DPR review the DA 15mm ltd F4

Adrian Owerko · 04-24-2009, 04:05 PM

Originally posted by Buddha Jones

I like it, it is def staying on my to buy list. I can't wait until June 1!

I just need a really big tax return this year Mr Jones... DA 15mm ltd, DA* 60-250mm and then there is that Camera in my weird dreams of late... K7... to fight of the angry pack of 5D MKII's & D700's with..

Buddha Jones · 04-24-2009, 06:37 PM

I already got and spent my tax return, and none of it went on camera gear. I got enough back to get the DA15LTD, DA70LTD and the DA*60-250mm... but I couldn't buy them. I had to buy something more important.

Sean Nelson · 04-24-2009, 06:58 PM

Originally posted by dopeytree

The bokor looks very odd in the upper part?!?!

It's a very wide rectilinear lens, and that means it needs to "stretch" the image in the corners in order to keep straight lines appearing as straight. I'm guessing that's why corner bokeh looks the way it does.

nyu3 · 04-24-2009, 07:01 PM

Doesn't explain why the bokeh in that picture looks so... harsh, busy, and really an eyesore. Not something I'd expect out of a limited, even if it is a DA limited.

jeffkrol · 04-24-2009, 07:16 PM

Originally posted by nyu3

Doesn't explain why the bokeh in that picture looks so... harsh, busy, and really an eyesore. Not something I'd expect out of a limited, even if it is a DA limited.

No different then the nikon faster version.. $1719 US street..... some people are never happy.

BTW: if they would have increased CA I bet the bokeh would be better.. then we could discuss that... All lenses are compromises.. at least the affordable ones..
just food for thought.
Large image, and thanks to Klaus at www.photozone.de
http://www.pzimages.com/8Reviews/lenses/nikkor_14_28/samples/DSC_6858-01.jpg

Robert S Donovan · 04-24-2009, 08:51 PM

Really a jewel of a little lens.

Here are a couple of full-sized quick snaps taken with a pre-production sample at PMA: at f/4 & at f/9

ogl · 04-24-2009, 10:25 PM

The problem of almost 90% of first DA15 is decentered.
All photos which I saw say the same and Dpreview says

Our test sample was also slightly decentered too

Low quality control?

fejker · 04-24-2009, 11:18 PM

Originally posted by paolojackson

I have the 12-24 and the review said it was sharper than the 15mm. I don't know if I could get rid of it...though I would love to own small, limited Pentax primes. Looking forward to what other reviews (and users) have to say.

I'm in the same boat as you. I love my 12-24, but I wish I had the 15 ltd. for it's size and sexyness. It's like a mini 35 ltd.

roentarre · 04-24-2009, 11:48 PM

Regardless what DPR says about the lens, I found my own experience that often clashes with the so-called technical opinion.

I just received my own copy Da 15 today. Cannot wait to play around with me.

frank · 04-25-2009, 01:36 AM

Originally posted by roentarre

Regardless what DPR says about the lens, I found my own experience that often clashes with the so-called technical opinion.

I just received my own copy Da 15 today. Cannot wait to play around with me.

That's great! Can't wait to see your real world testing shots. Don't really care too much about those tech reviews. I love the lens: small and light, super built quality, built-in hood. Let's see if I can justify to own both the DA 1224 and this gem ...

**Sailor** · 04-25-2009, 05:09 AM

Originally posted by roentarre

Regardless what DPR says about the lens, I found my own experience that often clashes with the so-called technical opinion.

I just received my own copy Da 15 today. Cannot wait to play around with me.

Great, James. I'm looking forward to seeing your results.

Jer

Pentaxtic · 04-25-2009, 08:11 AM

Something about the word "Limited" etched on the lens makes me want it!

dbh · 04-29-2009, 10:36 AM

Didn't read the review, probably won't bother. 2 weeks ago I headed out on a motorcycle trip and stopped in Calgary at the Camera Store for a small tripod to carry with me. They had this lens in stock so I bought one and ended up taking hundreds of photos with it on my K20D during my ride through Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon etc. Got back yesterday.
IMHO there is no visible distortion, excellent flare resistance, and the detail it captures is frankly incredible. 95% of my nearly 700 photos were shot with either the 15mm or the 70mm, the remainder with the 35mm macro. Whichever lens was not on the camera was in its pouch in my pocket. My only beef with the 15mm is the screw-on cap which is a bit of a bother to remove/replace with gloves on and/or while shivering.
--
dbh

vitalsax · 04-29-2009, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by Robert S Donovan

go for the 14mm f/2.8 instead.

Good question why pentax made a soo close lens to waht they already had when i'm dying here for and 85mm or 105mm or 135mm?

jeffkrol · 04-29-2009, 11:06 AM

Originally posted by ogl

The problem of almost 90% of first DA15 is decentered.
All photos which I saw say the same and Dpreview says

Our test sample was also slightly decentered too

Low quality control?

If you paid attention to Klaus at photozone you would end up believing all WA from any brand are slightly to severely decentered. A perfectly centered lens is rare...
Not to mention in lens SR is by definition decentering....
EDIT: Since telling the truth is a sure way to get yourself a fanboy title I guess I'm guilty.. It's tough when you actually go out of the box and see the other side and realize it's all pretty much the same...... not that some Pentax issues may be more than others in certain areas... see I said it out loud!!! Heavens
how about Erwin Puts (warning more reality ahead)
All this sophisticated equipment and statistically controlled computer analysis can not guarantee that the results are relevant for two reasons: the camera is still manually aligned in front of the test board and here we see a remarkable phenomenon: the results for decentring of a lens are impossibly high: they find on average a decentring between 8% and 15%. This is measured as the difference between the performances measured at the edges of the image. But it is almost impossible by visual inspection to align a camera absolutely plane parallel in front of a test plane. This observation is not intended as critique: I think the people at Image Engineering do an excellent job. This story is only told here to give an indication of how easily it is to make errors in testing and how large the effort has to be to control the inevitable tolerances in test equipment and procedures.

The second problem is the manufacturing process: however good a company and is quality control, there has to be some allowance for manufacturing tolerances. A margin of plus/minus 5% is really excellent in consumer electronic products and cameras.
Tolerances

04-29-2009, 11:06 AM	#30
jeffkrol Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,434	Originally posted by ogl The problem of almost 90% of first DA15 is decentered. All photos which I saw say the same and Dpreview says Our test sample was also slightly decentered too Low quality control? If you paid attention to Klaus at photozone you would end up believing all WA from any brand are slightly to severely decentered. A perfectly centered lens is rare... Not to mention in lens SR is by definition decentering.... EDIT: Since telling the truth is a sure way to get yourself a fanboy title I guess I'm guilty.. It's tough when you actually go out of the box and see the other side and realize it's all pretty much the same...... not that some Pentax issues may be more than others in certain areas... see I said it out loud!!! Heavens how about Erwin Puts (warning more reality ahead) All this sophisticated equipment and statistically controlled computer analysis can not guarantee that the results are relevant for two reasons: the camera is still manually aligned in front of the test board and here we see a remarkable phenomenon: the results for decentring of a lens are impossibly high: they find on average a decentring between 8% and 15%. This is measured as the difference between the performances measured at the edges of the image. But it is almost impossible by visual inspection to align a camera absolutely plane parallel in front of a test plane. This observation is not intended as critique: I think the people at Image Engineering do an excellent job. This story is only told here to give an indication of how easily it is to make errors in testing and how large the effort has to be to control the inevitable tolerances in test equipment and procedures. The second problem is the manufacturing process: however good a company and is quality control, there has to be some allowance for manufacturing tolerances. A margin of plus/minus 5% is really excellent in consumer electronic products and cameras. Tolerances Last edited by jeffkrol; 04-29-2009 at 12:11 PM.

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04-24-2009, 04:05 PM	#16
Adrian Owerko Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: South Australia Posts: 435 Original Poster	Originally posted by Buddha Jones I like it, it is def staying on my to buy list. I can't wait until June 1! I just need a really big tax return this year Mr Jones... DA 15mm ltd, DA* 60-250mm and then there is that Camera in my weird dreams of late... K7... to fight of the angry pack of 5D MKII's & D700's with..

04-24-2009, 06:37 PM	#17
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587	I already got and spent my tax return, and none of it went on camera gear. I got enough back to get the DA15LTD, DA70LTD and the DA*60-250mm... but I couldn't buy them. I had to buy something more important.

04-24-2009, 06:58 PM	#18
Sean Nelson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 353	Originally posted by dopeytree The bokor looks very odd in the upper part?!?! It's a very wide rectilinear lens, and that means it needs to "stretch" the image in the corners in order to keep straight lines appearing as straight. I'm guessing that's why corner bokeh looks the way it does.

04-24-2009, 07:01 PM	#19
nyu3 Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 6	Doesn't explain why the bokeh in that picture looks so... harsh, busy, and really an eyesore. Not something I'd expect out of a limited, even if it is a DA limited.

04-24-2009, 07:16 PM	#20
jeffkrol Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,434	Originally posted by nyu3 Doesn't explain why the bokeh in that picture looks so... harsh, busy, and really an eyesore. Not something I'd expect out of a limited, even if it is a DA limited. No different then the nikon faster version.. $1719 US street..... some people are never happy. BTW: if they would have increased CA I bet the bokeh would be better.. then we could discuss that... All lenses are compromises.. at least the affordable ones.. just food for thought. Large image, and thanks to Klaus at www.photozone.de http://www.pzimages.com/8Reviews/lenses/nikkor_14_28/samples/DSC_6858-01.jpg

04-24-2009, 08:51 PM	#21
Robert S Donovan Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Anderson, SC Photos: Gallery Posts: 361	Really a jewel of a little lens. Here are a couple of full-sized quick snaps taken with a pre-production sample at PMA: at f/4 & at f/9

04-24-2009, 10:25 PM	#22
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382	The problem of almost 90% of first DA15 is decentered. All photos which I saw say the same and Dpreview says Our test sample was also slightly decentered too Low quality control?

04-24-2009, 11:18 PM	#23
fejker Inactive Account Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Slovenia Photos: Gallery Posts: 258	Originally posted by paolojackson I have the 12-24 and the review said it was sharper than the 15mm. I don't know if I could get rid of it...though I would love to own small, limited Pentax primes. Looking forward to what other reviews (and users) have to say. I'm in the same boat as you. I love my 12-24, but I wish I had the 15 ltd. for it's size and sexyness. It's like a mini 35 ltd.

04-24-2009, 11:48 PM	#24
roentarre Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783	Regardless what DPR says about the lens, I found my own experience that often clashes with the so-called technical opinion. I just received my own copy Da 15 today. Cannot wait to play around with me.

04-25-2009, 01:36 AM	#25
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by roentarre Regardless what DPR says about the lens, I found my own experience that often clashes with the so-called technical opinion. I just received my own copy Da 15 today. Cannot wait to play around with me. That's great! Can't wait to see your real world testing shots. Don't really care too much about those tech reviews. I love the lens: small and light, super built quality, built-in hood. Let's see if I can justify to own both the DA 1224 and this gem ...

04-25-2009, 05:09 AM	#26
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,205	Originally posted by roentarre Regardless what DPR says about the lens, I found my own experience that often clashes with the so-called technical opinion. I just received my own copy Da 15 today. Cannot wait to play around with me. Great, James. I'm looking forward to seeing your results. Jer

04-25-2009, 08:11 AM	#27
Pentaxtic Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Vancouver Photos: Gallery Posts: 417	Something about the word "Limited" etched on the lens makes me want it!

04-29-2009, 10:36 AM	#28
dbh Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Edmonton Photos: Gallery Posts: 404	Didn't read the review, probably won't bother. 2 weeks ago I headed out on a motorcycle trip and stopped in Calgary at the Camera Store for a small tripod to carry with me. They had this lens in stock so I bought one and ended up taking hundreds of photos with it on my K20D during my ride through Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon etc. Got back yesterday. IMHO there is no visible distortion, excellent flare resistance, and the detail it captures is frankly incredible. 95% of my nearly 700 photos were shot with either the 15mm or the 70mm, the remainder with the 35mm macro. Whichever lens was not on the camera was in its pouch in my pocket. My only beef with the 15mm is the screw-on cap which is a bit of a bother to remove/replace with gloves on and/or while shivering. -- dbh

04-29-2009, 11:05 AM	#29
vitalsax Inactive Account Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: U.S. /Miami - Florida. Posts: 208	Originally posted by Robert S Donovan go for the 14mm f/2.8 instead. Good question why pentax made a soo close lens to waht they already had when i'm dying here for and 85mm or 105mm or 135mm?