[kevinschoenmakers]

This is just for fun.

It's nearly 2011, the year in which Pentax will launch its very own mirrorless camera. The task is yours to come up with a kit of two lenses, only requirement is that they are 'different' (this is Pentax) and not too expensive. The sensor is APS-C so pick your mm's accordingly.

I'll start.

15-30mmf5.6
Small, slow but sharp from wide-open walk-around zoom that goes from wide to normal. The zoomrange is modest, but the optical quality is better than the usual 18-55s.

50mm1.7
Remake of the A/F/FA lens we all love. Small, great for portraits on APS-C and allows for shallow DOF.

[ShowMeTheMoney]

I wouldn't mind a compact 15-30 f/4 lens + a 35mm equivalent fast-ish lens.

Although, I'd also like 24mm, 35mm, 50mm equivalent pancakes, if physically possible.

I'd also prefer GF1/Pen/NEX like bodies with an articulating LCD similar to the NEX-5 (flips-up) - great for shooting from the hip. Don't like the flip-to-the-side LCD's of Canon's and the G1/GH1/2.

[-Mous-]

I don't believe Pentax bringing out a mirrorless camera at all. They would be really late starting to compete with MFT / NEX / NX. And what mount would they choose? A new mount would be really hard to push, and existing mounts wouldn't be the Pentax way (imho).

Maybe Pentax should bring out an NX mount mirrorless camera. With SMC versions of the available Samsung lenses. Or maybe some nice other pancakes There's already a K-mount adapter fot NX, so why not?

[kevinschoenmakers]

I wouldn't mind a compact 15-30 f/4 lens + a 35mm equivalent fast-ish lens.

Although, I'd also like 24mm, 35mm, 50mm equivalent pancakes, if physically possible.

I'd also prefer GF1/Pen/NEX like bodies with an articulating LCD similar to the NEX-5 (flips-up) - great for shooting from the hip. Don't like the flip-to-the-side LCD's of Canon's and the G1/GH1/2.

Come on, be more creative!

Also, we're talking lenses. Forget bodies.

I don't believe Pentax bringing out a mirrorless camera at all.

This is for fun. Forget about reality.

[abacus07]

14-16mm, 26-32mm and a 50-60mm pancake. All primes somewhere in those ranges.

I'm willing to give up aperture to get a smaller lens so they'll probably all have to be f4 (or slower). If I have to pick one lens to be fast it would be the 28mm since 50 (or 55mm) is too long to be used in most indoor situations. Maybe they could make a 24 slow pancake lens and a 32mm fast lens (larger).

But in reality I would just be happy if they set up the mirrorless system to communicate with the K mount lenses and have a smallish adapter. I definitely don't have the funds to support two lens collections. Especially with the mirrorless since they would all be new and full priced.

[timh]

As we're in the realm of fantasy, how about.. NX mount mirrorless camera and a series of new lenses that fit both K and NX mounts - essentially NX mount lenses with built in K-mount converters. That way you can buy a lens that'll work on your K-5 and your new ultra-compact EVIL.

10mm pancake, 30mm pancake, new 18-55 DANXWR, and 55-300 DANXWR or whatever

[eljaco]

Mmm, what about a 18-55, and some pancakes such as 21, 40 or 70
Too down to earth I guess

[kevinschoenmakers]

People, people, 2 lenses! Not 4, not 5, not 3, 2. Stick to the rules :P

[mlatour]

If by 'mirrorless camera' you mean 'EVIL-type' camera body,
here's my predictions:

If current K-mount NOT standard equipment on new EVIL body:

standard lens : 15-45mm (x1.5 APS-C sensor)
optional lens : 50-250mm (x1.5 APS-C sensor)

If an 'EVIL-mount' to K-mount adaptor is available, very few specific EVIL-mount lenses at first
other than the 2 kit lenses, so easy upgrade to the rest of the current Pentax lens line-up.

At first, the new EVIL system would not targeted for advanced enthusiasts or pros (K-5's market)
but rather former Point-n-Shoot users looking a step up from their current cameras,
primes not a priority, most of these buyers want superzooms or telephoto lenses.

No new EVIL-mount prime lens until market acceptance of Pentax EVIL system is proven.

Michel

[paperbag846]

If k mount:

Pick any two DA limiteds.

Mine? DA 21 / 70 (the two I don't have )

[abacus07]

At first, the new EVIL system would not targeted for advanced enthusiasts or pros (K-5's market)
but rather former Point-n-Shoot users looking a step up from their current cameras,
primes not a priority, most of these buyers want superzooms or telephoto lenses.

No new EVIL-mount prime lens until market acceptance of Pentax EVIL system is proven.

Michel

They also want compact size. So a prime and a zoom are probably what you're looking at. Something in the 20-50mm zoom range (if 1.5x crop) and a general purpose 30mm pancake. This is what the NEX did except they put out a 16mm pancake (1.5x crop) which might frustrate a lot of new users.

[georgweb]

Good fun idea Kevin, and it probably is worth a thought concerning our next move anyway :-)

I don't see the point of having a huge lens with a camera half as big or even less. There go all your zoom lenses and the (D)SLR primes as well.

So I'm stranded with prime lenses specifically made for mirrorless cameras either or 35mm cine lenses in c-mount or similar. There are nice f/1.2 or 1.4 rangefinder lenses from the likes of Leica, Zeiss or Voigtländer. AFAIC all of them are too big for the next camera and I could not pay them anyway and that's no fun.

So here goes:

Lens number one: Voigtlander Heliar 50mm f/3.5 (on Sony NEX) - Review / Test Report

Source: photozone.de


And lens number two: Staeble Lineogon 3.5/35 (the lens on the right)

Source: kameramuseum.de >>> Die Sammlung Kurt Tauber: Super Paxette

The revolving viewfinder is nice also :-)

[mlatour]

I think a lot of folks here are stuck on the idea that a new EVIL camera
must be thin and compact like the Sony pictured above, basicaly a Point-n-Shoot
with a large lens screwed on.

When I think of the EVIL concept, I think of my old trusty FUJI S9100
Fujifilm FinePix S9600 / S9100: Digital Photography Review

-size and ergonomics similar to my K-x,
-EVF performance/clarity quite good for an older design,
(heck, it auto-focuses better than my current K-x!)
-no mirror or any other moving parts, faster flash sync speed

but it has a fixed 28-300mm (35mm equivalent) optical zoom lens

so now, imagine the possibility to use all your Pentax or other
third-party K-mount lenses you own to that type of camera.

My S9100 is still a good performer for a camera designed back in 2005,
I can just imagine how good something designed using 2011+ technology would be...

If Pentax introduces one, I swear I'll be the first to buy it.

Michel

[ShowMeTheMoney]

Something similar to those Leica lenses - the 3-in-1 "primes" - what are they called? The Leica WATE/MATE lenses(?) would be interesting. Actually, I'd like Pentax to come out with one in the current K-mount, mirrorless or no mirrorless.

An f/2 lens that switches between 15-18-23mm that's fairly compact would take care of 90% of my shooting. Of course, it has to be significantly smaller than a zoom, otherwise, there would be no point for me.

*I haven't actually seen the Leica WATE or MATE in person, but they look fairly compact from web images I've seen.

[eljaco]

Good idea - in fact the Pentax Evil should be a Leica M9, but at the price of a K-r :d
With a tri-elmar 28-35-50 or 16-18-21 lens starting at f/2 (instead of f/4 for the Leica) at the price of a DA40 !