[MSL]

Time to launch this monthly contest. Something Special About That Lens


Please see this thread if you want to learn more about the contest series or have general questions to ask Something special about that lens - NEW CONTEST series - PentaxForums.com

The goal of this contest is to show off some special feature of a lens, whether it is a fish eye, bokeh monster, super starbursts, perfect for reversing, super sharp, dreamy colors, super fast wide open aperture / narrow depth of field, creative use of vignetting etc. Pull out that hidden gem you haven't used in a while and find how it can enable your creativity. While members are free to like any image they like, ideally voting should be towards images that show off the special feature of the lens. Entrants are encouraged to include a short description with the image to tell what special feature they are trying to highlight.


The formal stuff:

• 1 entry per person per month. Any brand of lens, but the photo should be taken with a Pentax or Ricoh DSLR/SLR camera.
• To enter, reply to this message and put your image in this thread.
• The top 10 or so entries (this will be adjusted based on how much interest there is in this contest), based on total likes, will then be voted on in a poll for the monthly prize ( one 128 GB SD card, or three (3) 32 GB SD cards).
• The 2nd - 4th place finishers in the poll voting each month will be entered into the December contest for additional prizes.
• Contest winners will be asked for a brief blog post describing the technique you used to shoot and process your photo, as well as what equipment you used. Additional information about the lens and how and when you tend to use it will be most welcome.

This month: 20 mm or shorter (absolute lens focal length, don't include any crop factors - no math required!)

Entries will close at the end of the month, but voting will continue until March 14 and then the shortlist voting poll will run for 1 week after that.


Since this is the first time I'm leading something like this, I'm sure I've missed some key detail not in this thread or the other one *mentioned above), so let me know if you have any questions. If they are specific to this month please put them here, otherwise please use the other thread.

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Last edited by MSL; 02-02-2021 at 07:34 PM.

[photoptimist]

The Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical is an amazing rectilinear UWA:



I bought it brand new back when I got my first Pentax camera -- a K-10D in 2007. It's a great wide angle lens for APS-C

Upon getting the K-1, I realized how crazy wide this lens was. With a 112° horizontal FoV, you can stand in the corner of a room and see all four walls.

OK, the lens is not fast, not small, and has a bulging front element (protected by a non-removable petal hood), but it is very very wide and sharp.

[bertwert]

The DA 10-17 for close ups, not one's initial thought for a fisheye lens, but with the close minimum focus distance you can pull off some real interesting pseudo-macro shots.

[photoptimist]

Ok, we have trees and bees in a dead heat for first place.

But we're missing a lot of lenses:

What about the sweet, petite SMC Pentax-M 20mm F4 ? (That would be my 2nd choice of a "Special Lens" in this focal length range)

Or the mind-controlling SMC Pentax-DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited ? (I don't have this lens but bet some people really love it.)

Or the mustachioed Samyang 14mm F2.8 ED AS IF UMC ? (That would be my 3rd choice of a "Special Lens")

[nosliwmit]

Ok, I'll be the first to post something from the ever-popular DA 15mm F4 Ltd. I took this photo in Panama in 2013 while on a walk with a local group to photograph street cats. The clipped ear meant it had been captured, neutered and released. I love the way the front paw seems to almost reach out and touch you. The slight tongue protrusion was a bonus.

[Wasp]

Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5

[JensE]

I had a hard time to choose one, but settled for the Color Skopar. Not a perfect lens by any means, but it's speciality are beautiful colors, contrasty and - stopped-down - sharp landscapes all in an extremely compact and well built pancake. This means that, unlike the 15-30mm f/2.8, I actually have it with me when I climb a ridge on a family hike with supplies for three in my backpack. The other hot candidate would have been the Samyang 12mm/2.8 FE, btw.

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[c.a.m]

I expect that we'll see quite a few examples from the DA 15mm Limited.

Here's an image that shows off a couple of this lens's strong attributes -- the sunburst effect at smaller apertures, and wide coverage. I like the sunburst if it's appropriate for the scene and not overly done.

This compact lens is easy to carry in the bag, and its moderate maximum aperture is not a disadvantage in many settings.

- Craig

[noelcmn]

I'll give it a go- Bower 8mm Fisheye, from the DIC a few years ago

[MossyRocks]

This is my bad post where I completely missed that this was for ultrawides. Edited to remove the old image and text.

[MSL]

I'll play. I bought this lens specifically for shooting astro images as it really seemed like it would do a great job. Well the SMC A* 400/2.8 ED [IF] sure seems to excel at astro shooting, now I just need to use it some time during the day.

We are starting at the short end, with long lenses having their chance to shine in November. So you have lots of time to think of something to show it off.

[MossyRocks]

We are starting at the short end, with long lenses having their chance to shine in November. So you have lots of time to think of something to show it off.

Well that was bad form for me. I blame being too tired from working too many hours of late as I should have caught that when I read it. I guess I will have to do some digging to see what I can find on the short end. I have one of those really good ultrawides, now just to see if I have an image that makes it shine.

[Serkevan]

The good old M20/4 has the "close quarters" task down pat - and I'm amazed by how well the IQ holds on that tiny 45-year old ninja.

[Gene D]

Lighthouse Beach sunset on Sanibel Island, Florida. This lens is special for me due to the color rendition, contrasts and (if I stop down) the ability to keep sharpness away from the center. At f11 here, I got front to back sharpness (also used tripod) as well and could capture the the varying color tones nicely.

[Hattifnatt]

The 15mm Limited controls your mind!

Sunset through the mist.