2018 Pentax K-Mount Lens Roadmap

New 70-200mm F4 joins other planned lenses

By JonPB in CP+ 2018 on Mar 1, 2018

Ricoh Imaging has released the updated 2018 roadmap for K-Mount lenses. Eight future lenses for Pentax cameras are listed, including a new addition: a D FA 70-200mm F4 telezoom.

The following lenses are to be released in "2018 or later:"

• HD Pentax-DA★ 11-18mm F2.8ED DC AW (2018 Spring)
• HD Pentax-D FA★ 50mm F1.4 SDM AW (2018 Spring)
• HD Pentax-D FA 70-200mm F4 (2019 Spring)
• HD Pentax-D FA★ 85mm F1.4 (2019)
• Large Aperture Wide-Angle Single Focus Lens (2019 or later)
• Ultra Wide-Angle Single Focus Lens (2019 or later)
• Fish-Eye Zoom Lens (2019 or later)
• Telephoto Zoom Lens (2019 or later)

This roadmap follows the recent announcement of the DA★ 11-18mm and D FA★ 50mm. The D FA★ 85mm F1.4 is now planned for 2019, and Ricoh Imaging is confirming the ongoing development of the other lenses.

Full-Frame Lenses

With seven of eight lenses in development being full-frame compatible, Ricoh is signaling its continued commitment to modernizing the FA lens lineup.

In comparison to the 2017 roadmap, the D FA★ 50mm F1.4 and D FA★ 85mm F1.4 lenses have been given full marketing names, indicating that they are moving closer to release. Indeed, the 50mm can be expected this spring, the 85mm will likely reach photographers next year.

The D FA 70-200 F4 lens could be entirely new, or it might be the naming of the previously listed "telephoto zoom lens." Either way, there remains a "telephoto zoom lens" of approximately 75-250mm on the roadmap that is expected to complement the current D FA★ 70-200 F2.8 along with the newly named D FA 70-200 F4—perhaps this could be a DA★ 60-250 F4 modified to work well on full frame?

The "ultra wide-angle single focus lens" and "fish-eye zoom lens" remain listed but without any new detail since their introduction in the 2016 roadmap.

For the full-frame (FA) lens lineup, click on the image below to enlarge or view the roadmap as a high-resolution PDF.

APS-C Lenses

While there is only one APS-C lens listed on the roadmap, it is an important one: the "DA wide zoom" that has been on the roadmap since at at least 2012. The DA★ 11-18mm will join the DA★ 16-50 and DA★ 50-135 to offer a full complement of durable, weather sealed, F2.8 zooms for the Pentax DA system. Ricoh anticipates releasing the DA★ 11-18mm this Spring.

For the full APS-C (DA and FA) lens lineup, click on the image below to enlarge or view the roadmap as a high-resolution PDF.

More Details Expected Soon

Pentax regularly announces and previews future products at the CP+ camera & photo imaging show, and we expect 2018 will be no different. This year's exhibit will be hosted from Thursday, March 1, through Sunday, March 4, and we will provide you with updates when we have them.