15Ltd

I have just had a little windfall and am contemplating blowing part of it on a 15Ltd.

Questions:

1. What is the general opinion of this lens for landscape use from those who regularly use it?
2. Is there any notable advantages/ IQ improvement using a 15 Ltd Vs my Sigma 10-20 at 15mm?
3. What is a reasonable price for an unmarked used version?

Thanks

Carl

I had a Sigma 10-20, and had great fun with it. I would by quite happy to recommend it. But it was a relatively big and heavy lens, and images a bit on the soft side. I sold it and bought a 15 limited, and doubt I'll ever sell that. Much smaller and lighter, and sharper. If I find it's not quite wide enough (not an issue I've had so far) I can always 'stitch' a couple of shots together.
For my money, the 15 is the one to go for.

I paid £385 delivered on here recently for my as new 15mm Ltd (Thanks David in Kefalonia). Still testing it out but it is a beautiful and tiny thing. I've posted an into the sun landscape of Chatsworth on my gallery 'Late Winter sunshine'

The Sigma is excellent but it was big and heavy (I assume you mean the variable aperture one, I've not had the constant f3.5 which is heavier still) and didn't leave my bag enough. I sold it to help buy an 18 -135 DA WR. That gets much more use.

About half a year ago I contemplated acquiring the DA15mm or the DA12-24mm for landscape and northern lights photography. I eventually ended up with buying the zoom. In the process I read many reviews of both lenses. Here is a review of the DA15mm by landscape photographer Greg Nyquist, who migrated from the DA12-24mm to the 15mm prime:

http://www.northcoastphotographer.net/blog/files/4cfb050deed06e35eb0dca56dc7442e...

Another interesting review is the one at photozone:

http://www.photozone.de/pentax/463-pentax_15_4

I guess you will get responses from forum members who have experience with the DA15mm. I myself am glad I went for the DA12-24mm, it is just fantastic!

Good luck with your quest

Best wishes
Bjørn

Carl,

I have posted a few pictures taken with my DA15 here.

I am very pleased with it, although I cannot say I would choose it over the DA 12-24 (or actually the Samsung version) which I also have. I cannot compare it to the Sigma 10-20.

Hi Carl

Firstly, up front, I don't own either as yet but the '15' is my intended target

I hope soon to have reached my self imposed financial tagrget before making a purchase

Having checked every review, opinion and many photo's of/from the '15' and feel that overall it is the best option for me and as I have the annoying tendency to use zooms close to or at their best focal length it seems pointless me having a zoom.

The overall IQ of the '15', distortion control, flare, fringing, sharpness etc as far as i can tell seems hard to beat with the added bonus of the 'limited' build quality and size.

I have spotted the recent second hand ones around the £380 mark and have found them hard to resist but so far my will has not been broken but should be soon.

I believe that you can use square filters by having an additional 49mm ring to extend the rings beyong the hood so I am in the market for any 49mm filters with knackered glass I can remove and use the ring

Once I decide between a second hand or new one if it is second hand I will try to make sure I am not bidding against you (a pm should sort that) before taking the plunge

Cheers


Stu.

Thanks everybody - and Stu - thanks for answering my unasked question regarding how on earth I would attach my beloved Hitech 100mm grads!

I think the only things stopping me diving on to ebay for a look around is that at 15mm the Sigma is as sharp as anything I have used and I do have a tendency to shoot closer to 10mm.

Images I have seen with this lens do look stunning so despite some remaining reservations - I am likely to add one to the collection and just pray I use it more than the 35Ltd I bought 6 months ago which so far has not taken 20 shots!

..and Stu - happy top coordinate efforts

Carl

No problem Carl

all the hdr shots i put up the other day were DA15, i find it just nice to use. cannot define that exactly, it is one of those when you use it you know ,great to walk around town with.

I have loads of old 49mm filters I don't use that I'll gladly donate to the cause... PM me. K.

That's what this forum's all about

For info Carl/Stuey - the hood protrudes 3.5mm... So you'd want an old filter that width to give clearance for the filter holder ring. The '15mm rules my mind' thread on the US forum reports this allows use of a lee filter system with wide angled adapter rings... And no vignetting. I've not seen any reports on whether it works with the hi tec 100mm system. Do these have wide angled adapter rings as well?

I think I must not had one of the better copies of the DA15mm Ltd when I owned it. I bought a brand new one to consider replacing my DA12-24 and in all honesty found it much softer than the DA12-24 around the frame edges, so much so that I was unhappy with how it rendered foreground detail and no longer own it, despite the very nice colour/contrast it produced.

Having said the above my experience does seem to be in the minority If you do buy one just make sure you check it for corner/edge softness

Simon

Hi Tim

Thanks for the info - yes the hi-tech system does have wide angle adapters - I have one for my 10-20 and use standard adapters on my 17-70 and 50-150. Not sure they doa wide angle adapter as small as 49mm and will have to check - but no rush - it would appear it may take me a while to find a used 15Ltd!

Carl

Hi Simon

I have read several reports that suggest the lens can be soft towards the corners especially at f4 and suggestions that it improves significantly at f/5.6 and f/8. Definitely something to watch out for.

Carl

Yes Carl, the problem with the copy I had was that the corners didn't significantly improve enough at smaller apertures...wide open performance wasn't really a concern for me anyway as I mainly shoot around F11..I really wanted to be impressed by the results from the DA15mm but unfortunately I wasn't...many others definitely are though so sample variation seems to be a likely cause

Simon