[Belnan]

Can't wait to see the photos come in, hopefully Pentax forums does an 11-18 da* vs 15-30 fa comparison. Crop vs FF, if the IQ on the crop sensor is on par with FF they will sell quite a few.

[Ishpuini]

Here are some first impressions.

• The DA*11-18/2.8 is a tank of a lens, very reminiscent of the DFA150-450 (and probably the other DFA's, but I don't have those) in terms of build quality.
• It's not as big as I expected. Actually it's pretty close to my Samyang 16/2 and Sigma 8-16. Here's a little side by side (with the DA15/4Ltd added for fun):

• The focus clamp works better than what I had on older lenses. Whereas on my FA50/2.8 Macro it just tightens the focus ring so it moves less easily, on the 11-18 the clamp disengages the focus ring completely, so you can rotate it all you like, the focus won't change...
• Image circle: I cannot show the FF coverage since I don't own a FF DSLR, but I did try a 82mm-77mm stepdown filter adapter to check whether I might use my 77mm filters on the lens without vignetting. It turns out that there is some minor vignetting (with the stepdown and a normal width 77mm filter) at 11mm, but from 12mm on the whole frame is clear.
• Sharpness: I found the lens very sharp, even at f/2.8. At 11mm there is some sharpness drop in the corners, but I only noticed it on contrasty subject matter. At 18mm it is beautifully sharp across the entire frame.

I'll give it a few more shoots to get more familiar with the lens before I post some pictures and I do a more complete review (if I'm not beaten to it by another member). One thing is for sure: the sigma is going onto the marketplace...

hth, Wim

[SSGGeezer]

I have seen some amazing images with the DA* 11-18 on Kerrick James' Facebook page and he has some "WOW!" shots there. Kerrick James | Facebook If you don't follow him there, you should. Lovely sunstars also!

[superdave]

Here are some first impressions.

• The DA*11-18/2.8 is a tank of a lens, very reminiscent of the DFA150-450 (and probably the other DFA's, but I don't have those) in terms of build quality.
• It's not as big as I expected. Actually it's pretty close to my Samyang 16/2 and Sigma 8-16. Here's a little side by side (with the DA15/4Ltd added for fun):

• The focus clamp works better than what I had on older lenses. Whereas on my FA50/2.8 Macro it just tightens the focus ring so it moves less easily, on the 11-18 the clamp disengages the focus ring completely, so you can rotate it all you like, the focus won't change...
• Image circle: I cannot show the FF coverage since I don't own a FF DSLR, but I did try a 82mm-77mm stepdown filter adapter to check whether I might use my 77mm filters on the lens without vignetting. It turns out that there is some minor vignetting (with the stepdown and a normal width 77mm filter) at 11mm, but from 12mm on the whole frame is clear.
• Sharpness: I found the lens very sharp, even at f/2.8. At 11mm there is some sharpness drop in the corners, but I only noticed it on contrasty subject matter. At 18mm it is beautifully sharp across the entire frame.

I'll give it a few more shoots to get more familiar with the lens before I post some pictures and I do a more complete review (if I'm not beaten to it by another member). One thing is for sure: the sigma is going onto the marketplace...

hth, Wim

Glad to know that the lens is beautifully sharp at 18mm. I just purchased Sigma 18-35 to pair with my future 11-18 and while 24mm and 35mm are very good on the Sigma, 18mm is disappointedly soft.

[Digitalis]

The DA 15mm f/4 looks hilariously out of place among those huge zoom lenses.

[SSGGeezer]

The DA 15mm f/4 looks hilariously out of place among those huge zoom lenses.

It is suffering feelings of inadequacy as we speak.

[Ex Finn.]

Poor little 15 ltd. just got bumped from WA duty on my KP

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[nocturnal]

I'd love to see small and mighty DA15 (HD version) vs large and mighty 11-18 @ 15mm.

HD version as both have HD coat and round blades.

[superdave]

Few samples of my DA* 11-18mm :

Lens is tack-sharp edge to edge at any focal length @ f/8!

11mm f/8 -> https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7825/40266170663_b28f3183d2_o.jpg
18mm f/8 -> https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7900/33355471218_52dc92fd50_o.jpg
14mm f/8 -> https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7877/33355470738_8fe6194197_o.jpg
11mm f/8 -> https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7886/40266235003_b32b5ccd06_o.jpg

p.s. sorry for the bad lighting, sun was set when I get home, but as you can see, lens resolve tons of details even in shadows... (with no sharpening).

Great job Pentax!

Now, please do a new DA* 16-50mm with similar quality and take my money!

---------- Post added 27-02-19 at 21:48 ----------

I just noticed that the lens is also very very sharp at f/2.8, almost as sharp as at f/8

11mm f2.8 -> https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7815/33355719118_1c1028c34f_o.jpg
14mm f2.8 -> https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7909/32289410087_82f0c9aeda_o.jpg
18mm f2.8 -> https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7922/33355719368_d038219845_o.jpg

[ddbarchitect]

Definitely soft on the edges fully open. I wonder if focusing past infinity would change that?

[house]

Definitely soft on the edges fully open. I wonder if focusing past infinity would change that?

You can't really get away without any corner softness with a lens this wide. How it compares to actual existing lenses is interesting however. The Fujinon XF 8-16/2,8 R LM WR is perhaps the best comparison despite the zoom range. It's a relatively new UWA apsc zoom priced similarly.

[RobG]

Why is there no "official" announcement that this lens is on sale?

[beholder3]

You can't really get away without any corner softness with a lens this wide. How it compares to actual existing lenses is interesting however. The Fujinon XF 8-16/2,8 R LM WR is perhaps the best comparison despite the zoom range. It's a relatively new UWA apsc zoom priced similarly.

The Fuji generally shows similar behaviour: http://pliki.optyczne.pl/fuj8-16/fuj8-16_fot01.JPG (see the cross on the church in the left top corner). Sadly it seems the Fuji is a little soft even in the center of the frame at F2.8, which is a little sad for a $1500 lens.

[superdave]

The Fuji generally shows similar behaviour: http://pliki.optyczne.pl/fuj8-16/fuj8-16_fot01.JPG (see the cross on the church in the left top corner). Sadly it seems the Fuji is a little soft even in the center of the frame at F2.8, which is a little sad for a $1500 lens.

I think that most sample shots found on review sites (like optyczne, ephotozine, etc...) are not really representative of the image quality of a lens. Most of the time, samples shot are taken handheld and reviewer seems to don't care if the focus is accurate or not. I've seen many samples on optyczne totally blured or out of focus. I don't understand why they put bad samples on their samples page.

[rightangle]

Definitely soft on the edges fully open. I wonder if focusing past infinity would change that?

Based on the sample shots with the trees it looks like it has a lot of purple fringing even at f8. It does look pretty sharp at F2.8 in the samples so that is good.