Pentax has been known as a producer of many fisheye lenses and now they are releasing this Pentax 10-17mm lens exclusive for cropped sensor DSLR. You can get the best price from Amazon
Note that if you are using a Canon and Nikon user, Pentax also made this glass under the Tokina brand.
This is a true fisheye optics with an angle of view starting from 180 to 100 degree.
Fisheye glass is not a glass that you would normally use for everyday photography due to the huge amount of barrel distortion.
It is made deliberately with that kind of characteristics for creative photography purpose.
Generally, people use this glass for aerial, underwater and indoor photography.
I would not recommend this optics for most photographers out there. However, if you are bored with conventional photo taking, then fisheye optics can be a fun one to have.
Let’s see the complete Pentax 10-17mm review below.
Specs • Performance • Sample Image • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Pentax 10-17mm Specs
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Official Name:
Pentax SMC DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ED IF Fisheye
Focal Length Markings:
10, 12, 14, 17mm
Features:
SMC – Super Multi Coating – Minimizes flare in the glass elements.
DA – Only compatible with cropped sensor DSLR camera.
ED – Extra Low Dispersion Glass – Technology to make the image sharper by correcting the light wavelength that travels through the elements.
IF – Internal Focusing – The physical dimension does not change during focusing.
Fisheye – An optic that is deliberately made with extreme amount of barrel distortion for creative purpose.
Full Technical Specs
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 8 / 10 |
| Angle of View | 180 – 100° |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 6 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22-32 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 5.52ft. |
| Filter Thread | n/a |
| Weight | 11.3oz. (320g) |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | ø2.7 x 2.8″ (63 x 71.5mm) |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 0.23X – 0.39X |
| Available at | Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama |
Optical Performance
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Pentax 10-17mm Sharpness
Center sharpnes is great at any aperture and focal length.
Border sharpness has different characteristics for 10mm and 17mm.
At 10mm, it is sharp at any aperture. However, at 17mm, it is soft at the widest aperture of f/4.5.
To get maximum sharpness here, shoot at f/8.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Great | Great | Excellent | Great |
| 17mm | Great | Great | Excellent | Great |
Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Good | Good | Great | Great |
| 17mm | Fair | Good | Great | Great |
Distortion
Being a fisheye type, barrel distortion is made to be excessive for creative purpose.
See the barrel distortion below for 10mm and 17mm respectively.
Pentax 10-17mm Distortion 10mm
Pentax 10-17mm Distortion 17mm
Vignetting
This is a fisheye optics, so it is not possible to test the vignetting figures.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration is very high at 10mm at every aperture.
It will decrease as you go through the focal length and eventually will get low at 17mm at any focal length.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4.5 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 10mm | Very High | Very High | Very High | Very High |
| 17mm | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Build Quality
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Materials
Good quality plastic with metal.
Zoom Ring
Zoom ring operates smoothly here and there is no zoom creep. It will extend a bit at 10mm and 17mm. The shortest length here will be at 12mm.
Focusing
Autofocus ring operates smoothly as well. Because of the absence of the filter thread it is impossible to mount a filter here.
Like many Pentax lenses, there is no internal autofocus motor and has to rely on the camera’s drive. Therefore, you will hear a bit of a noise during autofocus.
Autofocus speed is very fast and accurate. Manual focusing is instantly possible when the autofocus have achieved focus via the Quick Shift Focus system.
Image Stabilization
The Image Stabilization feature is installed in the camera body, not on the lenses. Check your DSLR camera if it has Image Stabilization feature.
Compatibility
The DA designation means that this glass is only compatible with cropped sensor or APS-C DSLR camera. It should not be used with a full frame DSLR or 35mm film SLR camera.
Sample Image
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Below are some sample shots that I took using this unique optics. Click on any thumbnail to open the image.
Get the best price online from these sites: Amazon
Conclusion
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Here I will be summarizing this Pentax 10-17mm lens review.
For a fisheye lens, it has a fairly decent optical sharpness. Center sharpness is good at 10mm and 17mm. However, border sharpness is a bit weak at 17mm, especially at the first two apertures.
Chromatic aberration is only an issue at 10mm at every aperture. This is quite a common problem among a fisheye lens because it is very hard to control the figures due to the natural characteristics of the lens.
Build quality is quite decent as well. The autofocus is a tad noisy, but it is accurate and fast.
In conclusion, I think they can do better with this lens. I would rate everything as average. However, if you want to get a Fisheye lens for your DSLR, then this is your only option.
Drawbacks
- Soft borders at 17mm at f/4.5 and f/5.6
- Very high chromatic aberration at 10mm at any aperture
Positives
- Sharp on the center at every focal length
- Chromatic aberration is well controlled above 10mm
- Border sharpness is pretty good below 17mm
- Fast and accurate autofocus mechanism
Good For
- Aerial photography
- Underwater photography
- Creative photography shooting
Not So Good For
- Normal photography shooting
What Others Are Saying…
by “K. Gittins”
Sometimes you just need to go to the extreme – in this case it is really wide angle. In my old Canon film-camera days, I had the 15mm 2.8 fisheye which was an even bigger chunk of glass…
Click here to see the full review
by “G. Chinn”
Every bit as advertised. A most unusual lense. It takes a while getting use to the lack of an apature ring but the lense is everybit worth it. If you are in a small room and need to take in the…
Click here to see the full review
Where to Buy
Support this site, buy the Pentax 10-17mm lens from these sites (best price online):
Amazon (Best Price + FREE Shipping)
See the related post below to see more options.
Thanks for reading this Pentax 10-17mm review and hope you’ll be able to make a good purchasing decision.
| Lens Score | |
|---|---|
| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
Tags: pentax 10-17, pentax 10-17mm, pentax da 10-17mm
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