Originally posted by lytrytyr
I don't think that means anything special. Ricoh is a very well-run outfit and they know how to talk the right language and do things the right way with their resellers. It also comes after a very rocky period of relations between Pentax and the retail trade so they have to offer a solid basis for doing business. At any rate, I don't think it means "We'll help you to lose money
and rip off your customers at the same time". I may be quite wrong but I think the old FA 20-35mm, which the new 20-40mm replaces, cost even more in Japan before it went out of stock there. it might be that this new lens is a bit of a "Japan special" and Ricoh might argue that in offering the DA replacement for less they are doing right by their end-users. Who knows, but there is a case for it. Western customers have always had the other zooms like the 16-50mm.
Personally what I'd really love is a fully weather-sealed 12-28mm f4 constant with excellent edge-to-edge performance, for landscapes. That would cover a huge amount from inside buildings to many kinds of landscape. It needn't be that small; I'd trade size for performance. Tokina already have their own version of this; I wonder if it is a shared design with Pentax or even originated with Pentax? In which case bring it on.
Last edited by mecrox; 01-18-2014 at 06:46 AM.