Would you be offended if Pentax...

Buddha Jones · 03-24-2008, 04:26 PM

Took all of the FA* lenses and dropped them into a DA* HSM body with all the fixings and rebadged them as DA*'s?

Frankly I woudn't, and i kind of wish that they would.

bigben91682 · 03-24-2008, 04:33 PM

I'd buy 'em

The current DA* is such a mixed bag, the 50-135 is brilliant and I can't buy a good 16-50 to save my life....why not stick with what works, just make it work with SDM and some seals! ork ork

clawhammer · 03-24-2008, 04:46 PM

That definately sounds attractive! However, it seems that they've got some of the FA*s that were better than others- get those ones out first. tweak the designs of the others to be more up-to-date (ie, 70-200) and the release thsoe in the 'next round'.

aegisphan · 03-24-2008, 05:00 PM

OMG, definitely. That would reduce the R&D cost, while still be able to release all the high-demand, high-quality lenses. I hope the road map next year does have the DA* 200 macro (dying to see that). I would not hesitate to pick up the DA* 24 and 85 once again either.

However, some optical design in the past does contain highly toxic materials to the current environmentalists' standards (I don't know if that's the case for any Pentax lens, but definitely it's for the Contax Distagon 21). Otherwise, I don't see any other bad reason for not rebadge all the FA* under DA* (or any other names for that matter).

creampuff · 03-24-2008, 05:05 PM

It might happen eventually as all new Pentax bodies are built for SDM and new lenses are introduced with SDM. That will be good as there will mean an upgrade to keep a particular lens design current. However I find the FA Limited build quality to be a notch better than the current DA Limiteds so that might be a small minus.

Buddha Jones · 03-24-2008, 05:26 PM

But if they did it and didnt tell you that is indeed what they have done, you wouldnt be none the wiser unless you went and compared the specs, which I am sure someone here would eventually do.

Basically, I want a DA* 300 f/ 2.8. But since it is not on the road map, I will most likely be buying the f/4 coming out.

clawhammer · 03-24-2008, 05:36 PM

hey, as long as the quality is good I wouldn't care if it was an "old" FA* design.

03-24-2008, 04:26 PM	#1
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587	Would you be offended if Pentax... Took all of the FA* lenses and dropped them into a DA* HSM body with all the fixings and rebadged them as DA*'s? Frankly I woudn't, and i kind of wish that they would.

03-24-2008, 04:33 PM	#2
bigben91682 Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 728	I'd buy 'em The current DA* is such a mixed bag, the 50-135 is brilliant and I can't buy a good 16-50 to save my life....why not stick with what works, just make it work with SDM and some seals! ork ork

03-24-2008, 04:46 PM	#3
clawhammer Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Logan, Utah Photos: Gallery Posts: 971	That definately sounds attractive! However, it seems that they've got some of the FA*s that were better than others- get those ones out first. tweak the designs of the others to be more up-to-date (ie, 70-200) and the release thsoe in the 'next round'.

03-24-2008, 05:00 PM	#4
aegisphan Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New Mexico Posts: 815	OMG, definitely. That would reduce the R&D cost, while still be able to release all the high-demand, high-quality lenses. I hope the road map next year does have the DA* 200 macro (dying to see that). I would not hesitate to pick up the DA* 24 and 85 once again either. However, some optical design in the past does contain highly toxic materials to the current environmentalists' standards (I don't know if that's the case for any Pentax lens, but definitely it's for the Contax Distagon 21). Otherwise, I don't see any other bad reason for not rebadge all the FA* under DA* (or any other names for that matter).

03-24-2008, 05:05 PM	#5
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	It might happen eventually as all new Pentax bodies are built for SDM and new lenses are introduced with SDM. That will be good as there will mean an upgrade to keep a particular lens design current. However I find the FA Limited build quality to be a notch better than the current DA Limiteds so that might be a small minus.

03-24-2008, 05:26 PM	#6
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587 Original Poster	But if they did it and didnt tell you that is indeed what they have done, you wouldnt be none the wiser unless you went and compared the specs, which I am sure someone here would eventually do. Basically, I want a DA* 300 f/ 2.8. But since it is not on the road map, I will most likely be buying the f/4 coming out.

03-24-2008, 05:36 PM	#7
clawhammer Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Logan, Utah Photos: Gallery Posts: 971	hey, as long as the quality is good I wouldn't care if it was an "old" FA* design.