[Saltwater Images]

Thanks for your time in creating the survey. I'm a bit surprised by the way this thread turned though I understand the desire for 24mm if not the fast aperture.
I see that people want a large difference from the capable zooms at large or in their armouries.
This necessarilly means large and heavy, like their zooms so the low light and corner performance are the only reason to buy. Perhaps I am not searching out those types of image to see the possibilities that the more advanced users are aware of, and want that.
It must be a headache for Ricoh marketing.

Hi Kevin, today's trend for lenses in many cases is large and heavy in the quest for edge to edge sharpness. One of the defining pieces of the Pentax system is the brands exceptional engineering capabilities in producing small, realitively fast, superb quality primes that are the envy of photographers using other systems if they try them. The results didn't entirely surprise me. In 2014 I sold off all of my Pentax gear and did a complete reassessment - looking for the system I would commit to for the next decade. I flirted with Nikon and Sony; renting cameras and pro grade lenses. Nikon felt much like Pentax. Then I ran into a friend with K-5 and a DA 21. The combination handled and shot with the feeling of perfection. Shortly after I ordered a K-5II and HD DA 21.

I understand full frame shooters wanting a 24mm prime. APS-C shooters already have a 21mm f/3.2. The difference between 21 and 24 is slight and cropping resolves it. The gap in The small sensor lens line up is that there isn't a true normal (43 mm). The 35 comes close being equal to 52.5 mm in the 35 mm format. Unfortunately the 35 is also a macro without a focus limiter meaning that auto focus can be a pain at times. The 40 mm is a touch too long while the 21 is a wide normal.

The survey results seem to reflect the reality of the audience; there are many more crop sensor shooters in the Pentax ranks. What did surprise me is learning that Pentax seems to have a significantly higher number of prime lens owners than other brands. The Pentax brand punches well above it's weight class with APS-C and full frame prime lens ownership.

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Last edited by Saltwater Images; 01-14-2018 at 03:44 PM.