[VAV]

The DFA15-30 really is very good. A set of Lee 150 filters can be made to fit just about any other lens. That saves quite a bit of money

I don't doubt the quality of the 15-35. The Tamron 15-35 has been very favorably compared to the well-known Nikon 14-24 here:

Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Review - Photography Life

A review of the Wonderpana filter system for this lens is also here:
FotodioX WonderPana FreeArc Filter System Review - Photography Life

Quality apart, it is the cost and weight that gives me pause. The 15-35 for Pentax is priced almost 1.5 times the price (here in India) of the Tamron 15-35 for Nikon/Canon. I suppose this is partly due to high import duties and partly due to Pentax pricing / additional coatings etc. And there is the additional cost of the 150mm filter system. I do wish Pentax came up with a good full-frame 16-35 f/4 or 17-35 f/2.8 like Nikon.

---------- Post added 05-10-2018 at 09:10 AM ----------

Yes. 15-30 costs here about 1700 euros. Put 1000€ on top of that for filter holder and proper filters. At that cost you get two used Zeiss lenses and with a bit of luck the other one is straight K-mount lens. Very simple and far more rewarding if photographs are what counts. Autofocus is the real gimmick on any lens and even more on wide angles.

Agree with you on the cost. The 15-35 and the other three Pentax DFAs are all very expensive in India compared to their Nikon/Canon Tamron equivalents and are also similar in cost to the Nikon branded ones (despite Pentax not needing vibration control in the lens).

---------- Post added 05-10-2018 at 09:12 AM ----------

Thank you for your reply! When I get new equipment I always stress it's boundaries and I like to share results of my investigation.

In practice I used the DA15 sometimes in FF Square Mode - a kind of trade-off. With a little cropping it gave me some nice pictures that are not possible with an APSC camera/sensor. But I feel it's a little sad that you always have to crop - even in Square mode that I like very much. And of course what @Sandy Hancock says is right. The more you crop near to the image circle, even within the APSC area, the weaker areas you get. So it depends very much on the scenery where usage makes sense.

I'm looking for a little better alternative on FF. But my demand is not full FF compatibility. My demands: not shorter than 15mm, not too heavy, flexible, WR and price also has an impact on my decision but isn't the most important point.

DFA15-30 drops out for me - weight and cost are too extreme. DA12-24 is not WR and haptic/build is not good enough for a nearly 1000,- € IMO. Irix 15 is an alternative, but a bit more flexibility would be nice. So I wait and see what the DA*11-18 will deliver. It has a 82mm filter thread. So my hope is that it will be full frame compatible at 18mm - should be sufficient for me. I guess it will be no problem to use it in K-1 Square mode where cropping shouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately there is no new FF compatible Pentax 18-35 or 20-40 in sight.

I share your concerns on the alternatives! Hope Pentax provides a more filter friendly/lower cost alternative soon. I can't wait to try my K1 with the DA 15.[COLOR="Silver"]

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Last edited by VAV; 05-10-2018 at 06:26 AM.

[aslyfox]

have you seen this?

" DA Lenses on Full Frame
Pentax DA lenses (and their DA L kit counterparts) are designed for crop bodies, but some cover the full frame image circle better than others. We plan to test every Pentax DA lens on the K-1 and publish our findings in an in-depth review. Until then, refer to the DA lens full frame test compilation maintained by the community.

As a rule of thumb, you can expect ultra-wide DA lenses such as the DA 14mm or DA 15mm to require crop mode. The same would go for kit lenses like the DA 18-55mm. Primes and zooms covering "standard" focal lens ranges are generally going to be less problematic. For zooms coverage will almost always vary based on the selected focal length. Refer to the thread above for information on specific lenses, and stay tuned for our upcoming tests for details. "


Read more at: Pentax K-1 Lens Compatibility Guide - Articles and Tips | PentaxForums.com

__________________

DA lenses on Full Frame: Test Shots thread

Posted By: falconeye, 07-07-08, 16:50 (Offline)

Hi everybody,

I would like to open up a thread dedicated to one topic:

DA lens on Full Frame: a sticky test shots thread.

This thread shall be dedicated to test shots of a DA lens mounted to a full frame body (e.g., a film camera body). By test shot, I mean shots dedicated to evaluate the performance. Shots of ordinary subjects aren't suitable to this task, normally, and should not be posted. So, these are the rules:
K mount lens dedicated to the APS-C form factor is used.
Image is taken full frame 36mm x 24mm.
Lens hood was removed.
And ideally, no filter is mounted.
The aperture used is specified (note that film cameras don't record EXIF...).
Sample image shows the entire field of view.
Sample image(s) show(s) corner, border and center performance at 10MP-100% (multiple crops, or single not-resized image).
The subject is such that resolution and vignetting at the borders can be compared to the center.
The idea behind this thread is obvious: To compile enough data to assess the spectrum of available lenses for a forthcoming full frame DSLR in K mount.


Read more at: DA lenses on Full Frame: Test Shots thread - Page 34 - PentaxForums.com

[acoufap]

@Sandy Hancock
I have no doubt about the DFA15-30 - it’s for sure a great lens. Since I want to take the wide angle lens with me when mountain hiking I want to avoid a 1kg lens on tour since I already have other equipment with me. The K-1 already is a bit heavy. So I think about getting a KP for street and mountain hiking.

Lenses I’d like to take with me are the DA*11-18 (that isn’t there until now), DFA*18-35 (that isn’t even on the lens road map, would be very useful on FF and APSC) and the DA55-300PLM. At the moment I take the K-1 plus DA15 + DFA28-105 + DA55-300PLM with me.

@MJKoski
Concerning using a GND/ND filter package I guess there are polarizing positions. Matt Kloskowski (I guess a photoshop guy) - if I remember correctly - once wrote that we don’t need these filters anymore. Todays sensors have great dynamic range so that we can do it in post. We could discuss this from a technical digital standpoint but I don’t like to.

For me photography is not only using technical tools to get photons banned on a storage media - whether film or digital. Part of photography is the way we (like to) do it. If I don’t love the one way the other may be satisfying.

Some like to get it right while making the photograph. Then you may need GNDs to compress highlights to get the shadows well to get it right SOOC. Others like to do extensive post processing and/or may use HDR techniques. None of these are right or wrong - my opinion. I’ve seen a lot of photographs made with ND/GND filters and I loved them. What else do I need?

Every individual should choose the way she/he feels comfortable with.

A filter set with different 100mm ND/GND filters is on my wishlist. I love to hang around sitting on my walkstool somewhere in a garden or nature using my tripod, the K-1 with it’s flexible display and take the time that I need doing it like I love it.

@Asylfox
Thank you for your references! I know these threads. They are helpful but don’t fit my thinking about getting all I can from a lens. These threads stick with „boxes“ that restrict technically by camera - APSC, FF, … - maybe you get a notion of what I mean when you read my thread about it.

[aslyfox]

. . .

@Asylfox
Thank you for your references! I know these threads. They are helpful but don’t fit my thinking about getting all I can from a lens. These threads stick with „boxes“ that restrict technically by camera - APSC, FF,. . . .

it is hard to tell whether a poster knows of certain things or not

so sometimes I end up posting info the poster already knows

I will check out your thread, thanks for sharing

since I don't use a FF, how a lens works with one isn't a concern to me

[acoufap]

it is hard to tell whether a poster knows of certain things or not

so sometimes I end up posting info the poster already knows

That's really no problem. You try to help and that's great.

[Sandy Hancock]

So I think about getting a KP for street and mountain hiking.
At the moment I take the K-1 plus DA15 + DFA28-105 + DA55-300PLM with me.

I'd agree the KP would be ideal for your purposes, rather than trying to get extra real estate out of your DA15 on the K-1. You could also consider the DA*16-50 or DA16-85 as a reasonable replacement for your first two lenses.

Don't forget that the DA*11-18 is going to be a big, heavy lens too. Not in the same league as the DFA15-30, but bigger than the DA*16-50.

[acoufap]

I'd agree the KP would be ideal for your purposes, rather than trying to get extra real estate out of your DA15 on the K-1. You could also consider the DA*16-50 or DA16-85 as a reasonable replacement for your first two lenses.

Don't forget that the DA*11-18 is going to be a big, heavy lens too. Not in the same league as the DFA15-30, but bigger than the DA*16-50.

Thank you for your suggestions! - I already own a DA18-135. So a DA*16-50 or DA16-85 on APSC only give me 16mm in addition in the short range. How these two lenses perform on FF I didn't check. The DA18-135 I really really don't like on the K-1.

If I buy a lens for more than 1000,- € it should offer me more than that. Concerning weight I expect that the DA*11-18 to be a lens of 650-700g. The DA*16-50 weighs 600g, so only a little bit less, the DFA15-30 is 1040g - 300 to 400g more - that I would call significant. The Irix 15 Blackstone 653g. So I'll have to live with a lens between 600 and 700g.

We'll see what the DA*11-18 will offer. Guess in September 2018 we'll be wiser - I'm not in a hurry.