[Uluru]

Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R lens.

Well, if Pentax has ran out of imagination 4 years ago, and it seems it will never restore it back, others are bursting with enthusiasm and new ideas.
I'm keen to see how this Fuji's latest achievement works in real life.

Really pleased someone has done the ultimate 35mm lens for the APS-C.

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Last edited by Uluru; 09-03-2013 at 12:24 AM.

[Sandy Hancock]

Cool. I'd be all over a DA*24/1.4 if it was ever produced.

[ChrisPlatt]

Fuji is making some great photo gear nowadays.
It seems they are really listening to photographers.

This would be equivalent to a 35mm lens on 35mm film, IMO the ideal focal length.
Pentax is rumored to have made a 35mm f/1.4 K-mount lens, but I've never seen it.
Sure would love to have one of those...

Chris

[Uluru]

That would be equivalent to a 35mm lens on 35mm film, IMO the ideal focal length.
Pentax is rumored to have made a 35mm f/1.4 K-mount lens, but I've never seen one.

Chris

Unfortunately, most of the talked about products in Pentax lineup consist of rumoured-about products.

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Last edited by Uluru; 09-03-2013 at 02:09 AM.

[Jasvox]

Luckily other companies have other products which if they meet our needs, are available for purchase.

Jason

[twitch]

This looks like a really really nice lens

[Uluru]

This looks like a really really nice lens

You're damn right; a distance scale, aperture ring, and looks really well made ... this could be the lens for the APS-C.

[rawr]

Well, if Pentax has ran out of imagination 4 years ago, and it seems it will never restore it back, others are bursting with enthusiasm and new ideas.

Why so sour? You used to be so bright and optimistic.

Relax, it's all just cameras. And this is just yet another lens. Not hugely different from their current XF 18mm f2 either, in either FOV or aperture.

[Dan]

That's a nice looking lens, but it's not my cup of tea. I would prefer a lens that is smaller, lighter, and just a bit wider--kind of like the Pentax 21mm DA Limited!! While the Fujifilm lens is faster, I don't really need the additional speed. It's not worth the weight penalty. If it were available for Pentax there is absolutely no chance I would buy it. Of course YMMV.

Dan

[Clavius]

Well, if Pentax has ran out of imagination 4 years ago, and it seems it will never restore it back, others are bursting with enthusiasm and new ideas.

There exists no Pentax anymore to have any imagination.

[bossa]

There exists no Pentax anymore to have any imagination.

I believe you are correct. Ricoh is even thieving Pentax history" PENTAX - Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation Expands Team with Appointment of Brian McIntosh as Director of Marketing

A quote: "The company now known as Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation, was originally founded in 1919, under the name Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co. and launched its first SLR camera in the 1950s under the PENTAX name. Today, Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation continues to produce the heritage-rich, award-winning line of PENTAX DSLR cameras, lenses and sport optics equipment as well as Ricoh’s offering of stylish and compact digital cameras, known for their wide-ranging, rich set of features."

[normhead]

A lens with a DoF guide, what a novel concept. Like for people who actually know how to use one. I like it already.

[ChrisPlatt]

Link here: SMC Pentax-M 35/1.4

Chris

[monochrome]

What has Pentax done since 2009? What has Ricoh stolen? There was nothing there to steal!! Hoya let it all go away.

[Uluru]

This is inadvertently a part of the discussion that went on for years, especially since 2008-2009; there was no small sized lens done by Pentax that covered normal to normal-wide angles — arguably those most common ones, since beginning of the social documentary photography.

None of the 5 limiteds cover anything from 30mm to 50mm in 135 format terms, only much bigger zooms cover it. And I think that absence of a small, good quality lens around 24mm (or 35mm in 135 FF terms) has cost Pentax a lot. Situation was often described as "Pentax eccentricity".

I don't know how to name it properly.

What is sold today in forms of DA35/2.4 and DA50/1.8, is 52mm and 75mm equivalent FoVs in 35mm photography — narrow normal to slight telephoto. I believed Pentax should have done a DA24 lens instead of DA35/2.4 — let it be same plastic fantastic — but, well, there you go. They have two 35s (which is 52mm), two 40s (which is 60mm), one 50 (75mm) and one 55 (83mm). But most interesting focal lengths, from 30mm to 50mm, are still not addressed.

I suspect they needed an all new APS-C design for them, and that was out of question — even under Ricoh's management.