looking into wide angle Pentax lens..
hi all,
I own a Pentax K100D.. currently armed with the stock lens and a 300mm Tamron telephoto from my Pentax 35mm SLR. For my regular shooting, these work great. However, I'm going on a trip to California soon (Yosemite, in particular) and have decided I want a wide angle lens for fun - landscapes primarily, but would love to be able to use it for macro shots as well.
Unfortuantely, I don't know much about what to look for. I see lenses from just over $100 to many, many times that. So.. if someone has a few minutes to spare, I'd love to know what I should be shopping for! Much appreciated!
pete :dunno
I own a Pentax K100D.. currently armed with the stock lens and a 300mm Tamron telephoto from my Pentax 35mm SLR. For my regular shooting, these work great. However, I'm going on a trip to California soon (Yosemite, in particular) and have decided I want a wide angle lens for fun - landscapes primarily, but would love to be able to use it for macro shots as well.
Unfortuantely, I don't know much about what to look for. I see lenses from just over $100 to many, many times that. So.. if someone has a few minutes to spare, I'd love to know what I should be shopping for! Much appreciated!
pete :dunno
0
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Pentax SMCP-DA 14mm, f/2.8 ED IF
Pentax SMCP-FA 21mm, f/3.2 AL
Pentax SMCP-DA 12-24mm, f/4 AL (IF)
Sigma 10-20mm, f/4-5.6 EX DC
Of these I think the Sigma is a great value and I have one in the Canon mount.
Not much use for macro or close focus and I am not a fan of short focal length macro lenses because I prefer to have more room to position the light (usually a flash).
You could get a diopter lens for your "kit" lens like the Canon 500D in 52mm or the Hoya 2-element close-up adapter lens. These are really designed for a bit longer focal length lens, but they might be OK for now.
A much better macro solution is the Tamron SP 90mm, f/2.8 Di 1:1 AF Macro. Not cheap but very high quality and works fairly well for many portrait opportunities.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
My suggestion is to checkout these:
Sigma 10-20mm/4-5.6 EX
Tokina 12-24mm/4.0 AT-X (it has the same optics as the Pentax 12-24/4.0)
Tamron 17-50mm/2.8
all of them are very good lenses.
― Edward Weston
so, i think i've been under a wrong impression here. a macro lens would not necessarily fit the bill of a wide angle, and vice versa huh?
sorry for the dumb questions! i'm quite the amateur
Well yes thats correct. Pentax just announced a 35mm/2.8 Macro
lens and altough its the widest macro it's not wide angle.
If you use a wide angle lens to shoot macro you will have alot
of background in the image (simply because of the wide angle)
which is not what you want in a macro image. The longer a
lens is the better are it's background blurring capabilities. This
means that the background is much less distracting than with
a wide angle lens.
The first image was shot with a 300mm lens and the 2nd one
with a super wide angle lens. Observe how much the wide
angle includes in the background and how smooth the tele
renders it.
― Edward Weston
Pete,
Two other lenses in K-Mount that haven't been mentioned:
1) DA 16-45/f4 is a superb lens that can be found for about $350 - 400. I have seen some closeup shots from it, but wouldn't go so far as to say the minimum focusing distance qualifies it as a macro lens. I can't speak first hand for this lens as I don't own it yet, but you can view many samples here:
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/pentax/smc_da_16-45_4_ed_al
2) Which I do own and find excellent and is also a macro lens is the Tamron 28-75 XR di II/f2.8. Maybe not quite as wide as you might want,but the image quality is very good. Its a bit heavy, but fast at f2.8 and very versatile. This is the one folks often accept in lieu of not being able to find or afford the legendary FA* 28-70/2.8 offering from Pentax. You should be able to find this relatively affordable also.
Hope this helps,
JayT
The Pentax FA 28-70mm/2.8 isn't on the market anymore,
so there could be alot of trouble (cost, missing parts) if
you have to send it in for a repair. Also at around 1200-#
1600€ on the used market it's not a steal. The Tamron
28-75mm/2.8 is with 300€ much cheaper but opticaly very
good.
― Edward Weston
I am learning that I know less and less the more I read.
In terms of image quality absolutely. The viewfinder will
be brighter. And altough you will loose a bit of focal length
on the short end you will gain reach. 75mm/ at f2.8 gives
you a nice little tele.
― Edward Weston
looking at the Pentax 12-24mm/4.0 .. its pricey for sure but clearly worth it from what I've read.
i found the Tokina model for quite a bit less, but its for a Canon mount. what does it take to make that work with my Pentax body?
thanks..
Canon EF mount lenses will not fit on a Pentax body. The back focus distance of the Canon mount is shorter than that for Pentax. You would lose infinity focus on a simple adapter, not to mention no electronic compatibility whatsoever. (Modern EF mount lenses have no manual aperture ring.)
I do recommend either the Pentax SMCP-DA 12-24mm, f/4 AL (IF) or the Sigma 10-20mm, f/4-5.6 EX DC.
Again, I have the Sigma (in Canon mount) and it is a very nice lens.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
thank you! good info
so i think we've got it down to the Pentax and the Sigma.. a debate which i just came across over on DpReview, as well: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=16607378
and the digging continues!
I've been using the Pentax 12-24 for the past six months. It has become my favorite lens. I tend to be a prime lens shooter, but the image quality of this model has displaced my old flame, a Pentax A 24mm 2.8. Not too heavy, outstanding build quality, only criticism is some purple fringing that is fixable with software. The 77mm filter size is expensive, and you really need a high quality, thin UV filter to protect this lens.
I have heard mixed reviews about the 10-20 Sigma, mostly corner sharpness issues. I also admit to being cautious about Sigma-branded lenses--some models are excellent, but others have shaky build quality to a somewhat larger extent than other available third-party K-mount lenses.
Pentax Forums has a great used marketplace worth checking out.
M