Originally posted by house I suspect any difference is quite subtle. Or at least only visible in edge cases. Despite being quite candid this is Ricoh marketing. The da limited smc to hd switch is probably equivalent and people harldly notice except for star bursts.
I suspect this may be true as the HD versions are priced markedly less expensively than the SMC, probably to persuade owners of the SMC versions to purchase the new ones and for new owners to be tempted to buy as they are getting new coatings on great lenses. If they were going to be significantly different, I suspect the prices would be higher.
I hope flare resistance is indeed better, but I wonder if this is likely to be as much to do with the internal design than the coatings, which may only make a subtle difference. It will be fascinating to see what the first reviews show.