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The April Pop Photo gave high marks to the Pentax DA 12-24 zoom. It appears that it might have bested all other 12-24's and other wides... Especially for low distortion.
1. "Excellent category" sharpness and contrast through out the range.
2. SQF (subjective quality factor) scored almost identical to the Tokina, for those wondering if they might be the same design.
3. Particularly impressive were the low distortion numbers:
At 12 (.30 percent) (
at 18 (.06 percent) (Imperceptible distortion)
at 24 (.01 percent)
Compared to the 14 2.8 Pentax:
At 14: (.30 percent) (Light falloff gone by F 3.3, very impressive.
Compared to the Nikon 12-24:
At 12 (1.31 percent) (very visible)
At 18 (.56) (visible)
At 24 (.57) (visible)
Compared to the Canon 10-22:
At 10 (.52 percent)
At 14 (.11 percent)
At 20 (.22 percent)
Commenting on the Canon's numbers in the March issue: "No other ultrawide comes close" I think they will have to revise that after the old Pentax showing!
Compared to the Tokina:
At 12 (1.22 percent)
At 18 (.45 percent)
At 24 (.33 percent)
Compared to the Sigma 10-20:
At 10 (1.26 percent)
At 20 (.35 percent)
Compared to the Sigma 12-24
At 12 (.22 percent)
At 24 (.93 percent)
Tamron 11-18:
At 11 (1.01 percent)
At 18 (.55 percent)
4. Excellent vignetting numbers as well.
Light falloff gone by 5.6 at 12 and not noticable at all at 18 or 24.
This makes it the best all-around performer, on the charts anyway, of any zoom lens out there on the wide end, in my opinion. Let's all take advantage of that $100 rebate and get a 12-24! (at least those who haven't gotten one already...
I'm ordering mine soon!
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[ i have the pentax one and like it a lot but just thought the comparo might interest some of you ... shane]
