Quote from James Warner on December 12, 2020, 7:05 pm

I didn't intend to purchase the Pentax DA 10-17mm fish eye lens. Like much of the gear that comes and goes through my hands it was thrown in with a larger bundle of gear, including the Pentax K-3 which I was mostly interested in. Still I couldn't help but giving it a few months of play time before passing it on. Here are my thoughts on the Pentax DA 10-17mm lens, and the good and bad of fish eye photography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cr9fXM9GNs

Let me be clear - this is the first fish eye lens I have used. Well, that's mostly true. I also used one of those screw on adapters that gives a fish eye look to your lens, at the cost of making everything appear unrecognizable. I don't count that.

Now I have used several ultra wide angle lenses. I've used the 15mm limited on Pentax, I own a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, but neither of those are fish eye lenses. The difference is in how the lens corrects distortion, and a fisheye lens is intentionally letting it run wild. It's up to the photographer to tame the beast for the subject matter benefit. That turned out to be exceptionally difficult for me.

Challenges of Fish Eye Photography

I would often keep my eye against the viewfinder and scan the world by moving the camera back and forth, up and down.

It's just hard to think in fisheye mode. And it's not just because the world looks different when you lift the camera up to your eye. It's that that difference changes dramatically depending on the angle you are pointing the lens, where you put the subject in the frame and where the horizon is. This is the case with composing any scene on any lens, but take that and amp the effect up ten notches and you got fish eye. I quickly discovered that harnessing that effect to your advantage takes a lot of skills.

Practicing subtle adjustments of framing with the Pentax DA 10-17mm lens made me more cognizant of my compositions with my other lenses. I would often keep my eye against the viewfinder and scan the world by moving the camera back and forth, up and down. Doing this helped me see how adjustments in angle or body position affected the scene in real-time. In fact, I would recommend this practice for any lens and any camera. When I went back to my Ricoh GR, or my Pentax DA* 300mm, I started to instinctively perform the same scan with micro adjustments. It's too soon to say what difference this has actually made, but it has already helped me find unique compositions I probably wouldn't have otherwise.

Pentax DA 10-17mm Build Quality

I always feel silly buying a several hundred dollar piece of camera gear. All for my simple hobby. However, that feeling is replaced with pride when I handle something with exceptional build quality and obvious craft. That was my experience with this lens.

It is a good weight in the hands: durable and high-quality, but not bulky. Cool to the touch metal on the elegant lens cap and built-in lens hood. Focal ring feels smooth and comfortable. Top notch quality Pentax is known for.

Built For APS-C, Sort Of Works On Full-frame

I shot it on APS-C, as most would, but for fun tried it on my full-frame Pentax K-1. Surprisingly, it works quite well in full-frame mode, with full coverage from 14mm on. Between 10-14mm you will start to see the lens hood creep into the shot. Apparently, there is a mod that removes the built-in lens hood to grant more coverage and even a circular image. I wasn't about to tear up this lens out of curiosity, so I didn't do that.

Pentax Forums has an excellent database of which DA lenses work on full-frame, including looking at certain focal lengths and apertures. I would agree with the consensus there that the corners are extra soft this way. See this link for more information.

Autofocus On Pentax DA 10-17mm Lens

Be careful not to bump the front element into that flower.

Autofocus is the fastest out of any Pentax lens I have used... but I say that kind of jokingly. Everything is in focus with this lens, sort of. The amount it has to move to focus from one point to another at 10mm is next to nothing. This is the case with any ultra wide angle lens. So, it's quick and accurate. Of course, it's slower when going from infinity to the closest focus distance.

Speaking of it, the closest focusing distance is surprisingly close and I consider that a nice bonus. The minimum focusing distance for the Pentax DA 10-17mm lens is 14 cm. When you consider the length of the lens is about half that, and then the mirror box is a bit more, you really do have to be careful not to bump the front element into that flower you're taking a picture of.

Image Quality With the Pentax DA 10-17mm Lens

The lens isn't terribly sharp even dead center stopped down, but it's good enough for my taste. I never was frustrated with it, and only really notice it when comparing. (Lens comparisons can cost you a lot of money, so best ignore that and focus on your images).

The older coatings really show their weakness with fringing in those extreme corners, especially under harsh light. That being said, there is a newer version of the lens that supposedly has better coatings. Also, no one is buying a fisheye for perfection. That's kinda the point, I suppose.

Zoomed into 17mm the lens looks more like a typical ultra wide angle lens, and that does make the lens fairly versatile. I saw myself using the fisheye for fun, and when I wanted a more traditional look, zooming in and reframing. Some of those optical weaknesses inherit with the design seem lessened in the longer focal lengths as well.

Summary of Thoughts Shooting the Pentax DA 10-17mm Lens

Call me conservative, but I prefer a standard wide angle over a fish eye lens any day. That being said, this was a fun experience and something new to try. As I mentioned, I feel my photography has improved from this practice of watching the subtleties of change as I make micro adjustments to the camera angle.

I want to know who out there shoots with fish eye lenses? What do you like to shoot with them and why? Feel free to share you favorite shots in the discussion forum.

Hope you're having a good season whereever you are, and remember, go out there and shoot whereever, with whatever, and until next time, happy snappin'

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