[Bart]

I would love to see a comparison between the Zeiss 21mm /f2.8 and the Pentax 21mm f/3.2.

nothing personal, but my bets are on the Zeiss - besides it can be used on full frame.

I have the following comparison for you
- DA 21 = 399 EUR <--> Zeis 21 between 799 EUR (= 28mm) and 1149 EUR (= 15mm)
- DA 21 = autofocus and Quickshift <--> Zeis 21 is manual focus only
- DA 21 = available now <--> Zeis 21 is not (yet)

For the optical comparison, you will have to wait for someone to have both, I guess.

[soccerjoe5]

[eyou]

wow diego. your whole line of 'champion' portraits are AMAZING. it's making me want to get some strobes and more DA lenses... keep up the great work it really inspires me.

[soccerjoe5]

wow diego. your whole line of 'champion' portraits are AMAZING. it's making me want to get some strobes and more DA lenses... keep up the great work it really inspires me.

Hi Eric, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like them! Playing with lights can be really fun, but you don't need DA lenses for awesome photos. I could come up with the same output with just a kit lens Sharpness and rendering is a different story though, especially when printed huge, and so is the AF speed, build-quality and size/weight

I'm looking forward to seeing your photos soon!

Diego

[legacyb4]

Heheh, you just listed off all the reasons you WANT to step up to quality prime lenses...

I could come up with the same output with just a kit lens Sharpness and rendering is a different story though, especially when printed huge, and so is the AF speed, build-quality and size/weight

[soccerjoe5]

Heheh, you just listed off all the reasons you WANT to step up to quality prime lenses...

Haha true true, but I just don't want people to think they can't come up with great output with "just" a kit lens

[benjikan]

Shot with the 21mm Ltd...See you can shoot portraits with the 21!

Attached Images

 

[Bart]

I thought I'd wake this thread up with a B&W conversion of a photo taken with the DA 21 I'm rather pleased with.






Perhaps I'm too easily pleased, though.

[legacyb4]

Nice shot! While nowhere near as grand as yours, here's a shot from last weekend of Vancouver's north side.

[Eaglerapids]

Here's a couple of recent 21mm shots of mine.

[ILoveVerdi]

This one is one of my personal favorites. Also an example of wide-open bokeh.

[soccerjoe5]

Great to see this thread revived with such great photos

[Bart]

For me, the 21 really shines as a landscape lens. When you want or need a moderate wide fov (think 28 or 31 FF), this is the one I like. Great colours and contrast. (although there are those that claim these kinds of photos to be just hyperfocal shots you can just as well get with a P&S ).
Of course the landscapes you get to shoot depend on your surroundings. The one I posted just before was from a vacation in Austria (Alps). My 'natural' habitat is less spectacular: I live in what was called the "Low Countries". So, I get fields and slow rivers but also some nice old cities like Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, etc.
In the cities, I believe the barrel distortion can be somewhat of a hindrance. I would pick the 16-50 there, also a fine lens - provided it works and you get a good copy.
As for portraits, this really isn't my cup of tea: I'll leave this gladly to Ben, Diego and any others that are into this.

[Sailor]

Here's one of mine I recently shot with this little lens.

Jer

[mrcrontab]

This isn't my favorite shot ever, but it shows a real superpower of the da21..



Taken on a public bus at night

It may not be the sharpest, or the fastest, but it is one of the smallest and that helps a great deal in guerrilla street photography! I take this lens in places that a 16-50 simply could not go due to size and attention. I tend to shoot incognito street rather than the in your face approach, mostly because I want to capture the person in their world, not mine.

It is so small and unintimidating, nobody knows what they are up against.

Plus it has an accurate distance scale.. there seems to be some debate about if the FA distance scale is accurate on APS-C. I don't know either way, but it gives me confidence that the DA scale is correct without mental adjustments. On a sunny day I can just set hyperfocal on f8 and walk the street without worrying about focus lock delay or miss.

Here's one more!


Full size originals available Flickr: mrcrontab's Photostream