William Robb said: >The A 15mm f/3.5 offers 35mm coverage with 13 elements in 12 groups, >3.1 inches long by 3.3 inches in diameter, and a comparatively >porcine 20.9 ounces. It also gives up uncomfortably close to a stop >of speed.
Assuming it's useful wide open, which I've heard that it might not be for some people's standards--if the 14 is better wide open then it's more like a two stop difference. I haven't had the money to fiddle with anybody's 15mm lens to know how good they are at any aperture--most of the 15mm lens designs are rather old. I bought a cheap sigma 14mm lens and have regretted it every time I use it. >The Nikkor 14mm f/2.8 is also very big, a little bigger than the >Pentax 15mm and 2.5 ounces heavier. Wrong comparison. The 15/3.5 Pentax dates optically to 1974. The 14/2.8 Nikkor to the late '90s or early '00s. Compare the 15/3.5 Pentax to the 15/3.5 AIS Nikkor which is much closer to a contemporary. The 14 Pentax is much more rightly compared to the 14 Nikkor, despite one being 35mm and the other being APS-format. >While the APS coverage lens is certainly smaller and lighter, it >isn't hugely smaller, and surprisingly heavy. One doesn't know what a 14/2.8 non-DA Pentax would look like. The 12-24 APS-format Nikkor isn't small, light, or cheap as most people assumed an APS-format lens would be, but it's probably a lot smaller and cheaper than it would be in 35mm format (assuming you could even do it with 35mm coverage...) >There is certainly the matter of cost to factor in, the 15mm was a >bloody expensive lens. What gets me is that I HAVE seen 15/3.5 Pentax lenses (K-mount, never M42, of which there are apparently less than 1000) for sale, for less than $1000 used. The 15/3.5 Nikkor, which is fairly common on the used market right now, goes for over $1000 despite the availibility of Nikkor and third-party 14/2.8 lenses that are AF, newer, and from everything I've hear much better optically. The 14mm Nikkor goes for something like $1300 new--I wish I'd bought one instead of the crappy Sigma I did buy. DJE
