[hoopsontoast]

I have always wondered where the modern 28mm is.

I dream if a D-FA 28mm f2 or f2.8 Limited Pancake. It would be ideal if it was relatively compact, sort of FA43 size. I find that the DA21 is a little too wide, and the DA35 is a little too long. The 28mm on my FA20-35 is ideal but a pancake sized lens would be perfect.

I know the FA31 Limited is there, but its quite large and also very expensive, especially compared to the FA43 which relatively is a bargain. The FA43 is a unique lens to Pentax, and pretty special at that, I have thought it was odd that Pentax had not introduced an equivalent for the APS-C cameras.

It seems like a big hole to leave out, and provide a 'normal' lens equivalent to the FA43 on film (my favorite), of course it could be useful for the FF too.

There are only really the F and FA 28mm f2.8 as compact, AF options for Pentax. They are both well reviewed on here, and seemingly popular.

Most if not all the other 1st/3rd party 28mm Lenses are either MF (K, M or A, CZ etc) or massive (Sigma 28mm f1.8 etc). Even the nearish Sigma 30mm f1.4 is quite large.

I had a Sigma 24mm Super Wide II Macro on my old Sigma SD15 which with the 1.7 crop gave roughly 41mm which again, was ideal as a walk-around lens for me. On the Pentax 1.5 crop, the 24mm lenses are a little too wide, again for me.

Am I in dreamland or do you think Pentax/Ricoh would re-introduce the compact 28mm Prime?

[savoche]

I would be very surprised if Ricoh doesn't come out with a D FA 28, but it seems they plan to release the zooms first.

And I agree with you - 28 is a nice focal length on APS, too. I really like my FA 28, as it's much more compact than the 31 - the perfect companion to the 43.

[hoopsontoast]

Hmmmmmmm... At last notice, I found 28mm hiding somewhere in my copy of the very modern and up-to-date HD DA 20-40 Limited . If you get a copy and are careful, quiet and persistent, you just might find it lurking in there, too.

Cheers... M

Yeah, I have the FA20-35 which certainly hits the mark in terms of lightness and relatively compact, and pretty good throughout the range but its not a small, Limited Prime.

[Ishpuini]

The coming of the announced FF might see Pentax reintroduce some lenses in more classic focal lengths, among them a 28mm. OTOH, I believe they will first go a for a number of zooms to have the pro's needs covered before moving into prime territory.

Wim

[Na Horuk]

I agree with you, 24mm and 28mm have been missing for a while in the Pentax lineup. But unfortunately, they aren't on the lens roadmap, so I don't think they will be coming soon.
I think there are some modern 24mm lenses available from Samyang and Sigma. 28mm seems to be covered by many zoom lenses, but I would still prefer to have a good prime. So my advice is, don't wait for it, just buy an older 28mm, like A or F series; or a third party.

But yes, wait a little bit to see what announcement Pentax makes today, if they update the roadmap this week. Im not super hopeful for this particular issue, though

[beachgardener]

i think it was rumoured that next year may see more primes

[GeneV]

It seems to me that it would not take much to make digital versions of these classics. Pentax has designed some superb 28mm lenses over the years.

[6BQ5]

It seems to me that it would not take much to make digital versions of these classics. Pentax has designed some superb 28mm lenses over the years.

The big question is who would buy it? Is the Pentax user base big enough to justify the R&D costs of releasing that specific lens? Don't get me wrong - I would totally love seeing a D-FA 28mm or a FA 28mm Limited. My fear is that the lens would be released with not enough people wanting to buy it compared to what we'd see in the Nikon or Canon worlds. Ricoh wants to release lenses that will win over new users. A zoom is probably more likely to do that.

[osv]

Pentax has designed some superb 28mm lenses over the years.

^^^ this

that old glass works very well on 36mp, just have to use mf.

[pathdoc]

The eternal question is this - given that such lenses have existed in the past, in autofocus iterations no less, just how much extra R&D is needed to bring such a lens to market? Most of the hard work would seem to have been done already, with any left over going into how the current line of HD-type coatings works with the lens element construction of the past. If that were a go and there were no surprises, it wouldn't take very much to bring out a lens along the lines of the 35/2.4 or 50/1.8 - perhaps not of Limited standard, but more than good enough to take its place in the lineup and be useful on both FF and crop sensor bodies. If the Pentaxian community rushed the stores to clear that one off the shelves, there'd be no problem justifying a proper follow-up FA* or FA Limited, whatever you wanted to call it.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

The eternal question is this - given that such lenses have existed in the past, in autofocus iterations no less, just how much extra R&D is needed to bring such a lens to market? Most of the hard work would seem to have been done already, with any left over going into how the current line of HD-type coatings works with the lens element construction of the past

During a similar discussion in the past, I remember somebody who seemed to be knowledgeable on the subject commenting that some old optical designs are no longer feasible to manufacture today due to the types of glass used in some of the elements. Something about toxic metals or other materials used in the manufacturing of the glass, and environmental regulations or some such thing. So it may not be so simple reviving some classic designs.

[alamo5000]

The OP is a man after my own heart. A 28mm is by far my favorite walk around focal length for crop sensors. Without a doubt.

I would have jumped all over a DA Limited 28mm.

That said I have the F28 and it's pretty great if you ask me.

But as for if Pentax will make one or not... my opinion is no. And here is why... Pentax users have been clamoring for a FF camera forever and now the looks of it are that they will get one. That said I think all (new) lenses going forward will be geared toward FF, but backwards compatibility will still be there for the not FF lenses currently out there.

A 28mm on a crop will have an almost identical FOV of the 43mm on a FF. So there you go.

The F series 28mm has a horizontal FOV on our current crop sensors of 46 degrees. On a FF the 43mm will have a FOV of 45 degrees.

I think Pentax will over time try to move most of us to a FF camera (eventually). It might take 5 or 6 years but I think that's the route they are going.

That said I have long said the 28mm focal length would have been an excellent addition to the line up.

[GeneV]

Assuming the glass hasn't changed since 2004, when the FA 28 was last made, putting a DC motor and HD coating into that lens seems like a quick way to sell a lot of FF lenses. In my pre-digital film days (33 years of it), a sharp 28mm was a necessity, not something that was just nice to have.

I actually think FF will make primes even more attractive. Through 10 years ago, when DSLRs really took off, a film era FF zoom was bigger and performed more poorly in the corners that the DA* lenses, and a prime was a huge improvement. That may have changed, but no without a lot of catching up on Pentax' part.

[pathdoc]

Something about toxic metals or other materials used in the manufacturing of the glass

I know some of the Takumars used thorium (my wife jokes about not bringing radioactive Japanese lenses into the house, lest Godzilla attack), but I don't remember hearing about anything more recent. Then again, who the hell knows WHAT the Russians or the Chinese put in their lenses, probably not being bound by the same environmental regulations that bind others!!

[johnha]

I solved the problem by buying an FA28 - initially for use on my K-5 as a walk-round lens but doubles as wide-angle on the LX. A DC motor in a lens this small is irrelevant - the screwdrive is more than capable of focusing it quickly (the F28 is probably faster due to less damping of the focus ring if my F50/1.7 is anything to go by).