[Kameraten]

. I was surprised, the smc PENTAX-FA 28-105mmF3.2-4.5AL[IF] is listed as weather resistant (drip proof) and "Design developed specifically for digital SLR cameras".

Surprises me too since this seems like a zoom range tailored for 35 mm film. I've used this lens only on digitals and it's optics really are a mixed bag. With the K-5's the performance seemed so poor I mostly left it sitting on the shelf, but now again with the K-3 somehow it seems better. Semi-serious testing always showed it to be sharper than the comparable Sigma 28-105, but there is a softness combined with a very cold color rendition that introduced color noise – until the K-3, that is.
Small, reasonably fast, a great range and size for a walkaraound lens. And affordable. Not a bad buy if you find one.

[Barry Pearson]

Obvious candidates for DFA release :
The 200 probably but they may want to update this older design.
The 300 certainly it is a new design.
The 55 is very good but optimized for portrait so it is not clear.
60-250 may get updated indeed, but that will take optical adjustments. It is worth it though it has useful range on FF and excellent optically.
50/100 macro look pretty good as is.
50/1.8 is pretty good as is too.

I have 4 of those: 300mm, 55mm, 60-250mm, and D-FA 100mm Macro WR.

I'm pondering what I will do if they do upgrade them? Live with the ones I have for a while, I guess - there are more goodies coming than I can afford anyway!

I'm intrigued about your statement "The 55 is very good but optimized for portrait so it is not clear". I was thinking what a nice combination the FF camera and the DA* 55mm f/1.4 would be for studio work! Being optimised for portraiture is a benefit, not a problem!

[ramseybuckeye]

Methinks someone was just copy/pasting

I think you are right, the FA* 600 has text for a zoom. I guess website mistakes are globally a problem for Ricoh Imaging, not just on the USA site..

[thibs]

I have 4 of those: 300mm, 55mm, 60-250mm, and D-FA 100mm Macro WR.

I'm pondering what I will do if they do upgrade them? Live with the ones I have for a while, I guess - there are more goodies coming than I can afford anyway!

I'm intrigued about your statement "The 55 is very good but optimized for portrait so it is not clear". I was thinking what a nice combination the FF camera and the DA* 55mm f/1.4 would be for studio work! Being optimised for portraiture is a benefit, not a problem!

It *may* be a problem (not for me). The 55mm has a long focus throw (coupled with sdm it means rather slow to focus: a feature for a portrait lens, not for a standard) and is a typical 50mm which means no sharpness king (again I don't care but some will).
It would be a candidate to replace the FA50/1.4 if Pentax doesnt want a sharpness monster: what they want I dunno.
But they will need a new portrait lens (or an FA85/1.4 updated).

[robbiec]

Sigma and Zeiss to a lesser extent have upset the status quo as to what is expected sharpness wise from the fast prime. One could argue that part of the fun and flexibility of using a fast prime was the softening of the frame the further you moved from center when used @ f/2.8 or wider.
So if you take it as said that photographers want more sharpness across the whole frame the the FA*85, FA50 and FA24* would need a complete rethink from a design perspective. I have omitted the 43 and 77 because I think that these are regarded as specialist lenses like the A50 f/1.2 and will be treated as such. Pentax are rightly from a business perspective focusing more on the zoom range as the majority of potential new customers will demand these optics. The road map suggests a range from 15-450 with a mix of high end, prosumer (mid range) and probably a couple of consumer (kit) zooms to get started with. This new range is more targeted at experienced / demanding photographers from the off with the 2 pro staples of 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 getting Star or Professional status. Birders and wildlife are covered by the 150-450 which has been demanded for years by the American / European community. Budget over €6,000 for these 3 optics
Getting back to the primes, 20 something is a gap that is screaming for an optic, be it D-FA Limited or D-FA *, the 35 and 50 in DA and FA formats will soldier on for another couple of years but if Ricoh has design resource capacity I would hope that they re-release with body's similar to the 100 macro and update the coatings. Sexy
alloy bodies, HD coatings, WR, DC motor technology and keep price at under €399 and you could have a good revenue stream from new recruits and updaters alike. 50 macro, and I have been saying this for years needs a new body. Give it DC and WR and it will quietly look after itself until the end of the decade. It is a fabulous optic, ignored and shunned for years rarely getting the plaudits it deserves. But all new prime designs? Late 2016

[mee]

D FA Large diameter standad zoom

Bwab! Pwak the Cwahr. You know how to dwive Standad, right? Here, take a Qwatah for the Meetah.

[derekkite]

Paul the Sunman made a good point. Ricoh will be selling far more APS-C cameras and lenses than FF ones for years.

But I agree with you that probably few if any new top-end APS-C lenses will be developed. I've been wondering myself about the fate of the DA* lenses. I think they could benefit from not only the HD treatment, but perhaps also motor-upgrades. Or ...

The DA* 55mm f/1.4, DA* 200mm f/2.8, and the DA* 300mm f/4, all cover an FF field. The DA* 60-250mm f/4 comes very close, just suffering some softness and/or vignetting at wide apertures. Perhaps they should be upgraded and released as D-FA lenses?

Indeed. The DA*300 is popular for its length and IQ, but could do with a focus speed update. I would have expected that this year, but maybe they are doing a df-a upgrade. It would work well on both bodies, and there is little or no downside due to size.

It makes no sense to have two lenses essentially equivalent in your lineup.

[mattipuh]

i was planning to get 60-250 but now might to wait new zooms. my focusing problems would propably be more corrected with replacing k-5 with k-3. its difficult ro decide if low light performance could beat zoom range...! still 60-250 outperforms both as walkaround zoom with its lowest weight

[RGlasel]

Funny how the roadmap changes every time I look at it.

I am not an optic designer or engineer or whatever you call someone who knows what is and isn't possible for cameras. However, aren't the problems with covering a FF image circle worse with wider focal lengths? Redesigned telephoto lenses with focal lengths of 150mm or longer could be designed to suit FF and APS-C cameras equally well. Even the larger size of a 70-200 f2.8 zoom compared to the DA* 60-250 can probably be explained by the wider aperture, especially since even though the 60-250 was designed specifically for APS-C, it only exhibits slight vignetting on FF. The weight gain from 1120 grams to 1755 is significant, but in actual use probably not as significant as changing from a lens weighing less than 500 grams. The 60-250 doesn't have screw drive, either, so there is little reason to update that particular lens.

So, I strongly suspect that the first new lens release (not already on the roadmap) will be an update of the 300mm prime to incorporate a DC AF motor, since the current optical design can fit a FF image circle and the new lens can be sold to existing APS-C users as well as new FF users. The necessary work to have DC drive entry level zooms has already been done, with the future wide angle DA zoom on the roadmap probably replacing the 12-24. For entry level to mid-level APS-C users, the only remaining lens that really needs an AF motor update is the 55-300, and with its short focus throw, that might not be a big priority. Since the super-zooms are rebadges, they probably are even lower on the priority list. The question in my mind is whether Pentax sees the need to update the DA* zooms and shorter DA* primes to DC AF from SDM (and from SMC to HD or Aerobright II coatings) or expects those potential customers to buy D FA lenses instead. The D FA lenses are going to be premium priced lenses, no matter what, and the only disadvantages of covering the FF image circle instead of only APS-C is size and weight. There is an expectation that more expensive lenses weigh more and not just among FF camera users.

[thibs]

The 60-250 *does* have dual AF so yes, it HAS screwdrive system.

[Blue]

. . . The question in my mind is whether Pentax sees the need to update the DA* zooms and shorter DA* primes to DC AF from SDM (and from SMC to HD or Aerobright II coatings) or expects those potential customers to buy D FA lenses instead. The D FA lenses are going to be premium priced lenses, no matter what, and the only disadvantages of covering the FF image circle instead of only APS-C is size and weight. There is an expectation that more expensive lenses weigh more and not just among FF camera users.

You will find that the FA prime lenses are quite compact. The D FA 100 WR and D FA 50/2.8 aren't large lenses either. The A50/1.2 is not large even though it is the fastest lenses Pentax made granted its manual focus. Remember, this is Pentax we are talking about here and they have been making some remarkably small full frame lenses since the 1950s.

[ViseMoD]

Any predictions on when a wide DA lens (12-28?) may be announced?

[Deimos]

Along with the K-3 II in the spring/summer

[Scintilla]

I'm intrigued about your statement "The 55 is very good but optimized for portrait so it is not clear". I was thinking what a nice combination the FF camera and the DA* 55mm f/1.4 would be for studio work! Being optimised for portraiture is a benefit, not a problem!

I interpreted it as saying: 55mm isn't a traditional focal length for portraits on full frame, so you wouldn't expect many FF-shooters to use it for such; and whatever qualities the DA* 55's rendering has that make it especially suitable for portaits might not be desirable for whatever other use cases they would be using it for.


(I can't speak to what those qualities are, as I don't know the lens myself.)

[D1N0]

So what is the D FA standard zoom going to be? Looks like a 28-200mm. http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/japan/products/lens/images/K_Mount_Lens.pdf
Why not 300mm? Who will buy it anyway. Use such a zoom, you might as well stay with aps-c...