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Full Version: new Pentax K-70 & 55-300mm
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Pentax K-70 (APS-C DSLR):

http://ricoh-imaging.ca/en/products/cameras/K-70/

 

Pentax HD DA 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk/en/produc...enses.html

that quiet an impressive zoom extension on the 55-300!

You can use it as car jack, too.  Big Grin The K70 has nice features.

Interestingly the 55-300mm is a new design. But yes, that zoom extension is drastic.

Makes me wondering about the centering of the thing - more so because Pentax' record in that respect isn't exactly stellar in my book.

Electromagnetic diaphragm... now in the Pentax land as well. Welcome to 2016! Smile

Just a remark 70-300f4-5.6 wouldn't it make much more sense than 55-300f4.5-6.3 ? Knowing all those who will buy this lens already have the kit lens is the 55-70 range that important to sacrifice speed on an already slow lens?

Guest

I'm not impressed with the build quality of the 18-50 RE; I don't have one so I can't say anything about its reliability but that retractable mechanism looks terribly flimsy (obvious plastic-on-plastic feel). I hope the 55-300 RE will be better.

 

Regarding the electromagnetic diaphragm... I wonder, which other lenses would have it? It was included in the 55-300 RE because of the retractable design (very likely), and for smooth aperture control during video.

Nikon introduced their version also with some special lenses - 3 PC-E Nikkors; but they didn't really start with it until last year. Will Pentax do the same, would they wait a bit before large scale adoption? Or that's it, they decided to advance the K-mount in the full-electronic era?

 

If for now they're just experimenting, then the compatibility issue is at most a niggle. Pentax promised compatibility for K-70, and K-1, K-3 II, K-S2, K-S1 after a firmware update (a notable exception is the K-3... perhaps it's not identical with the K-3 II in the relevant parts).

If the new D FA primes and new APS-C lenses will use electronic aperture control, I imagine quite a few K-3 users would be annoyed.

 

Anyway... I think it's a good idea (even if I have a presumably incompatible body, a K-5 IIs). Planning is up to them, but I don't think they can afford to wait too much.

Quote:Just a remark 70-300f4-5.6 wouldn't it make much more sense than 55-300f4.5-6.3 ? Knowing all those who will buy this lens already have the kit lens is the 55-70 range that important to sacrifice speed on an already slow lens?
 

Well, you have a 18-55mm kit lens so a 55-300mm makes perfect sense.

As far as the max. aperture is concerned - a third of a stop isn't really much of a deal.
The other lenses they released of late - specifically the full-frame quintet - did not seem to be equipped with electromagnetic diaphragm, else the company would've made a big deal out of it. At the same time, the K-1 (like a few other bodies) is reported as compatible with this system so... that doesn't add up.

 

I can understand why Nikon went for it - because there is no (effective) way of transferring mechanical aperture linkage past the tilt-shift mechanism of a PC-E lens, and leaving these lenses' aperture to be only controllable through a mechanical ring was probably deemed inappropriate for the 21st century. That was probably the reason why there are no tilt-shift lenses for Minolta/Sony and Pentax mounts - except, of course, for the fully "dumb" Samyang. Now Pentax has solved the issue, and I'm wondering if Sony is going to do the same.

Guest

What doesn't add up?

All it takes is a bit of planning and thinking ahead, so they'd already start adapting the cameras when they planned the development of the electromagnetic diaphragm lens.

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