[Sandy Hancock]

are you sure that the new version have 7 blades?

Yes, I am. From the Ricoh website

Dpreview reports that they also have 9 rounded blades

I guess they are not the ultimate oracle of all wisdom then.

[Mistral75]

are you sure that the new version have 7 blades? Dpreview reports that they also have 9 rounded blades

Back to the source: 7 diaphragm blades for HD PENTAX-DA15mm F4 ED AL Limited and HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited

Five HD PENTAX-DA Limited interchangeable lenses for K-mount lens-interchangeable digital cameras, featuring high-grade HD coating and round-shaped diaphragm?RICOH IMAGING

Something may be unnoticed till now: "SP (Super Protect) coating (already featured in four other models) has been applied to the HD PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited lens to keep the front surface free of dust and stains".

[theperception2008]

It's my understanding that the coatings are more about decreasing reflectivity/flare and increasing contrast rather than improving resolution, which is a function of the optical design. That plus the fact that the lenses refreshed so far are DA (i.e. crop sensor format) make me question whether the new coating is a sign of FF cameras to come.

But doesn't the improvements to flare, reflectivity and increased contrast lead to improvements in resolution as well as optical design? Weren't the Mark I DA limiteds fine with the 16 MP Exmor processor? Why change the coating if the sensors are't going to benefit from it?

[Tonto]

All I see is a bunch of silver lenses I want to buy for my Black K01 B)

[bossa]

DA15 and DA21 still use 7 blades, and DA40, DA70 and DA35 still use 9 blades. It's only the shape of the blades that has been changed.
Five HD PENTAX-DA Limited interchangeable lenses for K-mount lens-interchangeable digital cameras, featuring high-grade HD coating and round-shaped diaphragm?RICOH IMAGING

And the specs tell that the aperture will stay round until f/5.6, except for DA21 where it's f/4.

Thanks for correcting me.. I've been very busy and not reading thoroughly...

[Clavius]

About the designation... Since years the term "HD" has stood for 720p, and "Full HD" has stood for 1024p. I have no idea what its doing in a lens coating designation. A bit like saying the tires of my car have 120 horsepower. The horsepowers is not an attribute of my tires.

Even a term like Ultra Multi Coated, would have sounded less cheesy.

[Rondec]

Maybe Pentax thinks like me in respect to WR: What use is weather sealing on a prime lens anyway? There you are, in the pouring rain or in a dusty environment, needing to switch lenses from the 15mm to 55mm. You don't want to expose the insides of your precious camera to the lements, nor do you want to be stuck at one focal length. Therefore WR only makes sense on superzoom lenses, imho. The extra IQ of the prime is compromised by the moist or dust in the atmosphere anyway.

I would love it if the DA 15 was sealed. If I could stick that on one K5 and my DA 55 on the other, I wouldn't every change lenses...

[tzrenz0]

Why do people voicing such strong opinions know so little? The DA15 and DA21 have always had 7 aperture blades, and the new versions still do, as they should. The 14 point starbursts they produce are fabulous and stand them apart from the overly-busy 9 blade ho-humness of just about every other premium lens.

All the other haters can go jump. This is great news; Ricoh/Pentax are committed to continuing the DA limited legacy and these announcements (along with the *awesome* news about two new WR flashes) is no doubt the tip of the iceberg.

but sandy it clearly states that the 15mm will be upgraded to 9 blades. hmmmm I don't know where to check.

[tclausen]

About the designation... Since years the term "HD" has stood for 720p, and "Full HD" has stood for 1024p. I have no idea what its doing in a lens coating designation. A bit like saying the tires of my car have 120 horsepower. The horsepowers is not an attribute of my tires.

Even a term like Ultra Multi Coated, would have sounded less cheesy.

I fully agree with this.

Calling a coating "HD" is almost as annoying as when someone talks about how many Mbit/s the "bandwidth" of his Internet connection is .....

[Rondec]

I smell replacement on the way then. It makes sense to me. Upgrade the current lenses to handle higher resolution sensors, then release new ones along with new cameras. If the LX-D is in fact true, it might be using the 36 MP FF sensor as that sensor has shown that it could out resolve the current generation of Nikon lenses and coating. And what did Pentax just do? Update lenses with "HD" coating.

P.s. I think the FA limiteds will be getting the HD and WR treatment. Why not the DA's? Well size is a big factor. Adding weather seals to tight tolerance lenses is not an issue, but it would require more space, thus breaking with the DA limited design philosophy. The FA limiteds are lenses that are designed to be the pinnacle of resolution and light handling/gathering with emphasis on IQ. Size is not a constraint with FA's so I think we can expect them to have WR sealing. Just my .02.

Seems like the DFA 100 WR isn't any bigger due to the seals. Not sure what exactly it entails -- a gasket at the base and some seal internally, but I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do.

[bossa]

Yes, I am. From the Ricoh website


I guess they are not the ultimate oracle of all wisdom then.

Not a suppository in sight either ;-)

[Mistral75]

but sandy it clearly states that the 15mm will be upgraded to 9 blades. hmmmm I don't know where to check.

May I suggest you go back a few posts and read the table in the press release from Ricoh Japan (in English):

Back to the source: 7 diaphragm blades for HD PENTAX-DA15mm F4 ED AL Limited and HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited

Five HD PENTAX-DA Limited interchangeable lenses for K-mount lens-interchangeable digital cameras, featuring high-grade HD coating and round-shaped diaphragm?RICOH IMAGING
.

[Sandy Hancock]

About the designation... Since years the term "HD" has stood for 720p, and "Full HD" has stood for 1024p. I have no idea what its doing in a lens coating designation. A bit like saying the tires of my car have 120 horsepower. The horsepowers is not an attribute of my tires.

I fully disagree with this. HD is an acronym which can mean anything (Horse Dung, anyone?), while horsepower is quite specific.

[Aristophanes]

Not exactly massive IMO
Stuff like this makes it more appealing

http://www.voigtlaender.de/cms/voigtlaender/voigtlaender_cms.nsf/gfx/objekti..._40mm_frei.jpg

f2 v f2.8 is significant to some, this is just one example

Very large and heavy for a pancake. For AF on a screw drive it would be S...L...O...W

The OOF isolation difference aesthetically is mere inches.

[southlander]

If they already have an awesome product and want to make small worthy updates to it, that is all good I think.

My my, this place is so negative.

Yesterday I was telling a friend of mine (a longtime Canon user) about all the primes that Pentax has available, and other lens in general, and he was pretty impressed. Even though Canon has twice as many lens available, primes is what he likes and he didn't know Pentax has all that good stuff for very reasonable prices (compared to Canikon especially).

Also, people are forgetting that it's not just the HD coating (if they have that coating process, why not upgrade the Limiteds to it?), but also the rounded blades. That should help the bokeh of every lens, perhaps even sharpness. This is not a minor thing.

But I understand this place is more concerned about novelty and being sometimes more excited about new gear rather than taking pictures in the real world, so the negativity is kind of expected. I understand that people that do demanding photo work will appreciate what Pentax is doing. As we say in Brazil, 'if the team is winning you don't mess with its game'. Pentax primes are awesome and if this is a sign that Ricoh is committed to them in the longer term, then I'm very happy about these news.

+1 Already had my dummy spit along the same lines earlier today commenting on Adam's announcement of these lenses. A