55 DA* SDM

I have been looking at this lens.

Amazon currently claim that the starting price will be $800. A bit steep I recon

Some googling on other forums seems to come to the conclusion that this lens is designed by some pentax guru - the man who designed the FA*85mm.

I recon this needs to be the "new" 85mm to justify the price tag?

I'm gonna buy this no matter what!

Good for you Nimrad!

And welcome to the forum.

Even though I already have the FA50 1.4, I'm still tempted by this new lens, and will definitely be looking to try it out. I love this focal length, and the weather sealing would be great. I wonder what its minimum focusing distance will be?

Dan

When you get it Dan, please put me first in line for the FA50. I'd hate to see it gathering dust.

While $800 does sound steep, compared to the prices well-used FA*85's fetch it almost seems like a giveaway!

Yeah my thoughts as well. Still it needs to be at this level to get the price that high from new.

What is the normal rate for a new lens in the UK. When it is $800. I think I read somewhere that the rate is 1$ = 1 £ when it comes to camera and lens prices?

It used to be like that - a big rip off but now it is somewhat more realistic.

Although in the current financial climate, who knows how the prices will be set

The German online dealers are listing it around EUR 450.

Eg Technik Direkt is currently showing EUR 443:

http://www.technikdirekt.de/main/en/foto/objektive/objektive-pentax/279153/-/Article.html

Hopefully, price is going to be similar in the UK, otherwise there won't be much point buying it here.

Pentax UK Hint, Hint

R

Thanks for the link.

Cheaper than I expected

I think it is 45 cm.

Shame, I was hoping it was going to be closer than the FA50mm, but 45cm is the same.

I note from Reuben's link that it says "Lens Shade - No". Hopefully that's a mistake, or is the bucket an optional extra?

Dan

All the photos I've seen of it have a lens shade. I can't find a site which confirms this is standard, but it would be an unusual Pentax lens if it wasn't.
Ah Pentax Germany say it does have a lens shade: link
Tekade.de have it for €549.

The lens shade (and soft-case) are included according to the US Pentax site:

http://www.pentaximaging.com/products/product_details/camera_lens--smc_P-DA*_55mm_F1.4_SDM/reqID--10540321/subsection--Digital_35mm_standard.

As the hood is a dedicated bayonet fit, it would be highly unusual for Pentax if they don't include it (but normal for Canon ).

R

The official news release may be of interest!

I want this lens. I was so annoyed by the relatively poor performance of my DA*50-135 at a concert. It focused fine in the low light most of the time but the biggest issue was the shutter speed at about 1/30 which meant a lot of motion blur and with strobes going off sometimes it wasn't too good.

I did find anything over 70mm was a little long a lot of the time for the small venue and wished I'd taken a 2nd lens.

£400 doesn't seem to bad considering it is a fast prime with weather sealing. I think that could easily make up the £150 difference when compared to the FA50. Just hope the image quality lives up to the FA50 or even the FA*85.