[Class A]

Anticipating the further advancement of SLR camera bodies in the future, PENTAX has...

I like the sound of that!

[edri]

I’d love to know these numbers:
.....

No matter these numbers, no matter their value, Ricoh sets the price as they think and it's their business what happens next. It's their problem if it doesn't sell.

[ffking]

If that price is true, they must reckon it's a statement lens, which would, in it's way, be good news for the future - no point in showing what youy can do at the risk of low sales volume if you don't want to raise the profile of the brand.

(OTOH, if the privce is lower, it will be even better news, becaus a lot more people would buy it so the results would be seen more widely )

[robbiec]

I will buy it, know quite a few others that will too. They run off an initial batch of say 1000, the home market will snap up 750, 100 to Ricoh EU, 100 to Ricoh US leaving 50 to be divvied up elsewhere, say 5 to 10 for reviews. The UK might get 25 and I bet SRS have 25 names. Keep demand higher than availability and you can keep prices up and profitable. Run another batch in 3 months or so once you have firm numbers.

Pentax is going the way of Leica, it has opted out of the mass consumer focused race to the bottom. DFA* is supposed to mean something, the Halo product like BMW's M Series, or Mercedes AMG line, something to look up to, to aspire too. Or photographically, DFA* = Zeiss Otus.

Why and what is the most lusted lens of all the Pentax back catalog? the FA*200/4 Macro (some could argue the FA*250-600) Optical quality is one, rarity is another and high price is the last. HALO Products. This whole site was setup to buy a FA*200/4 Macro

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Last edited by robbiec; 05-25-2020 at 07:20 PM.

[Wheatfield]

I will buy it, know quite a few others that will too. They run off an initial batch of say 1000, the home market will snap up 750, 100 to Ricoh EU, 100 to Ricoh US leaving 50 to be divvied up elsewhere, say 5 to 10 for reviews. The UK might get 25 and I bet SRS have 25 names. Keep demand higher than availability and you can keep prices up and profitable. Run another batch in 3 months or so once you have firm numbers.

Pentax is going the way of Leica, it has opted out of the mass consumer focused race to the bottom. DFA* is supposed to mean something, the Halo product like BMW's M Series, or Mercedes AMG line, something to look up to, to aspire too. Or photographically, DFA* = Zeiss Otus.
Or why is the most lusted of all the Pentax back catalog is the FA*200/4 Macro? Optical quality is one, rarity is another and high price is the last. Halo... This whole site was setup to buy a FA*200/4 Macro

I have that lens. My intention is to be cremated with it grasped in my cold dead hands. I will never let go of that one.

[robbiec]

I have that lens. My intention is to be cremated with it grasped in my cold dead hands. I will never let go of that one.

Let me know when and where you're getting cremated. Shame to waste it. Of course I'd pay my respects too

[sculptormic]

FOR YOU ?

I could buy it but I don't think it is worth it in my oplnion. Will it be twice so good as a 85/1.4 Sigma art? More then twice the price it will be. Since there are no more third party manufacturars Pentax can sort of ask what they like.
I know these modern high resolution lenses have to be bigger while I personally tend to want smaller lenses. That's why I am quiet happy with the 77 lmt

[Zygonyx]

No matter these numbers, no matter their value, Ricoh sets the price as they think and it's their business what happens next. It's their problem if it doesn't sell.

I'd say it's your problem if you don't buy.
Tip : avoid to buy it in UK pound

[Serkevan]

I have that lens. My intention is to be cremated with it grasped in my cold dead hands. I will never let go of that one.

I now know my career plans after I'm done with my PhD. Canada Photogenic Funerary Services, here we go.

---------- Post added 05-25-20 at 12:46 PM ----------

I'd say it's your problem if you don't buy.
Tip : avoid to buy it in UK pound

At some point I'll make a trip to Japan and I fully intend to haul back several lenses at reasonable prices

[robbiec]

To quote the Daily Mail: 'What planet are they on?'

That particular paper helped enormously in getting them to that planet wherever it is

[ffking]

Will it be twice so good as a 85/1.4 Sigma art?

No, but we all k ow that it doesn't work that way - if you're a competitive runner, for example, you only have to be a tiny bit better to win almost all the races - and that tiny advantage might come at a great cost. Is it worth it? It depends what your priorities are.

[gazonk]

Well, compared to the HD DFA645 MACRO 90mm F2.8 this lens is almost cheap

[repaap]

No, but we all k ow that it doesn't work that way - if you're a competitive runner, for example, you only have to be a tiny bit better to win almost all the races - and that tiny advantage might come at a great cost. Is it worth it? It depends what your priorities are.

And we all know that this lens is not Sigma ART. It is one with legasy of A*85, FA*85 and now this. While a lot of people can say a lot about those lenses. They (Pentax/ricoh)obviously do honor it, so that is one more reason? What is worth what and why. Emotions have big part of that.

[sculptormic]

No, but we all k ow that it doesn't work that way - if you're a competitive runner, for example, you only have to be a tiny bit better to win almost all the races - and that tiny advantage might come at a great cost. Is it worth it? It depends what your priorities are.

Well that tiny bit will not work for me, also for the reasons you didn't quote - a bit of competition could lower that 'great costs' -, and on top of that 85 is not a priority FL for me. Could be a wonderful lens though.

[Wheatfield]

I could buy it but I don't think it is worth it in my oplnion. Will it be twice so good as a 85/1.4 Sigma art? More then twice the price it will be. Since there are no more third party manufacturars Pentax can sort of ask what they like.
I know these modern high resolution lenses have to be bigger while I personally tend to want smaller lenses. That's why I am quiet happy with the 77 lmt

There is a phrase we use in manufacturing called the law of diminishing returns. What it means is that quality does not increase in lockstep with price. It is used to refer to a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested.

There is also the economy of scale to take into account. The Stigma has been around for a number of years and is available in several mounts. It will sell many, many units for every one unit that Pentax sells. Again, if the cost to bring a product to market (R&D, tooling, etc) can be spread over thousands of units, the cost per unit will be far less than if the cost can only be spread over tens of units.

If you are basing your opinion solely on unit cost as a comparison to the Stigma lens, you are not taking any of the things that are increasing that cost into account.

Sadly for many, the days of Pentax being the cheap and cheerful brand bringing good equipment to market at rock bottom prices is over. They tried that for a couple of decades and it cost them their company. It appears that Ricoh has a very different vision. They don't seem interested in pursuing the mass market, they are pursuing the specialty camera market. It looks like, going forward, we can expect relatively low volume (Pentax is low volume anyway) high quality and expensive products.

People that can't deal with that would be well advised to move on. Ricoh is sending very strong signals regarding which way they are going with the Pentax brand, and they seem to be going for the top drawer, not the bottom one.