Originally posted by RonHendriks1966 If old designs would be used, what should be altered to make them DM? Is it only coating and a new shell?
Well, forgive me if I'm way off base here, but aren't DA and DA* lenses structured optically so that they only transmit light to an APS-C sized sensor? When you put them on a film body, many of them create a circular image in the middle of the frame.
So optically, they would need to be shrunk or slightly redesigned to be DM, if I understand it correctly.
But what would happen if you did that? Let's say they put out the classic trio of primes, of which Pentax produced some of the best lenses in times past:
28mm F2.0
50mm F1.2
135mm F2.5
What would you end up with in 35mm equivalent for APS-C?
42mm
75mm
202mm
The 202mm would be nice (and I enjoy using my 135/2.5 on my K-x), but 42mm and 75mm aren't exactly "sweet spot" focal lengths. Now, I guess the old K15 3.5 would be nice, but we already have a DA15 F4 which seems very highly regarded.
I guess I'm just having a hard time seeing the point. Is it that you want the DA * lenses but don't want the headache or price of SDM? Or do you want WR and a wider focus collar on the DA Limiteds? Or it's too much of a pain to use the Green button with the original lenses? Or they're too big and heavy? Or they don't have the coatings?
I guess maybe if I knew some examples other than the nice 28 F2 of optically unique Pentax designs that would outclass the current offerings, I could see the point.