Mainly, I'm still intrigued to see if the Pentax primes provide a better quality image than the zooms available...

I have considered the "they improve your composition skills" argument but having tested that theory it's not one I fully agree with, not enough to invest in a set of primes anyway.

In reality I'm probably just trying to justify owing zooms and primes but to part with my cash they need to offer me something other than just size/weight benefits - so far I'm not sure that they do but maybe this thread will change my mind

Simon

Having recently tried a DA15mm which unfortunately left me somewhat disappointed due to very soft corners I'm considering a DA21mm. The thing is though I already own both the DA17-70 & DA12-24, both of which I find excellent.

I just wondered if the virtues of the DA21mm were worthwhile despite owning the above 2 lenses, the weight/size issue isn't really relevant to me

Thanks

Simon

For me without doubt the DA12-24, I recently bought a DA15mm and whilst I liked the colour/contrast I was really disappointed by the soft corners - at all aperture settings on my copy

Simon

I'm always interested in the benefits of full frame/medium format but must admit, as already mentioned above I'm not sure the images in this thread are achieving your original intention...perhaps you could add your thoughts on the 645 vs for example the K5 ?

Simon

I'm a Yorkshireman living in Wales and spend most of my leisure time around Snowdonia, The Vale Of Clywd etc - I've stayed in Harlech a couple of times too....never had a single isue anywhere I've been in Wales, ok maybe it's taken me slightly longer than normal to be served in a couple of pubs in Conwy but that's about it...in fact I find the Welsh on the whole much friendlier than the Cestrians - I work day-to-day with both.

As with all experiences occassionally people have bad ones, I'd certainly not let that prevent you from visiting what is undoubtedly some of the best scenery the UK has to offer

Simon

If you're going to Chester then it would be a shame not to travel a little further so as not to miss Snowdonia - around 1hr travelling time

Simon

If NDgrads aren't available and multi-shot HDR not possible (I don't think I've ever used it anyway) I find the K5 so good at handling noise it's more than possible to underexpose by 2/3 stops to retain highlight detail and then just recover it in post-processing.

Obviously that's not possible here, if you want to recover the shot then maybe create several files from the single raw all exposed differently (-2, -1,0,+1 etc) and then run it through photomatics or similiar...this method can work well with the underexposure method too

Simon

Lovely shot,

I see you mention about buying the soft grads, I'd recommend trying these with landscapes before spending more cash...I think you'll find that the horizon line with Hard grads even on landscape shots isn't quite so obvious as you'd think, I just use a Hard 2/3 stop ND 95% of the time

Simon

Maybe the reviews are referring to full frame lenses when used on digital bodies as I still find it very important. I purchased the Da15mm Ltd recently and whilst the centre was very sharp the edges were disappointing when compared to the DA12-24...I sold the DA15mm as a result.

Simon

Unfortunately I think it's very difficult to get great shots of Aber falls but these are nice, give a good "feel" for the area and scenery around the place...wonderful walking area too

Simon