The Pentax DA 20-40mm Limited Zoom is Now Official!

A very compact lens with a fine metal finish

By PF Staff in Pentax Announcements on Nov 7, 2013

The HD PENTAX-DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 ED Limited DC WR zoom lens for K-Mount was officially announced today by Ricoh. This latest addition to the Pentax lens line-up comes complete with all the recent refinements in lens technology:

• The fast and reliable DC Autofocus Motor
• SP (Super Protect) Coating on the front element to repel dirt and grease
• HD (High Definition) nano coating to reduce flare and ghosting and increase contrast
• Weather seals to keep dust and moisture out

As if this wasn't enough Pentax also deployed:

• Super-low dispersion and ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lens elements for increased sharpness and increased control over lens aberrartions
• Rounded aperture blades for a smooth bokeh
• Metal lens barrel
• Quick-shift

With all this and the exclusive "Limited" design of the lens barrel we believe we're looking at a real winner in all aspects.

This new zoom complements the limited-series HD Pentax-DA prime lenses: 15 mm, 21 mm, 35 mm macro, 40 mm, and 70 mm. This range of "Limited" lenses constitutes the broadest series of top shelf compact APS-C lenses optimized for digital of any manufacturer.

The new zoom comes with a dedicated lens hood made of metal, MH-RA55:

The hood is quite small as necessitated by the shortest focal length of 20 mm - when we get to lay our hands on this lens we will test how effective the hood is in actual use. But is sure is nice looking!

So what is there not to like?

• Some will perhaps be disappointed that the lens is variable aperture going from F2.8 to 4 rather than a fixed F2.8. The advantage of the variable aperture design is that the lens can be made more compact. The disadvantage of F4 over F2.8 is a less shallow depth of field at the long end.
• Others may balk at the price. The suggested retail price in the US is $999, but considering that the lens could replace two prime lenses (21 mm and 40 mm), the price perhaps isn't all that outrageous.
• No support for screw-drive autofocus. We for our part do not regret this - time has come to abandon the old and noisy screw-drive technology and the vast majority of Pentax DSLRs out there support built-in AF motors.

Oh, did we mention that this new lens also will be available in silver?

Click to enlarge and browse

This new lens goes on sale in December 2013. We do not have the exact date but will let you know as soon as we know.

For the full specifications consult the entry for the HD Pentax-DA 20-40 mm F2.8-4 ED Limited DC WR in our lens database.  The lens is now available for pre-order at B&H.