The new 50mm is very representative of big changes for good and bad. In what may sound iconoclasticly like, "normhead vs. the World", there is a point to be made that the new large-fast, back-breaking, wallet-sucking imposing glass promise to make us better photographers? (not necessarily) I have enjoyed the very passionate arguments on all sides of this thread (one of the better threads IMHO). The high MP sensor revolution is not just in photography, it is in HD TV and movies too! Just think of all the news anchors, actors/actresses, etc who now get shoved aside because their skin is not perfect for HD resolution. Managements push what they think the general population wants to see, not always what is more deserving based on artistic or intrinsic merits. This is where the bigger money goes to. It is natural for that to happen. Many people like bright, shiny objects to look at if given a choice.
If the Pentax 50mm example is somehow gross to some people, how about the absurdity in the opposite direction of a variable zoom, afflicted by the
SAME digital disease:
Link to:
NEW TAMRON 18-400
This monstrosity is even weather resistant (Tamron probably learned a lot from Pentax making lenses for them)! And this
"Thing" will probably sell fairly well! ("She's alive! She's alive!", from
Bride of Frankenstein) My point is that even if you get what you wish for, a variable aperture lens, it might not end up being what you really wanted in this environment of HD-distorted values (there is probably a high correlation to political correctness as well but that is beyond the scope of this thread!!!). This size absurdity will not end until the resolution gets so high that one will not be ABLE to make glass good enough for the sensors!
Secondly, IMHO, the new 50mm is extremely important for Pentax. I think it is a shame that a small camera system producer (Pentax) cannot focus enough on one line of cameras and lenses and deliver everything most people want. Now there has to be a split personality (almost truly schizoid in nature) where they are feeling the need to deliver 4 lines of camera systems and not pleasing anyone! So, they made a management decision, if we believe what Kenspo has said, for the FF lineup.
But I still say that, despite what others might gravitate to ("...bright, shiny objects to look at..."), therein lies the opportunity! I would implore anyone with a rigid sense of right or wrong about this situation (and I really am saying this out loud to challenge myself as well!) to reevaluate how you can take advantage of this strange situation and increase your photographic vision and execution of your own internal vision. In more concrete terms, this means to me that I am being challenged to not grab the bright, shiny object but to dig a little deeper for artistic vision and skill and then see what is available to me, whether that is a format or a system like any TOOL to accomplish a GOAL. The goal comes from the internal vision, not the marketing or test labs or peer pressure. Of course, if you are a professional, you may not be able to avoid what everyone else is doing to make a living.
If the new 50mm and subsequent emphasis of big FF glass helps or hinders your inner vision perhaps should be the guiding question in a very confusing marketplace.