[dadipentak]

would be a pity if they cancled the lens for the PK mount.

"pity"? It would be an outrage!

[Edgar_in_Indy]

"pity"? It would be an outrage!

I'm a big fan of Pentax DSLR's, but if Sony ever made a DSLR that didn't have a translucent mirror (which hurts performance at higher ISO levels) then I would probably jump ship since I'm tired of getting the shaft in 3rd-party lens support. I'm not a fan of Pentax lenses reliability and pricing, so all of my lenses are 3rd party. It would be a real punch in the gut if Sigma pulls the 18-35mm for K-mount.

[Franc]

I'm a big fan of Pentax DSLR's, but if Sony ever made a DSLR that didn't have a translucent mirror (which hurts performance at higher ISO levels) then I would probably jump ship since I'm tired of getting the shaft in 3rd-party lens support. I'm not a fan of Pentax lenses reliability and pricing, so all of my lenses are 3rd party. It would be a real punch in the gut if Sigma pulls the 18-35mm for K-mount.

well i do like pentax lenses, so do jump ship and we see you moaning on your next purchase

[ElJamoquio]

I'm a big fan of Pentax DSLR's, but if Sony ever made a DSLR that didn't have a translucent mirror (which hurts performance at higher ISO levels) then I would probably jump ship since I'm tired of getting the shaft in 3rd-party lens support. I'm not a fan of Pentax lenses reliability and pricing, so all of my lenses are 3rd party. It would be a real punch in the gut if Sigma pulls the 18-35mm for K-mount.

What about Nikon? They get all the lenses and use Sony sensors.

That translucent mirror hurts performance at all ISO levels. Sony says it robs 'only' 1/3rd of the light but the analysis I recall seeing was at or above 40% if I recall corectly (I may not).

[Wired]

it shouldn't bug me, but I'm getting annoyed at the opinion that our lenses are unreliable and overpriced. Sure there were glaring SDM issues in the past, but as a owner of a large collection of Pentax product I have had next to bulletproof performance from all of them, and have found better value in my Pentax optics than Nikon optics I'm investing in now. I have had more issues with Nikon optics (see 6! 6! copies of 50mm f1.8 G to get one worth using, 2 copies of 85mm f1.8G. Technically my 80-200 f2.8 should have gone back to Nikon by now as well due to focus being decentered...that's pretty much all my Nikon glass having issues). Only reason I ever sent my DA*16-50 in was because I dropped it. My K5 same thing.

maybe I was just lucky?

I know Sandy has had numerous issues with the new HD 70.

[Cannikin]

I'm a big fan of Pentax DSLR's, but if Sony ever made a DSLR that didn't have a translucent mirror (which hurts performance at higher ISO levels) then I would probably jump ship since I'm tired of getting the shaft in 3rd-party lens support.

If you're concerned about Sigma lens support, then you most certainly didn't pick the right mount to jump to. All the Sigma "Global Vision" lenses for A-mount have gotten the same treatment as the K-mount, except for the recently announced 50mm f/1.4.

- The 35mm f/1.4 was released for A-mount at the same time as the K-mount (late May 2013).
- The 18-35mm f/1.8 has not been released on A-mount, and Sigma has been giving an approximate release of late February, same as the K-mount.
- The 120-300mm f/2.8 and 30mm f/1.4 have been pretty much confirmed to never come out for A-mount, same as K-mount.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

If you're concerned about Sigma lens support, then you most certainly didn't pick the right mount to jump to. All the Sigma "Global Vision" lenses for A-mount have gotten the same treatment as the K-mount, except for the recently announced 50mm f/1.4.

Well, the updated 50mm 1.4 is something anyway. Especially if it keeps up the track record of Sigma's outstanding optics in their recent lenses. I know I've seen other lenses in the past that were released in Sony mount but not Pentax. The excellent and affordable Tamron SP 70-300MM F/4-5.6 Di VC USD comes to mind. That is a lens that I sorely wished was available in Pentax mount.

Another side of the coin is that I've noticed that certain lenses are much less expensive in A-mount than K-mount. The Sigma 100-300mm f4, for example, often sells for half the price in A-mount. There's one 100-300mm f4 on eBay for $620 that has been listed for some time now without any takers. That right there would be a $600 - $700 savings versus the same lens in Pentax mount.

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Last edited by Edgar_in_Indy; 01-17-2014 at 12:29 PM.

[Rondec]

I'm a big fan of Pentax DSLR's, but if Sony ever made a DSLR that didn't have a translucent mirror (which hurts performance at higher ISO levels) then I would probably jump ship since I'm tired of getting the shaft in 3rd-party lens support. I'm not a fan of Pentax lenses reliability and pricing, so all of my lenses are 3rd party. It would be a real punch in the gut if Sigma pulls the 18-35mm for K-mount.

I don't understand. I shoot Pentax for the glass. If I was going to buy all Tamron/Sigma lenses, then Nikon would probably be the way to go, although Canon would be fine too.

I think any Pentax screw-driven lens will out last any Sigma HSM lens and I do think SDM issues are over blown (although I can understand your concerns over pricing).

[Edgar_in_Indy]

well i do like pentax lenses, so do jump ship and we see you moaning on your next purchase

I can't help but notice that in your stable of 7 Pentax lenses, you only own one SDM model. Just to be clear, my comments were directed mostly at the SDM zoom lenses, and I guess I assumed most people on here would pick up on that given the history. I don't want to slight the limited primes, since they really are special lenses. But for my needs, I have found the competing Sigma lenses to be a better fit.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

I don't understand. I shoot Pentax for the glass. If I was going to buy all Tamron/Sigma lenses, then Nikon would probably be the way to go, although Canon would be fine too.

I don't see myself going with Canon or Nikon until they cave in and offer IS in their bodies. But I don't see that happening any time soon (or ever) since their customers seem to be happy to keep paying for bigger/heavier/more expensive stabilized lenses. That's why I mentioned Sony, but I shoot at high ISO a lot so I don't care for their light-robbing translucent mirror design. I'm probably mostly just grousing, and things would have to get pretty bad before I ditch Pentax.

I think any Pentax screw-driven lens will out last any Sigma HSM lens and I do think SDM issues are over blown (although I can understand your concerns over pricing).

You could probably say that about any variety of the silent-focusing lenses vs screw-driven lenses. Just a matter of less-complexity. Although the fact that Sigma offers 4 years of warranty and Tamron offers 6 years (compared to 1 year for Pentax) does help one feel more secure in their purchase.

But when it comes to long-term lens reliability, I do have to wonder how many of these stablized lenses will still be working 10, 20 or 30 years from now. My understanding is that most stabilized lenses will not be usable if the OS system fails since it has to hold an element in proper position.

[Rondec]

I don't see myself going with Canon or Nikon until they cave in and offer IS in their bodies. But I don't see that happening any time soon (or ever) since their customers seem to be happy to keep paying for bigger/heavier/more expensive stabilized lenses. That's why I mentioned Sony, but I shoot at high ISO a lot so I don't care for their light-robbing translucent mirror design. I'm probably mostly just grousing, and things would have to get pretty bad before I ditch Pentax.



You could probably say that about any variety of the silent-focusing lenses vs screw-driven lenses. Just a matter of less-complexity. Although the fact that Sigma offers 4 years of warranty and Tamron offers 6 years (compared to 1 year for Pentax) does help one feel more secure in their purchase.

But when it comes to long-term lens reliability, I do have to wonder how many of these stablized lenses will still be working 10, 20 or 30 years from now. My understanding is that most stabilized lenses will not be usable if the OS system fails since it has to hold an element in proper position.

Sure. With Sony, you have the choice of in body stabilization and an SLT design or no in body stabilization.

I thought that all Tamron lenses were screw driven for Pentax, but maybe I'm wrong.

As to the in lens stabilization, the same thing is true of it as in lens motors. These will all require periodic servicing (I have no idea how often), but will be able to used as long as the photographer is willing to send his/her gear in for said service. I know some professional photographers who plan to send in their lenses for "tune ups," on the supposition that auto focus or other things will need evaluation and they don't feel comfortable doing it themselves.

[ElJamoquio]

I don't understand. I shoot Pentax for the glass. If I was going to buy all Tamron/Sigma lenses, then Nikon would probably be the way to go, although Canon would be fine too.

Pentax still has the best (APS-C) cameras. If I could have Sigma/Tamron in any mount it'd definitely be K.

[devorama]

Sure. With Sony, you have the choice of in body stabilization and an SLT design or no in body stabilization.

Well the rumors surrounding the A77 successor indicate it will use on-sensor PDAF and have no translucent mirror. And probably the standard hot shoe. :-)

[Unlimited]

I'm with Edgar_in_Indy on his thoughts about Pentax lenses and Sigma 18-35. I'm planning on buying a K-3, but since I couldn't get a better price during Black Friday I postponed the purchase until 18-35 in Pentax mount is available. And while I voted for the K-3 on dpreview best DSLR poll, I voted for Sigma 18-35 as the product of the year. Pentax lenses seem to me overpriced, however that is mostly because of a vicious circle. They cannot lower the price of the lenses because they don't make many (economy of scale) and they cannot make many because they cannot sell them (at those prices). I think Ricoh must break this vicious circle if they are hoping to succeed in growing their market share. If not they will have the fate of many printer makers who sell the printer very cheap but sell the ink way overpriced. Most consumers will just buy ink from other cheaper ink manufacturers.
Returning to Sigma I think their evolution is clearly because of their new CEO, a guy that really knows what he's doing. And regarding the new 50 mm that I'm sure will be awesome I don't think it will be launched for Pentax simply because it's a FF lens and Pentax doesn't have (yet) FF; so although I'm really not interested in FF I hope Ricoh will launch a FF so that I can buy nicer Sigma lenses.

[pfannkuchen_gesicht]

they could break that circle by releasing a really amazing lens series with uncomparable sharpness and so on. Like Sigma did with the Art-Series lenses. I'm sure if Pentax could get something like that out they would sell like hot cakes.