[bdery]

Is it? Interesting. I must do a better job comparing to my longer lenses on Sony. I haven’t seen massive differences (at the same aperture ) between my Tamron 70-300 and my Sony FE 70-200 GM. I’ve also used the Pentax DA* 60-250 and I didn’t notice glaring differences other than weight and focusing speed. The Tamron 70-180 is supposedly better than the GM version I.

I have not tested Sony tele zooms. The Tamron 70-180 is probably the Sony lens I've tested which impressed me the most. Size, weight, AF speed, range make it an excellent package. I rally love it.

That being said, the 60-250, from a pure optical standpoint, is better. Bokeh, colors, general rendering are simply a notch above. I'd say it's the zoom which is closest to having pixie dust in my experience. It's bigger, heavier, much slower to focus, but I like its images more.

If you're curious about the Tamron, see here:

https://www.alphashooters.com/reviews/tamron-70-180mm-f2-8-di-iii-vxd-review/

[sculptor666]

well, since people are mentioning sony...

i am trying out an a7riv and sony's 90mm macro, 35 1.8, 50 macro, and sigma art 70mm macro... and i rented the 200-600.


for high iso and working with macro subjects in post where you're really trying to bring detail out of the shadows, the 60mp sensor is a bit of a stinker. if you nail everything and have controlled lighting, it's pretty great. sony had real trouble focusing in the dark compared to pentax, and the ovf is way better in that situation. if the evf is super grainy because i'm using a flashlight at night to focus... you can't really nail focus like you can with an ovf.

i don't take many pictures of people, but sony's eye recognition is f'ing amazing. i have it set on single point af, but if a person walks into the frame it switches and stays glued to their eye.


zoom while manual focusing in the evf is pretty amazing too, but the way sony pulls it off is a little clunky, but having it at all it a plus.


sometimes i'm holding myself up with my left hand... on the k-1ii i have all the controls with my right hand, sony not so much. ergos way better on pentax.


i'm not much of a zoom person... the dfa 150-450 is usually only at 450... and the sony 200-600 was at 600 90% of the time. loss of contrast pointing towards the sun (not at the sun) was more problematic with sony... i don't know if that's a mirrorless thing or a lens coating thing. the sony is very nice... lighter, internal zoom, very short throw to get to 600, and it is absolutely wonderful to have a 600mm option... but missing some magic... and that's how i'd describe the sony experience. missing some magic... lenses get soft too early in the f-stop range from diffraction (or whatever) compared to pentax macro lenses. the sigma art 70 macro is better than the sony lenses in that regard though. this is precisely the same experience i had with trying a canon system a couple years ago, although much more benefits with sony. i found out that i really like 35mm lens on ff, but pentax took too long to make one... so i bought a sigma art 35mm for my k1ii this week. i had the 31ltd, but i didn't like it as much as the 43mm and the 28/2 hollywood. 35 fits better for me between those two. also decided to get the new dfa macro 100 because i am definitey not switching systems... and selling the old dfa will help offset the cost anyway.


on paper the a7riv should blow the k-1ii out of the water... but it does not. for the things i like to do, pentax happens to be great. pentax lenses are rather special... i hope they make more of them, and i hope they make a high mp body if they can do it in the way they've made the k1ii so great. ymmv

[JPT]

To add another one to this list, the HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR is now out of production. To be clear, this is the red-ring screwdrive version.



The PLM lens with the same focal range is not discontinued. So it is pretty clear that the non-PLM version is being cut to reduce duplication.

[bladerunner6]

To add another one to this list, the HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR is now out of production. To be clear, this is the red-ring screwdrive version.



The PLM lens with the same focal range is not discontinued. So it is pretty clear that the non-PLM version is being cut to reduce duplication.

Consolidation makes sense. And a FF zoom in this range is on the way.

[Mistral75]

To add another one to this list, the HD PENTAX-DA 55-300mm F4-5.8 ED WR is now out of production. To be clear, this is the red-ring screwdrive version.

The PLM lens with the same focal range is not discontinued. So it is pretty clear that the non-PLM version is being cut to reduce duplication.

Indeed the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR is still listed as current on the Ricoh Imaging Japanese website but is flagged as [生産完了品／在庫限り] (discontinued, while stocks last) at both the Ricoh Imaging online store and the Ricoh Imaging shop-in-shop at Rakuten.

Another lens might be discontinued as well: the silver version of the HD Pentax-DA 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited. Like the above-mentioned HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR, it's listed as current on the Ricoh Imaging Japanese website but is flagged as [生産完了品／在庫限り] (discontinued, while stocks last) and (in red) 生産完了品のため、なくなり次第終了 (discontinued product, will end as soon as it's gone) at the Ricoh Imaging online store. Concerning the Ricoh Imaging shop-in-shop at Rakuten, it's not flagged as discontinued but they mention that only three copies are left.

[Rondec]

Indeed the HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR is still listed as current on the Ricoh Imaging Japanese website but is flagged as [生産完了品／在庫限り] (discontinued, while stocks last) at both the Ricoh Imaging online store and the Ricoh Imaging shop-in-shop at Rakuten.

Another lens might be discontinued as well: the silver version of the HD Pentax-DA 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited. Like the above-mentioned HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED WR, it's listed as current on the Ricoh Imaging Japanese website but is flagged as [生産完了品／在庫限り] (discontinued, while stocks last) and (in red) 生産完了品のため、なくなり次第終了 (discontinued product, will end as soon as it's gone) at the Ricoh Imaging online store. Concerning the Ricoh Imaging shop-in-shop at Rakuten, it's not flagged as discontinued but they mention that only three copies are left.

I would be shocked if the DA 15 limited was discontinued. If it is just the silver version then that isn't a big deal as long as the lens itself is still available.

[Mistral75]

I would be shocked if the DA 15 limited was discontinued. If it is just the silver version then that isn't a big deal as long as the lens itself is still available.

There seem to be a problem with the DA 15mm f/4 Limited when used on a K-3 Mark III. On the Japanese website one can read the following:

※PENTAX K-3 Mark IIIと本レンズとの組み合わせ時には、ファインダー両端2列の測距点が選択できず、中央のクロスセンサーの測距点のみが有効となります。カメラの仕様によるため、あらかじめご理解願います。

Translation: 'When using this lens with the PENTAX K-3 Mark III, the two rows of AF points on both ends of the viewfinder cannot be selected and only the central cross sensor AF points are effective. Please understand that this is due to the camera's specifications.'

[RGlasel]

Translation: 'When using this lens with the PENTAX K-3 Mark III, the two rows of AF points on both ends of the viewfinder cannot be selected and only the central cross sensor AF points are effective. Please understand that this is due to the camera's specifications.'

Does this mean the camera is programmed to not allow those two rows of AF points to be selected, or will the selection of those AF points cause problems? The DA 15 has very noticeable field curvature, so I can understand why the increased number of AF points on the K-3III would have problems with this lens.

[pres589]

If this leaves the 21's as the widest primes available, on a crop system that seems less that optimal, in the extreme. I know there's a couple zooms that cover this focal range but I always felt like the DA 15 was a pretty special package.


Will refrain from commenting further as I don't think we have a clear picture of the situation with this lens.

[wkraus]

Does this mean the camera is programmed to not allow those two rows of AF points to be selected…

Indeed. Nothing really to worry about.

[JPT]

If this leaves the 21's as the widest primes available, on a crop system that seems less that optimal, in the extreme. I know there's a couple zooms that cover this focal range but I always felt like the DA 15 was a pretty special package.


Will refrain from commenting further as I don't think we have a clear picture of the situation with this lens.

It's only the silver version of the DA 15 Ltd that has any question about it, and even then it is a bit dubious. There was a post on a Japanese rumour site last year that suggested the silver version is discontinued. However, in the following months you would expect the number of retailers selling that model to reduce pretty quickly, but that has not really happened. In contrast, for the other lenses mentioned in this thread, you can absolutely see the availability dropping fast (See my note below if you want to know how to check this).

Having said that, some retailers marked the silver version as out of production and Pentax has moved the lens to its outlet store. So it might be on its way out.

My theory is that Pentax is going to stop offering this generation of the DA Limiteds in silver, as they did with the last generation. It's just a matter of the 15mm selling through fastest. It is in fact quite normal for Pentax to offer silver versions of lenses and bodies for a limited time.

So I don't think you need to worry about the 21mm being the widest prime.

---------

Note for people with too much time on their hands: If you want to see how many retailers are still selling a Pentax lens, you can look at the list of Pentax lenses on the comparison site kakaku.com. Note that this is not all shops in the country but it covers quite a lot, including two of Pentax's own stores on Yahoo Shopping and Rakuten.
https://kakaku.com/camera/camera-lens/itemlist.aspx?pdf_ma=251

The second column with the price in red text is the price for a new item, and you can see something like（全30店舗）, which means the lens is available in 30 stores. This is updated daily. A Pentax K-mount lens is typically available in between 20 and 35 stores. So after we see some sign that a lens is discontinued, such as the availability on a store's website or a tweet from a store owner, and assuming that information is legitimate, it will normally go below 20 pretty quickly. This is what I look at to tell if there is something to the rumour. The DA 15mm in silver is still available at 21 stores many months later, which is quite normal and about the same as the other silver limiteds.

The third column with the price in black is for used items, and this is why you'll see items in the list that were discontinued some time ago and have no new stock.

[Jonathan Mac]

I think it's just the silver version of the DA 15mm that has gone. hardly a surprise - the silver lenses are ugly and I've seen only the silver version of various lenses on clearance with the black version still at full price.

[c.a.m]

Does this mean the camera is programmed to not allow those two rows of AF points to be selected,

I have a K-3 Mark III.

Yes, this is the case. The AF field consists of an 'inner frame' of 65 AF points and two additional columns of 9 AF points each on the left and right sides, for a total of 101 AF points (65 + 9 + 9 +9 + 9). The two columns on either side cannot be used when shooting with the DA 15mm or the DA 21mm (or the DA 560mm).

Certain other lenses (e.g., F 35-70mm, DA 50-200mm) are precluded from using the outermost left and right columns.

The Operating Manual indicates this restriction on page 117.

- Craig

[pres589]

I've never been a fan of the silver lenses either although with a few of the pancakes, like the 40 and 70 Limited's it's not so bad. They're small enough that the silver is almost like a trim ring. The 15 looks fantastic in black, with a green ring especially...

[reh321]

The PLM lens with the same focal range is not discontinued. So it is pretty clear that the non-PLM version is being cut to reduce duplication.

Consolidation makes sense. And a FF zoom in this range is on the way.

As I commented in the ‘film thread’, I used the first PLM’s predecessor {another DA55-300mm lens, so it can function as a ‘KA’ lens} on my 35mm camera, with virtually no problems. I’m not sure if that was an ‘accident’, but I’ll add it to my “film collection” for the time being.}