In the dSLR lens world I have tried many superwide variants. Tamron's 14mm SP came first and showed me the possibilities with my SonyAlpha. Once in the Pentax world the DA16-45 suited me well for wide views but felt a bit cramped at the long end. I went in other directions but later picked up the SMC 17mm Fish-Eye for extra width - and
liked it a lot. Most recently it was the DA10-17 fish-eye, which has intrigued me for a while but 10mm is really wider than I'd ever need. Yes that's a dangerous thing to say, but for now I believe it!
In the meantime, the Pentaxforum fanatics couldn't say enough about the DA15 for wide-view needs. Their
"the DA15 controls my mind.. club" says plenty about general feelings about this lens! I liked the idea but never found a copy at 'my' price. I nearly acquired a DA14 recently; the price was right but it had some damage that restricted focusing. Set to five feet and f/8 and who needs to focus? -- but it was taken before I could claim it.
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| image from pentaxforums.com |
And now by a surprise trade
the DA15 is coming my way. It should set itself somewhat apart from the 16-45 in both width and talent. Pentax makes smaller primes but this is still easy to carry pretty much anywhere. I'm thinking it will find ways to come along despite the very wide field of view.
I suspect that's where the mind control kicks in - you find ways to make use of it even when logically it might not be deemed the typically ideal lens for a shot.
A copy of the DA40 Limited is coming too and that's great because I've missed it. When it comes to size and great images the DA40 (Limited or XS) is tough to match. The lens practically disappears on most bodies and takes excellent images from f/2.8 up. Several 'wow' images came from my previous copy.
Welcome back!
These did cost my first and only DA* to acquire - but right now
I'm quite all right with that.
