Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 
Log in or register to remove ads.

Showing all 3 reviews by Dlanor Sekao

Review of: Samyang 14mm F2.8 ED AS IF UMC by Dlanor Sekao on Mon March 30, 2015 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
MAS_9966e.jpg

Views: 115478
Reviews: 29
I have the Bower Branded one. Everyone has heard of all the QC issues over the OO Calibration being way off...Mine was no different at all. Remember this is a ultra wide angle lens so its not east to view adjustments easily as other lenses when calibrating. More than once I thought it was soft and almost returned it for a replacement. I found the key to making it easier is to use f5.6 during calibration and not the f2.8 It was a pain getting the infinity hard stop dialed in correctly and took me about 100 images to get it spot on. However once done the calibration scale on the barrel was spot on. Build is impeccable for a modern lens as is the "A" contacts on this lens. It has a huge focus throw and is nicely dampened. The lens has no threads and has a permanent built in hood which makes it hard to use ND filters. There are aftermarket products to overcome this but they are almost the price of the lens.....take this into consideration. This lens is a bit prone to ghosting and CA at wide open apertures against reflective or highly lit subjects , but it stops entirely at f4.0. Its not bad at all , but is noticeable if your not familiar with it. This is the first lens I had to really work with as far as test shots and depth of field scale. Once dialed in it becomes a $$$$ making machine... Dragon Slayer....a Giant Killer......It performs ! This lens is so easy to use for street photography , close landscapes , and just about anything you can think of using a UWA lens for. I don't even focus....just set the scale and shoot. It nails it perfectly ! You don't even have to focus using a distance scale once familiar. Close focus only comes into play once your closer than 18" ! I drilled tiny marks on my scale in between the factory marks and designed a sharp focus scale for nailing it every time at a specific distance. Taped it right on the built in hood.....Easy ! Close focus on mine is at about 10" and super sharp. As you increase the distance the field of focus becomes HUGE and usable ! I got lucky and got a good copy the first time and feel very fortunate. This lens can easily make sharp prints to 40" from a K30 and surpass 48" on a K3 .....that is after YOU figure out the calibration and scale settings and how to use them ! Set this baby at 1.2 meters and shoot away. Set it at 5' and everything from 3.5 feet to infinity is great. Set it at 7' and any and everything is sharp from 5' to infinity...YOU CANT MISS ! I made a sharp focus scale for mine but it really isn't needed after a bit of use. I will send a copy if you PM me. There is a steep learning curve with any ultra wide angle lens and this one is even a bit more but its worth it to take your photography to a higher level. Sharpest images are at f5.6-f8...but at f2.8 its still a winner and quite sharp and usable. I would rate this lens with an overall score of 9.75 if it would let me.

Review of: Sigma -y; I 21-35mm F3.5-4 by Dlanor Sekao on Fri January 23, 2015 | Rating: 8 View more reviews 
SAM_1189.JPG

Views: 21244
Reviews: 2
I just got this and decided to pull it out and give her a go. I have only heard of one other copy of this lens so I consider it Rare. Overall a very solid lens. Build is impeccable. All metal construction including built in lens hood. Front lens hood offers complete coverage. It is Non-Rotating so using filters is no problem. Even though it has a Petal type built in hood , you can still use a 67mm filter of your choice. It also has a separate set of threads up front for a 72mm Lens cap....Vey nice feature. F stop range is 3.5-22 with half stop clicks. Aperture ring is tight with positive stops. There is no "A' setting on this lens. Now lets get down to performance........ Once again this is a tank of a lens. Super solid and tight. Throw is about 90 degrees or slightly less....very nice. Front hood stays stationary so no problem there. I slapped it on my k30 first and played around outside for a while. Bokeh is nice throughout the range , but nothing sensational. I noticed no aberrations of any kind , and even shooting sideways into bright backgounds noticed little flair. This lens shows some variation though for sharpness. I noticed it quite a bit sharper at the narrower end wide open , than at the wide end wide open. I stopped down to about f5.6 and its gone. Being manual its a bit hard for me to nail focus every time. I don't really blame the lens as I have only used it for one day and haven't learned its quality yet and sweet spots. I did notice focus seems to be spot on in viewfinder but a bit backfocused in Live View. Overall this lens rather surprised me....the shapness is there if you want to work a bit to achieve it ! I paid $114 for mine. But I knew the man I bought it from and it was never used and had box , warranty , and case...NEW , even though it was made in 1980. I simply couldn't pass it up. Over all I don't regret it one bit. I was wanting a 17-35 and stumbled across this. If you should see one of these ...Grab it for a price that suits you. Its very useable and the image quality is there for what it is. If I could score it for image alone... 8.7 Image quality is far better than the 18-55WR that I just sold. But NO....its not AF so everyone beat it up for that , and Lack of "A" setting.

Review of: Ricoh Rikenon XR 28mm F2.8 by Dlanor Sekao on Wed November 12, 2014 | Rating: 10 View more reviews 
IMGP6931s_r28.jpg

Views: 64679
Reviews: 10
A great little lens ! Overlooked and underrated for sure. This lens is very sharp at about f8-f11. One of my favorites next to the SMC-K 35mm 3.5. for general use and Lanscape. Bokeh is pleasing (to Me) but its best when used with a lens hood as flair can be noticeable. Excellent overall.................. I paid much higher price for mine than listed , but it was worth it !



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:59 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top