[ChristianRock]

Am I the only one that thinks it's interesting that they have a * (star) lens for their main pro setup for the APS-C lineup, while the full frame lens equivalent might not be quite as good (and is not a star lens)? I'm expecting to like the output of this lens just as much if not more than what people get from the DFA 24-70. Of course I won't buy either one for a long time I'm sure, but I thought it was interesting.

[Mbaez]

Goodday everybody! For those who already had the chance to see some of the video's, you must have noticed that I'm very impressed with this new lens.

I'm looking forward to future tests and results that will without a doubt confirm my opinion. In the video above you will find quite a lot of work I made with the K-3 mark III combination and the new DA* 16-50mm.
For those willing to read and for a gallery with a selection of images, I wrote a blog as well: HD Pentax 16-50mmf2.8ED PLM AW ⋆ Mike Muizebelt Fotografie

Best regards,
Mike

Thank you Mike!
I saw your video with Niels, it was excellent. Love the video in general, drone scenes included. And it was a good show of the in-camera raw processing.

[phoebus]

Am I the only one that thinks it's interesting that they have a * (star) lens for their main pro setup for the APS-C lineup, while the full frame lens equivalent might not be quite as good (and is not a star lens)? I'm expecting to like the output of this lens just as much if not more than what people get from the DFA 24-70. Of course I won't buy either one for a long time I'm sure, but I thought it was interesting.

I don't think there is anything suspicious - just a matter of timing.

The K-1, DFA 150-450, DFA*70-200 and DFA 28-105 were probably developed in parallel - though release dates were obviously spread out a bit. The DFA* 50 and 85 were probably in the pipeline well before the K-1 was released. The Tamron 24-70 is 'good enough' and 15-30 pretty good, allowing the relatively small Ricoh team produce a usable zoom range of 15 to 450mm at K-1 release. The APS-C range has been going since 2003, so it is fairly comprehensive already.

Hopefully all future Pentax lenses are in-house designs - there are certainly a few gaps in the DFA* range.

[DWS1]

Thank you. A very nice video review.

[sbh]

Given the fact that the original SDM DA*16-50/2.8 was 900 EUR (or was it 999 EUR?) way back in 2007, 1400 EUR doesn't seem too excessive for what seems a much better lens.

A Price of 1000 in 2007 equals 1345 at an inflation of 2% 15 years later. (1000 x 1.02^15 if I did that calculation correctly.) From that perspective it would be not much of a price increase, or not?.

[Mbaez]

A Price of 1000 in 2007 equals 1345 at an inflation of 2% 15 years later. (1000 x 1.02^15 if I did that calculation correctly.) From that perspective it would be not much of a price increase, or not?.

That's true.

[ehrwien]

A Price of 1000 in 2007 equals 1345 at an inflation of 2% 15 years later. (1000 x 1.02^15 if I did that calculation correctly.) From that perspective it would be not much of a price increase, or not?.

I'm seeing prices under 700€ (MSRP: $749) for the old one at release, and 1499€ now for the new one. That's quite a bit more than just corrected for inflation. 942 vs 1499.

But it's a completely new design and I hope to see some improvements in image quality (some of which are visible in Niels' video already) along with the fast PLM focussing.

[Mbaez]

I'm seeing prices under 700€ (MSRP: $749) for the old one at release, and 1499€ now for the new one. That's quite a bit more than just corrected for inflation. 942 vs 1499.

But it's a completely new design and I hope to see some improvements in image quality (some of which are visible in Niels' video already) along with the fast PLM focussing.

Mike's video shows more pictures, even at 100% , and they look super sharp. I think the new lens is worth the price.

[ehrwien]

Mike's video shows more pictures, even at 100% , and they look super sharp. I think the new lens is worth the price.

Ah thanks, I hadn't seen his video yet (I have now), but I had been to the blog. Neither a 1080p video with YouTube compression (even when showing 100% crops) nor 2560px * 1707px (around 4 MP) images at f/8 are adequate for judging sharpness of an f/2.8 lens imho. The pictures are great pictures, visually pleasing, but I agree with others who said they would like to see more examples wide open, and my own use case for such a lens would involve less stopped down landscapes with filter and more handheld wide open low light scenes. I liked the horse action shot(s), but felt unable to judge sharpness in the presented forms.

[Mbaez]

Ah thanks, I hadn't seen his video yet (I have now), but I had been to the blog. Neither a 1080p video with YouTube compression (even when showing 100% crops) nor 2560px * 1707px (around 4 MP) images at f/8 are adequate for judging sharpness of an f/2.8 lens imho. The pictures are great pictures, visually pleasing, but I agree with others who said they would like to see more examples wide open, and my own use case for such a lens would involve less stopped down landscapes with filter and more handheld wide open low light scenes. I liked the horse action shot(s), but felt unable to judge sharpness in the presented forms.

Check the following video, it compares the new lens against the old at different FL and apertures:

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[Rondec]

Am I the only one that thinks it's interesting that they have a * (star) lens for their main pro setup for the APS-C lineup, while the full frame lens equivalent might not be quite as good (and is not a star lens)? I'm expecting to like the output of this lens just as much if not more than what people get from the DFA 24-70. Of course I won't buy either one for a long time I'm sure, but I thought it was interesting.

I do expect them eventually to at least have an in-house designed 24-70 f2.8. I think the thing with the K-1 was that they wanted to release it with a DFA 70--200 f2.8, 24-70 f2.8, and 15-30 f2.8. They didn't have the time or interest to create the 24-70 and 15-30 at that point and so the contracted with Tamron to supply those.

Assuming the K-1 III sells decently, they will eventually go back and fill in the gaps in the full frame line up, but they need the DFA * ultra wide prime, DFA 21 limited, and DFA 70-300 variable zoom to be released first. That probably means no DFA *24-70 before 2024 at the earliest.

[Dave L]

A Price of 1000 in 2007 equals 1345 at an inflation of 2% 15 years later. (1000 x 1.02^15 if I did that calculation correctly.) From that perspective it would be not much of a price increase, or not?.

UK's consumer prices index (CPI) increased by 34% from 2007 to date so it's a very large price hike here too, inflation-adjusted. For a better lens, of course and with the law of diminishing returns who knows if it's value for money or not? Not me, not yet anyway.

[Ishpuini]

Perhaps I shouldn't have stated that the price isn't relatively much more. It was done partly jokingly.

As I mentioned the old SDM was a pretty expensive lens for me. For the purchase price, but more so for the twofold SDM repair I had done at 250 € per repair. I'm counting on PLM not requiring that extra cost to help the lens survive 14 years or more. And I'm not counting the price of the second hood that I had to pay after losing the original.

[i_trax]

Check the following video, it compares the new lens against the old at different FL and apertures:

https://youtu.be/8wVFLLgC5fs

[Mbaez]

😂😂😂 I didn't turn on CC