PentaxD FA F2.8ED SDM WR 15-30mm f/2.8 Ultra-Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Pentax K

It's a big heavy hunk of glass but it performs very well. Only taken it out on one "real" shoot and it performed very nicely on my K-1.Low CA, low distortion for how wide it is, quick accurate and quiet AF!

I love this lens, spent last Saturday shooting some architectural images and the color rendition surprised me. I typically use a polarizer but this lens isn't really conducive to using one without a substantial monetary investment. To my surprise it produced an insanely great blue saturation in the sky without using one. It was really sharp as well, but that is fairly common with most lenses in this range. This is one of two lenses offered by Pentax that are for the most part contracted out to Tamron to manufacture. I've seen people claim they are just re-branded, but I had a chance to compare the two side-by-side, and they are difinitely different, the Pentax obviously has weather seals, and you can also see the differen coloration in the lens multi-coatings, the autofocus also behaves differently. I suspect Tamron used a lot of the inner element supports and outer barrel components, but playing with them together you can see Pentax has incorporated a lot of their own requirements, technologies, and processes in their version, so I wouldn't call it a sister lens to the Tamron, more like kissin' cousins. The keystoning distortion at 15mm was expected, but was also easily corrected in Lightroom. Absolutely great landscape lens, don't leave home without it.

Took the plunge and ordered this wonderful lens; was a toss up between a new laptop or a new lens, thankfully this lens won. Wow! The 15 - 30mm lens arrived and it is much larger than expected. Photos made with Pentax K-1 and edited with ON1, Photoshop Elements 14, finished with NIK Define and Sharpen; exception being the photo of my camera with the affixed lens which was made with my Samsung S8+ phone camera.Every other lens I've ever used with the K-1 before is dwarfed by this beast. Clouds be heeded, I headed out to see what this glass can do 😎 First impressions after walking is ... wow. Can not believe how much the field of vision is changed at 15mm. As a walk around and hand held lens you'd best be doing some weight lifting lol. There is considerable weight added to the camera. Image quality with the K-1 is excellent and much improved over the KIT 28 -105mm. All images shot handheld with camera HDR.I Walked this piece on a mostly cloudy day and pushed it through "macro" art shots as well as wide open landscapes; paired with the K-1 it didn't miss a beat; quick and silent auto focus. The shutter click made more noise than the focus motor. I did note CA on some heavy backlit images but did not proceed with editing; it may be corrected in post processing however wanted to post my first impressions without a lot of time attributed to post processing.If you are shooting Full Frame on a K-1 I suspect you will be greatly rewarded with an investment on this piece of glass. I am retiring my Kit 28 - 105mm and the post purchased 31mm Limited glass to offset the cost on this lens ;)

I haven't had a chance to give this lens a thorough workout yet, but from what I have seen, I really love it. Ultra sharp across the zoom range, great in low light, fast and quiet focusing, and the range at the wide end will make this an awesome addition to my K1 arsenal. It's big, it's heavy, but I knew that when I ordered it. My only nit, and the reason for only 4 stars is the fixed hood, and inability to accept standard threaded filters.

The first thing you notice about this lens is it's heft. The lens is a bit on the large side, and very solid. While I prefer the focus ring toward the front and the zoom ring to the rear towards the body, both are easily accessible without moving my hand's grip. There is a nice radius that cradles your fingers forward of the zoom ring that balances this lens well and makes it a joy to hold.The next thing you notice once you mount the lens and start to use it is the autofocus. When testing it at 15mm you wonder if it's broken. "How could I possibly have focus?" you ask. "I didn't even hear anything, and I have an array of SDM lenses, including Pentax * lenses!" you'll say. Then you zoom to 30mm and try to put this focus motor through it's paces. Near, far, it doesn't matter. This lens acquires precise focus before the pressure signal fires from your finger to your brain.Yes, it's that fast. And it's silent. At the extremes of focus there is a slight sound to be heard in the quietest of rooms... if you're listening for it. And the lens grabs focus so fast you'll have to try to listen a second and third time just to verify that you did indeed actually hear a sound!With weather sealing and a 2.8 maximum aperture throughout the entire zoom range, I'm convinced the only thing holding this lens back from the D-FA* badge is the fact that it's a re-branded Tamron lens. I can see why Pentax went with Tamron for this lens though. This thing is stellar. Having danced back and forth for a while trying to decide whether to preorder this for use with my new K-1; I've got to say, this lens is a no-brainer. If you're picking up the K-1 and love to shoot ultrawide, this lens is a must have!

One of my favorite Pentax FF lenses. Great for a landscape type walk around lens. The weather resistance and image quality was what sold me with this rather than having gone with the cheaper options. I don't see this leaving my K1 very often as it is a very versatile lens. Heavy and big but worth a little extra weight for the awesome results. Going to be my travel and Astro workhorse. Pick one up, you won't regret it.

Razor sharp detail,Fantastic lens.

Den Makel, schlechtere Ergebnisse als eine Festbrennweite zu liefern, hat dieses Zoom nicht. Im Gegenteil, die schwierigen WW-Brennweiten beherrscht es bravourös. Bei 15mm sieht man noch eine deutliche Tonnen-Verzerrung, die mit größerer Brennweite abnimmt und sich bei 30mm sogar leicht ins Gegenteil verkehrt. Mit einer aktuellen Pentax Kamera kann man das automatisch korrigieren lassen: im Menü -> Objektivfehlerkorrektur->Verzerrungskorrektur. Bei den CA ist es auch so, dass man bei diesen Brennweiten nicht zu kritisch sein darf. Bei FF sind sie am Rand deutlich, bei APS-C jedoch kaum merkbar.Ich habe dieses Objektiv für die K1 gekauft, die eine Vollformatkamera ist. Mit etwas mehr als 1kg ist es nicht gerade ein Leichtgewicht und billig ist es auch nicht. Die Frontlinse ist ziemlich stark kugelig, wodurch das Aufsetzen eines Filters oder eines Schutzglases unmöglich ist. Dafür ist die Sonnenblende fest verbaut, man kann sie also nicht verlieren, trägt aber zum "bulligen" Aussehen bei. Der Autofokus ist sehr leise und schnell, dennoch sollte man warten, bis der Piepston kommt, bevor man den Auslöser durchdrückt. In meiner Testserie sind ein paar unscharfe Aufnahmen dabei, weil ich offenbar zu ungeduldig war.Pentax ist mit diesem Objektiv ein großer Wurf gelungen. Es gehört zwar nicht zur Reihe der besonderen, durch einen Stern in der Produktbezeichnung gekennzeichneten Objektive, ist aber trotzdem von sehr hoher Qualität. Die Frontlinse wird durch die SP (Super-Protect) Beschichtung geschützt, sodass sich das zusätzliche Anbringen eines Schutzglases erübrigt. Es hat praktisch 2 Sonnenblenden, eine äußere, feststehende und eine innere, die sich beim Zoomen mit dem Objektiv mitbewegt. Bei 30mm Brennweite ist das Objektiv zurückgezogen (die Frontlinse befindet sich dann sozusagen in einem Tunnel), wodurch sich der Sichtwinkel verkleinert (61.9° laut Exif-Daten). Bei 15mm Brennweite ist die Frontlinse ganz vorne, was einen größeren Sichtwinkel von 100,4° ergibt.Fazit: eindeutig Kaufempfehlung, wenn man diese Brennweiten braucht oder einfach sein Sortiment vervollständigen möchte.

I have only taken maybe a dozen shots, not to keep but to test the lens.The clarity is fantastic, focus is silent,fast and sharp.Ample wide angle capability with some distortion but compared to my 10mm cropped lens way less distortion. Image brightness great right to the outer edges.I have read reviews saying its heavy but I dont notice it at all, mind though i mostly walk around shooting freehand with a sigma 50-500mm.I would definitely recommend this lens to anyone that's looking for a lens capable of getting in more of the surroundings when in tight places.

The lens performance is very sharp from corner to corner on my Pentax K-1. It is all I need for those grand scenics. The only negative is the weight, which makes walking around with it around your neck a bit chafing; I keep it in my camera bag and put it on when needed. I'm very, very happy with it, and can recommend it if you don't mind the weight.

Es ist das beste Objektiv, dass ich mir als Amateur je geleistet habe, eine neue Dimension. Jetzt zahlt sich das Vollformat der K1 erst so richtig aus. Vor dem Kauf sollte man bedenken: das gute Stück wiegt sein Teil.