What Pentax gear could be next?

Survey results: the most demanded new lenses

By PF Staff in Pentax Rumors on Jun 22, 2011

Forum user RonHendricks1966 has recently polled our forum members in an attempt to find out what sorts of future Pentax products would be most demanded by current DSLR users.

The results show that the current Pentax lineup is lacking in several areas, some of which are only partially covered by third-party manufacturers, such as Sigma.  While it's clear that Pentax's recent lens releases were aimed at the intro-level market rather than serious amateurs or professionals, there's no doubt that the release of higher-end lenses would bring more respect to the brand as a whole.Thus, the survey results list several product recommendations for Pentax to consider.

The top two things on the list were:

1. An SDM-compatible 1.4x teleconverter
2. An improved, faster SDM focusing system similar to the current DC system used in the DA 18-135mm lens 

This result is hardly surprising, as Pentax currently has no K-mount teleconverter offerings, and the SDM system found on most DA and DA* lenses is slow and prone to malfunction. Since the new "DC" focusing system employed on the Pentax DA 18-135mm lens seemed like a great improvement, something similar should be adapted for the remainder of the Pentax SDM lineup as well.

Other demanded lenses were as follows:

• Fast weather-resistant primes, such as a DA-series 24mm or 135mm
• A DA*-series 85mm F1.4 portrait lens (see recent Sigma counterpart)
• A DA*-series 500mm F5.6 telephoto lens (recent Sigma counterpart)

These lenses would without a doubt be loved by professionals, portrait, and wildlife photographers and make the Pentax brand much more attractive overall to newcomers.

Finally, it seems that there's a large demand for the revival of the Pentax FA* 200mm F4 macro lens, which was arguably one of the sharpest lenses Pentax ever made.  While Pentax currently doesn't offer a macro beyond 100mm, Sigma has recently stepped up with a 150mm F2.8 macro, which may be a viable alternative for macro photographers in the meantime.

The survey also drew further conclusions, which may be viewed in the full PDF.

Discuss these results on the forum!