Landscape Newbie

I mainly use my ultrawide (the Pentax 12-24) for architecture and urban stuff. Out in the countryside I often find myself using something longer. On film, I love 135mm for landscape!

K.

As Mannesty suggested, the DA* 16-50mm is very good for this kind of work - and it's weather-proof as well.

I've had mine about 18 months and it is now my "default" lens.

I would say that the more expansive the landscape the more a longer focal length works. My favoured length is probably 24mm on the K5, so 35mm equivalent full frame. I took the DA12-24 and a few longer primes on a break to the Costa Brava but the 12-24 never came off the camera and I used it throughout its range.

Stitching can be an excellent option but the way I like to do landscape there are plenty of situations where it wouldn't make up for a wider lens, for example to capture some movement in water.

There is no right way, just options and preferences. I think it will take a little time for you to discover your style. Exploring the 18-55 kit lens is probably the best start.

I agree, but it has its perils. If you look very carefully at this otherwise unremarkable stitched landscape shot, you will see our one dog featuring twice.

The ultra wides are certainly tempting, and I'm delighted with my new Samyang 14mm (a full frame model, gives about 22mm in old film terms on the K7).

But it takes getting used to composition wise. Its easy to stand back and shoot the big view, but you risk ending up with vast spaces of dull foreground and a subject way off in the distance. Its fun though trying to be creative and getting things right up close in front of you. Frames of some kind work well, and low viewpoints featuring textures on the ground. Snoothchies (Chester ?) shot has both of these elements supporting it.

On the K5 I found the 15 Ltd superb for some things - but not landcapes and the same goes for the Sigma 10-20. It is one of my most used lenses - for house interiors but the distortion is a killer for landscapes and as has been said, UWA lenses 'push' the horizon away making important features indiscernable.
On the K5 a Zeiss 28mm is my main landscape lens and I can usually stitch if need be. However you can't always stitch because moving clouds, vegetation, traffic, water movement or people etc. can sometimes spoil the image. The 28mm lens has the least distortion of any lens though - hence it makes a great landscape lens.

On my Nikon (FF) I use the Zeiss 21mm and Zeiss 35mm, both are superb lenses (and can be found in PK mount) and although the 21mm is heralded as the bees knees I actually prefer the 35mm for most work and it handles landscapes beautifully. The equivalent lens on APS-C would be a 24mm so either the 24mm or the 28mm I mentioned could be perfect.

Oh and WR is over-rated. Virtually all lenses can take a sprinkle if you dry them off later or if you don't want to chance it then you can use a cover or just plastic bags and a rubber band or two - however most often you won't be shooting in the rain because what would the point of a landscape be when you can't see the thing because of the reduced visibility !

Yes, the virtues of WR are sung loud and clear, and from the point of view protecting the innards of the equipment its a worthy feature - practical shooting in wet weather is another matter. No doubt there are plenty of great atmospheric scenes begging to be captured, but many of these wide angle lenses have large front elements, and as soon as you point them at something in the rain then it only takes one spot to ruin a shot, and there's all the wiping and smearing to contend with.

One point of interest - I bought secondhand an old Pentax book from the early 80's, sort of a Pentax-centric guide to photography, the LX was one of the cameras detailed. In the lens section it clearly warned against allowing rain onto a front element and also not to put any drops of cleaning fluid directly onto the glass, as it could seep around the edges into the lens body.

I am wondering, do our WR lenses provide full protection in this area now?

WR lenses are weather esistant, so away we go in the rain. Some lenses have SP coating as well, which repels water and is even better in the rain.

As regards clewaning, as little as possible is best. A microfibre cloth will do the job and lens cleaning fluid is rarely needed. When it is used, it should be sparingly applied to the cloth, not the lens.