better. I need to remember to weigh down the tripod when I do long exposures like these. Probably could've also benefited from a lens in the 200-300mm range as I was far away from the display.

TomTextura · 04-09-2012, 08:02 PM

A few more with the DA* 50-135. Can't really say these show off the lens but they are shots I like and I figured a few here would enjoy them. I know I missed focus on the second to last shot but I loved the timing so included it anyway. The very last shot is poorly framed and timed but I couldn't resist sharing it because I think the picket the girl is holding is great. The Zombie Crawl is a super fun event and if there's ever one in your city you should bloody go! There's no shortage of photo opportunities at an event like this.

Disclaimer: I can be heavy handed with my post processing and I make no apologies about it.

**tcbubbleleo** · 04-09-2012, 08:06 PM

wow, nice, always wanted to be a Zombie holding a Pentax camera; does "WR" also repell blood and brain matters too?

TomTextura · 04-09-2012, 08:15 PM

"does "WR" also repell blood and brain matters too?"

It sure as hell does! I'd cite the manual where it says so but I don't have it on hand.

TomTextura · 04-10-2012, 12:08 AM

An example of what I mean when I say the DA* 16-50 can produce pretty nice out of focus areas. It's nothing like what the FA 31 Limited can create in terms of bokeh but it looks plenty good to me, especially coming from a normal zoom. Coincidentally, this shot's focal length is at 31mm. The sharpness of the in focus area of this example, falling on the foam towards the front of the coffee cup, is acceptable for me too even with it being at its widest aperture of f2.8.

I've found that to get a narrow DoF and squeeze decent bokeh out of this lens it needs to be zoomed in towards the top end of its focal length between 30-50mm. Any thoughts, praise, or quibbles about the DA* 16-50 when it comes to creating a narrow depth of field and producing pleasing looking out of focus areas?

axl · 04-10-2012, 01:18 PM

Originally posted by bossa

I've just done a rough bokeh shoot out with a few of my lenses and I have to say that the winner is the DA*50-135. I did shoot the Sigma 50 and the DA*55 from 1.4 and I find the Sigma to have a smoother bokeh (if a little dull and boring) whereas the DA is a pretty nervous performer. At 2.8 the zoom lens kills both of them IMO.

I hope you guys don't mind me uploading these. No sharpening was applied in LR apart from the stock value of '25'. I will add that I should have done this on a tripod and measured the distances. The DA should have been 1.1x the distance of the other 50's so that the framing and DOF matched up. I think that the quality of the bokeh can be gleaned in this situation regardless of it being a little sloppy.

I thought I'd try the A50 F/1.7 before I package it up and post it to it's new owner. I feel like an idiot for selling it frankly.

I have to say I pretty much agree with your observation.
At f2.8 the DA* zoom does admirable job and it does indeed pull off better image (IMO) than any of the other four lenses.
Comparing wide open DA*55 and Sigma 50 I have to agree again, the Sigma is smoother although seems to have less contrast. One reason I never really loved (although I liked it a lot) the DA*55 was it's OOF rendering wide open, and this was only exaggerated by the fact I came to it from K50/1.2 (which pretty much kills anything)...

bossa · 04-10-2012, 02:38 PM

Originally posted by axl

I have to say I pretty much agree with your observation.
At f2.8 the DA* zoom does admirable job and it does indeed pull off better image (IMO) than any of the other four lenses.
Comparing wide open DA*55 and Sigma 50 I have to agree again, the Sigma is smoother although seems to have less contrast. One reason I never really loved (although I liked it a lot) the DA*55 was it's OOF rendering wide open, and this was only exaggerated by the fact I came to it from K50/1.2 (which pretty much kills anything)...

The Sigma is a tad softer wide open due to contrast but you really only notice it when pixel peeping. Seeing as the Sigma lens hood is a FF hood I wonder what difference a longer one would really make here.The Sigma also has worse longitudinal CA with quite pronounced blue and red CA, at least when close focusing. I think it beats the '55 and so I'm going to have to make a decision because I can't afford to hang on to all of this glass anyway.

Skullsroad · 04-10-2012, 02:50 PM

I like the center subject on the 55 but dislike the OOF area. Opposite for the Sigma. However, I do like the 55 at f2 a lot more than the Sigma.

bossa · 04-10-2012, 03:18 PM

Originally posted by Skullsroad

I like the center subject on the 55 but dislike the OOF area. Opposite for the Sigma. However, I do like the 55 at f2 a lot more than the Sigma.

I just checked my originals in LR and the Sigma is definitely sharper around F2 in these shots. Teh Pentax seems to have more CA when stopped down too as there'a quite a lot of magenta outlining that plant.

Sorry, I didn't mean to derail this thread, I was just following up in a an observation made earlier.

Skullsroad · 04-11-2012, 12:41 PM

Here are a few from my DA* 55 to make up for too much conversation!

Blind fire hip shot. He KNEW! Must happen to him a lot....

TomTextura · 04-11-2012, 11:48 PM

Really like those B&W shots Skullsroad! And I always appreciate a successful hip shot.

A couple with the DA* 16-50. I love having a zoom when at events.

A little bit of history to give context to the pics:
On March 24, 1976, there was a military coupe in Argentina. What followed was a horrific seven year military dictatorship that killed and disappeared many thousand of its own civilians. These are photos from the march on the 36th anniversary meant to remember the events so that nothing like it can happen again.

TomTextura · 04-12-2012, 12:26 AM

A couple more from the same event but with the DA* 50-135.

TOUGEFC · 04-15-2012, 02:53 AM - **1 Like**

Nice shots Tom!

From tonight-
DA*55

Sandy Hancock · 04-15-2012, 03:35 AM

Simon, if you can do that with a DA*55 it's no wonder you don't need that stinkin' FA43.
WOW!

04-11-2012, 11:48 PM	#987
TomTextura Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Denver Photos: Albums Posts: 570	*Da 16-50** Really like those B&W shots Skullsroad! And I always appreciate a successful hip shot. A couple with the DA* 16-50. I love having a zoom when at events. A little bit of history to give context to the pics: On March 24, 1976, there was a military coupe in Argentina. What followed was a horrific seven year military dictatorship that killed and disappeared many thousand of its own civilians. These are photos from the march on the 36th anniversary meant to remember the events so that nothing like it can happen again.

04-12-2012, 12:26 AM	#988
TomTextura Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Denver Photos: Albums Posts: 570	*same event with DA 50-135** A couple more from the same event but with the DA* 50-135.

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04-09-2012, 08:06 PM	#979
tcbubbleleo Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Temple City CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 726	wow, nice, always wanted to be a Zombie holding a Pentax camera; does "WR" also repell blood and brain matters too?

04-09-2012, 08:15 PM	#980
TomTextura Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Denver Photos: Albums Posts: 570	"does "WR" also repell blood and brain matters too?" It sure as hell does! I'd cite the manual where it says so but I don't have it on hand.

04-10-2012, 01:18 PM	#982
axl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,183	Originally posted by bossa I've just done a rough bokeh shoot out with a few of my lenses and I have to say that the winner is the DA50-135. I did shoot the Sigma 50 and the DA55 from 1.4 and I find the Sigma to have a smoother bokeh (if a little dull and boring) whereas the DA is a pretty nervous performer. At 2.8 the zoom lens kills both of them IMO. I hope you guys don't mind me uploading these. No sharpening was applied in LR apart from the stock value of '25'. I will add that I should have done this on a tripod and measured the distances. The DA should have been 1.1x the distance of the other 50's so that the framing and DOF matched up. I think that the quality of the bokeh can be gleaned in this situation regardless of it being a little sloppy. I thought I'd try the A50 F/1.7 before I package it up and post it to it's new owner. I feel like an idiot for selling it frankly. I have to say I pretty much agree with your observation. At f2.8 the DA* zoom does admirable job and it does indeed pull off better image (IMO) than any of the other four lenses. Comparing wide open DA55 and Sigma 50 I have to agree again, the Sigma is smoother although seems to have less contrast. One reason I never really loved (although I liked it a lot) the DA55 was it's OOF rendering wide open, and this was only exaggerated by the fact I came to it from K50/1.2 (which pretty much kills anything)...

04-10-2012, 02:38 PM	#983
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by axl I have to say I pretty much agree with your observation. At f2.8 the DA* zoom does admirable job and it does indeed pull off better image (IMO) than any of the other four lenses. Comparing wide open DA55 and Sigma 50 I have to agree again, the Sigma is smoother although seems to have less contrast. One reason I never really loved (although I liked it a lot) the DA55 was it's OOF rendering wide open, and this was only exaggerated by the fact I came to it from K50/1.2 (which pretty much kills anything)... The Sigma is a tad softer wide open due to contrast but you really only notice it when pixel peeping. Seeing as the Sigma lens hood is a FF hood I wonder what difference a longer one would really make here.The Sigma also has worse longitudinal CA with quite pronounced blue and red CA, at least when close focusing. I think it beats the '55 and so I'm going to have to make a decision because I can't afford to hang on to all of this glass anyway.

04-10-2012, 02:50 PM	#984
Skullsroad Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bay Area Posts: 267	I like the center subject on the 55 but dislike the OOF area. Opposite for the Sigma. However, I do like the 55 at f2 a lot more than the Sigma.

04-10-2012, 03:18 PM	#985
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by Skullsroad I like the center subject on the 55 but dislike the OOF area. Opposite for the Sigma. However, I do like the 55 at f2 a lot more than the Sigma. I just checked my originals in LR and the Sigma is definitely sharper around F2 in these shots. Teh Pentax seems to have more CA when stopped down too as there'a quite a lot of magenta outlining that plant. Sorry, I didn't mean to derail this thread, I was just following up in a an observation made earlier.

04-11-2012, 12:41 PM	#986
Skullsroad Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bay Area Posts: 267	Here are a few from my DA* 55 to make up for too much conversation! Blind fire hip shot. He KNEW! Must happen to him a lot....

04-15-2012, 02:53 AM - 1 Like	#989
TOUGEFC Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brisbane Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,561	Nice shots Tom! From tonight- DA*55

04-15-2012, 03:35 AM	#990
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,272	Simon, if you can do that with a DA*55 it's no wonder you don't need that stinkin' FA43. WOW!