Originally posted by kenyee
And Pentax lenses are smaller but edge performance isn't as good as the stuff Nikon is releasing nowadays.
The Sigma 35/1.4 is excellent even at the edges...but compare its size to the old slower FA35.
You said "but", you should have said "because." Pentax markets themselves as a maker of lightweight glass, easy to carry, functional. They are not a "Me too" company making stuff for the Nikon Sigma Canon fanboys. Again reading between the lines, Pentax has carved out a niche with light glass, fewer elements and not as much size.
I have two Sigma lenses, the 70 macro and 8-16, they bloat my camera bag. If I sold those two lenses, I could carry the 15 ltd, 31 ltd and 77 ltd, and it would be less weight. The point people seem to be missing here is these 1.4 lenses, are specialty lenses. These are not lenses where you can throw a bunch of them in your camera bag, and go find a picture. And that is one of the great joys of photography. You go for a walk with your camera, and you find something to take a picture of that is just stunning.
My Sigma 8-16, is heavily corrected, sharp edge to edge etc. etc. but quite often it gets left home because it's heavy. For many Pentax shooters, if it's not in your bag while you're walking around, it's useless. Very few of us have studios.
I love posting this image.
My client on this trip brought his D800e, and we shot a lot of side by side images. We were on a day hike that passes by 4 or 5 waterfalls when I took this image. He chimped my image and said "oh I can't take that, my 14-24 was too heavy to bring."
I simply cannot fathom how quickly the "it has to be perfect" edge to edge guys will slough this off, and I can't say it loud enough.
You cannot carry every edge sharp monster lens you might need on a trip or a hike.
Do you understand? You will be like my client… no picture because you didn't bring the right lens.
Not an edge soft picture,
No picture.
I have been on so many hikes where I had every intention of coming back to a spot where there wads an image I didn't have the right lens for, but it usually doesn't happen. And if you do go back, the light isn't the same or something else is different.
You simply cannot slough off weight. For most, it is a major disadvantage in a lens. With a lightweight edge soft lens you can get a fantastic image. WIth no lens, you can't get any image.
This whole train of thought is predicated on the notion of the unlimited ability to bring heavy lenses. That is an absolute, unequivocal fallacy. Now, I hope you will pause and reflect on that before you post another of these absolutely crazy heavier but not edge sharp comparisons. Lighter lenses can go where heavy lenses cannot. There is a a whole class of image that uses the best
portable glass. But it has to be portable. Discussing you Nikon 14-24 isn't part of the conversation.
If Canon, Nikon, SIgma etc. are so good, why can't they produce something lightweight and sharp on the edges? They can't and they don't. They've taken one side of the trade off, Pentax has taken the other.
What there should be would be a rule that only lenses of similar weight should be compared against each other. It would solve a lot of confusion. Even though measubating poster after measurebating poster conveniently posts like they are, no argument they make can over come that first fallacy. If your premise is wrong, any argument based on it is wrong.
Sigma's 1.4 30, is not the same type of equipment as Pentax's 31 ltd.. You can tell just looking at them.
So, instead of coming on here and repeating "Pentax glass isn't as sharp edge to edge." every time someone talks about how light Pentax lenses why don't you all learn to stay on topic. If we're talking about weight, we're talking about weight. For those of us concerned about weight we don't give a crap about any little dweeb chirping in the background, talking about some specialty lens that weighs twice as much. We're talking about weight because, that is the first thing that's important to us. There is no "but." We want the best lightweight glass. If heavy glass exists, it doesn't exist in our universe. it's in a whole different galaxy.
Am I starting to get through?
There is a whole universe of top notch light weight glass out there. And not one of it's users is un-aware that they could buy a piece of glass that cost a lot more and weighs twice as much, that would perform better technically but probably not artistically better. We know about it, we don't want it. You guys are like a bunch of 747 pilots talking to glider pilots. it's all flying, but were not in the same plane. Gliders have landing gear, 747s have landing gear, but not the same landing gear. What is relevant to one is not relevant to the others, even though it's all flying.
Last edited by normhead; 12-20-2013 at 12:04 PM.