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02-15-2020, 07:10 PM   #31
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QuoteOriginally posted by bikehead90 Quote
What do you mean about “environmental portrait lens”? Also, is the 24 more on the soft-end of the spectrum?
I rather hoped the images I supplied helped to illustrate both

02-18-2020, 10:30 AM   #32
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
I rather hoped the images I supplied helped to illustrate both
They do, they’re wonderful shots, I’m just confused as I’ve never heard of the term “environmental portrait lens” lol. All I can picture is a photographer trying to take glamour shots of an oak tree. 😂
02-18-2020, 01:48 PM   #33
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QuoteOriginally posted by bikehead90 Quote
They do, they’re wonderful shots, I’m just confused as I’ve never heard of the term “environmental portrait lens” lol. All I can picture is a photographer trying to take glamour shots of an oak tree. 😂
It is a widely used term. Tap it into Google and the Wikipedia page is reasonably informative.

I'd say it is a portrait where context of the background is important to the subject's story. The one of my morose mate pouring a glass of bubbly (on his last day running the restaurant he set up), and the one of my two daughters mucking around in our garden on Christmas day, probably personify it best.
02-18-2020, 02:41 PM - 3 Likes   #34
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One could be dead by September. Buy a well priced 24/20 and get some interim enjoyment.

02-18-2020, 09:19 PM   #35
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QuoteOriginally posted by noelpolar Quote
One could be dead by September. Buy a well priced 24/20 and get some interim enjoyment.
I like the way you think.
02-20-2020, 09:44 AM   #36
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Just for perspective, this image was taken with the actual Model Enterprise when it 'visited' Indianapolis. The image was taken with a K1 and the 12-24 around 18mm. The background I fooled around on photoshop, but otherwise it is a single shot. I could not have gotten the image with a less-wide lens.

Be aware that the 15-30 is a monster of a lens, I am very happy with the 12-24.

And obviously using lenses this wide with tall items (trees/buildings) closeup results in converging points that can be corrected in photoshop to some degree (will further crop the image, shoot appropiately).

02-23-2020, 12:56 PM   #37
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QuoteOriginally posted by bikehead90 Quote
Ok, so maybe I didn’t fully articulate my thoughts. One of the apprehensions I have for the 24 is how soft people say it is outside of the center. I get that the UWA of the 15-30 has the propensity to give off weird distortion(s) so its a toss-up.
An alternative would be the Irix 15. I have the Blackstone version, and love it. I have the 15-30, and would sell it in a heartbeat.

02-23-2020, 05:32 PM   #38
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While I haven't used the primes mentioned in this thread, I have used the 20-35 and 12-24 on my K3. The 20-35 is great in good light, as is the 12-24. Backlight challenges both lenses, the 12-24 being a fringe monster.

I also use the 15-30 with my K1, carrying the combo on my chest in a harness for tight quarters and shooting into the sun. Backlit images from the 15-30 just glow, with very little flare or ghosting. This lens also produces great sunstars without a filter.

But would I buy the 15-30 to use with a K3? No. It's too heavy and costly for an effective 24mm field of view.
02-24-2020, 09:51 AM   #39
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I'm with @TerryL on this subject. I've got an Irix 11mm "blackstone" and the Pentax 15-30, as well as the APS-C uber-wide 11-18. I think the Irix make the best pictures; the 15-30 borders on fisheye a little too much for my taste. Haven't tried it myself, but I suspect the Irix 15mm would be a terrific rectilinear lens. No autofocus, but who needs that on an ultrawide? But cheap!
02-24-2020, 10:43 AM   #40
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QuoteOriginally posted by dlh Quote
I'm with @TerryL on this subject. I've got an Irix 11mm "blackstone" and the Pentax 15-30, as well as the APS-C uber-wide 11-18. I think the Irix make the best pictures; the 15-30 borders on fisheye a little too much for my taste. Haven't tried it myself, but I suspect the Irix 15mm would be a terrific rectilinear lens. No autofocus, but who needs that on an ultrawide? But cheap!
I had the Irix 15 Blackstone, and it was a fine lens. I don't see it as better than the 15-30, though (and I sold my Irix and other lenses to fund something else for my 645Z---I lucked into the 15-30 at its lowest price ever, so got it...and therefore the Irix was a duplicate).

On all of these ultra wides, if you are using them in architectural settings, even if you don't get barrel distortions---and indeed the Irix was good with that---you still have to deal with stretching at the edges of the frame. I see these ultra-wides as "last resort" lenses in my work....
02-24-2020, 10:51 AM   #41
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QuoteOriginally posted by texandrews Quote
I had the Irix 15 Blackstone, and it was a fine lens. I don't see it as better than the 15-30, though (and I sold my Irix and other lenses to fund something else for my 645Z---I lucked into the 15-30 at its lowest price ever, so got it...and therefore the Irix was a duplicate).

On all of these ultra wides, if you are using them in architectural settings, even if you don't get barrel distortions---and indeed the Irix was good with that---you still have to deal with stretching at the edges of the frame. I see these ultra-wides as "last resort" lenses in my work....
Is it worth going the 15-30 route then? I mean I love primes for their sharpness, but is the loss of resolution that noticeable on the zoom?
02-24-2020, 05:38 PM   #42
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QuoteOriginally posted by bikehead90 Quote
Is it worth going the 15-30 route then? I mean I love primes for their sharpness, but is the loss of resolution that noticeable on the zoom?
I haven't been able to notice a problem. The problem is going to be in the corners---and the corners in UWA are already messed up in one way or another.

I got the Irix thinking I would never be able to get the 15-30, and I needed something very wide for some museum installation shots I needed to do (my main rig is the 645Z, and at the time my widest lens was the 645 A35...). It served me well. but then as I said, this signifigant deal came around, and I'm still glad I took the plunge---the 15-30 is more useful in interiors. subsequently, I've also gotten the 25 for the 645Z, so I have UWA covered for that rig. Nevertheless, the 15-30 is useful for the shots I need to make that don't require medium format quality.

I'm not dissing the Irix---fine piece of kit. Excellent price.
02-24-2020, 05:43 PM - 1 Like   #43
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QuoteOriginally posted by bikehead90 Quote
Is it worth going the 15-30 route then? I mean I love primes for their sharpness, but is the loss of resolution that noticeable on the zoom?
FWIW, my DFA15-30 is every bit a match for my FA20 and FA*24. I have no hesitation in recommending it.
03-24-2020, 09:22 AM   #44
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
FWIW, my DFA15-30 is every bit a match for my FA20 and FA*24. I have no hesitation in recommending it.
I just received the 15-30 from another pentaxian on the marketplace, and I’m very happy going the route I did go. I have to say, I’m not sure I would have been as happy with the 24mm. I keep going back on forth on the 15-30, and 24 does not seem like “enough” of a wide angle for what I was wanting. If I had to get one, the 20mm might have been the better of the two. Just as a “what if”, how is the Irix 15? I shoot with my K1 and K3.
03-25-2020, 07:11 AM   #45
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QuoteOriginally posted by bikehead90 Quote
I just received the 15-30 from another pentaxian on the marketplace, and I’m very happy going the route I did go. I have to say, I’m not sure I would have been as happy with the 24mm. I keep going back on forth on the 15-30, and 24 does not seem like “enough” of a wide angle for what I was wanting. If I had to get one, the 20mm might have been the better of the two. Just as a “what if”, how is the Irix 15? I shoot with my K1 and K3.
The Irix 15 is excellent in my experience, but I sold mine when I was able to land a 15-30 at the lowest new price recorded. 2 good things about the Irix 15 are the ability to use screw in filters and the infinity adjustment. Of course, it's a manual lens---not such an issue with a UWA lens IMO.
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