[midnightvisions]

Hello,

Does anybody know why Pentax's doesn't like to produce lenses between F1.2 to F2.0?

There are only 4 lenses in its current K mount / APS-C line up,

The K full frame has three lenses, but even the 645 lineup doesn't have a single one.

I realize the lenses would be a little bigger and weigh more, but looking at all the pics on 500px, most pictures are from lenses with F ranges that Pentax doesn't make.

Does anybody know the logic behind Pentax's thinking?

[beholder3]

Hello,

Does anybody know why
..?

Help us understand how this is not just senseless whining.

1. How do you explain that 500px is a valid reason for manufacturers to produce certain lenses?
2. How many <F2 lenses do you own?
3. What is your budget?
4. What is your use case?
5. <F2 lenses pretty much only make sense in the range from 35mm to 135mm. Shorter is only for a tiny niche of a subset of starscape (not astro) guys. Longer than 85mm is already niche as well. So basically fast lenses are 35/43/50/77/85 territory only. Five lenses. Surprise.
6. We have
   1. 35mm F1.4 (Sigma)
   2. 135mm F2 (Samyang)
   3. 24mm (Samyang)
   4. 50mm F1.4 and F1.8
   5. 31mm F1.8
   6. 43mm F1.9
   7. 77mm F1.8
   8. 85mm F1.4 is coming
   9. 35mm F1.4 is coming
7. Anyone interested in a lens is able to get older lenses as well
   1. 85mm F1.4 (Pentax and Sigma)
   2. 50mm F1.2

So we have pretty much everything available today if we really care.

[bassek]

Hello,

Does anybody know why Pentax's doesn't like to produce lenses between F1.2 to F2.0?

Difficult to make -> expensive -> not enough market for fast lenses
If Pentax would sell bodies like Canikon we would see a wider range of lenses, also 3rd party.

Does anybody know the logic behind Pentax's thinking?

I do not think so...
I did think that pentax made compact (in favor of fast) lenses, but then they lauched the DFA 15-30.

A 1.2 lens is not necessarily sharper than a 4.0 lens. Think macro.


Seb

[swanlefitte]

I think the mamiya 80 1.9 is the only 645 below f/2.

[MetalUndivided]

There's a number of reasons.

1)Apertures this wide don't work well with zooms and are therefore reserved for primes
2)Apertures this wide don't work too well with long focal lenghts due to very shallow DoF
3)Considering that most lenses with these apertures are primes, there's only so many primes that make sense in terms of product spacing and actual usage before being too long to be useful
4)Such lenses are quite expensive and considering that Pentax primarily caters to enthusiasts and not pros with stratospheric demands, they probably wouldn't sell that well

[swanlefitte]

Take a look at what sells.
It's not f/<1.8
Top 5 sellers in any mount are not them.
Most Popular Camera Lenses 2019 - Sales Ranking « NEW CAMERA

[pschlute]

The K full frame has three lenses

You can buy six Full Frame Pentax lenses at the moment at f2 or wider:
FA 50mm 1.4
FA 31mm 1.8
FA 43mm 1.9
FA 77mm 1.8
DFA 50mm 1.4
DFA 35mm 2.0

Lenses of f2 or wider are inevitably primes not zooms. Pentax has in recent years been concentrating on FF camera and zoom lenses plus KP model instead of wide primes. There is a limit unfortunately on how much Pentax can produce at one time. It is not the case that it doesn't want to produce fast primes. We had the DFA 50mm 1.4 released last year and the DFA 35mm 2.0 (a re-vamp) released this year. The DFA 85mm 1.4 is expected to be released next year. If you want a fast prime there is certainly plenty to choose from that is still in production.

but looking at all the pics on 500px, most pictures are from lenses with F ranges that Pentax doesn't make

I have just had a look at the "most popular" page today on 500px. As expected the range of the max aperture of the lenses used is between 1.2 and f4. The range of aperture used is between f1.8 and f11. I only saw one picture taken with a lens that cannot be replicated by a Pentax lens (a 35mm 1.4 lens)

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Last edited by pschlute; 06-28-2019 at 01:49 AM.

[swanlefitte]

Don't forget the sigma 18-35 1.8 for apsc

[Jonathan Mac]

I too am bothered by Pentax's aversion to fast apertures. I fill the holes by using a Fujifilm kit (all my Fujifilm lenses are f/2 or f/1.4) so my money goes to Fujifilm instead of Pentax.

The OP was asking about lenses produced by Pentax, so bringing Sigma, Samyang etc lenses is beside the point.

[Zav]

My take, especially regarding the 645 format,: the search for thin dof, as an aesthetic choice, is rather new. Wide aperture was for low light environment.

[Not a Number]

It looks like Ricoh/Pentax is trending towards larger, faster and more expensive (premium) lenses now so does it really matter?

[swanlefitte]

focal lengths at f/2 or less.
Pentax k. 6
Nikon f 8
Fuji x. 8
Canon ef. 9

[Sandy Hancock]

In K-mount I own the following:
FA* 24/2.0
FA 31/1.8 Limited
Sigma 35/1.4 Art
FA 43/1.9 Limited
A 50/1.2
FA 50/1.4
DA* 55/1.4
FA 77/1.8 Limited
FA* 85/1.4

Seriously, how many fast lenses do you need?

I used to own a Mamiya 80/1.9 for 645. As far as I am aware, that is the only sub-2.0 medium format lens ever made. I do own a 125/2.0 for my 645Z, but that is a fixed aperture 70mm projector lens with a bespoke adaptor/focal helicoid.

[pschlute]

Seriously, how many fast lenses do you need?

Indeed.

When you include the DA aps-c lenses 50mm 1.8 and 55mm 1.4 that makes 8 lenses available new in K-mount at f2 or faster.

The fact that we have access to out of production gems like the FA* 24/85 mm's or the "K" and A series 50mm 1.2's is one reason why I stay with Pentax. Leaving for another brand would be so limiting on lens choice

[Adam]

Hello,

Does anybody know why Pentax's doesn't like to produce lenses between F1.2 to F2.0?

There are only 4 lenses in its current K mount / APS-C line up,

The K full frame has three lenses, but even the 645 lineup doesn't have a single one.

I realize the lenses would be a little bigger and weigh more, but looking at all the pics on 500px, most pictures are from lenses with F ranges that Pentax doesn't make.

Does anybody know the logic behind Pentax's thinking?

There are actually 8 such lenses, excluding the FA 35mm which is still current:

<= F2 Lenses | PentaxForums.com

Pentax has historically been committed to compactness and value, which eliminates the incentive to have too many ultra fast lenses. However, with the upcoming release of more DFA* primes, I'd expect to see a few more fast lenses to fill those gaps for those who need them.

For the 645 system, it's just not necessary, let alone feasible, given the size of things.