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.

#################################################

Table of results as obtained in this thread (updated regularly):

SMC Pentax-DA primes...

• DA 14mm F2.8: - (clawhammer)
• DA 15mm F4.0: - (Zav)
• DA 21mm F3.2 Limited: - (Boris Liberman)
• DA 35mm F2.4 AL: +++ (aurele ;like FA35/2.0 and no vignetting) (frank)
• DA 35mm F2.8 Limited Macro: 0 (ryno), + (@ 1.15 crop)
• DA 40mm F2.8 Limited: +
• DA* 55mm F1.4 SDM: +++ (aurele)
• DA 70mm F2.4 Limited: +
• D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 WR: +++ (officially specified FF by Pentax)
• DA* 200mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM: +++? (common belief, but is it true?)
• DA* 300mm F4 ED [IF] SDM: ++ (officially rated "designed for FF" by Pentax patent US7715116)

SMC Pentax-DA zooms...

• DA 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 Fish-Eye ED [IF]: FE, see #59, #61, #94. 10mm: heavy vignette / 14mm: almost no vignette / 17mm ++ (Reps, froeschle, Gooshin)
• DA 12-24mm F4 ED AL [IF]: - (below 16mm, xitek.com), o (at 18mm, architorture), + (at 20mm, architorture), ++ (at 24mm, architorture)
• DA 16-45mm F4: - (below 21mm, Nesster)
• DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM: - (xitek.com)
• DA 17-70mm F4 AL [IF] SDM: - (KjetilH)
• DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL: - (at 18mm, Spongefingers; below 23mm, xitek.com)
• DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL II: missing
• DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 ED AL [IF]: - (xitek.com)
• DA 50-200mm ED: -
• DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED [IF] SDM: - (elho_cid)
• DA* 60-250mm F4 ED [IF] SDM: ++ (officially rated "designed for FF" by Pentax patent US7489452) probably good on full frame but evaluation still missing; the rating is +++ with a baffle modification, + without)
• DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED: 0 (+, ++ at tele end, viking79)

Sigma K mount DC...

• Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC: -
• Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 DC: - (below 14mm, Gooshin)
• ...

Tamron K mount Di-II...

• ...

Overall rating scale:
+++: no significant difference between APS-C and FF corners
++: difference but usable at full aperture with a small loss in corner IQ only
+: usable staring at f/4~f/5.6, with no or a small loss in corner IQ only
o: usable at f/11 or with big loss in corner IQ only
-: not usable

[Barry Pearson]

I ran tests on my own lenses, and I posted a link to my results to this thread in 2013.

Since then, on that page of mine I've maintained links to some other such tests that I became aware of. This thread has become so big and cluttered that I don't know if those particular tests are covered in this thread. I think all the lenses they cover are listed, but perhaps a second opinion may be useful.

So here are copies of the links that I have been maintaining, together with the Pentax DA(*) lenses they examine. Given that the K-1 will soon be in many hands, (including mine!), just about everything in this thread will soon be superseded, but here goes. The tests don't all strictly conform to the thread rules; they are not my own tests.

Karl Knipser - Flickr Set
Many test photos of Pentax lenses on both film and a Canon EOS 5D Mark III

DA* 60-250mm f/4
DA* 300mm f/4
DA 12-24mm f/4
DA 15mm f/4
DA 18-135mm f/3.5-f/5.6
DA 18-250mm f/3.5-f/6.3
DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited
DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro
DA 40mm f/2.8
DA 70mm f/2.4 Limited
DA* 16-50mm f/2.8
DA* 50-135 f/2.8
DA* 55mm f/1.4
DA 50-200mm WR
DA 18-55mm
DA 560mm f/5.6

AMMouse aka Pentax_Prime - photobucket:
Some Pentax lenses on a Pentax Z-1p film camera

Pentax DA 55 (?)
Pentax DA 70 (?)

Wallace Koopmans Artlog:
Pentax Full Frame and APS-c Lenses on film

Pentax SMC-DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED [IF] SDM
Pentax SMC DA 50mm f/1.8
Pentax SMC DA 35mm f/2.8 Limited macro
Pentax smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 XS Lens

Eric Tastad at ERPhotoReview:

K Mount Primes

SMC Pentax DFA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR on Sony A7R
SMC Pentax DA* 55mm f/1.4 on Sony A7R

K Mount Zooms

HD Pentax DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited WR on Sony A7R

[falconeye]

So here are copies of the links that I have been maintaining, together with the Pentax DA(*) lenses they examine.

Barry, thank you so much for your compilation.

Given that the K-1 will soon be in many hands, (including mine!), just about everything in this thread will soon be superseded, but here goes.

Yes, I agree.

I propose someone creates and maintains a moderated thread which collects results for DA lens image quality with the K-1.

[Glorfindelrb]

DA70/2.4 on K-1 FF mode

f2.4


There is some vignetting but the lens is totally ok for portrait. Definitely a ++ for me.

[Mock]

When I picked up my K-1 the other day I had a go with the shop's DA* 60-250 f/4, in FF mode naturally. These are straight out of camera, just resized on export from lightroom.

60mm, f/4



88mm, f/4



108mm, f/9



220mm, f/4



250mm, f/4



I'll leave it up to the viewer to determine whether these are usable or not, since my opinion was a bit controversial in this thread.

[topace]

When I picked up my K-1 the other day I had a go with the shop's DA* 60-250 f/4, in FF mode naturally. These are straight out of camera, just resized on export from lightroom.

...

I'll leave it up to the viewer to determine whether these are usable or not, since my opinion was a bit controversial in this thread.

Question: Did you use the in-camera SR? If you did, that might have decreased corner performance.
Not that your results really differ from what I expected.

[Barry Pearson]

Question: Did you use the in-camera SR? If you did, that might have decreased corner performance.

That statement surprised me! I wasn't aware of any such effect.

What is the background to that statement?

[topace]

That statement surprised me! I wasn't aware of any such effect.

What is the background to that statement?

The SR is created by moving the sensor around, including moving it further away from the center of the image, potentially making the corners both darker and less sharp.

An in-body SR camera quite naturally demands a bigger image, or conversely, an in-body SR camera will have worse corner performance.

[Barry Pearson]

The SR is created by moving the sensor around, including moving it further away from the center of the image, potentially making the corners both darker and less sharp.

An in-body SR camera quite naturally demands a bigger image, or conversely, an in-body SR camera will have worse corner performance.

Right!

I forgot that with SR operating, at any point on the sensor there is now a contribution from positions of the image circle which would normally be further away from that point, and potentially lower in quality.

This would typically be a tiny effect with a proper FF lens, but the DA* 60-250mm is known to be marginal at the corners on FF. (I posted to this thread in 2013 with a link to my own tests).

When I test the 60-250mm on the K-1, (I intend to publish my results), I'll try it with SR on and off.

[gazonk]

When I picked up my K-1 the other day I had a go with the shop's DA* 60-250 f/4, in FF mode naturally. These are straight out of camera, just resized on export from lightroom.

Thanks for showing! I'm a bit surprised that the vignetting is strongest at the longest focal length. For the other focal lengths, it looks highly usable for any subject where a little vignetting doesn't matter (or is desirable).

Edit: I guess you didn't use the lens hood?

[robthebloke]

Sigma 8-16mm
@8mm


@12mm


@16mm


---------- Post added 05-03-16 at 12:58 PM ----------

Pentax DA 12-24
@12mm


@18mm


@24mm


---------- Post added 05-03-16 at 12:59 PM ----------

DA15mm


---------- Post added 05-03-16 at 01:00 PM ----------

DA21mm


---------- Post added 05-03-16 at 01:00 PM ----------

DA40mm XS


---------- Post added 05-03-16 at 01:09 PM ----------

DA* 50-135mm
@50mm


@75mm


@95mm


@135mm

[gazonk]

The DA15, as expected, is just an APS-C lens and not much more. But it just occured to me that for the square format, it can be used to capture 24x24, i.e. quite a bit more than APS-C, and for 4:3 format, it will cover about 19x26

[ChristianRock]

The DA15, as expected, is just an APS-C lens and not much more. But it just occured to me that for the square format, it can be used to capture 24x24, i.e. quite a bit more than APS-C, and for 4:3 format, it will cover about 19x26

And I'm surprised at how much the DA 21 covers. It looks like you could just do a simple 4:3 crop which would give you 24x32 and get away with it. At the very least a 5:4 crop which would give you 24x30! That's almost double the coverage of APS-C, and would give you a 29MP image!

[robthebloke]

And I'm surprised at how much the DA 21 covers. It looks like you could just do a simple 4:3 crop which would give you 24x32 and get away with it. At the very least a 5:4 crop which would give you 24x30! That's almost double the coverage of APS-C, and would give you a 29MP image!

Yeah, I was surprised by that as well. The only shots I've seen on film with that lens had a noticeable rectangle, so they must have been shot with the hood on? I think so far, the sigma 8-16 at 16mm is best ultra wide I've come across for the k-1 (I've got a K18, A20, and the ones above).

[gazonk]

And I'm surprised at how much the DA 21 covers. It looks like you could just do a simple 4:3 crop which would give you 24x32 and get away with it. At the very least a 5:4 crop which would give you 24x30!

Not quite, I tried a 3:4 crop and that still gave heavy vignetting, 4:5 might work.

I tried to crop down as much as needed to get rid of vignetting with a 2:3 crop, and I estimated it to be (roughly) usable as a 27 mm lens. Not bad compared to an APS-C crop, should be quite useful for anyone who doesn't have a 28 mm prime.

[rvannatta]

IMO .. these are not acceptable as FF lenses. The vignetting is just too visible and if you are going to crop, then why bother FF!

I at least take my photos usually leaving so boarder for croppping. unlessyou are putting together a slide show then you can't do this, but I solved most of the problem by keeping my film era lenses.