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01-30-2019, 03:01 AM   #166
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QuoteOriginally posted by MatKus Quote
I'm trying to understant what might be the reason to release FA 35 lens. It's FA, not DFA, it has manual aparture setting and screwdrive...
And i have only 3 possible answers.
1) It's joke
2) It's some crazy marketting decision that i don't understand (but i'm not good in marketting, so who knows)
3) Ricoh is planning to release some ancient camera, maybe something for those analog lovers, there's more and more of them lately.
To my mind its just a quick refresh of a 35mm to wait for the DFA* 35mm which will arrive in 2020 (or later).

01-30-2019, 03:04 AM   #167
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mistral75 Quote
This price could correspond to a RRP of $/€399.
This price is affordable, good that (perhaps) Ricoh won't charge much for revamped glass.
01-30-2019, 03:07 AM - 2 Likes   #168
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QuoteOriginally posted by alpheios Quote
I don't get all the hate.
It’s their special way of expressing disappointment. Disappointment, that is, that it wasn’t a lens that was brand new, with all the features of a * lens, at a bargain price. I’m kidding. It’s disappointment that it wasn’t a lens with all those things that they could think about buying. One day. Some time in the future. Maybe.
01-30-2019, 03:13 AM - 2 Likes   #169
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QuoteOriginally posted by alpheios Quote
I don't get all the hate. I think it's really important for a camera company to have a set of entry to mid level lenses and a set of pro lenses. More people will be buying into the brand/system if they offer more affordable glass. Not everyone can or wants to spend $900+ on prime lenses when they first buy into a new full frame system. Actually it's a pretty clever move for a company that has limited resources. The FA primes are good and can be made even better with very little money spent on development. Just have a look at what the other big companies offer on the entry level. That's often lens designs that date back to the nineties with a few tweaks and upgrades. My guess and hope is that Ricoh will do the same with the FA 50 F1.7 and maybe other lenses (20/2.8, 135/2.8?).
Of course it is a good thing to have a choice. Problem is, that most of the choice we have now in that "oldie but goldie" lenses, is used stuff, that might be ok, but can be faulty/weared out. Most 20 and so years old lenses, need CLA to work fine. 10years is typicaly a point when a helicoid lube starts to divide into fractions because of its age, that causes lens to get loose, and that might be a starting point of mechanical wear. And its sometimes pain to get it back into good shape with reasonable cost. I've posted about such refreshes few times here years ago, especially both FA's in current line are in need of that kind of action. Old FA50/1.4 should be logical choice for such treatment, lets hope maybe some of discontinued lenses will be remade into newer versions, there are brilliant designs such as old FA*85/1.4, FA*24/2, FA135/2.8 etc that could be remade into newer coating/glass, rounded aperture, quick shift and make a reasonably priced choice(up to 500$) for one that don't want to spend +1000$ on a prime and would like to get brand new products.

01-30-2019, 03:14 AM - 1 Like   #170
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They even dropped the AL out of the lens name:


The zoom has a clamp (zoom lock I presume):
01-30-2019, 03:21 AM   #171
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QuoteOriginally posted by BarneyL Quote
Current price of the FA 35/2 in my country is more or less 580 EUR. So that would be welcome.
Current price of FA 35mm f2.0 is 289$ online and it is available at the moment. Even if you ship it to your country and pay import taxes it will be less than 580 EUR which is 660$. So it seems Pentax wants to raise the price of an old lens to 400 EUR, i.e. 450$ and more than that elsewhere in Europe probably.
01-30-2019, 03:25 AM - 1 Like   #172
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I suppose it’s disappointing if you conclude this is all that’s coming. But these are are not likely to be the main exhibits at CP+. They will actually be on the shelves a whole week before that.

We have the GR and the wide converter by spring. We then have the possibility of more roadmapped lenses and the near certainty of some kind of 100 year anniversary product. Then there is the prospect of new K-mount or 645 cameras.

01-30-2019, 03:31 AM   #173
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
The zoom has a clamp (zoom lock I presume):
More likely a focus look.
01-30-2019, 03:46 AM - 3 Likes   #174
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QuoteOriginally posted by 5r82 Quote
Current price of FA 35mm f2.0 is 289$ online and it is available at the moment. Even if you ship it to your country and pay import taxes it will be less than 580 EUR which is 660$. So it seems Pentax wants to raise the price of an old lens to 400 EUR, i.e. 450$ and more than that elsewhere in Europe probably.
Just because old stock is being sold of at a loss in the US doesn't mean Ricoh is trying to raise prices. $400 is a good deal on an lens of this quality (the DA 35 F2.4 an even better one though it performs great on the K-1 and I am not obsessed by corners).
01-30-2019, 03:49 AM - 3 Likes   #175
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QuoteOriginally posted by JPT Quote
I suppose it’s disappointing if you conclude this is all that’s coming.
OMG! January is almost over and they still haven't announced all the products for this year and the next!!!111oneoneone
01-30-2019, 03:55 AM   #176
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QuoteOriginally posted by Reed Quote
Good one I would go for revamped FA*24/2 lens formula in current "exterior design" and new coating tech same day it hits the shelves.
Revamped 24 would be great, But making it ’*’ lens gives it perhaps too much to stand for. I mean modern * lenses are highly corrected expensive AW sealed beasts. So might not happen..
01-30-2019, 04:03 AM - 9 Likes   #177
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A few things to note, many of which have been stated elsewhere in this thread.

1. The likely reason for this lens's re-release is that old stock was used up. Pentax decided to tweak the design a little.
2. Screwdrive auto focus is actually very fast. Two of the fastest focusing lenses I own are the DA 40 limited and the FA 135 f2.8. It does have the added benefit of limiting lens size.
3. While this is an "old" design, this is nothing unusual and many of the lenses in Nikon and Canon's catalogs have very old roots. By all accounts it is a lens that performs well optically.
4. This lens is supposed to be a cheap-ish option for those who want a lens in the 30mm range for full frame and don't want the cost of the FA 31 limited.
5. There is still a 30-ish mm f1.4 lens on the road map that will be similar to the DFA *50 in size, performance and price. Timing is uncertain on it as on the roadmap it is listed as "2019 or later."
6. Perhaps the most important thing is simply that Ricoh is giving a strong indication of support for the K mount in a climate where other camera companies are abandoning their classic mounts in favor of mirrorless mounts with shorter registration distances.

All in all, there is nothing particularly negative about this release. By being a relatively minor tweak, it doesn't push back the release of other K mount lenses, but it is a reasonable addition to the catalog.

Last edited by Rondec; 01-30-2019 at 04:13 AM.
01-30-2019, 04:22 AM - 1 Like   #178
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
Just because old stock is being sold of at a loss in the US doesn't mean Ricoh is trying to raise prices. $400 is a good deal on an lens of this quality (the DA 35 F2.4 an even better one though it performs great on the K-1 and I am not obsessed by corners).
If you look at both of those lenses optics formula, they are very similar to each other, just downsized a bit for the DA counterpart. Also a DA35/2,4 have a little circular baffle molded in between the last and second to last element- and probably that design change makes it a half of a stop slower lens. Unfortunately one cannot get rid of it because all lens housings are made as enclosed in plastic shell and cannot be disassembled without total damage. I remember to have once disassembled flooded DA35 for a cleaning in between lenses space that got mold inside, and there was no hope for it because of that plastic closed construction.
01-30-2019, 04:37 AM - 2 Likes   #179
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The HD FA 35/2 will be paired with the new no frills cheap FF camera....can't resist.
01-30-2019, 04:42 AM   #180
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QuoteOriginally posted by mannyquinto Quote
The HD FA 35/2 will be paired with the new no frills cheap FF camera....can't resist.
Any source on that?
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