[NickLarsson]

Even without the snow, I think Paris looks plenty dramatic to me. I think I need to come visit. Awesome photo

Hehe, thank you mate. Don't hesitate to come then

[civano]

One from tonight with the K-01

What a lovely image with beautiful colors.

[abacus07]

The ice cream truck and the Eiffel Tower are great photos. I love how you found a great spot to take the photo since anyone can walk up to it and take a photo.

Another waterfall from Taiwan. The Fuyuan Butterfly Valley Resort has some great hiking trails.

[NitroDC]

The ice cream truck and the Eiffel Tower are great photos. I love how you found a great spot to take the photo since anyone can walk up to it and take a photo.

Another waterfall from Taiwan. The Fuyuan Butterfly Valley Resort has some great hiking trails.

That first one is messing with my head -- can't tell the perspective. Very cool effect.

[math guy]

One from tonight with the K-01 :

Great composition, Nick! And I love the mood.

[abacus07]

That first one is messing with my head -- can't tell the perspective. Very cool effect.

It was pretty cool since I don't think I've been almost directly above a waterfall. My feet are almost in the photo. If you look at the 2nd photo you can see the bridge that I was standing on.

[iocchelli]

Most of these are cross-posted on the Monochrome thread, but they were taken with the DA15 (which I use more and more every day!) so I thought I'd post here as well.

---

Last edited by iocchelli; 02-18-2013 at 11:41 AM.

[mdodrill]

Mark: great shots. Where is the monochrome thread you referenced?

[bullitt_60]

Most of these are cross-posted on the Monochrome thread, but they were taken with the DA15 (which I use more and more every day!) so I thought I'd post here as well.

I like all of those, but I really like the first one. Thanks for sharing.

[iocchelli]

Mark: great shots. Where is the monochrome thread you referenced?

Thanks very much. Here you go: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/89467...-here-385.html - it's a wonderful thread too.

[iocchelli]

I like all of those, but I really like the first one. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

[Sinister]

Great shots mark with the fifth being my favourite

[NickLarsson]

What a lovely image with beautiful colors.

many thanks.

Great composition, Nick! And I love the mood.

thank you joe, and thanks to your ex-lens too, hehe

@iocchelli > great series indeed!

[math guy]

and thanks to your ex-lens too, hehe

I'm sure it's much happier with you. It's getting much better use, that's for sure.

[Digitalis]

Well I finally got around to finishing my comparison between the Pentax DA15mm f/4 ED ASPH and the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5.-5.6 on my Pentax K5IIs

1. The first Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 was de-centred,the first DA15mm f/4 I bought was perfect right off the bat.
2. The sigma 8-16mm cannot use filters the DA 15mm f/4 can, and you don't need to buy the slim frame filters - though you do have to use the slim frame filters if you want to use two filters at once though.
3. The sigma 8-16mm comes a really annoying lens cap, the DA15mm f/4 does as well.Fortunately I have less annoying replacement caps for both lenses.
4. The sigma 8-16mm is zoom lens, so as a consequence of having more elements than a prime it is susceptible to flare.

Performance at each lenses widest aperture:


100% crop from the extreme corners - even at this small size it is apparent that there is a loss of contrast, though the DA15 loses more than the sigma, as far as sharpness goes things do not look good for the DA15mm f/4 - bear in mind that the DA15 has considerably higher centre sharpness than the Sigma 8-16mm.

Both lenses at f/8:


Again the Sigma lens holds a distinct advantage**. On the Sigma 8-16mm, centre sharpness rises to rival the DA15mm f/4. Some will say apart from the chromatic aberrations in the corners the DA15 looks fine, you can edit those faults out in post processing...right? well, not really:



I didn't sharpen or correct the Sigma 8-16mm image but I did sharpen and apply lens corrections in Lightroom for the DA15 - and there are still visible differences between the two.

On the Pentax K5IIs diffraction softening is apparent at f/11 so comparing two lenses at this aperture is a bit pointless.

It is a difficult choice to make, one has to consider the DA15mm f/4 and Sigma 8-16 are both very specialised lenses designed for different markets - discounting optical performance characteristics the DA15 has superb physical construction, and the ability to be used with filters.The Sigma is a zoom lens, there are 150mm Fotodiox filters designed to be used with superwide lenses like this but they are very difficult to come by, and hideously expensive. Not to mention the fact that filters almost always increase the probability of flare and the Sigma lens loses a considerable amount of appeal.

The bottom line is: if you really like to have sharp corners and have a big camera bag,* don't mind a bit of flare, and can live without using filters*** and don't mind the "me too" 9 bladed aperture that is so common these days the Sigma 8-16mm is the best choice. If you like to use filters, don't mind a bit of corner softness, enjoy using small lenses made of solid metal that are practically immune to flare, engraved DOF scales, built-in retractable lens hoods and 7 bladed apertures, then the DA15mm f/4 ED ASPH is the best choice.

*Be warned the Sigma 8-16mm is really big and heavy for an APS-C format lens, but I have to say it is smaller than my Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G
**The sigma lens also has a warmer colour balance than the neutral pentax DA15.
*** or have really deep pockets and don't mind buying expensive filters.