[Pål Jensen]

The 150-450 is a decent lens, but someone who wants to get good results needs more, and many will spend to get it. There have been a gradual exit of long lens shooters from Pentax because the offerings are not there. They end up spending lots of money somewhere else. Thousands of dollars. I reckon Ricoh would like to have that cash.

You won't get better results with the K-1 and the FA* 600/4 than a K-3 with the 150-450; quite the opposite in fact. The zoom is much better optically to start with, not taking into account the technical difficulty of making the 600mm perform at its best (you may end up shooting at high ISO in order to get high enough shutterspeed to prevent blur; who needs noisefree, unsharp images?).
People dream about these (600mm) lenses but when they start using them most soon get them out of their system. They circulate a lot on the used market.

I agree that Pentax need a "full" line-up for marketing purposes. But I rather see a 600/5.6 than a 600/4. The former have half the weight of the latter.

[Class A]

What's about a complete new 2.8 300 and a new dedicated 2x converter?

What about a 4.0 200mm macro?

It would be great if Pentax could revive the great optical formula they have for the FA* 200mm f/4. And release it at a reasonable price.

[totsmuyco]

Except for macro, I'm normally a zoom user. I normally use 2 bodies, 1 for the short end and 1 for the long end. However, I would like to see development of high end long lenses to cater to sports and wildlife professional photographers.

[asahi man]

What about a 4.0 200mm macro?

It would be great if Pentax could revive the great optical formula they have for the FA* 200mm f/4. And release it at a reasonable price.

I saw only 60 mm and 90 mm new optical patents.
That means not much.
I know only that we will see new macro stuff this year.

[Class A]

Thanks, asahi man!

[ffking]

It's at least strange and incomprehensible that some people here claim that Pentax who is getting into the pro-game again with WR and outdoor oriented equipment doesn't need to make new high quality tele lenses. Just a reminder for which company we are talking about:

I have to agree with your logic - if one of the selling points of cameras is toughness and WR (and copmarative lightness, for that matter), then they would seem to be ideal for wildlife types - but there are no (or not enough) FF lenses for them.

[starjedi]

I saw only 60 mm and 90 mm new optical patents.
That means not much.
I know only that we will see new macro stuff this year.

Ah. 60 2.8 macro and 90 2.8 macro? For 200 F4 macro, the optical is already extremely good ...

[eyeswideshut]

I think much of the need for really long lenses will hinge on the K-1's auto focus.

Lo if only two reviewers should judge that tracking auto focus is good w/o being stellar or even on a par with... and Pentax need no longer hurry with the introduction of the long guns

---------- Post added 13-02-16 at 13:15 ----------

I saw only 60 mm and 90 mm new optical patents.
That means not much.
I know only that we will see new macro stuff this year.

Pentax Q? lol

[Chris Mak]

Thanks,never a mirror lens.
That's the last what we need and the last what we get ��
What's about an optical perfect quality like in the current 4.0 300 but in a new 5.6 600?
5.6 because of size and wight and enough for current ISO quality?

A 600/5.6 would almost double the DA560mm, and that lens was a downright flop (not thanks to me, because I own and use one!).
They could opt for a regular telephoto design 600/5.6, but I am not sure it would have a better chance than the DA560, even if smaller and with a closer minimal focus distance. It would have to be priced around 3000,- because that is what people expect for a long f5.6 lens. You are talking about serious amateurs and professional wildlife shooters with a 600mm lens, and they usually want the best possible and are willing to pay for it, but they will probably pass on a 600mm lens that cannot take converters well because of a f5.6 maximum aperture. You won't get into high end territory with a f5.6 lens, and that is what serious wildlife shooters are after and willing to pay for in general.


Nikon released a new 600mm/f4 lens that weighs less than 4 kg. That's nearing half the weight of the older FA600/f4. Now that is a lens that Pentax should attempt to make and price it competitive, the Nikon is priced through the roof.
I would save up for a 8000,- 600f4 and trade in my DA560, especially when it works really well with the 1.4tc. Lenses like these you should only buy once in a lifetime. A 600/5.6 would make me keep my DA560 (which by the way is a very fine lens i.m.o.). The benefits of a f4 lens over a f5.6 lens at 600mm are huge, AF wise and light gathering.

What's about a complete new 2.8 300 and a new dedicated 2x converter?
Both possible maybe,cause they have talked about.
Best regards

300/f2.8 is essential i.m.o. even if it is not a lens that I would buy myself.


Chris

[derekkite]

So far they are doing nice short zooms, a 70-200, a run of the FA limited primes, a long zoom 150-450.

The need a wide zoom which has been hinted at.

From there they will make something that satisfies profitable niches. 300 f4, 70ish portrait, a very sharp wide astro capable, and long fast zooms.

The tele guys crawling out of their holes have $10k burning a hole in their pocket.

[ffking]

no doubt about the success of the teaser diverting chat to lenses

[timautin]

It's true that a 600 5.6 would overlap the 560. So once again... 500 f4 . And 300 2.8, even if I would not buy it, having already the DA* 300 and the 150-450.

[starjedi]

5 days to go!!!!


The information below is what currently we knew (Feel free to correct!):

K-1
2000EUR
36.3MP CMOS Sensor
Viewfinder Magnification: 0.78
coverage 98%
Build in GPS, no flash，
Wifi
Dual SD cards
Support all K mount lenses
Manual/Automatic Crop Mode format mode: Auto, APS-C and FF
Brand new super stabilization (4.5 stops)
Super resolution (pixel-shifting) mode
Fine composition adjustment
50+ AF focus points ==> 33 AF focus points
口口口口口
口口口口口口口
口口口口口口口口口
口口口口口口口
口口口口口

15-30 and 70-200 are ready （24-70 already available）
Announcement date: Week of Feb 22, 2016 (Feb 18 2016 likely)

Pictures:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/16-pentax-news-rumors/313857-picture-k-1-a.html

[Dieseler]

The tele guys crawling out of their holes have $10k burning a hole in their pocket.

Check out some of the gear (and pics!) on this forum and this is probably only a small subset of Aussie wildlife shooters, who in turn would be a small subset of world wildlife shooters!

Not saying that every one of them would change to Pentax though, even if the glass was available!

[derekkite]

I have read the things you have written, Derek, and my guess is that the initial people who purchase the K-1, for the most part, will be using it for portraits (narrow depth of field) and landscapes (printing bigger than APS-C allows). You said elsewhere that most photos that aren't telephoto could be taken with a camera phone and I would disagree with that statement -- there are plenty of photos, either because of being taken in low light or because narrow depth of field is desired, where a larger sensor is pretty important.

I wouldn't be surprised if Pentax does fill in the fast, super-telephoto lens slot at some point down the road, but it feels like it probably isn't in their top five list of lenses that they need to create and get out the door. We can tell that they are stretched pretty thin at this point by the fact that they will be relying on Tamron to fill the 24-70 f2.8 and 15-30 f2.8 zoom slots. Clearly they feel like they need to get lenses into these spots and don't have time or, perhaps the personnel to design these lenses from scratch.

I'm sure there is a market for high end long lenses. I was pretty surprised at how many people have purchased the 150-450 (although that is pretty cheap on the scale) and the 560. But certainly the more expensive you go, the more rarefied the lenses will be.

I hope Pentax does eventually make a better DFA 600 f4 -- and a 135 f1.8 -- and a 50mm f1.2, but first they need to get the basic zooms and primes into place before they start dealing with specialty glass.

The portrait market will be served by this body, the nice zooms and the FA Limiteds. There are people willing to spend money to get better results in this market, and Pentax has a compelling offering. That is my point. Who is willing to spend money. That is where Ricoh will focus their attention.There are lots of people who want to take snaps, but few willing to spend money for something to get the shots they couldn't otherwise. Ricoh put serious money into designing and getting right a 70-200 because they know people want to spend money on a good one. They didn't with the 24-70, they rebranded what someone else makes. Maybe because they see that lens as being in competition with the phone in everyone's pocket. A necessary part of their offering but not worth taking up rare development and production resources.