[ogl]

smc PENTAX DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM will ship in March 2008 for $1099.95
smc PENTAX DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM will ship in May 2008 for $1299.95
smc PENTAX DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED will ship in May 2008 for $399.95
smc PENTAX DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited will ship in April 2008 for $599.95
smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II will ship as a kit lens with PENTAX K200D in March 2008 (value $199.95).

I hoped that DA*300 could be cheaper than DA*200.

[MRRiley]

Somehow I knew they'd release the DA* 300mm AFTER my Alaskan cruise in May. Guess I'll just have to buy the Bigma and hope for a tax rebate...

EDIT... Now I hear March.... ARGH! decisions decisions...

[anomaly]

smc PENTAX DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM will ship in March 2008 for $1099.95
smc PENTAX DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM will ship in May 2008 for $1299.95
smc PENTAX DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED will ship in May 2008 for $399.95
smc PENTAX DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited will ship in April 2008 for $599.95
smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II will ship as a kit lens with PENTAX K200D in March 2008 (value $199.95).

I hoped that DA*300 could be cheaper than DA*200.

Definately would buy the 200mm. Gotta get the 31mm first though!

[jbcampbell]

smc PENTAX DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM will ship in March 2008 for $1099.95
smc PENTAX DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM will ship in May 2008 for $1299.95
smc PENTAX DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED will ship in May 2008 for $399.95
smc PENTAX DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited will ship in April 2008 for $599.95
smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II will ship as a kit lens with PENTAX K200D in March 2008 (value $199.95).

I hoped that DA*300 could be cheaper than DA*200.

I assume those are suggested retail & street prices will be less. That's pretty high considering the competition is cheaper for example a Canon 200 F2.8 L is $650.00 & their 300 F4 L IS is $1120.00.
I would really like to get the 200 F2.8 to go with my 50-135 DA*.

[KFrog]

smc PENTAX DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM will ship in March 2008 for $1099.95
smc PENTAX DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM will ship in May 2008 for $1299.95
smc PENTAX DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED will ship in May 2008 for $399.95
smc PENTAX DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited will ship in April 2008 for $599.95
smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II will ship as a kit lens with PENTAX K200D in March 2008 (value $199.95).

I hoped that DA*300 could be cheaper than DA*200.

Ouch, that DA35mm is more than I was hoping it would be I want to try macro shooting and I like the limiteds so what a great lens that would be to start with

[ccallana]

It intersting that the 55-300 is $400 when the 70-300 options from Tamron and Sigma are under $200. I wonder how much better the Pentax is, or does the extra 15mm on the wide end make a huge difference... I'm thinking I need a zoom with 300 at the end, but is the 55-300 going to be 2x the performance as the others even considering its 5.8 at that end...

[RMabo]

smc PENTAX DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM will ship in March 2008 for $1099.95
smc PENTAX DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM will ship in May 2008 for $1299.95
smc PENTAX DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED will ship in May 2008 for $399.95
smc PENTAX DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited will ship in April 2008 for $599.95
smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II will ship as a kit lens with PENTAX K200D in March 2008 (value $199.95).

I hoped that DA*300 could be cheaper than DA*200.

Pentax Sweden says that they expect to get the DA Star 200 and DA 35 Macro Limited in February, and the others in March. They have not set any prices yet on the lenses.

[RMabo]

It intersting that the 55-300 is $400 when the 70-300 options from Tamron and Sigma are under $200. I wonder how much better the Pentax is, or does the extra 15mm on the wide end make a huge difference... I'm thinking I need a zoom with 300 at the end, but is the 55-300 going to be 2x the performance as the others even considering its 5.8 at that end...

The DA 50-200 is also more expensive than the Tamron 70-300 and Sigma non-APO 70-300.
I don't expect the 55-300 to be less expensive than the 55-200.

In Swedish magazines, the Pentax FA J 75-300 has got better reviews than Tamron 70-300 and Sigma 70-300, and it is also less expensive than the 50-200 - so that may be an option if you don't want to pay so much money.

[blende8]

A review in German says that the DA35 will be SRP 400 Euro only.
Since for photo equipment normally 1$ = 1Euro roughly, there is a discrepancy here.

[Gooshin]

can someone fill me in on the merits of fixed focal length extreme telephoto lenses?

is the quality significantly better that for a thousand bucks you sacrafice ability to properly compose your shots?

[MRRiley]

High end zooms tend to be variable aperture... aka at 100mm they might be f4 but by the time you get to 300mm they are f8. A fixed focal length 300mm at f4 reduces a variable. when you go from 100mm/f4 at 1/1000s to 300mm in the same light you might have to drop to 1/125sec (since the loss of light is not simply linear). That 1/125sec is harder to hold still than if you could manage 1/1000 or even 1/500sec...

This is why constant aperture zooms are so expensive. The do offer the constant light gathering capability while providing the zoom capability...

[mattdm]

High end zooms tend to be variable aperture... aka at 100mm they might be f4 but by the time you get to 300mm they are f8.

Just to clarify, by "high end" you mean "large focal length" not "high-end of the market". Because the latter tend to be constant aperture (which is why they're so expensive, really.)

[Gooshin]

High end zooms tend to be variable aperture... aka at 100mm they might be f4 but by the time you get to 300mm they are f8. A fixed focal length 300mm at f4 reduces a variable. when you go from 100mm/f4 at 1/1000s to 300mm in the same light you might have to drop to 1/125sec (since the loss of light is not simply linear). That 1/125sec is harder to hold still than if you could manage 1/1000 or even 1/500sec...

This is why constant aperture zooms are so expensive. The do offer the constant light gathering capability while providing the zoom capability...

my buddies canon 70-200 USM is a constant f2.8, at around 1500 (i dont remember how much he paid for his)

it makes wonderful pictures

Tokina also makes an 80-200 constant f2.8 unit for pentax, can be had for around 1000-1300 IIRC

what is the insentive for me to buy a 200mm fixed lens in light of other lenses on the market for a similar price? how much higher quality are we talking about here? is it really worth it?

[raz]

High end zooms tend to be variable aperture... aka at 100mm they might be f4 but by the time you get to 300mm they are f8.

Don't know about the f8 thing...the cheap(~120$) 70-300 tamron has f/4.5 at 220mm and f/5.6 at 300 and is pretty decent in terms of image quality.

But I bet it doesn't even compare in terms of sharpness, contrast and so on with the new 300mm f/4.

[mattdm]

what is the insentive for me to buy a 200mm fixed lens in light of other lenses on the market for a similar price? how much higher quality are we talking about here? is it really worth it?

For many people, the answer is clearly "no". But this is well worth reading:


The Online Photographer: The Case Against Zooms