[timautin]

Glad to see some discussion about long lenses 🙂 . I'd love to see some options which have no alternatives (rather than another 100ish-400ish a bit different than the 150-450). I'd definitely purchase a 500 f/4 or 600 f/5.6 (after some savings time, of course... &#128517!

[Wheatfield]

It's good intermediate design. Better than the SMC 50s. Not as good as the much heavier much more corrected D-FA 50 1.4. I'm not convinced it needs to have better AF. If I want faster AF and 55mm there's always the DA 55-300 PLM. But I can't reeder ever needing faster AF with 50.

That might answer things satisfactorily for you, but the 55-300PLM is an f/4.5 lens at the wide side, which might be dim for some people, as it is giving up over 3 stops of speed, and more than 3 stops of depth of field control.

I used the DA*55/1.4 extensively in studio and portrait settings where the faster maximum aperture was a definite bonus, and found the AF speed to be barely adequate, and this in situations where the subject isn't moving around a whole bunch.
The slow AF works, but it's decidedly frustrating to use.

Obviously if one spends next to no time in studio/ portrait shooting this wouldn't be on their radar, in much the same way someone who spends most of their photographic time chasing little furry animals around forests wouldn't have much use for a 50/1.4 of any kind.

Really, Ricoh needs to drop the old Sudden Death Motor style AF entirely and switch all of the affected lenses to other AF strategies, but this is probably a bit lower on the priority list than filling out the lens line up a bit more.

[TwoUptons]

This is where Pentax needs a DA 55-300 equivalent that goes to 400. Even a 150-400 would be awesome as it would probably provide better IQ through it's range than a 100-400. The days of people thinking any 400mm lens is going to be out of reach price wise are long over. The days of people thinking 300mm is some kind of magic number for affordable glass are long over.

But this is Pentax. Maybe in 5 years we'll have something.
Right now, the best case scenario is license the Tamron one in a year or two.

The DFA 70ish-300ish has been on the roadmap a while now... so as cool as it would be, I doubt we'll see a 100-400 until they run out of 150-450s.
I went shooting with a DA-L 55-300 on full frame today. I know some people like it, and it really is remarkable for what I paid for it, but I would really like something that doesn't vignette at some focal lengths...

If Ricoh want to play the consumer/enthusiast end of the world, maybe they could resurrect the 400-600 mirror lens as a DFA with autofocus -- a similar idea to what Canon has done with its recent telephotos.

It would certainly be different...

Back in the 1990s, I thought the Nikon 24-120 was the coolest lens going. The range was so useful, and it was better, optically, than the superzooms of the day.
That said, a 24-105 Pentax would need to be as awesome as the 28-105 optically. I'm spoiled now...
Maybe I really will be better off with the 28-105 and the new DFA 21...

-Eric

[Serkevan]

and less expensive (less than half the price 800 usd vs 2000 usd).

That price difference would definitely not stay like that. Assume a rebranded DFA would be ~50% more expensive or so.

[Wheatfield]

Glad to see some discussion about long lenses 🙂 . I'd love to see some options which have no alternatives (rather than another 100ish-400ish a bit different than the 150-450). I'd definitely purchase a 500 f/4 or 600 f/5.6 (after some savings time, of course... &#128517!

The DA 560/5.6 should be right up your alley, and appears to be available. The price is pretty hefty, but that is going to be the price of admission for any lens of that length and speed if the quality is there.
I paid about half what Pentax wants for the DA 560/5.6 for an A*600/5.6 15 years ago. This stuff has a very small market no matter what brand name is attached to it, it's going to be expensive gear, or it isn't going to be worth having.

[reh321]

Really, Ricoh needs to drop the old Sudden Death Motor style AF entirely and switch all of the affected lenses to other AF strategies, but this is probably a bit lower on the priority list than filling out the lens line up a bit more.

Pentax may have retained the SDM name for some reason, but do we have any reason to believe that any current motor has any relationship to the old Sudden Death Motors???

[mee]

That price difference would definitely not stay like that. Assume a rebranded DFA would be ~50% more expensive or so.

We can look at the pricing of the Pentax 70-210 f/4 versus the Tamron 70-210 f/4


The Pentax retails for just under 1000 USD and the Tamron at 800. That said Tamron is now having sales so there is that. But that isn't a given since they don't fire sale their prices like that on all lenses. Actually some (like the 85 f/1.8) have never been on sale.


But the retail prices are fairly close. Pentax cost more but you're not paying THAT much.


Besides 50% more for an 800 dollar lens makes it only 1200 dollars. That's still 800 dollars less than the DFA* 150-450mm. So there would still be room in the lineup for it based on size, weight, and yes even price.

Also the pricing between the Pentax and Tamron 15-30mm are even closer (identical). So your assumption that you're paying through the nose for a Pentax isn't always true.

[thibs]

We can look at the pricing of the Pentax 70-210 f/4 versus the Tamron 70-210 f/4


The Pentax retails for just under 1000 USD and the Tamron at 800. That said Tamron is now having sales so there is that. But that isn't a given since they don't fire sale their prices like that on all lenses. Actually some (like the 85 f/1.8) have never been on sale.


But the retail prices are fairly close. Pentax cost more but you're not paying THAT much.


Besides 50% more for an 800 dollar lens makes it only 1200 dollars. That's still 800 dollars less than the DFA* 150-450mm. So there would still be room in the lineup for it based on size, weight, and yes even price.

Also the pricing between the Pentax and Tamron 15-30mm are even closer (identical). So your assumption that you're paying through the nose for a Pentax isn't always true.

And the 24-70/2.8 is conveniently left off unmentioned ?

[Wheatfield]

Pentax may have retained the SDM name for some reason, but do we have any reason to believe that any current motor has any relationship to the old Sudden Death Motors???

No. Which is why I specified the old style SDM, the one that is failure prone.

[mee]

And the 24-70/2.8 is conveniently left off unmentioned ?

I didn't check every single lens. I see you used 'conveniently' implying there is some kind of intention behind it. Typical. But since you asked (as if you can't google yourself) the Pentax 24-70mm f/2.8 is 1300 USD and the Tamron G2 is 1258 USD (on sale now at 1200).

[RobA_Oz]

A few more blurry lines on the lens roadmaps would be helpful. They’ve been working through the old lot for some years now, so a road map that doesn’t largely tell us where we’ve been would be appreciated.

[Serkevan]

But the retail prices are fairly close. Pentax cost more but you're not paying THAT much.

Hm. Not true in all markets. In Germany it's very noticeable.
Tamron 15-30 (note the Pentax is older for both this and the 24-70, being based on the old versions, Tamron sells an updated "G2" model): more or less always on sale for 999€. Pentax is 1650€, dipping to... 1400€ now and then, IIRC.
Tamron 24-70: it's actually the closest one. Goes for about 1000€, the Pentax is usually around 1200€.
Tamron 70-210: Always on sale for anywhere between 450€ and 600€. Pentax hasn't gone below 900€ AFAIK, and is typically at 1099€ (down from 1199€ retail)

[mee]

Hm. Not true in all markets. In Germany it's very noticeable.
Tamron 15-30 (note the Pentax is older for both this and the 24-70, being based on the old versions, Tamron sells an updated "G2" model): more or less always on sale for 999€. Pentax is 1650€, dipping to... 1400€ now and then, IIRC.
Tamron 24-70: it's actually the closest one. Goes for about 1000€, the Pentax is usually around 1200€.
Tamron 70-210: Always on sale for anywhere between 450€ and 600€. Pentax hasn't gone below 900€ AFAIK, and is typically at 1099€ (down from 1199€ retail)

You still make my point in your region (which seems to have poor import agreements). The Tamron designs for Pentax don't sell for much over an actual Tamron (outside of the fire sale 70-210mm which apparently doesn't sell well otherwise). The point being you'd still get lenses at a decent price that you wouldn't otherwise have in the lineup.

I'm not sure why so many of you are arguing for less lenses.

[Serkevan]

You still make my point in your region (which seems to have poor import agreements). The Tamron designs for Pentax don't sell for much over an actual Tamron (outside of the fire sale 70-210mm which apparently doesn't sell well otherwise). The point being you'd still get lenses at a decent price that you wouldn't otherwise have in the lineup.

I'm not sure why so many of you are arguing for less lenses.

I don't make the point at all, the Pentax rebadges sell for at least 20% more, and up to twice as much as the Tamron version, in real conditions. Thjat's not "not much over the Tamron".

In any case... If you think that saying "it wouldn't sell for the low price of the Tamron, because only one other lens does" is arguing for less lenses, I don't know what to tell you

[Wheatfield]

I'm not sure why so many of you are arguing for less lenses.

People are going to argue for more lenses that make sense to them. As an example, a few posts up, Norm is arguing that the DA*50/1.4 with it's iffy AF is fine because he finds the 55-300PLM adequate.
Someone who actually wants an F1.4 lens is not going to find the 55-300 adequate, and may well find the AF on the 55/1.4 to be inadequate (I know I did).

While a bunch of people are arguing for more zoom APS-C zoom lenses, a stronger argument can be made for more full frame prime lenses, which are very thin on the ground at the moment.

When one is discussing the product line of a company that only puts out one or two new products per year, it's difficult to see the sense in arguing for more overlap when there are big gaping holes in the line up that need filling before we get yet another zoom lens that already has at least one similar one in the catalogue.