The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Pentax 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED Fisheye and the Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Pentax 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED Fisheye is the longer of the two lenses at 72mm. The Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 with a length of 36mm, is 36mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Pentax 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED Fisheye also has a larger diameter of 68mm compared to the Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7's 58mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 weighs 115g, 64% (205g) lighter than the Pentax 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED Fisheye's weight of 320g.
Lens Mounts
The Pentax 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED Fisheye has the Pentax KAF lens mount whereas the Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 has the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Pentax K-3 III Mono, Pentax KF and Pentax K-3 III for the Pentax KAF Mount and OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 for the Micro Four Thirds Mount.
Focal Range
Pentax 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED Fisheye has a focal range of 10-17mm and
1.7X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
15-25.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
On the other hand, the Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 15mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 30mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
