Any 24-120mm equivalent lens for Pentax

I'm trying to choose which DSLR system to go for. I tried the K10 at Jessops alongside most of the competition and was very impressed with the viewfinder, feel & ergonomics. What I wondered was does anyone know if Pentax (or Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc) plan any lens in the near future which will cover this, my ideal walk about lens range?

Olympus will soon have the 12-60 f2.8-f4.0
and Sony will have the Zeiss 16-80 f3.5-F4.0

Oh and Canon have the 24-105 for the Canon 5D at a price

...Is there anything on the cards that might cover at least say 24-100mm equivalent for wide through to portrait length? I just find 28mm not quite wide enough and every mm at the wide end makes quite a difference.

Of course if one of the independents did something like this it would open up Pentax or Nikon as possibilities with their 1.5 crop factors. Does anyone know if any such lens is planned any time soon?

Many thanks,

Paul

.. well of course there is the highly regarded Sigma 17-70 and there is the DA17-70 on Pentax's lens roadmap... that pretty close to the focal range you are looking for.

Although it isn't as wide as you want, the out of production FA24-90 (full frame) is another alternative if you can find somebody who is prepared to give theirs up!

--
Brett
http://www.pbase.com/shreder



The Journey is the Thing

You're right they both come pretty close ...equivalent I guess to 25.5-105mm.

Probably close enough, though as I say I am keen for every spare mm at the wide end...but thanks for that info. Looks interesting.

I also found a Japanese Lens map but it's a bit difficult to understand.
It shows:

16-45mm f4
16-50mm f2.8 and the
17-70mm that you mention.

Which of these are available currently, and for those that aren't, when are they expected?

Also expected prices of these and is it only the SDM lenses that have super fast focusing.

Any explanation of ED, SDM and Limited titles would be very useful.

By the way someone gave me an old K-Mount Tamron Adaptal 2 lens 80-210mm f3.8-4.0. Would that work on a K10 and what functionality would it have for focusing, metering etc.... Essentially would it be a worthwhile lens or not up to the job?

Many thanks for any advice of these lens issues.

Cheers,

Paul

Paul W said:

16-45mm f4
16-50mm f2.8 and the
17-70mm that you mention.

Which of these are available currently, and for those that aren't,
when are they expected?

Click to expand...

Only the DA16-45 is currently available, The DA*16-50 is expected in August and the DA17-70 probably not until next year.

Paul W UK said:

Also expected prices of these and is it only the SDM lenses that
have super fast focusing.

Click to expand...

The DA16-45 is about £300, The DA*16-50 might be under £600 and the DA17-70 is too far away to tell. Only the DA* lenses have SDM and there is only limited knowledge of expected focus speed from pre-production examples.

Paul W UK said:

Any explanation of ED, SDM and Limited titles would be very useful.

Click to expand...

"ED: a lens that uses extra-low dispersion glass elements (aimed at reducing color aberrations in telephoto lenses). " from http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/

SDM: supersonic drive motor - in lens focus motors which should mean faster focus and certainly quieter.

Limited: two distinct series - the FA Limiteds 31, 43 and 77mm lenses designed for film and the DA Limiteds 21, 40 and 70mm designed for digital.

Paul W UK said:

By the way someone gave me an old K-Mount Tamron Adaptal 2 lens
80-210mm f3.8-4.0. Would that work on a K10 and what functionality
would it have for focusing, metering etc.... Essentially would it
be a worthwhile lens or not up to the job?

Click to expand...

If it was free what can you lose? You will need a KA adaptor to get the most functionality out of this lens. It is manual focus, manual zoom. With the KA mount you get all exposure modes, with the plain K mount only M mode. They go on ebay for about £10 max these days.

--
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill

Paul W said:

You're right they both come pretty close ...equivalent I guess to
25.5-105mm.

Probably close enough, though as I say I am keen for every spare mm
at the wide end...but thanks for that info. Looks interesting.

I also found a Japanese Lens map but it's a bit difficult to
understand.

Click to expand...

Paul, here is the English version: http://www.digital.pentax.co.jp/en/lens/roadmap.pdf

Paul W UK said:

It shows:

16-45mm f4
16-50mm f2.8 and the
17-70mm that you mention.

Which of these are available currently, and for those that aren't,
when are they expected?

Click to expand...

The DA16-45 have been around since early 2004 - I have one (along with a range of other lenses including a few "Limited" series lenses) and most agree it is a very good wide to normal zoom. The Sigma 17-70 is only a smidgen behind in sharpness

The DA*16-50/2.8 is due to be released in August (hopefully) - the * designates Pentax's Pro range/highest quality lenses. It has SDM in lens motor for faster and quieter focus like Canon USM lenses. This will be Pentax's first in lens motor (forgetting the ME-F of the 1970s). This is highly anticipated and my order is in!

The roadmap DA17-70 is an unknown beast. Hiopes are for f/4 constant aperture and SDM in-lens motor.

Paul W UK said:

Also expected prices of these and is it only the SDM lenses that
have super fast focusing.

Click to expand...

US$899 for the DA*16-50 - remember this is a weather proof Pro range lens.

Paul W UK said:

Any explanation of ED, SDM and Limited titles would be very useful.

Click to expand...

ED = Extra-low dispersion glass element. Usually only found in the better quality lenses. Supposed to reduce chromatix aberrations.

SDM - subsonic direct motor ? Ah, I forget! http://www.pentax.co.jp/english/news/2007/200707.html

Limited are Pentax's series of high quality metal prime lenses. Generally somewhat expensive, enthusiast lenses with high image quality.

http://www.pentaxslr.com/lenses

Paul W UK said:

By the way someone gave me an old K-Mount Tamron Adaptal 2 lens
80-210mm f3.8-4.0. Would that work on a K10 and what functionality
would it have for focusing, metering etc.... Essentially would it
be a worthwhile lens or not up to the job?

Click to expand...

I just sold a Tamron Adaptall-2 lens which was KA so it had full aperture control (A or AE setting) with the DSLR bodies. If the lens is just K (no A setting on the aperture ring) then you can still use the lens but to a sort of aperture priority/manual mode. You loose spot metering and multi-zone metering as well but all in all the M type (like the old Pentax M series) work OK> Manual focus with focus assist

Regards

--
Brett
http://www.pbase.com/shreder



The Journey is the Thing

Thanks for such a detailed response...very useful information...

It fills in some details I need for comparison but to be honest I am still confused as to which way to jump - there are just so many variables and I end up waiting for the next model to be announced ( a never ending condition I know)

Currently I see the main contenders as

K10 v.nice viewfinder/weather sealed/IS/nice features and ergonomics
D80 nice viewfinder (though prefer display in K10) solid build/respected

Olympus E510 IS/Live view but poor viewfinder/24-120mm equivalent lens/best anti-dust system/might wait for E1 replacement will have better viewfinder/

Sony A100/IS/24-120 lens available/might wait for the A10/have a Sigma EF-500 DG Super flash with a Minolta/Sony hot shoe as my only transferable bit of kit

Canon - surprisingly no model at present I'm keen on & can afford/need a 40D which is a step forward

So, without waiting for the Olympus E3 (this year) or the Sony A10 (this year??), the K10 seems to be my favourite body...but with lenses as well the decision gets ever more complicated. If there was a true 24-120mm equivalent Pentax fit lens on the horizon I reckon I would I'd go for the K10...but consumer angst remains.

My deadline is a DSLR by Easter 2008 when I go on a safari in Africa. There I will need a longer lens (up to 400mm equivalent I guess), but generally a 24-120mm equivalent would be my ideal walk about lens.

Thanks again for the information...one thing is for sure the K10 seems a very nice camera indeed. Just need Sigma to do a 16-80mm!

Cheers,

Paul

You loose Spot? Isn't that new?

I always thought Pentax cameras from Z-xxx to current DSLRs still provided spot. No multizone, clearly but still spot.

Paul W said:

My deadline is a DSLR by Easter 2008 when I go on a safari in
Africa. There I will need a longer lens (up to 400mm equivalent I
guess), but generally a 24-120mm equivalent would be my ideal walk
about lens.

Click to expand...

The fact that you want a long lens, but only for that trip (and only occaisionally otherwise, it seems to me) makes a K10 even more sensible. You can buy a long prime manual focus lens (from pentax or others) for pocketmoney compared to a decent AF zoom, which will work very well on the K10.

Have a look at eBay (or your friendly local camera shop that still does secondhanf stuff) for a 300mm f5.6 tamron adaptall or similar = 450mm on the K10D and great quality.

Er, I should caveat this by saying I don't have a Pentax DSLR (but have been researching . . . .