Originally posted by Mistral75 It's a given that the Pentax-D FA 24-70mm f/2.8 ED SDM WR lens is not manufactured by Ricoh Imaging since it's labeled "Made in Japan" and they haven't any assembly plant there.
The fine art of contracting out, no doubt. Just because Tamron might assemble the Pentax version, it doesn't necessarily follow that Ricoh doesn't manufacture some of the components. Even though both the Tamron and Pentax lens elements appear to be identical in form, if not in coatings, or perhaps in substance, we don't know whose hands touched what parts of the Pentax version. It could be that Tamron produces all or most of the glass, and Pentax coats them for its lens. It could also be that Pentax makes the housing, and Tamron assembles the components. Most products these days come from a variety of suppliers.