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11-29-2018, 10:19 AM   #1
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What is the status of 3rd party lens releases?

There are a number of lenses released by Sigma and Tamron that I would like to use on a K-1. I'm thinking of the 90/2.8 Macro (due to it's internal focus), the new 40/1.4, 28/1.4, 105/1.4 etc... Seems like Pentax has good relationships with Tamron and Tokina. But Sigma seems to have stopped releasing their Art lenses in K mount? Have these companies said they were going to get some of these lenses out for Pentax or are they leaving Pentaxians out in the cold somewhat?

11-29-2018, 10:23 AM   #2
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Sigma is no longer making K-mount lenses. Any Tamron or Tokina lenses in K-mount will be branded Pentax...(The upcoming 70-200/4 is likely a Tokina)
11-29-2018, 10:25 AM   #3
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For now, Sigma has stopped producing new lenses for K-mount.

With Tamron and Tokina, I suspect any new lenses for K-mount will be joint ventures with Ricoh and will be released under the Pentax brand. I certainly don't know of any plans for either company to release K-mount versions of their lenses.
11-29-2018, 10:26 AM - 2 Likes   #4
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Sigma, Tokina, and Tamron have all stopped selling new lenses in k-mount, basically. There are a few expections but they carry Pentax branding and are reworked to some degree by Pentax. I don't understand the Tokina 50mm f1.4 Opera business arrangement but the easy take-away is nothing new from those companies. They are, as you put it, leaving us in the cold. Existing designs are still on the market but may or may not still be in active production.

At this point the only new 3rd party designs coming with a k-mount on the bottom are manual focus lenses from Samyang, Venus Optics, and others like that.

If there are lenses from Sigma, Tamron, or Tokina that you would like to use that do not exist for k-mount today, you should look at a body that supports those lenses, like from Sony, Canon, or Nikon. There's also some really great glass from Pentax for a Pentax camera.

11-29-2018, 10:49 AM   #5
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That's a bummer. I really want to sell my Nikon digital equipment and move back to Pentax, as I was a K-5 user years ago but left for full frame. The only thing missing for me from Pentax's line up is an internal focus macro, for which I have a very specific application. I'll have to mull it over and see if I can get around that issue. The Limited trio is calling my name...
11-29-2018, 10:51 AM - 1 Like   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sperdynamite Quote
But Sigma seems to have stopped releasing their Art lenses in K mount?
Yes, though it might be noted that Pentax is not the only neglected mount.

QuoteOriginally posted by Sperdynamite Quote
Have these companies said they were going to get some of these lenses out for Pentax
No, though that is not surprising.

QuoteOriginally posted by Sperdynamite Quote
or are they leaving Pentaxians out in the cold somewhat?
I dunno...As noted above, conventional thought is that one buys the camera that supports the glass. I know...right...(rolls eyes). It would be nice for Sigma, for example, to support Pentax, particularly since the advent of the KAF4 providing for by-wire aperture control would allow them to avoid the finicky mechanical linkage. However, given the effort to reverse engineer and risk of patent infringement, there might be reason for caution on their part against moving that direction. They are also probably not anxious to split market with excellent Pentax product in the same price/performance segment.

In other words, when it makes sense from a market/profit/risk standpoint, the third-party makers respond. When not, they don't.


Steve

(...thoroughly enjoys his Sigma 17-70/2.8-4 | C and is pleased it is still available in Pentax K...)
11-29-2018, 11:10 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sperdynamite Quote
The only thing missing for me from Pentax's line up is an internal focus macro, for which I have a very specific application.
Well, there is the Irix Dragonfly 150mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 in Pentax mount plus 4 Laowa macros in Pentax mount:
  • Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro (2015)
  • Laowa 60mm F2.8 2x Ultra Macro (2015)
  • Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO (2018)
  • Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe (2018)
All five internal focus macros.

Do you need more than 5 lenses?

11-29-2018, 11:31 AM   #8
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I think there are some Sigma's that were available in k-mount that are no longer in production which were also IF Macro's.

I don't really understand the need for this although I do like IF lenses. I don't think I own any, they just always seem nice the few times I've handled them.

Not to be exclusionary but it sounds like you're better off staying with Nikon OR you need to rethink your requirements.
11-29-2018, 11:55 AM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sperdynamite Quote
There are a number of lenses released by Sigma and Tamron that I would like to use on a K-1. I'm thinking of the 90/2.8 Macro (due to it's internal focus), the new 40/1.4, 28/1.4, 105/1.4 etc... Seems like Pentax has good relationships with Tamron and Tokina. But Sigma seems to have stopped releasing their Art lenses in K mount? Have these companies said they were going to get some of these lenses out for Pentax or are they leaving Pentaxians out in the cold somewhat?
The lack of third party lenses does not bother me.

If you are OK with manual focusing (being a macro photographer I assume that you are) you can adapt Zeiss ZF , Leica R, and many Nikkor lenses to Pentax K mount using Leitax adapters. I greatly prefer the look of my Zeiss/Leica/Nikkor lenses on my Pentax K-1 to anything from Sigma or Tamron.

Being a former long time Nikon shooter like you are, you don't need to necessarily sell all of your favorite Nikkor lenses. For about $90, buy a Leitax adapter and switch the mount from F to K and you can use them on a Pentax K-1 (I've adapted 5 or 6 of my Nikkors that way).

The K-1 ( and K-1 II ) are terrific bodies. Don't let the lack of glass from Sigma and Tamron keep you from buying a K-1, K-1 II.

Last edited by Fenwoodian; 11-29-2018 at 12:45 PM.
11-29-2018, 12:33 PM - 2 Likes   #10
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For all the hype, Pentax owners have preferred Pentax lenses even when there were very good Sigma and Tamron alternatives.

I have the Sigma 35mm Art and 85mm f1.4, but am a fish out of water, because the FA31 and FA77 are what most people chose to own (I have them, too, BTW).

There's not money to be made selling third party lenses to Pentaxians. There are not many of them and most have a preference for OEM.

We're in the same boat as Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, Leica and to a lesser extent Sony.
11-29-2018, 12:40 PM - 4 Likes   #11
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The gaps being left open by Sigma are being filled by Irix, Laowa, and Samyang. They've put out some really nice lenses over time. Most of them are manual focus, but the optics are great.

Here is a page with all current third-party lenses:

Third Party Lenses | PentaxForums.com

The list has been growing! I don't think we'll see Sigma stop support entirely (i.e. they could continue to offer consumer lenses), but don't expect much in terms of the high-end lenses.

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11-29-2018, 12:47 PM - 1 Like   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
For all the hype, Pentax owners have preferred Pentax lenses even when there were very good Sigma and Tamron alternatives.

I have the Sigma 35mm Art and 85mm f1.4, but am a fish out of water, because the FA31 and FA77 are what most people chose to own (I have them, too, BTW).

There's not money to be made selling third party lenses to Pentaxians. There are not many of them and most have a preference for OEM.

We're in the same boat as Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, Leica and to a lesser extent Sony.
Sometimes there isn't a good Pentax option. What have they sold that is like the Sigma 28mm F1.8 DG EX? The FA 31 is kind of close but field of view isn't wide enough for my tastes (I wish the Sigma was more like 25mm if I'm honest) and I like having autofocus on my digital camera. Or the situation with the DA* 16-50 being so much more money for not so much performance gain (if any) over the Tamron or Sigma 17-50's. Then there's just completely out there lenses like the Sigma 18-35 f1.8; nothing close to that from Pentax.

This can be said of every system and brand, though. When I go looking at Canon or Nikon systems I keep wondering where their DA 15 Ltd equivalent is. Or FA 77. Or how Pentax seemingly did so much better with the DA 40 XS and Ltd's vs. the 40 STM.
11-29-2018, 02:14 PM   #13
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I like IF lenses too, like the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 just for one example. However, what I don't like is their tendency for "focus breathing"- as you get closer to your subject, effective focal length is reduced.

That's too bad about Sigma. They've long been a good source for alternative lenses at a good price. Some have been exceptionally good lenses.
11-29-2018, 02:25 PM - 1 Like   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by mikesbike Quote
I like IF lenses too, like the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 just for one example. However, what I don't like is their tendency for "focus breathing"- as you get closer to your subject, effective focal length is reduced.
This is the one and only thing I don't like about the DA*60-250... in fact, I bought the HD DA 1.4x converter primarily for close range work with that lens, because the focus breathing is *fierce*. In every other respect, it's a phenomenal bit of glass...
11-29-2018, 03:29 PM - 1 Like   #15
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There are 42 available 3rd party lenses for Pentax K which have been released in 2016 and later.
Objektive mit Hersteller: Irix/Laowa/Lensbaby/Meyer Optik Görlitz/Samyang/Walimex, Objektivbajonett: Pentax K heise online Preisvergleich / Deutschland

66 3rd party lenses at all:
https://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/?cat=acamobjo&v=k&hloc=at&hloc=de&hloc=p...E8219_Pentax+K
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