Shinichi Hanawa

HD PENTAX-D FA21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -0.7EV WB: Daylight Custom Image: Reversal Film

The new HD PENTAX-D FA 21mm F2.4 ED Limited is classified as an ultra-wide-angle lens. For a snapshot photographer like me, its angle of view is the widest I can imagine seeing with my own eye. If it were any wider, I wouldn’t be able to visualize what I’m actually photographing until I look into the camera’s viewfinder. I believe that, in this sense, the lens challenges the limit of human visual perception.

When I look at a scene spreading in front of me, I decide what I want to preserve in my image and then look into the viewfinder. When the viewfinder image closely resembles the image I had visualized in my mind, I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

I’m delighted that this angle of view is now available in the form of a Limited-series lens. For me, Limited-series lenses are not elite lenses developed using the most advanced optical technologies, but are lenses specifically created to achieve the optical characteristics the designers wanted to realize. Based on this concept, this lens has been created to provide very specific characteristics, which photographers must accept when using this lens! In other words, it’s not the lens that adapts to the photographer’s creative intentions; the lens demands that the photographer adapt their shooting style and creative goals to the lens.

I have no doubt that the HD PENTAX-D FA 21mm F2.4 ED Limited is a state-of-the-art lens. It delivers excellent resolution and assures high-speed autofocus operation, and I feel that its exterior design is more refined than the previous Limited-series lenses. I’m also impressed by its appearance, which showcases the exclusiveness of the Limited series. I was slightly disappointed by the lack of an aperture ring, but I guess I must accept this as the result of advancement in electronic control technology. Besides, it retains the distance indices. I like the way the distance indicator shifts even during autofocus operation. Even though I hardly ever rely on the indicator to fix the focus on a subject, I’m pleased by the fact that something that I’ve long been comfortable with is still here on the newest lens. Mounted on the PENTAX K-1 Mark II camera body, the lens assures a good balance in terms of size, even though it appears to somewhat overemphasize its presence as a single-focus lens.

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -1EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

In image rendition, the lens reduces the brightness to a comfortable level at the fringes of the image field at the F2.4 open aperture. It’s strange that I simply accept this as a part of the optical characteristics of the Limited series. In terms of optical design, it may be better to limit the brightness decline to a minimum. From the standpoint of a photographer, however, a considerable decline would make the lens more interesting and attractive to use. In principle, a number of the Limited-series lenses demonstrate this particular characteristic at open aperture. That’s what I like most about these lenses.

This lens has a considerable brightness decline at the fringes when set at the F2.4 open aperture. By closing the aperture down by one stop, however, it produces a uniform brightness level across the image field. When you want to avoid any decline in brightness, all you have to do is close the aperture down slightly. I personally believe that a certain amount of decline in brightness creates a sense of depth and solidity in the captured image. So I capture most images at open aperture.

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -1.7EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -1.3EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

This article carries images that I captured in Okinawa. At the time of shooting, Okinawa was experiencing the heaviest rainfall in history. The result was that most of the images were captured in the rain or under a heavily overcast sky. But it actually worked in my favor. I position the Limited-series lenses as ones that can truthfully recreate the ambience of such gloomy weather. Of course, they also capture sunny, clear blues skies as they really are, but I think that they work best with gloomy skies.

The 21mm ultra-wide-angle focal length doesn’t produce eye-catching images by aimlessly capturing sweeping landscapes. Rather, it produces interesting images by focusing attention on a single subject and taking advantage of the wide perspective in image composition. Its F2.4 open aperture also gives me an advantage in emphasizing the main subject, because it captures the subject clearly and crisply while obscuring the background to a certain extent. Although ultra-wide-angle lenses are generally used in pan-focus photography because of their wide depth of field, this lens tempts me to capture shallow-depth images with a beautifully defocused background.

Since this is an ultra-wide-angle lens, I cannot capture everything with it alone. I believe, however, that it’s the perfect Limited-series lens for scenic and snapshot photography — the one that you want to carry in your camera bag all the time, and take it with you everywhere.

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -0.7EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -0.7EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -1.7EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

K-1 Mark II+HD PENTAX-D FA 21mmF2.4ED Limited DC WR
Aperture: F2.4 Exposure Compensation: -1.7EV WB: Auto Custom Image: Reversal Film

Shinichi Hanawa
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Born in Tokyo, Hanawa is a freelance photographer capturing people as his main subject. In addition to contributing photos and articles to camera magazines, he also photographs actors, media celebrities and politicians. His work includes portrait photography captured overseas; snapshot photography of cityscapes; and the Yoru-suna! (“Nighttime Snapshots”) project, capturing nighttime city scenes. He has held a number of photo exhibitions.