12-24 zoom or 14mm prime

I have had the Pentax 12-24mm multiple times and presently have the 14mm and a Sigma 12-24mm. Have to say that out of all 3 I preferred the Pentax zoom but as I use wide lenses very very rarely it was the obvious choice to sell.

Never use the 14mm tbh as it takes up the same space in my bag as the Sigma 12-24mm so it stays at home 100% of the time.

The DA12-24 is really the only zoom that is essential to me. I hardly ever use it at f4 so I don't need faster. I'd need a couple of primes to give me similar coverage and I'd probably be forever swapping them in the field.

It's a very good lens. My only hesitation in investing in one would be that there is a new DA wide zoom on the lens roadmap, maybe this year, maybe next. It looks like it will cover the same range, more or less. So one might expect that it will be WR, which would be more than handy.

If you are after 14/2.8 lens...I couldn't recommend Samyang 14/2.8 UMC highly enough - its a very very gooood lens for landscapes. Very sharp with great rendering of colours and pretty much flare resitant and on top of it great build quality for a price that couldn't be challenged. However keep in mind its manul focus lens, has a huge distortion and you cant attach any filters to it due to its front element.

I've had the DA12-24 and the DA15. The zoom is an excellent lens. Very sharp from wide open. It can suffer from quite bad purple fringing, and I never felt the colours were as good as other Pentax lenses I have - .though it's still a great lens. I replaced it with the DA15 mainly down to size. It's not as consistent wide open, but is stopped down, and the images can have a character that those from zoom lacked. If I had a 16-50 lens, I would consider the DA14 - I've seen some positive feedback from users, which I tend to pay more attention to than reviews.

I have the DA 14. Love it to bits. Superb IQ and great having it as wide as 2.8.


It also focusses real close, which is well handy

Can't compare with the 12-24 as I don't have one.

thanks for all the comments.

Thats settled it then it will have to be.....

or.....

seems like there's as many for one as there is the other.

decisions, decisons.....

Pentax also have a wide zoom on the road map for this year. Details a are few at the moment

if it was a DA* then i would definitely wait as I would like the weather proofing. However if the little green band is anything to go by then it looks like it's a straight replacement

The Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 is a great lens, and very well built. It is a bit soft in the corners unless stopped down, but I never tend to use it below f8 anyway. I dropped a previous one I had (which I used on an Olympus) in the sea, and then rinsed it under a tap, and it was none the worse for wear. I used it for another year before changing systems. The one I have now (or rather that my wife has) is excellent imo. However, I tend to use the 15mm Ltd. more nowadays as it's so small.