[mee]

But this is the issue they will have, why they did not label them as D-FA in the first place (DA35 f2.4, DA40, DA50, DA70).

It will just lead to confusion in the future IF/WHEN they release a FF camera....

Unless the DA lenses are registered as such by the camera and the camera automatically goes into APS-C mode.

[JinDesu]

If I remember correctly from another thread, DA and D-FA do not refer to being full frame or crop compatible. Hence why the 645 lenses are also DA/DFA.

[Tan68]

I read that that too that the DA35 f2.4 is based on the FA35, the DA50 based on the FA50 f1.7.......

One does favor the other. I might even say the DA is based on the FA :^)
I don't know about any tests, but I can look at the DA 35 and the FA 35.

But the DA got a noticeably smaller front element
Looking down the throat of the thing, its aperture blades are smaller
I aint taking the rear caps of to check its nethers

If the FA didn't need the larger elements and aperture, then why was it sporting them..?
No, the DA might work on the FF but I wouldn't say it is suitable for FF
Not for any critical standard.

As I say, I haven't tested this. Just thinking about it...

I wonder why the DA wasn't made to cover FF. It couldn't have been much larger... It is about the size of the FA now. Still screw drive and no quickshift. Couldn't have weighed much more. Not really... anyway.

[chessmen]

At this point in time, I won't be convinced until it is an official statement

[bobell69]

Just when I am about to sell my kit, along comes this new rumour. It is still a rumour until I hear it from a rep at Photokina.

[clackers]

As I say, I haven't tested this. Just thinking about it...

Somebody already has, Tan. He has some pages where he tested them on film.

Most of the DA primes are fine, the zooms are not.

Others have speculated on the ancestry of these primes .... the DA35 2.4 as a cut down version of the FA35, the DA50 of the FA50 1.7, and the common design of the DA70 and IIRC the A85 or K85????

[Uluru]

The story of Pentax is a story of a totally wrong timing and bad management. We all know that. But what we won't admit is that Ricoh itself has contributed to it.

The K-mount has been so neglected and never used to its full potential that the company has virtually gone off the market. The Q mount was devised in wake of Ricoh's acquisition to keep Pentax afloat and become a more household name, more colours were introduced in the K-mount camera range, etc. and minute steps made to make cameras more competitive otherwise. All very desperate, but tiny moves to keep the ship from sinking. Now in 2015, to finally make an FF for the K-mount, which was originally an FF mount, is a finale of an opera composed in an era of mismanagement and little love.

Does Ricoh show an improvement in management? Yes.

But passion? Not really. They still need defrosting. If they had a real passion and knowledge, many things would have been done faster and with keener interest in the assets purchased. For example, they could have learned they have a bunch of ready lenses that world knows nothing about. And it took them three years to understand they have them? Or make a better website about a brand right after the acquisition, not two+ years after? Wait 12-16 months to start concrete plans for new development? So on.

---

Last edited by Uluru; 09-16-2014 at 02:46 PM.

[boriscleto]

Just when I am about to sell my kit, along comes this new rumour. It is still a rumour until I hear it from a rep at Photokina.

Don't let a rumor stop you. If you feel you need FF go ahead and switch.

[bossa]

Well... better get those A, F, FA lenses while they are still cheap!

It'd be a tragedy if they weren't compatible with the new camera though.

[Tan68]

I don't doubt the results. Maybe they have been used on the Sony; I have only read the studies on film.

I just don't think the results on film are likely to be very relevant for digital...
The DA lens may provide a suitably uniform performance across the frame of film but at what resolution? I just can't believe the newer lenses are able to perform the same as the older but with smaller guts... Maybe they can :^)

Even if they perform adequately, we got people here complaining about extra pixels making it impossible to take a picture without blur... They say the new lenses have to be sharper and better and more. Yet, a DA lens can cover FF.. to what degree of satisfaction..? Not for these guys :^)

I admit I would not be interested in a DA on my FF if a FA lens performs any amount better. Why? The choice would be of any premium lens versus an other than premium lens.. Buy the FA with the larger glass or the cheaper DA with smaller glass and take some trade off. DA may meet a need in this way but people looking for better performance will end up hunting a more suitable(or matched) lens... Same as they do now.

Somebody already has, Tan. He has some pages where he tested them on film.

Most of the DA primes are fine, the zooms are not.

Others have speculated on the ancestry of these primes .... the DA35 2.4 as a cut down version of the FA35, the DA50 of the FA50 1.7, and the common design of the DA70 and IIRC the A85 or K85????

[bossa]

What an absurd situation. We now have a rumour started on Facebook by Pentax France about a future Pentax FF camera when Photokina is open and where announcements should be made. Unless the aim is to make an announcement that isn't really an announcement so as to avoid having to release the product in the future I can see no reason for this "uncontrolled" statement.

Why not just use Facebook for all Ricoh/Pentax announcements in future? That way, every week can be Photokina week.

---------- Post added 17-09-14 at 07:33 AM ----------

If they had a real passion and knowledge, many things would have been done faster and with keener interest in the assets purchased. For example, they could have learned they have a bunch of ready lenses that world knows nothing about. And it took them three years to understand they have them? Or make a better website about a brand right after the acquisition, not two+ years after? Wait 12-16 months to start concrete plans for new development? So on.

They could have released a FF based on the K-3 concurrently and supplied the 3 Amigo's in a LTD collectors kit. People would have gone nuts for it. But they are anal and being anal is not the answer.. sooner or later you need to take a chance if you want to live.

Current FF Lenses:

DA*55, DA*200, DA*300. D-FA 100 Macro, FA 31, FA 43, FA 77, FA 50... and probably a couple more

[monochrome]

They could have released a FF based on the K-3 concurrently and supplied the 3 Amigo's in a LTD collectors kit. People would have gone nuts for it. Being ANAL is not the answer.. sooner or later you need to take a chance if you want to live.

Maybe they couldn't have done either.

[rawr]

[quoting Asahi Man:
Under development... in good old Nikon and Pentax speak,it means,is in production.
I am sure,we see the camera in 6 till 8 month.

I guess this means the R&D, design and prototype stages are over. The hardware is now 'feature complete', as may be the firmware, but the product is still 'pre-production'.

Time to switch from the lab to the factory. So now it's time to begin finalising all supplier inputs (sensor, shutter, chips, LCD's, switches, metal parts etc etc), re-arranging the production workflow at the factory assembly line, training workers for the new process etc etc. Then gradually ramp up factory output, with small batches for reviewers and testers, leading to full output.

But before any public launch, I guess production output will have to reach a certain volume in order to meet initial global demand and distribution. So no launch until there is enough product to meet initial orders.

[Tan68]

Well, it is the way the new people communicate.
In some ways, it aint real until it hits FB...

What an absurd situation. We now have a rumour started on Facebook by Pentax France about a future Pentax FF camera when Photokina open and where announcements should be made. ...

Why not just use Facebook for all Ricoh/Pentax announcements in future? ....

[JimmyDranox]

It's confirmed. It's under development, but the launch will depend of market condition.

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