[monochrome]

The DA 20~40 Limited was announced November 6th last year with little apparent rumor in advance (October 31st photorumors post).

[Mistral75]

(...)
Don't misinterpret the fact that I've finally executed my oft-threatened strategy to own the three Princesses before they're gone forever as anything more than overcoming inertia and special pricing at B&H. My gut feeling is 2015 will be the year of the FF camera and lenses but it will be a surprise in some dramatic way no one is anticipating.
(...).

@ monochrome et alii re the revamped FA Limiteds: think 'Zeiss Loxia' in comparison to 'Zeiss ZM' with a touch of 43 Special.

[Mistral75]

So December may see the 135-400 (...) this one should give 840 effective FL with the 1.4TC, which is close to the 150-600 Sigma/Tamron.

Except that the Sigma's and Tamron's aperture at 600mm is f/6.3 whilst this one's will be f/8 at best with the 1.4x converter (f/5.6 without).

[bossa]

Does anyone seriously believe they don't have a working FF prototype right now? The basic fact of them putting K-3 tech in a MF body should tell you everything you need to know right?

Cad, 3D Printing, off the shelf parts etc etc...

[totsmuyco]

The roadmap had the "high magnification super-telephoto zoom" at about 135-385, now it's about 135-400+. Hopefully the fact they adjusted the roadmap means it's closer, maybe by this Winter, this has to be one of the most anticipated lenses since I've been a Pentax user.

I hope it will be a 100-500 or a 135-520 AW/WR. That would be something I would to see.

[Winder]

Does anyone seriously believe they don't have a working FF prototype right now? The basic fact of them putting K-3 tech in a MF body should tell you everything you need to know right?

Cad, 3D Printing, off the shelf parts etc etc...

I would be willing to bet they have had several FF prototypes over the years, but that doesn't mean they will bring them to market. A couple of years ago Samsung showed a MILC with a 36mm x 36mm square sensor. Lots of prototypes never make it to production. Ricoh seems to extraordinarily cautious, and I get the feeling that if they have any doubt about the FF DSLR they won't produce one.

[lytrytyr]

@ monochrome et alii re the revamped FA Limiteds: think 'Zeiss Loxia' in comparison to 'Zeiss ZM' with a touch of 43 Special.

I don't get the analogy.

As far as I can tell, the Loxia lenses are just a kludge to address the deficiencies of the Sony mirrorless implementation,
and will become obsolete once backlit CMOS technology works its way up to full frame.

[Winder]

I don't get the analogy.

As far as I can tell, the Loxia lenses are just a kludge to address the deficiencies of the Sony mirrorless implementation,
and will become obsolete once backlit CMOS technology works its way up to full frame.

What deficiencies are you referring to? Why would a BSI sensor make the Loxia obsolete?

The Sony A7 line makes manual focus pretty fast. Going to a stepless aperture and manual focus makes them very appealing to HD video users who are buying the A7s. The Loxia line is going to be very attractive to those who don't have the money to go with Leica, but like that style of photography. Its just a simple question of Planar vs Sonnar for the Sony buyer.

[Mistral75]

I don't get the analogy.

(...)

Indeed, you did not.

[lytrytyr]

What deficiencies are you referring to?

Color shifts and the like at the edge of the frame when using wide angle lenses,
especially the traditional Gauss type.

Why would a BSI sensor make the Loxia obsolete?

By eliminating the deep wells round the pixels,
bringing them to the front.

---------- Post added 11-04-14 at 02:22 PM ----------

Indeed, you did not.

So, can you explain your intended analogy further?
What specific architectural problem would revamped FA Limiteds be trying to solve?

[Mistral75]

(...)
What specific architectural problem would revamped FA Limiteds be trying to solve?

Coma aberration.

P.S.: The problem with Sony E-mount cameras lies more in the thickness of their filter than in their sensor itself. Compare the performance of Zeiss Touit lenses on Sony and Fujifilm cameras for instance.

[Winder]

Color shifts and the like at the edge of the frame when using wide angle lenses,
especially the traditional Gauss type.



By eliminating the deep wells round the pixels,
bringing them to the front.[COLOR="Silver"]

The color shift is a problem with the lens, not the sensor. The color shift is only visible with certain lenses designed for other systems. Lenses designed specifically for the FE mount should perform better. Yes, BSI will allow for certain lens designs, but that is not a deficiency of the mirrorless system.

[Uluru]

Does anyone seriously believe they don't have a working FF prototype right now? The basic fact of them putting K-3 tech in a MF body should tell you everything you need to know right?

Cad, 3D Printing, off the shelf parts etc etc...

Ah, they have that. But they cannot decide upon which silly colour scheme to dress up the FF: "Sweets" or "Krauts".
We all know Ricoh — they have one just card up in their sleeves, and they play it over, and over, and over again.

[monochrome]

Well - we'll all just have to wait until spring. We can jaw jaw all we want, be manic or depressive or alternate - won't change a thing.

I don't care. I'm shooting 3 new Limiteds on a K-3 while I wait.

[luftfluss]

...have one just card up in their sleeves, and they play it over, and over, and over again.

Just like a certain poster.