Originally posted by BarryE [...] I suspect the idea of minor "improvements" to them will be abhorent to some. But, maybe tweaks to make them even better might be possible. Maybe like the DA limiteds new coatings or quickshift or ...
When we speak of potential modifications/upgrades to lenses, anticipations rise all round, and expectations are varied.
For many today, the FA Limiteds are prized for their special rendering, that "look" they can impart to pictures. Hard to describe sometimes, and often impossible to measure, but real nonetheless, and beautiful.
As such, changes to this trio of lenses which could affect their rendering are understandably viewed with cautiousness, for therein lies the very essence of their greatness.
It is true that much development has taken place in the realm of lens design, and also, current vogue places greater importance on certain criteria in lens performance.
However, the above may or may not all necessarily gel with the original design brief of the FA Limiteds per Mr. Jun Hirakawa, in terms of the intended picture rendering to be attained.
In other words, "newest" and "best" can sometimes be quite relative, and cannot be automatically presumed to work to the best effect for lenses created in a different era with quite different rendering criteria in mind.
For example, the issue of purple fringing, an unfortunate side-effect of using film-era lenses with digital sensors. It is said that part of the design brief of DA type lenses was to overcome this problem which affected FA type lenses (one example being the FA77). Which is very good. We can see the fruits of this effort in the DA Limiteds for example, which are comparatively free from PF. But what happens when these design techniques are applied to the FA Limiteds? It seems quite possible that their rendering would be affected. In what way, it's of course hard for us to say now; perhaps the FA Limiteds may attain a more "DA" kind of look? This is surely something significant! End of the day, who knows, we might be overall better off correcting the PF via PP.
Again, rounded aperture blades, the current design trend intended to give more circular OOF highlights, could also significantly alter the unique bokeh nature of the FA43, causing it to lose its signature "texture" and character.
Again, the HD coatings, said to be "better" and shown to improve optical performance, could affect the rendering of the FA Limiteds. What the resultant effect will be remains to be seen. "Better" technically may or may not equate to "better" rendering-wise. Could it result in a more "digital" look? Is so, that would probably run counter to the film-like flavour of the FA Ltds. Admittedly subjective, but that's just how it is when it comes to things like lens rendering.
Also, it has been speculated/rumoured that certain optical parameters in the FA LTDs design were deliberately left only partially corrected. If current design methodology calls for more complete correction, and if this should result in the loss of the "3D effect" the FA LTDs are famed for, shall this be regarded as an "improvement"? Spec-sheet wise, yes; rendering-wise, that is another matter altogether.
Again it has been said that the FA Ltd's were so designed as to optimally render solid, three-dimensional objects, possibly at the expense of some uniformity of flat-field performance. If however current design vogue places more importance on the latter, then in all likelihood the former will be impacted, and the rendering of the FA Limiteds as we know it will change.
Thus in implementing any changes to the FA LTDs, I trust Ricoh-Pentax would exercise much caution when it comes to the rendering.
Other recent developments in lens design however, which have no bearing on rendering but serve to improve functionality, eg. WR, DC, QS, these would probably be generally welcome.