<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> At 22:40 29.1.2001 +0800, you wrote:
> >I always bring along with my Pentax FA20/f2.8 for taking
landscape
> >photographs. I satified with the results very much. Now, I would
like to
> >buy another ultra-wide angle lens of either 15mm or 17mm,
preferably an
> >automatic and fixed-focus lens. Does anyone have any suggestions
or
> >recommendations for me?
> >Chi-Wai
>
> You might consider this heretical, but have you thought of a
specialised
> rig: Cosina's Bessa L (non-slr body) with their 15mm rectilinar
lens +
> dedicated finder, it should run $-wise perhaps even quite less
than a new A
> 15/3.5 from pentax. I read reviews about it telling it's a very
fine lens,
> also would be propably very flare prone and much, much smaller
than the
> pentax 15/3.5. Of course, it's worth trying it out yourself, at
least in
> the shops, or renting. You might not like having to use non-slr
finder and
> scale focusing. OTOH, the lens is in M39, so usable on Leica LTM
bodies if
> you have some and save money off the Bessa L. And they introduced
a 12mm
> rectilinear lens in M39 too!
The Bessa-L with Super-wide Heliar (15mm) combo is probably the most
economical and lightest choice. It is not any more flare prone than
Pentax 15/3.5 and much less so than the new Tamron 14/2.8. Don't
worry about scale focusing. It doesn't matter with such wide
lenses. DOF is your friend. One problem all such lenses suffer
from is light fall-off. The other issue is use of filters. Pentax
comes with built-in yellow, orange, skylight, and UV. Tamron and
Sigma has a slot for gelatin filters. The Ultra-wide Heliar (12mm)
has an optional 77mm filter adapter. In practical terms that means
that only Ultra-wide Heliar will allow you to use a polarizer (but
it's still a pain).
One more consideration. When using such wide lenses, it's very
important to keep your camera levelled. With SLR lenses, I like to
use a grid screen (if your camera allows interchangeable screens).
Voigtlander sells a nifty (but expensive) level which along with
double shoe adapter lets you look at the viewfinder and level
simultaneusly. For more information on Voigtlander check
http://www.thkphoto.com/catalog/voigtlander.html or Stephen Gandy's
page http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm.
> It's just a suggestion to look at non-slr options too. I don't
have any
> _actual_ experience with this lens and camera, so I am only
offering
> suggestion to another option for you to investigate ;)
Just so you don't get the wrong idea, I think that Pentax 15/3.5 is
a truly superb lens that has stood the test of time. It is the
first mass produced lens with aspherical elements and the first mass
produced rectilinear lens shorter than 18mm. Yet, I think it is
better than any of recent competitors including Nikon, Canon, Sigma,
and Tamron.
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