Pentax at PMA: 31 mexapixels and lots of glass!

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital

02/22/2007 11:58:17 AM · #1

With the pre-PMA press releases rolling in, I thought I would take this opportunity to pimp the new Pentax products that will be hitting the market soon!

Two pro quality zooms will be available in a couple weeks:

DA* 16-50 2.8 ED AL[IF]SDM
DA* 50-135 2.8 ED AL[IF]SDM
Press Release on DPReview

(SDM, by the way, is what Pentax is calling their "USM")

Later this year we should see two fast tele primes and a tele zoom:
DA* 200mm F2.8 ED[IF]SDM
DA* 300mm F4 ED[IF]SDM
DA* 60-250mm F4 ED[IF]SDM

along with a Limited 35mm 2.8 macro

**another note, all of the new DA* lenses are weather sealed "for use in the rain and dusty environments" to match the sealed K10D body

And now, finally, after many years of speculation, it appears that Pentax is ready to launch a digital Medium Format camera, the Pentax 645 Digital (bottom of the page). It uses the same sensor as the Hasselblad H3D-31 and will probably cost 5 figures (Yikes!).

I've also heard rumours that even though Pentax is releasing Digital only DA lenses now, the DA*s and Limiteds all work just fine on an APS-H 1.3x crop factor sensor. Perhaps not full frame, but it would be very interesting to see a "Pro" model K1D with an APS-H sensor instead of APS-C. Pentax wants to be a major player in the dSLR market, so a move like that wouldnt surprise me one bit...

Message edited by author 2007-02-22 12:04:17.

tmph

Pentax K20D

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

02/22/2007 12:03:39 PM · #2

Thanks for the info. I would love to try the 645

LalliSig

02/22/2007 12:13:12 PM · #3

Pretty cool, one day I´ll get into digital medium format, probably will take me 3-5 years but I hope pentax launches this digital 645 sooner rather than later cause all competition is a good thing for us consumers :)

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

03/09/2007 01:22:39 AM · #4

Judging from the PMA report from dpreview, the new Pentax stuff is lookin pretty damn good. The DA* 16-50 and 50-135 2.8's are due out in May (I cant wait to see that 16-50/K10D combo in my OWN hands), the two tele-primes are scheduled for September, and the DA* 60-250 is slated for December.

There is also an updated Pentax lens roadmap for the coming year available, with its most notable feature being the newly announced DA* 55mm 1.4 SDM, which will be replacing the vaunted FA* 85mm 1.4 (55*APS-C crop). Also shown on the roadmap are the DA 35 SDM (a fast normal prime, max aperture isnt known, but with the 35 2.8 macro also being released, you can bet it will be faster than 2.0), the DA 17-70 and the DA 55-300.

By the end of the year, Pentax will have 21 DA lenses in production, along with whatever continues to be produced in the FA series (fingers crossed on the Limiteds...). If thats not good enough for you, there are millions of excellent used Pentax lenses out there, and Sigma and Tamron plan on releasing HSM lenses in the K mount now that Pentax supports this AF motor. Who says Pentax has a weak lens lineup? ;-).

No word on any new Pentax DSLRs, and the 645D was behind glass, as usual.

One thing I really like is the giant poster on the Pentax booth outlining what it means to be a Pentax owner. The Pentaxian Philosophy, if you will:

Originally posted by Pentax:

You're a Pentaxian. A loyalist. A diehard. You once carried a K1000 around with you everywhere, only reluctantly setting it down to take the occasional shower. You tell your kids bedtime stories of those heady days when the camera known as "The Pentax" was the best-selling SLR made. You don't spend countless hours pixel-peeping. You just take pictures. And while you may be tempted, on occasion, to turn to a stranger on an elevator and say, "the best auto-focus SLR lens ever made is the Pentax 31mm f/1.8." You'd really rather be using your equipment than talking about it. Pentax understands that cameras don't take pictures; photographers do. Our new DSLRs are the result of listening to Pentaxians and delivering tools for true photography lovers. These cameras are already creating many more loyalists. So the question is: can these newcomers count themselves among the diehards? Hey, we're Pentaxians, not photography snobs. Welcome to our club.

Makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? :-P

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

03/09/2007 01:58:17 AM · #5

Originally posted by option:

Makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? :-P

Actually, it makes me roll my eyes a little bit :)

It's... kind of like saying you're not snobby by being outrageously ... uh... snobby :)

crayon

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1

03/09/2007 02:01:49 AM · #6

Originally posted by Artyste:

Originally posted by option:

Makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? :-P

Actually, it makes me roll my eyes a little bit :)

It's... kind of like saying you're not snobby by being outrageously ... uh... snobby :)

so anyone going to change his/her nickname to "Pentax" soon?
Think it's not taken yet :p

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

03/09/2007 02:05:08 AM · #7

Originally posted by crayon:

so anyone going to change his/her nickname to "Pentax" soon?
Think it's not taken yet :p

Meh. It's already right under my name anyway.

crayon

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1

03/09/2007 02:06:14 AM · #8

Originally posted by option:

Originally posted by crayon:
so anyone going to change his/her nickname to "Pentax" soon?
Think it's not taken yet :p

Meh. It's already right under my name anyway.

bah, you're no loyalist! :P

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

03/09/2007 02:17:32 AM · #9

Hmmm...

The Artyste De Pentax..

has a nice ring.

jonr

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6 M.Zuiko Digital ED

03/09/2007 05:03:37 AM · #10

I really hope that 645 Pentax isn't going to cost an arm and a leg like the rest of them. But I guess I'm fooling my self.
I've always had a soft spot for Pentax, they don't chase the big 2. A 645 with 2 sharp lenses, 80 and maybe 40mm, and I would be in digital landscape heaven!