[OniFactor]

like the title says, i'm getting a little antsy to hear more about this SDM converter.. what the multiplier will be, how big it is, and how much it may cost are all what i'm thinking of. lol

[bymy141]

like the title says, i'm getting a little antsy to hear more about this SDM converter.. what the multiplier will be, how big it is, and how much it may cost are all what i'm thinking of. lol

I guess you mean a Tele Converter capable of handling SDM lenses?

I bought a second hand Kenko 1.5 TC AF Teleplus and it works fine using the SDM focusing mechanism in my DA* 16-50mm!

So, you do not have to wait. I believe Kenko also makes 2.0 x TC's.

- Bert

[mattdm]

I guess you mean a Tele Converter capable of handling SDM lenses?

We don't know exactly. There's a little box in the future section of the lens roadmap which says "Rear Converter for SDM". Anything beyond that is speculation.

[Richard Day]

Pentax put it there to keep us quiet. They don't know what it's going to be either!

[ogl]

It's AF teleconverter for SDM lenses - Ned Bunnell said it would be 1.4х.
DA*300 will be 630 mm.
But a lot of us needs 1.7x or even two - 1.4х and 2.0x.

[Matjazz]

I bet it will have a chip that will covert focal length so that SR will work as it should. Otherwise we would already be able to input TC factor in SR menu.
Bad Pentax.

[Richard Day]

It's AF teleconverter for SDM lenses - Ned Bunnell said it would be 1.4х.
DA*300 will be 630 mm.
But a lot of us needs 1.7x or even two - 1.4х and 2.0x.

How about a TC that can be switched between 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x, using a design concept similar to Leica's Tri-Elmar lens design? DA*300 would become a 420mm f5.6, a 510mm f6.3 and a (probably manual focus only?) 600mm f8.0. That would blow away the need for adding a Bigma!

Or, if it was possible, a zooming TC from 1x to 1.7x or 2x? No need to de-mount the lens apart for IQ improvement at 1.0x. Now, that would be a unique first for Pentax.

I'm even sure that owners of DA* lenses would pay a high price for a really high quality TC like this!

How about a TC that can be switched between 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x, using a design concept similar to Leica's Tri-Elmar lens design? DA*300 would become a 420mm f5.6, a 510mm f6.3 and a (probably manual focus only?) 600mm f8.0. That would blow away the need for adding a Bigma!

Or, if it was possible, a zooming TC from 1x to 1.7x or 2x? No need to de-mount the lens apart for IQ improvement at 1.0x. Now, that would be a unique first for Pentax.

I'm even sure that owners of DA* lenses would pay a high price for a really high quality TC like this!

Please, tell me that you have insider information on this . If it is true, would they also be able to add an helicoidal extension tube ala Vivitar macro-focusing? That it is what the dreams are made of.

[Richard Day]

Please, tell me that you have insider information on this . If it is true, would they also be able to add an helicoidal extension tube ala Vivitar macro-focusing? That it is what the dreams are made of.

None at all, it's just a wild hairbrained suggestion from me.

But I have sent it to my Pentax contact though!

Macro is a good idea as well!

[OniFactor]

It's AF teleconverter for SDM lenses - Ned Bunnell said it would be 1.4х.
DA*300 will be 630 mm.
But a lot of us needs 1.7x or even two - 1.4х and 2.0x.

from what i understood, not only was it a tele, it also provided AF support for non SDM bodies..?

[Cambo]

from what i understood, not only was it a tele, it also provided AF support for non SDM bodies..?

1.4, 1.7, and a 2 would be nice, and conversion for non-SDM bodies/lenses. I guess they'd need two sets for that.

I'm always amazed at how well my old 1.7 tele works with the F* 300 f4.5; and it's ability to mate with old manual focus lenses is likewise astonishing. Also, it shortens the minimum focussing distance slightly.

Cheers,
Cameron

[mattdm]

from what i understood, not only was it a tele, it also provided AF support for non SDM bodies..?

I think that second is just speculation. How could it work physically?

[Canada_Rockies]

The Pentax 1.7X AF converter, that I purchased a copy of recently, actually focuses (within limits) on the back of a manual lens. That means that if you set the lens to minimum focus distance, the 1.7X can actually focus just a little bit closer, because it is designed to work with the lens set to infinity. The converter has lens elements that move with the screw drive.

[Sailor]

The introduction of SDM lenses suggests to me that Pentax is transitioning from an AF system based on in-body motors to one in which motorized lenses will be the norm; the upcoming SDM kit lens, to me at least, seems to support that (admittedly speculative) view. Consequently, I've wondered whether the SDM converter will be a motorized adaptor that will allow use of older AF lenses (those without motors) on "next-generation", motorless bodies.

To a guy who's been in the manufacturing world for over three decades, a long-term strategy that must absorb the cost and complexity of dual AF mechanisms doesn't make alot of sense. Thus, I suspect (but of course don't know) that we're in a period of "hybrid" bodies that will be followed by an era in which Pentax's approach to AF will look like those of Canon and Nikon.

Of course, I know nothing about how cameras are manufactured and I'm probably all wet. But . . . . its fun to predict and then see what actually happens.

Jer

[mattdm]

The introduction of SDM lenses suggests to me that Pentax is transitioning from an AF system based on in-body motors to one in which motorized lenses will be the norm; the upcoming SDM kit lens, to me at least, seems to support that (admittedly speculative) view. Consequently, I've wondered whether the SDM converter will be a motorized adaptor that will allow use of older AF lenses (those without motors) on "next-generation", motorless bodies.

That makes more sense than the other way around, both in terms of market potential and of how it could be physically done. It still would have to take considerable space, though.