Originally posted by northcoastgreg Well that's certainly the strategy with star lenses, but will all the new DFA lenses be star lenses? The ultra wide prime on the roadmap is not a star lens; it's not even labeled as wide aperture. So it could be a limited. Or even an f2.8 prime, like the old FA. In that case, it wouldn't have to be a monster lens.
Keep in mind as well that the DFA 28-105 is hardly a monster. There's room for more compact optics in the DFA system. Pentax just hasn't gotten around to making them, as the star lenses have taken priority. But the slower aperture non-star DFA lenses on the roadmap should be, like the DFA 28-105, smaller and more compact, not monsters like the f2.8 zooms and the star primes.
I agree with this. I'm guessing most users of the K-1 either want fast F2.8 zooms or fast primes. There probably isn't much of a market for a 70-300mm full frame average IQ lens. The roadmapped 70-200mm F4 will probably serve people who don't want a monster lens. The 28-105 is a good example of a small and reliable "consumer" lens. I hope there are others.
For the record, I think old film-era FF lenses tend to be quite good, but not to the level of what people expect nowadays. Pentax could hardly release a 28mm F2.8 and have reviewers say "it's very soft, close to unusable, in the corners". I'm using the FA 20-35 now and even though I like that lens a lot, I can't claim its corners are amazing wide open. FA Limiteds are another matter, however.
I see (and hope I'm right) Pentax releasing moderate size lenses, no pancakes but not behemoths like the new 50. They have an opportunity to show their mettle with the upcoming wide prime. Nothing bigger than the FA 31, and it will sell very well indeed.