DA★ 11-18mm coming soon !

There's rumours of a DA★ 11-18mm coming soon.
Hopefully this means things could be moving on the K3 replacement front

DA* 11-18mm

It'll be interesting to see how it performs.

The 12-24 is fairly old now, so is this a replacement? Presumably we can expect better, quieter DC autofocussing plus improved flare and distortion performance. Well, that's what I would be hoping for.

I'm not sure I "get" the need for the wide aperture really ..... is it really necessary or effective to shoot at F2.8 at such wide angles? Surely the same images taken at F4.0 would be hardly any different.

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My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver

This exactly. I understand the need for an f/2.8 tele or standard zoom, but for wide angles it's not that significant. The bump in shutter speeds won't be all that great and there's the (very slightly) narrower DOF to work around if you're looking to use the wide aperture. If they released an f/4 or variable aperture version in addition to this (a limited design would be amazing) then I'd understand completely. But this seems as though it'll be rather expensive and catered for the pro crowd.

Imagine the possibilities though:11-18mm, 16-50mm, 50-135mm, with the 55mm too. You just can't go wrong there.

It completes the line up for sure, I see that. I think you're right about the difference in terms of results between F2.8 and F4.0 being minimal . The modern cameras now have the ISO performance that the extra stop is not needed for pure light gathering either.

However, no doubt this will be a very desirable item, especially if , as Id expect, its optical performance is class leading.

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My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver

The extra aperture will make a real difference to the depth of field available. Very fast wide angles do make differential focusing possible, particularly at close distances.

Any of the EPZ wide angle lens reviews have a series of images shot specifically to show the effect of each aperture on depth of field and bokeh.

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Best regards, John

I'll take a look John, that would be interesting obviously I guess the closet the focus distance then the more obvious the difference.

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My Guides to the Pentax Digital Camera Flash Lighting System : Download here from the PentaxForums Homepage Article .... link
Pentax K7 with BG-4 Grip / Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC / DA18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR / SMC A28mm f2.8 / D FA 28-105mm / SMC F35-70 f3.5-4.5 / SMC A50mm f1.7 / Tamron AF70-300mm f4-5.6 Di LD macro / SMC M75-150mm f4.0 / Tamron Adaptall (CT-135) 135mm f2.8 / Asahi Takumar-A 2X tele-converter / Pentax AF-540FGZ (I & II) Flashes / Cactus RF60/X Flashes & V6/V6II Transceiver

I think F2.8 may help with Astrophotography. (could be wrong here)

Regards

George

At last, some news on the new lenses roadmapped, plus a nice surprise with the 11-18mm. Interesting that they are aiming high with expanding the * range.

I've just read that the lens is not due for release until summer 2018. They don't rush into these things. I've heard folk say "Slow and steady wins the race"

By that time the Samyang 10.5-18.5mm f/2.3 will have been released

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Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber

Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff

Algi

If they manage to avoid coma/CA issues then I think you're right. This lens might be a winner in that department.

Can't see that any other brand has an 11-18mm f2.8. The closest would seem to be Tamron's old 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6. They're similar in that they both have a gold band round the top, though that's where I expect the similarities end!

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John K

Curiously there is a D-FA fish-eye zoom on the road map to be compatible with FF, which would make more sense as we already have the DA 10-17mm. I wonder if that is what it will turn out to be? Maybe we will know a bit more soon.

PS Scratch that, the other post shows photos and it is a DA* 11-18mm.

DA* = All weather

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Gareth
Welsh Photographer

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