Skip to main content

Lens Review: Pentax DA 14mm f2.8



I picked up a Pentax DA 14mm f2.8 lens used locally for a good price around a month ago. It’s a rectilinear (flat field) wide angle lens designed for APS-C sized imaging sensors with a sizable aperture for this type of lens. Normally, I’d shy away from APS-C only lenses as I try to buy with the future in mind, but out of current offerings from Pentax all of their wide angle lenses to my knowledge only are able to cover the crop sensor. Considering the price and interesting properties of the lens I could not pass it up.

Check out the Pentax Super Wide Angle SMCP-DA 14mm f/2.8 ED (IF) Autofocus Lens through my affiliate links: 

As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!


Technical specifications for the lens:

  • Lens Mount: Bayonet
  • Lens Construction: 11 groups 12 elements
  • Angle of View: 90 degrees
  • Aperture: F2.8
  • Number of Diaphragm Blades: 6
  • Minimum Aperture: F22
  • Minimum Focusing Distance: 6.72 inches
  • Filter Diameter: 77mm
  • Maximum Magnification: 0.19X
  • Dimensions: 3.3” x 2.7” (83.5 x 69mm)
  • Weight: 14.8 oz.
  • Case: S100-200
  • Objective Cap: Lens Cap A 77mm
  • Hood: PH-RBH 77mm
  • Lens Aperture Ring: N/A
  • Tripod Adapter: No
  • Diaphragm Control: Fully Automatic
  • Focal Length: 14mm (equiv. 21mm for APS-C sensor cameras)


I have an overview video on Youtube.


Talk about the features:
14mm is a standard “ultra wide” angle lens for APS-C cameras. What sets this lens apart from many is that it has a reasonably large aperture of f2.8 which is generally a stop or two faster than many other wide angle lenses of a similar focal length. That larger aperture shows in the physical dimensions and weight of the lens, yet it’s far from unmanageable and I think matches quite well with K10D, K20D, K-7(5) camera bodies, especially when they have a grip attached. Part of the reason it’s not even larger is that it is very much unable to fill a full APS sized imaging frame as results from excellent PentaxForum users have shown by testing with film cameras. The lens takes 77mm filters, which are pretty standard for this size of lens, but are notably expensive when purchased new. The lens is excellent at focusing close to subjects, for example, subtracting 6.72 inches Minimum distance – 3.3 inches lens length – 1.79 inch register distance = able to focus on objects 1.63 inches from the front lens element! This can give some unique subject possibilities to the photographer. The focusing system is screw-drive type and reasonably fast. The manual focus ring does not turn when the camera is auto-focusing, which is a nice feature and it also supports Pentax’s quick-shift manual focusing ability.



What I like:

  • Seriously excellent at limiting chromatic aberration!
  • Seriously excellent sharpness, especially at MTF!
  • Quick-shift focusing ability without having the focus ring turn when AF is happening.
  • 14mm on APS-C is a nice focal length
  • Close focus ability
  • Use as a Rectilinear wide angle landscape lens is top notch.
  • A nice large f2.8 aperture that produces sharp images on my K-7 from f2.8 onward, however with visible vignetting comparing f2.8 to say f5.6 that I have noticed with limited testing so far.
  • Produces “star burst” style light sources.
  • Solid all metal barrel construction.
  • The bokeh in general is pleasing to my eyes around 80% of the time.

What I don’t like:

  • APS-C only lens.
  • Extreme edges are un-sharp with visible distortion on my lens, but I’ll admit I like the effect in some images.
  • The manual focus ring is “grainy” in feel with a considerable amount of friction when turning.
  • It’s a lot larger than Pentax’s newer DA 15mm F4 Limited lens.
  • Lens flare without the hood isn’t difficult to produce.
  • The 6 flat aperture blades can produce quite visible hexagon shaped bokeh bright spots at times.
  • Not specifically designed to be WR (weather resistant), so it could use an engineering refresh from Pentax.

Images with a bit of analysis:


This lens is excellent at controlling chromatic aberration.

Bright bokeh areas and flare (no lens hood in this image) result in hexagonal bright spots.

Rectilinear wide angle is a great photography tool.

The Star burst effect from point light sources is beautiful.

My initial set of photos taken with the lens (Smugmug Flickr limits free accounts to 1000 photos so these might not be available):

Here are a few images from the set…



Conclusion:
Overall I’m happy with this purchase, but also keep in mind I paid less than half what the current going price online is at. Before having a chance to pick it up, the lens was never on my radar as I have a 10-17mm fisheye and felt I didn’t need another wide angle. In retrospect, having a rectilinear wide angle is very very nice as I can produce quite different scenes compared to the fisheye lens at say 17mm where distortion is at the lowest point. Overall I’m extremely happy I bought the lens as it’s a great fit for many of the subjects I like photographing such as landscape and architectural. I would still seriously consider the lens at full retail price, but I would be on the fence for a while as it has a few drawbacks.



Popular posts from this blog

Viltrox AF FE 28mm f/4.5 VCM ASPH ED Lens Overview

Viltrox asked me if I wanted to take a look at this unique compact autofocus full-frame prime lens with a focal length of 28mm and a fixed f/4.5 aperture for Sony E-mount cameras. Viltrox agreed to my standard collaboration terms before sending me the lens.    In the video I talk about features, how it works in practice, and show photos I had taken on a photo walk with the Sony a7S as well as the APS-C a6000. Viltrox is starting this off as an Indiegogo campaign. They told me that it will eventually be sold through normal retailers: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/viltrox-af-28mm-f4-5-fe-chips-size-ultra-thin-lens They said it will be $99 USD or 109 Euros with discounts during the crowdfunding period. Check out Indiegogo for details. I am not an affiliate of that website. You can check on the status of availability through my usual affiliates: B&H Photo Video Amazon As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!    The front of the lens. Key Specifications:

First look at the Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 for Sony E-mount bought from KEH

I've use a Sony Alpha A6000 and the PZ 16–50mm F/3.5–5.6 OSS kit lens with my computer as a webcam for a long time now. It's a lower cost option that has been very consistent outputting 1080p at 30 FPS to a USB based HDMI capture device. The kit lens is generally fine, but it has a few quirks. The biggest issue is that throughout the zoom range the maximum aperture value is not fixed. This introduces technical challenges when I want to show detailed views of product or similar use cases. There are also other considerations I'll talk about later in this article. So I decided to buy the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C lens in E-mount as a replacement.  Links in this article are a mix of paid and through my affiliates. I earn from each in different ways. One is a flat fee and the others I earn from qualifying purchases. Considering them for your purchasing needs helps make the creation of this information viable!   I made a video unboxing the lens and trying it out with Open Br

7Artisans 85mm f/1.8 for Nikon Z-mount Overview

Let's take a look at the 7Artisans 85mm f/1.8 for Nikon Z-mount and compare it to the official Nikon 85mm f/1.8s lens. 7Artisans sent me this lens, but had to agree to my collaboration terms . They had no say in any content I produced and were not allowed to preview anything. My  full video on YouTube Check the lens out through 7Artisans official website store: https://7artisans.store/products/af-85mm-f1-8-full-frame-lens-for-z I am not affiliated with their website and online shop. I make no commissions through them.  See the 7artisans Photoelectric 85mm f/1.8 AF Lens through my links: Amazon.com ebay.com B&H Photo Video Adorama.com As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!   Build Quality and Features The 7Artisans lens comes with a metal casing and a metal mount. It also has a USB port in the mount for potential future firmware updates. The Nikon lens is on the left. It's got a manual focus ring, an aperture ring, and a focus mode switch. The Ni