[DSims]

550/900 is more than one half.

Not if you do the math right. But I'm sure you already know this:

$550 was an unusually high price which briefly appeared when a few New Old Stock FA20-35s were found.
$900 is a previous sale price (which is no longer available).

And figures like 1/2 and 1/3 are approximations. So don't turn Apples into Pineapples.

[RGlasel]

With long focal lengths shallow depth of field is a problem not a selling point. Other than stalkers, who takes shallow DOF portraits with a FF equivalent focal length of 200mm or more? With high ISO digital cameras there is no need for a f2.8 telephoto. It's funny how things change much slower with high end DSLR cameras than with consumer grade cameras. Any new Pentax lenses aimed at a higher price point than kit lenses will undoubtably have DC autofocus, and the 20-40 Limited showed that fast aperture is not a priority, so a 135-380 4-5.6 DC WR makes lots of sense, especially at a similiar price point to the DA* 60-250. We have a review of the 55-300 WR that shows its screw drive AF blows the doors off SDM (and DC AF is better yet), but the wider aperture of this rumoured 135-380 will require a larger lens than the 55-300 and will be aimed at the serious wildlife photographer who will be more than happy to pay roughly the same for a lens as for the camera body. Time to start selling your 5D's and D800's? You could have a serious 24 MP kit with coverage from 28-560mm (in FF equivalent) for about the same amount of money as a 5D or D800 body. If you think the FF vs. APS-C war is crazy now, just wait.

[LFLee]

having most horrible day of my PhD thesis.... come on Ricoh, bring some sunshine with something new and fancy!!!!!

wow, what field you are in with your phd ?... when I do mine, I have no money to buy camera gears to cheer up my bad day.

[K David]

Ah, I totally forgot about K-3.

Totally understandable. No one on this forum has talked about it at all. LOL (I actually had to look up the meter info because I wasn't positive.)

[jppp]

Other than stalkers, who takes shallow DOF portraits with a FF equivalent focal length of 200mm or more? With high ISO digital cameras there is no need for a f2.8 telephoto.

I do, and I need an f2.8 tele lens. I shoot football (European) all the time with a 70-200 mm f2.8 wide open, which gives me high enough shutter speed for action and great subject separation for player "portraits" on the pitch. DOF at 200 mm, f2.8 and a 20 meter distance is about 1,1 meters which is not much for action but quite good for slower moving subjects. And I do like to keep the ISO as low as possible.

[twophase]

..sounds like you need to super-size that PhD with a new lens or two.

LOL Yeah!!!! that would be really really nice

[twophase]

one bite at a time!

I´m afraid I´m too impatient

---

Last edited by twophase; 01-30-2014 at 02:16 AM.

[mythguy9]

It ending 380 I mean, the 135mm short end is fine by me.

Yeah Pentax has quite a few odd focal lengths. I think it is some form of quality control, making 380mm when you can't really make 400mm. I hope tht 380mm end will be more usable then the more common 400mm end e.g. Sigma zoom lens.

[twophase]

wow, what field you are in with your phd ?... when I do mine, I have no money to buy camera gears to cheer up my bad day.

physical chemistry.. a lot of physics and very little chemistry

believe me, niether do I, but my dear ones are looking for a present for me when my thesis is ready... in 2 months I hope ...

And I do hope I will get more lucky than one of the cases on PhD comics.. ( PHD Comics: Are you ready?)

[ebk]

waiting for a new Pentax k-01.
new dslr's not welcome!!!

[JimmyDranox]

I also need f2.8. And looking at market offers, I think that many others also needs high speed lenses.

The big difference between a high speed lens and a slow one, is that a fast lens can be closed down, but an f5.6 lens can't be opened more than this

Seriously, in astronomy we learn that resolution is strictly linked to aperture. The more, the better. And a fast lens means more aperture.

[gazonk]

About the KL rumors - K-L is K-50 with 50 written in roman numerals

[Katmandude]

no sumarian numerals or for the more expensive version in hieroglyphs, with a gold paint scheme XD

[ogl]

Specs of K-60, K-600 and K-L from French site is a dream of user. And nothing else.

[asw66]

What an ignorant, unwarranted slur against Ricoh. Disgusting.

The GR mimics only earlier GRs.

Goodness, I didn't mean to start a flame war!

For the record: my comment was not sarcasm, it truly did reflect my ignorance of the history of the GR line. I have no malicious feelings towards Ricoh; quite the contrary. I believe that Pentax is in safe hands there.

It's good to be passionate about your hobby, and it's only to be expected that some of that passion will be directed towards your favourite camera manufacturers. But the objects of this passion, we must recall, are big industrial conglomerates. They buy components from other manufacturers and package them in various ways, each seeking to gain profit and marketshare. If you think that they're not sneaking peeks at each others' cards, you're sadly naive.

For what it's worth, I also think that Nikon's D7000 borrowed a lot of design cues from Pentax's SLR line. I say this without sarcasm or malice, just a generous dollop of cynicism. As such, if my cynicism proves to be unfounded, that's actually cause for optimism.