[Waratah]

Just a thought. Would Pentax user have interest in 2 or 3 of the more popular M lens being re-released?

Thinking the following benefits as a visible concious legacy gesture;

- simple, cheap and quality
-FF friendly but have a place on crop too
- a reminder to world of Pentax lens philosophy
- also a reminder on the benefits of the green button
- alway room for a little M 24, 35 or 50 in you pouch, bag or pocket to supplement exist lens.

[pathdoc]

It'd be lovely, BUT there would be several requirements that would get in the way.

1) The machinery on which to manufacture the parts.
2) The people with the knowledge to build, to use and to service the machines.
3) The people with the knowledge and skill to do any hand-assembling necessary.

All of this is probably long gone, and would need to be rebuilt (possibly even redesigned and/or reverse-engineered, depending on how good or bad the company archives are).

I imagine optical QC could be done on modern rigs.

It's more likely that the machinery and capabilities for some of the higher-quality out-of-production FA lenses still exists. This is especially likely given that some of the FA series (the 35/2, the 50/1.4 and the FA Limiteds) are current- or recent-production items. These are the lenses I'd really like them to start making again, if only because they have the best forward and backward compatibility for all K-mount cameras: aperture rings for the K1000 crowd; full functionality on DSLRs including guaranteed full-frame sensor coverage.

[johnmflores]

Might be neat if they released a trio of M-primes with a digital full-frame MX

[THoog]

"Cheap" and "quality" don't go together. The reason M lenses are cheap is because there are thousands or millions of them out there. As pathdoc said, the 1980s production processes (metal bodies, hand assembling) would require Limited prices now. Would anyone pay $500+ for a 40-year-old manual focus design, when they can get the same lens used in excellent condition for around a hundred dollars, or average condition for less than fifty?

So far as reminders of the Pentax lens philosophy and green button go, they already exist: the millions of K- and M- lenses in the field.

In some ways, the DA 35 and DA 50 Plastic Fantastics are the successors to the M 35 and M 50 - only slightly bigger, but lighter in weight because of modern materials. The DA 50's optical formula is essentially the same as the M 50/1.7. The one thing missing is a 28mm (I think you meant M 28 - there never was an M 24 that I can find), but they are going to be concentrating on high-end lenses for the FF, not economy lenses.

Pentax barely has the production capacity to meet the current requirements for a FF lens lineup, much less a specialty line of retro lenses.

[Sandy Hancock]

Short answer. No.

[reeftool]

Short answer. No.

My thoughts exactly. The M lenses (and other MF lenses) were designed and built for manual cameras in the days before auto focus. While it's nice to be able to continue using my old glass from time to time, I'm not buying any manual lenses. Pentax doesn't have the manufacturing capability anymore and the cost would more than most people would be willing pay.

[mcgregni]

Samyang already offer a modern, optimised, pro-grade range of 'A' type manual focus lenses for us, and at very good prices.


So, the option is there for those who want it. Would a Pentax alternative, say, with WR and a bit lighter, but almost certainly more expensive, really have any chance in the market ?

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Last edited by mcgregni; 09-25-2015 at 06:48 AM.

[tvdtvdtvd]

As others have mentioned above, there would be no point re-releasing any of the common M series lenses as there
are already a plentiful supply of used lenses on the market. Not just enough to satisfy Pentax shooters; there are
enough second hand M series lenses to satisfy many curious Canon, Sony, et al, shooters as well, all the while still
remaining very affordable.

A more realistic request would be for Pentax, (or any manufacturer), to figure out how to make a modern, AF lens
>feel< like an old timey brass and glass lens. The metal barrels of the Limiteds are very nice, but the manual focus
feel is sadly a bit soft and 'thin'. No AF lens that I'm aware of has that wonderful, well dampened feel when
manually focused. I imagine an AF lens with a M series-like barrel would require a much beefier AF motor to drive
it, requiring a larger body and considerably more power. Perhaps the old timey feel could be simulated with a
servo that turns on when the lens is set to manual, thus providing the resistance that simulates the dampened
feel of a heavier built lens?

[normhead]

A lens is a lens.... ( you guys are making me feel like a Philistine.. ).

Which I assume was a nation of people all of whom had the name Phil, somewhere in their given names.

[pathdoc]

Would anyone pay $500+ for a 40-year-old manual focus design

They would, and sometimes they do, BUT:

when they can get the same lens used in excellent condition for around a hundred dollars, or average condition for less than fifty

Not so much when this is the case. Let's face it - if Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2 lenses were as common as their f/2.0 brethren, they wouldn't command prices in excess of $400 US all the time. If you want to turn out a limited run of lenses, you will be charging Limited-type prices (if not * level) and will be obliged to produce Limited (or * level) quality. For all we know, they might be hoarding some "new old stock" for some strange reason (IIRC there was a Year 2000 box edition of the LX with the 50mm f/1.2 A lens), but the chances of reopening those production lines are precisely zero. The only way you'll ever get those optics again is in a DA lens (more likely labelled D-FA given the frame coverage inherent in the design) in a polycarbonate case. If you're lucky, they'll throw in quick shift, WR and a metal mount and sell it as some sort of D-FA Premium Economy thing. Not quite Limited, not quite *, but still a cut above the ordinary.

[boriscleto]

Short answer. No.

Long answer. No.

[boriscleto]

a lens is a lens.... ( you guys are making me feel like a philistine.. ).

Which i assume was a nation of people all of whom had the name phil, somewhere in their given names.

[wombat2go]

A lens is a lens.... ( you guys are making me feel like a Philistine.. ).

Well, I bet you never used the Leica DC Vario Elmarit 1:2.8 9.1~146 asph lens?
As an old-timer, I nearly went into a crosseyed swoon when I tried to use the "fly-by-wire" zoom/focus ring on that thing.

...And I'm not a Philistine, I actually like Formula One.

[THoog]

They would, and sometimes they do, BUT:

I should have said "40-year-old consumer-grade manual focus design", but that sentence was already too long.

For the rarer glass, certainly, but not for the "cheap" M 50, 28, or 35 (except in "sucker born every minute" situations). The 50/1.7 is optically the best of the three, and the highest 'sold' price on eBay right now is about fifty bucks (and there are about sixty available). The other two get slightly more, but only because they are less common.

[Waratah]

Samyang already offer a modern, optimised, pro-grade range of 'A' type manual focus lenses for us, and at very good prices.

Fair enough, I didn't know that.

It was this and recently purchasing an M lens that sparked the original thought


https://www.google.com.au/search?q=simple+fixed+gear+bike&rlz=1C1GGGE_enAU35...sLlTkndNy7M%3A

There is a sub culture out there that like simple elegant solutions, and I'm becoming one.

Edit - had a quick look at The Samyang options, and nah, too big and cumbersome looking. But thanks